[kman1211]

Sometimes you do get some that do sound different, can happen with any brand. No matter how good QC is there can be a few iffy ones that slip through the cracks. It could also be different batches sounding different. It could be as simple as a somewhat different driver membrane consistency from one batch to another causing some variation in the fidelity and/or the frequency response. I would suggest spending a little more time with them and if nothing changes exchange them. While I haven't experienced big differences in the HD 650, rather minor mostly minor differences in treble smoothness. I have come across 2 very different sounding HD 600's even after pad swapping with new pads.

 

[LazyListener]

Thought i might add to this large thread ...

I have 650 silver drivers in the old blue box had them for many moons now and have been driven by many many things over the years ..

I decided to buy some new 650's to replace as the others where getting old ....

the new ones arrived bought new from amazon came in black box silver drivers and hologram sticker on the right inside driver ..and after spending a whole week with them comparing both before selling the old one's on ..i was completely surprised as to how much worse the new ones sound to me ...

The old pair sound more spacious far more detailed and by far a much superior bottom end ...it just does not make sense.... is this the burn in veil peeps go on about re a new set..or could i have ended up with a dud new 650..

don't get me wrong the new ones sound ok but nothing like my old ones the differences are not subtle its all most night day difference more so on the detail and the bottom end ..i also found i have to drive more volume on the new ones to get to the same level as the old ones ..

As i thought i was going mad

I blind tested with four friends and all four preferred the old ones ..

I even tried swapping the cables from the new to old and even swapped the ear padding and the old head band on the new drivers made no difference and all four of them still preferred the old set...

so what do you think ????

Not that surprising. I've had new ivory 598s and new black 598 SE. Both authentic. Both sounded very different. Others in the 598 threads reporting same models sounding different. I guess it's impossible to make all units identical.

 

[iancraig10]

Very strange. I always thought that Sennheiser quality-control was very good.

 

[Paddy]

I'm a new member so unable to start a thread on this but I was wondering are the hd650 worth buying if I already have the he400S and have he400i on the way. From what I've heard with most reviews is that the hd600 and hd650 were the best headphones in this price range for years until the he400i and he400S were released which have now taken this spot. I'm so curious to try the 600 or 650 but unable to listen in any local stores so thinking would it be worth buying on top of what I have now or would I just feel they are inferior? I love the sound of both the he400s and he400i though I feel the he400i is very accurate with bass and soundstage was quite impressive, I feel the he400i are a very neutral headphone that offers a rich, clean and pure music experience

 

[iancraig10]

I'd say 'different'. The mids on the hd650 are extremely good. Extended treble without any sibilance at all. Very smooth up top.

Worst part about them imo is the sub bass rolls away quite quickly, although there is a mid bass hump giving the impression of good bass.

Eq'd, they are extremely good since the drivers respond really well.

 

[harney]

Thanks All for your thoughts re the differences i am having with these two sets of 650's old vs new..It concerns me because it would seem unfair to peeps buying new and not knowing what there really getting compared to how they should sound yes i understand this may be a one off but still ......And yes i understand subtle difference from the same modal will happen but this to me is night and day and the new ones sound like a different modal entirely.

i have decided to contact sennheiser re this i assume they will not be that bothered as with most large corps and just end up with some generic response ..

What i am going to do is keep them up until my return window ends for further testing ...I have a crack amp with speedball coming today so going to test more with this ..but what i have tested them on thus far is most of my equipment i am very familiar with... RME dacs/ Mackie and Allen heath desks / asus essence using various different op amps ...no matter how much i compare both... there is a big difference to me ....to simplify... its as if the new ones are 15 20% less overall detail never mind the difference in volume than my old cans ..its more obvious to me on some of my Moog and DSI synth patches ..The new ones lack a hell of allot of details and have a much narrow sound stage overall..

