[Soundpitchblack]

I’m with Ichos on this. The HD800S is a completely different sounding headphone compared to the 650. Where the latter is linear, warm, intimate and almost euphonic sounding the former feels bright, distant, highly detailed and almost like a surgical instrument.
If you can’t audition the 800 before a purchase yet continue to fantasise about it..I’d recommend you go for something like the 600 ohm DT880 instead. Reason being that it is waaaay cheaper and actually sounds fairly close to an 800 tuning-wise...or put another way: if you dig the DT880 chances are you’ll dig the 800 as well
But yeah...truly upgrading from the 650? I don’t think you can...not at this point in time anyway. You can get better bass extension/performance via a Focal Clear or indeed an Aeolus/Auteur but you sacrifice the mids and treble in order to get there. I have still to find a headphone, regardless of pricetag, that trumps the 600/650 in mids and treble realism.

Interesting...Ive been reading a lot about the HD800S and that was the general picture I got but wanted to see any other opinions from actual users not reviewers. I curretly use a modi/ magni 2 any recommendations on amps that would improve the sound quality?

 

[Spartacus09]

You won't like them.
Stay with HD650 or save for the Empyrean or a ZMF.

Are those really the best upgrades from the HD6xx/HD650? Is there anything more budget friendly under $1500 (or even $1000 preferred) that would be a good upgrade?

 

[Kammerat Rebekka]

Are those really the best upgrades from the HD6xx/HD650? Is there anything more budget friendly under $1500 (or even $1000 preferred) that would be a good upgrade?

No...not unless you are looking for a different sound signature. As it is the Clear is your best/safest bet, but personally I think you would be upgrading the bass and downgrading the rest of the presentation..but hey that’s just me
I know it’s hard to wrap one’s head around, but these Sennheisers are yet to be surpassed by anything. If you want a neutral sound with as little peaks and valleys in the presentation as possible, you can’t top the 600/650...not unless you go the modding/equalising path

 

[Spartacus09]

No...not unless you are looking for a different sound signature. As it is the Clear is your best/safest bet, but personally I think you would be upgrading the bass and downgrading the rest of the presentation..but hey that’s just me
I know it’s hard to wrap one’s head around, but these Sennheisers are yet to be surpassed by anything. If you want a neutral sound with as little peaks and valleys in the presentation as possible, you can’t top the 600/650...not unless you go the modding/equalising path

Good to know thanks, I think if these go out, I'll just replace with another 6XX then, or maybe look at those focals down the road and the 6XX become a work headphone.
Just $1k+ is a tough bite to stomach for where I'm at in the headphone game currently.

 

[Ichos]

Are those really the best upgrades from the HD6xx/HD650? Is there anything more budget friendly under $1500 (or even $1000 preferred) that would be a good upgrade?

I can't really think of anything.
Maybe your best bet is to stay with HD650 and optimize your chain if it needs so.

 

[GearMe]

Are those really the best upgrades from the HD6xx/HD650? Is there anything more budget friendly under $1500 (or even $1000 preferred) that would be a good upgrade?

So...I had every Senn from the HD600 to the HD800. Got rid of all of them and got Clear Pros -- which I like better than the HD800. That said, the only set of cans I've ever replaced are the HD650s (w/HD6XX).

You could try the HD660S (mine were $399) as a 'cost-effective' alternative...which I like better than the HD600s

 

[Kammerat Rebekka]

Interesting...Ive been reading a lot about the HD800S and that was the general picture I got but wanted to see any other opinions from actual users not reviewers. I curretly use a modi/ magni 2 any recommendations on amps that would improve the sound quality?

If you want your 650 to sound like the 650.. then stay with your Magni. If you want a less detailed but warmer and more ‘romantic’ sound, then swing for a Bottlehead Crack or a similar OTL amplifier with a high output impedance.
Amps though in general are not really all that interesting from a pure sound quality point...at least not to human ears.

 

[Spartacus09]

I can't really think of anything.
Maybe your best bet is to stay with HD650 and optimize your chain if it needs so.

By chain you mean signal processing chain?
I'm running a Schiit Jotunheim with a ak4490 dac module and a custom XLR cable from impact audio not sure I need to improve there much more.

So...I had every Senn from the HD600 to the HD800. Got rid of all of them and got Clear Pros -- which I like better than the HD800. That said, the only set of cans I've ever replaced are the HD650s (w/HD6XX).

You could try the HD660S (mine were $399) as a 'cost-effective' alternative...which I like better than the HD600s

Do you like the clear better than the 6xx? or use them for different listening?
~ also hows the weight and comfort? That was my biggest issue with hifimans they were heavy AF compared to pretty much any sennheisers.

 

[AudioPowerHead]

Are those really the best upgrades from the HD6xx/HD650? Is there anything more budget friendly under $1500 (or even $1000 preferred) that would be a good upgrade?

ZMF Aeolus. I also own the HD650.

 

[GearMe]

...


