[cddc]

Yeah, ok. Have a nice evening.

Thanks, you too.

 

[cddc]

Is the Chord Hugo 2 worth it with an HD650? I'm wondering whether to get an HD820 or a Hugo 2 for the HD650 as I'm worried about weak vocals and dry sound with the HD820.

I don't think you can get weak and dry vocals out of HD650....HD800 would if you're pairing it with improper amps

I heard HD650 sounds good on HDV 820.

 

[DavidA]

Is the Chord Hugo 2 worth it with an HD650? I'm wondering whether to get an HD820 or a Hugo 2 for the HD650 as I'm worried about weak vocals and dry sound with the HD820.

I'm going to assume you mean HDVD 820 (DAC/amp) versus HD820 (headphone). While I haven't heard the HDVD 820 I've borrowed the HDVD 800 from a friend a few times and its never impressed me with any of the headphones that I've tried on it. I like the Hugo and have only heard the Hugo2 twice and while I think they are great DAC/amps to me they are quite over priced unless you get a good deal on them. My friend that owns the Hugo and Hugo2 and a few other audio loving friends have tried most of the headphones that we own on the Hugo, Hugo2 and quite a bit of other gear and we all agree that the Hugo and Hugo2 are quite good but with some headphones like the HD650, HD700, HD800, and T1gen1 are easily bettered by a Modi MB ($250) + BH Crack (w/ better tubes, about $600-700) but for some like my friend the Hugo/Hugo2 is much more convenient and she doesn't like dealing with tubes since she has cats.

 

[castleofargh]

interesting...i have never paid too much attention to the position

beside the obvious loss of low end from a poor seal, you might notice some changes from placement related to the treble(then again it's the same for all headphones. the smaller the frequency, the more likely it is for a small physical shift to cause an impact). personally when I measure stuff on the cheapo dummy head, I see somewhat relevant variations starting around 6 or 7kHz and above. but to my hear I only notice a change near 10kHz. I'd subjectively quantify it as "audible yet not a big deal". ^_^

 

[Deftone]

Is the Chord Hugo 2 worth it with an HD650? I'm wondering whether to get an HD820 or a Hugo 2 for the HD650 as I'm worried about weak vocals and dry sound with the HD820.

I couldn't hear much improvement at all moving to Hugo2 with HD650 but I did with HD660S, treble is super clean, precise and detailed while remaining smooth and musical.

 

[rutter]

I mean HD820 headphones. Whether to buy those or get a Hugo 2 for these.

 

[DavidA]

I mean HD820 headphones. Whether to buy those or get a Hugo 2 for these.

I'd get the HD820 assuming you have a decent DAC/amp set up that will do the HD820 justice and you need a closed headphone, if not I much prefer the HD800S or even better the original HD800 with a good OTL amp

 

[Deftone]

I mean HD820 headphones. Whether to buy those or get a Hugo 2 for these.

Headphones will obviously make the biggest difference compared to a dac/amp just make sure you love the sound signature of the HD820 or you will end up spending alot trying to "fix" them.

 

[jimmers]

edit: missed quote.

 

[DavidA]

I think he means HDV 820 (amp) rather than HDVD 820 (DAC/amp) or HD820 (headphone)

I think you missed his post 42727 where he clarified it was the HD820 headphones versus the HDV 820 amp, I know I had to read his post twice before I noticed he was saying HD820 headphone versus HDV820 amp.

 

[Nailzs]

wow....i read the thread when it's like 1500ish pages long...i doubt I would do it again when it's 2800ish pages long...lol

good efforts

Four days off work and nothing I really wanted to see on TV at the time, and yard work was totally not going to happen, sooo...

 

[Tuneslover]

beside the obvious loss of low end from a poor seal, you might notice some changes from placement related to the treble(then again it's the same for all headphones. the smaller the frequency, the more likely it is for a small physical shift to cause an impact). personally when I measure stuff on the cheapo dummy head, I see somewhat relevant variations starting around 6 or 7kHz and above. but to my hear I only notice a change near 10kHz. I'd subjectively quantify it as "audible yet not a big deal". ^_^

I assume that the ear pads are relatively new here?

 

[castleofargh]

I assume that the ear pads are relatively new here?

as it happens, yes. I'm not sure I have tried measuring placement variations with old pads, I think I've kept a well used pair of pads somewhere just for the sake of "old vs new" sort of tests once, but right now I have no idea where I stored it... if I can get my brain to work, or if I find them by sheer luck as it can happen the second I stop searching, I'll try to see if it has a significant influence on the FR when moving the headphone around.
personally I have very little free space for my ever growing ears, so my placement options are very limited. plus I have a few years of habit from using almost exclusively that headphone. but on the miniDSP EARS, I can move the 650 around the silicone ears more, plus it doesn't complain when it's not comfy ^_^.

just in case I have the old version of the pads, I've read somewhere that now the 660's slightly different pads would be the standard replacement for all(at least once the vendors have exhausted their stocks).

 

[dakanao]

beside the obvious loss of low end from a poor seal, you might notice some changes from placement related to the treble(then again it's the same for all headphones. the smaller the frequency, the more likely it is for a small physical shift to cause an impact). personally when I measure stuff on the cheapo dummy head, I see somewhat relevant variations starting around 6 or 7kHz and above. but to my hear I only notice a change near 10kHz. I'd subjectively quantify it as "audible yet not a big deal". ^_^

Well it happens with any headphone indeed, but it's especially evident with the HD 650, since they have a peak in the upper-mids and the pads are relatively stiff, you'll notice it getting over emphasized very quickly if they're not positioned perfectly on your head.

 

[Robert Padgett]

Honestly, the HD 650 sounds it's best when it's positioned a certain way on your head. Not too much down, and not too much up to your ears vertically, and the same thing with the cups horizontally. That's when you'll hear the most details, best timbre and it'll be very smooth.

Position them a bit off, and they'll start to sound more shouting very quickly.

This is the first reference to what I call "tuning" the headphones, on this thread, and have wondered if I was the only one doing this. When I first put on the headphones, I make sure my ears are comfortable. I then move the headband forward and back on my head, until the ear cups align with my ears better, and the difference is quite noticeable. For example, if I am lying down, the pillow behind my head pushed the HPs forward a bit, and they sounded better. Likewise, when working at the computer, I find pushing the headband further back on my head seems to "open up" the sound.
I never posted about it because either I feared someone would say, "Yeah, we all do that" or a hue and cry might arise saying, "that's crazy".
It wasn't something I wanted from either.
I just thought it was my secret.