I'm a new member so unable to start a thread on this but I was wondering are the hd650 worth buying if I already have the he400S and have he400i on the way. From what I've heard with most reviews is that the hd600 and hd650 were the best headphones in this price range for years until the he400i and he400S were released which have now taken this spot. I'm so curious to try the 600 or 650 but unable to listen in any local stores so thinking would it be worth buying on top of what I have now or would I just feel they are inferior? I love the sound of both the he400s and he400i though I feel the he400i is very accurate with bass and soundstage was quite impressive, I feel the he400i are a very neutral headphone that offers a rich, clean and pure music experience

Not used he400's so can not give you a compassion but what i can tell you is that both 600 650's amp driven correctly and using a good EQ to shape to what ever you want will get you that...
as iancraig10 states they can driven very well and i completely agree the headroom on the 600/650 is fantastic ...My advice is to find a place where you can A B them both and take music that you are very familiar with ...

 

[harney]

Here's a graph with four different HD650s. 1st is a HD6XX with Dynamat and no rear foam, 2nd is an old HD650 stock unknown pad age, 3rd is a new HD650 dynamat no rear foam, and 4th is my own pair new HD650 with custom mods/damping.

Very interesting results ..how / what are you using to measure as i am intrigued if i can do the same with these two i have here so i can at least have some hard external evidence to proof i am not going mad

 

[raybone0566]

I've got three pair of 650's. New , old & modded pair. I can't hear any discernible differences in the new & old version. Modding the 650's really does improve the overall sound & I much prefer those to the stock units. The 650's also respond differently to different amplification. The drivers in these phones are trumpet amazing as every amp I upgraded to the 659's revealed more of their capability. Truly a great headphone

 

[Lev10Prod]

Had an older pair which I sent to Sonarworks for testing and calibration. Interestingly, they showed a better bass response with MUCH lower distortion then a new pair I recently bought. Trouble is that one channel had a problem so I sold my old pair.
I recently bought the hd800s and couldnt be happier..yet I refuse to sell my 650s. Both are great cans with different pluses. I mainly use my 650s for studio work but also like them as they are punchier and intimate. I have had all my cans calibrated by SW in Latvia which I highly recommend. They are flat to within +/- 0.9db!

Lately been tempted to buy a pair of Utopias as they are on sale this month for $2999. Any thoughts?

 

[iancraig10]

There re differences with pads. The older one had more 'squishy' ones where the newer ones are firmer. That might account for differences.

 

[harney]

There re differences with pads. The older one had more 'squishy' ones where the newer ones are firmer. That might account for differences.

Agree with what you saying but i had all-ready swapped the new pads to the old cans and swapped over cables and still all four peeps inc myself still liked the old 650's

the crack amp with speedball as arrived and where in the process of testing that and comparing the two cans

 

[iancraig10]

We discussed this on DIYAH some time back and Solderdude had a look. I'm Rabbit on DIYAH and Solderdude is one of my co hosts....

https://diyaudioheaven.wordpress.com/headphones/measurements/brands-s-se/hd650/

 

[donlin]

Had an older pair which I sent to Sonarworks for testing and calibration. Interestingly, they showed a better bass response with MUCH lower distortion then a new pair I recently bought. Trouble is that one channel had a problem so I sold my old pair.
I recently bought the hd800s and couldnt be happier..yet I refuse to sell my 650s. Both are great cans with different pluses. I mainly use my 650s for studio work but also like them as they are punchier and intimate. I have had all my cans calibrated by SW in Latvia which I highly recommend. They are flat to within +/- 0.9db!

Lately been tempted to buy a pair of Utopias as they are on sale this month for $2999. Any thoughts?

Regarding the Utopias, I have not heard them at home but, for what it's worth, I did own the Elear for a while and at the same time as HD650 and HD800s. A lot of reviews say the Elear and Utopia sound somewhat similar and I didn't like the Elear at all, very disappointing after all the rave reviews. I would go with the 650 and 800 over the Elear any day.

 

[cskippy]

IMO, Utopia is in another league compared to Elear.

 

[harney]

We discussed this on DIYAH some time back and Solderdude had a look. I'm Rabbit on DIYAH and Solderdude is one of my co hosts....

https://diyaudioheaven.wordpress.com/headphones/measurements/brands-s-se/hd650/

interesting thank you