Do you like the clear better than the 6xx? or use them for different listening?
~ also hows the weight and comfort? That was my biggest issue with hifimans they were heavy AF compared to pretty much any sennheisers.

Use the 6XXs for 'shuffle' across a wide variety of music genres and varying mastering/recording qualities.

Am more actively engaged in picking songs when I'm using the Clears and often move on from poorer recordings...which I don't really do with the HD6XXs.

Weight's never been an issue to me. My closed high-end cans are LCD-XCs...lucky on fit/tolerance I guess

 

[CaptainFantastic]

Are there any IEMs (less than $200) that sound similar to the 6xx for portable use? (Meaning driven by phone LG V30). I realize that they will not be as good. I guess I'm looking for affordable, portable IEMs with a similar sound signature.

The Sennheiser IE 800 and IE 800S come close to the HD-6series sound. The IE 800 is discontinued but a Belgian hi-fi shop still has them for 500 EUR brand new. I would not buy it used unless the seller has the original purchase receipt from Sennheiser or another trustworthy shop. I don't understand how it came about, but apparently there are many counterfeit versions. I didn't want to risk anything so I bought my IE 800S from Sennheiser and the IE 800 from belhifi.

I know 500 is way more than 200, but having tried a few options that were hyped and supposedly providing the HD-6series sound... my conclusion is that you can only get close to that in IEM format by going with these two Sennheiser models.

 

[WilcoRoger]

Etymotic ER3 or ER3 series, the SR versions

 

[HiFiHawaii808]

Thanks.
T1 2.gen is like a warm and more laidback HD800 with strong treble (though located slightly higher up compared to the Sennie). To me it’s like a luxury u-shaped signature headphone. For peeps into that kind of voicing I figure it’s the proverbial bee’s knees.

That sounds pretty good to me. I'll have to keep it in mind for a future upgrade.

 

[Brubacca]

The Sennheiser IE 800 and IE 800S come close to the HD-6series sound. The 800 is discontinued but a Belgian hi-fi shop still has them for 500 EUR brand new. I would not buy it used unless the seller has the original purchase receipt from Sennheiser or another trustworthy shop. I don't understand how it came about, but apparently there are many counterfeit versions. I didn't want to risk anything so I bought my 800S from Sennheiser and the 800 from belhifi.

I know 500 is way more than 200, but having tried a few options that were hyped and supposedly providing the HD-6series sound... my conclusion is that you can only get close to that in IEM format from Sennheiser with these two models.

Wow. That is either a really great commentary on the HD6xx or a sad commentary on thr IEM Market.

Thanks for the assist.

 

[megabigeye]

Are those really the best upgrades from the HD6xx/HD650? Is there anything more budget friendly under $1500 (or even $1000 preferred) that would be a good upgrade?

I'll offer the dissenting opinion from the rest of the thread... The HD 650 is (in my opinion, obviously) a very good headphone, but it's not the best unless you really like it's particular signature. Other than soundstage and mids, the Beyer DT 1990 is superior in every aspect.

DT 1990 compared to HD 650:
Bass = more extended, slightly less mid-bass emphasis, more detailed/textured, more exciting
Mids = slightly recessed in comparison, slightly less enticing; not as noticeable if you're not making a direct comparison
Treble = more extended, more exciting; maybe fatiguing if you're sensitive
Dynamics = much greater than HD 650
Detail retrieval = much greater than HD 650
Soundstage = about the same as HD 650; DT 1990 with tubes has larger soundstage than HD 650 on solid state
Overall signature (with "B" pads) = very mild "V"-to-neutral with treble emphasis.

To me, the DT 1990 is simply a more satisfying listen.

Even the Oppo PM-3 (discontinued, unfortunately) is better than the HD 650 in some ways.

PM-3 compared to HD 650:
Bass = way more extension, less mid-bass emphasis, more detailed/textured, warmer, highly seal-dependent
Mids = on solid state, HD 650 is clearly better; on tubes PM-3 is comparable to HD 650 on solid state
Treble = more extended, but softer than HD 650
Dynamics = comparable
Detail retrieval = comparable on solid state, better on tubes
Soundstage = HD 650 wins on solid state; PM-3 with tubes has larger soundstage than HD 650 on solid state
Overall signature = on solid state = downward sloping / dark; on tubes = warm / neutral.

To me, the PM-3 on tubes is a more satisfying listen than HD 650 on solid state (unfortunately my tube setup doesn't work well with HD 650, so it's not a perfect comparison). In fact, for my purposes/taste, PM-3 on tubes does warm/inviting better than HD 650 does.

I don't mean to disparage the HD 650 at all. It's a really great headphone and I love it, but saying that there's no clear upgrade is, in my opinion, simply not true. It depends on what you're looking for. If you want "the HD 650 but better," then maybe it's the best. I dunno. What does that even mean? If there are specific things that you want to improve, then there are absolutely better headphones for a lot less than $1,000.