[Dawgfish]

The veil also disappears if you replace the ear-side speaker foams + use Dekoni fenestrated pads. [The photograph below shows my HD-600 which also has the Custom Cans UK backweight modification. I have also done this with HD-6XX - which is at ‘mountain house’.]

Very nice! Might have to try that!

 

[pete321]

Are Hd 650s, not 6xx, made in ireland (they're old and I never used them), more valuable than the Romanian ones? I'm going to sell on ebay along with a bunch of other new (old) hifi gear soon, I read something about better transistors. If they're hard to come by and better I'll add a bit of a premium, thanks.

 

[jasswolf]

Are Hd 650s, not 6xx, made in ireland (they're old and I never used them), more valuable than the Romanian ones? I'm going to sell on ebay along with a bunch of other new (old) hifi gear soon, I read something about better transistors. If they're hard to come by and better I'll add a bit of a premium, thanks.

Not really no, there was a brief window where the measurements were off when production first moved over, but it was smoothed out after 6 months.

 

[pete321]

Not really no, there was a brief window where the measurements were off when production first moved over, but it was smoothed out after 6 months.

ok thanks for clearing that up, I'll still advertise it as rare though

 

[WilcoRoger]

ok thanks for clearing that up, I'll still advertise it as rare though

Yeah, one of only xx million units produced

 

[jonathan c]

Yeah, one of only xx million units produced

…but mine really is different………

 

[vsg28]

There's not much left to say about the 6XX, but I still had over 5500 words apparently: https://www.techpowerup.com/review/massdrop-x-sennheiser-hd-6xx-headphones/

 

[megabigeye]

There's not much left to say about the 6XX, but I still had over 5500 words apparently:

Saying that is pretty much the exact opposite of click bait.
On the other hand, it's a little like a police officer saying "nothing to see here!" Now I'm kinda curious.

 

[Nikonkit]

I completely agree.

So many headphones hype the treble & upper mids. Sometimes, a headphone that doesn't do this will sound dull or "quiet," at least at first. But IMO, the treble of the HD650 is closer to real-life treble than many headphones--especially when heart on an OTL tube amp.

The HD650 isn't terribly dynamic, but my ears tell me that's a good thing. The overall smoothness & liquidity do not reduce clarity/resolution (there's a ton of musical content here), but they help the listener stay with it longer.

I have been through all the HD600/650/6XX series and also have T1 and HD800S, the HD650 is the one I go to if I don't want the last ounce of details and just need a relaxing listening session, it will not disappoint you and you won't want to reach out to the more expensive cans

 

[Odin412]

the HD650 is the one I go to if I don't want the last ounce of details and just need a relaxing listening session, it will not disappoint you and you won't want to reach out to the more expensive cans

+1 to that. The HD 650 is still my go-to headphone for a relaxed listening session.

 

[Tuneslover]

I have been through all the HD600/650/6XX series and also have T1 and HD800S, the HD650 is the one I go to if I don't want the last ounce of details and just need a relaxing listening session, it will not disappoint you and you won't want to reach out to the more expensive cans

Last winter I purchased a custom made silver coated OFC copper cable and that improved the clarity (reduced veil?) and detail according to my ears.

 

[Mink]

The HD650s revisited. I keep my headphones rotating, not a single pair is without use (with the exception perhaps of the D5000s, Momentums and BeoPlay H6s, they barely get airtime)
They sound so gorgeous, those mids are magical, allround excellent for everything except one genre: big classical orchestral works. I don't want to offend anyone, but they just plainly suck with the likes of Mahler and Beethoven. There are people who claim soundstage isn't important or soundstage doesn't exist with headphones anyways, but I think otherwise.
Orchestral works preferably need a wide soundstage, but more important one that is evenly spread out in half a sphere, not explicitly panned between left and right and something in the middle. With busy and dense music (with lots of instruments and instrument groups) the HD650s lack the suggestion of depth in their sound. And it is here where a technical and tonally inferior pair, the Sivga SV021s just beat the HD650s in overall enjoyment, for me the least.
But smaller scaled, solo instruments, vocal recitals, chamber music these HD650s are gorgeous.

 

[Corti]

I just recently got my first pair of 650s, and now also the 6xx arrived. The former will go back while i will keep the latter.
Anyway i really like this headphone.
It has such an awesome tuning that suits my taste. Maybe some 2-3dB in the low end via EQ and thats about it. The low-mids are just great for something like metal and postrock. Gives it the needed 'meatiness' without becoming muddy.

The actual riddle that im confronted with right now is what would i want to pair it with?
I guess i would love to run it from an Asgard (hear very goods things about that schiit), but they are unfortunately not available in europe for some time..
Ive ordered and tried the Zen Can, which is alright. But then again i think i dont need the balanced circuitry (when SE has enough output power), aswell as the xbass and 3d features that really are not that appealing (bass can be eq'ed and "3d" i hear is acutally just crossfeed, if those effects could be adjusted, that would be a whole different story, but would probably make the amp much more expensive).

i also keep reading these headphones "scale". When i dive deeper into the topic i read that scalability can mean very different things but in the most cases it refers to more 'headroom' (this is where i've got the explanations of headroom) meaning giving you more dynamic range, which is great, but it doesnt make the headphone obejctively 'better' as on a scale. But i get that this is somewhat a hot topic and prolly everyone needs to find his/her own religion with that. It's just a bit confusing for someone new to the hifi headphone world.

but since im on a tight budget my options are limited anyway..
guess im gonna wait for schiits to become available over here again and then leave it at that.
in the meantime i stick with the fiio btr5 and balanced cables (for more output power)..

Cheers

 

[Nikonkit]

I just recently got my first pair of 650s, and now also the 6xx arrived. The former will go back while i will keep the latter.
Anyway i really like this headphone.
It has such an awesome tuning that suits my taste. Maybe some 2-3dB in the low end via EQ and thats about it. The low-mids are just great for something like metal and postrock. Gives it the needed 'meatiness' without becoming muddy.

The actual riddle that im confronted with right now is what would i want to pair it with?
I guess i would love to run it from an Asgard (hear very goods things about that schiit), but they are unfortunately not available in europe for some time..
Ive ordered and tried the Zen Can, which is alright. But then again i think i dont need the balanced circuitry (when SE has enough output power), aswell as the xbass and 3d features that really are not that appealing (bass can be eq'ed and "3d" i hear is acutally just crossfeed, if those effects could be adjusted, that would be a whole different story, but would probably make the amp much more expensive).

i also keep reading these headphones "scale". When i dive deeper into the topic i read that scalability can mean very different things but in the most cases it refers to more 'headroom' (this is where i've got the explanations of headroom) meaning giving you more dynamic range, which is great, but it doesnt make the headphone obejctively 'better' as on a scale. But i get that this is somewhat a hot topic and prolly everyone needs to find his/her own religion with that. It's just a bit confusing for someone new to the hifi headphone world.

but since im on a tight budget my options are limited anyway..
guess im gonna wait for schiits to become available over here again and then leave it at that.
in the meantime i stick with the fiio btr5 and balanced cables (for more output power)..

Cheers

Hi,
Did you like the 6XX more? Are they both made in Ireland? My take is that the HD650 sounds more organic, more forgiving than the 6XX, I kept both but prefer the 650 most of the time, swapping the cables made a differences too, the 650 cable is markedly more clean sounding, ymmv. Grateful for your views

 

[Corti]

Hi,
Did you like the 6XX more? Are they both made in Ireland? My take is that the HD650 sounds more organic, more forgiving than the 6XX, I kept both but prefer the 650 most of the time, swapping the cables made a differences too, the 650 cable is markedly more clean sounding, ymmv. Grateful for your views

Hey,

first of all, i dont know where they are made.. i hear about ireland, than romania.. and actually i dont care, what difference would it make? There are people working at factories..

So about which one i prefer. I like the 6xx for its colouring, and to be honest now that i have both in my hands i neither think that the plastic frame from the 6xx is decisively worse. But i try to treat my headphones with care anyway. also the cable that comes with it is better suited for my need/taste (the 3.5 mm plug and the shorter length). And then there is obviously the price difference.
SO you really think they sound different? Have you listened to both side by side with fresh pads? For me they sound very much the same..

ABout cables altering sound quality, i havent taken any sides yet (if you know what i mean). Honestly im just starting to sort things in the headphone world, and it seems that cable sound quality comes very late within the rabbit hole There may be differences, but likely not very audible, at least in the low/mid-fi tier. So i guess i have other things to worry about.