You've accidentally dropped this Edition XS data in the 6XX thread.
Sennheiser HD650 & Massdrop HD6XX Impressions Thread
- Thread starter tangsta
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Thanks for the heads up. Deleted and moved.. long day I guess.You've accidentally dropped this Edition XS data in the 6XX thread.
angelus55
100+ Head-Fier
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does anyone who owns both the hd800s and hd650 still find use for the hd650? does the hd650 provide any unique features or sound that the hd800s does not have?
Yes, IMHO the 650, and especially its superior older sibling, the 600, are better sounding headphones. They sound far more natural than the 800 or 800s.
They are quite different. The HD 650 has a warmer, more laid-back and forgiving sound. The HD 800S is brighter overall, sounds more spacious and is far less forgiving to poor recordings. (Also, the original HD 800 is even brighter and less forgiving than the HD 800S.)
I have the HD8XX, and the HD6XX, but yes, I still find use for the HD6XX. It is, in fact, still my main headphone. HD8XX is awesome, but it unfortunately gets fatiguing to my ears after some time, something the HD6XX never does.
I have no experience with the HD800S, but with regard to the HD8XX, I agree with this. The 8XX is awesome, but the HD6XX is more natural.
For example, I used the HD8XX to watch some Star Trek: Voyager on my computer. With the HD8XX and it’s awesomely large sound stage I feel like I’m in the studio as audience, or at the other end of the room, at a distance from the actors, but seeing (hearing) everything. Nice, big, but somewhat disconnected from the action. But with the HD6XX I feel like I see (hear) through the camera, following it’s view much more closely, more “there” so to speak. I guess this is a more long-winded way to say that HD6XX feels more natural sounding to me.
fattycheesebeef
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Yes that's the reason I'm using HD650 and loving every bits of it for hours while I used to own HD800S and would only use for an hour or so~
I had the opportunity to locally pick up a minty HD650 this morning. I had owned one in the past but I sold it (regrettably). Recently I purchased an HD600 and have been enjoying it, and I already own the HD800S. So today I was in a fortunate position to listen and compare all three. Much has been written on all three cans, so I will not do an exhaustive review. I will affirm that all three are excellent headphones, and you could arguably choose any one of them based on your preferences and just enjoy the music and stop hunting for gear
After my time with them today, I think that I'll likely keep the HD800S and the HD650. They are different enough that I feel they compliment each other as alternate flavors. The HD600 is excellent, but after A/B'ing them all I kept coming back to thinking the 800S and 600 share enough characteristics (where I thought the 650 was a bit more different) that for me doesn't make sense to have both the 600 and 800S. Also, my 600 is the very recent build with the revised plastics and a return to Ireland manufacturing. In my hand, I personally felt the older style shiny plastic on the 650 feels of better quality (thicker) and the glossy finish feels less likely to show minor scratching or abrasion that the very matte finish 600 might. Such great cans! The mids on the 6X0 range are just fantastic. Even though the 800S is so technically excellent, for less analytical listening, or for vocal driven music, I can see reaching for the 6-series quite a bit.
After my time with them today, I think that I'll likely keep the HD800S and the HD650. They are different enough that I feel they compliment each other as alternate flavors. The HD600 is excellent, but after A/B'ing them all I kept coming back to thinking the 800S and 600 share enough characteristics (where I thought the 650 was a bit more different) that for me doesn't make sense to have both the 600 and 800S. Also, my 600 is the very recent build with the revised plastics and a return to Ireland manufacturing. In my hand, I personally felt the older style shiny plastic on the 650 feels of better quality (thicker) and the glossy finish feels less likely to show minor scratching or abrasion that the very matte finish 600 might. Such great cans! The mids on the 6X0 range are just fantastic. Even though the 800S is so technically excellent, for less analytical listening, or for vocal driven music, I can see reaching for the 6-series quite a bit.
arar
100+ Head-Fier
Okay, decided to put my Aeolus up for sale so I'll be replacing it with an HD650 soon. Planning on getting a tube amp with the leftover money, so I'm here to ask for recommendations: looking for something
- that's around the 500-600 euro range that's at least relatively easily available in Europe (not looking for a DIY kit and I'd rather not wait for months for it to actually get built if at all possible)
- that does the whole "handles large voltage swings appropriately" thing yall have talked about earlier in this thread that supposedly makes high impedance cans really shine because I'm very curious about that and
- that has a thick, warm, "tube-y" sound to it because, yeah, I know the HD650s are already warm, but I love it very warm and very thick (and I'm willing to EQ to finetune it anyway) and maybe even some added low end weight and impact if such a thing is possible
Some of the amps that I know of that seem appealing (relatively easy to get, not too pricey) are: DarkVoice 336SE, TorAudio Nick and Roger, Feliks Audio Echo, Eufonika H5/H7. I think there are some Xduoo and Little Dot amps sold somewhere around here, too. Would any of these give me what I'm looking for? Or should I look elsewhere?
That said, it doesn't have to be a tube amp, if there's like a Class A solid state amp (Rebel Amp, maybe?) that does the same thing, I could be into it. I've just been curious about tubes for a long time so I figured this is the time to finally check them out. I'll worry about DACs later, the IFI Black Label I have will have to suffice for now.
- that's around the 500-600 euro range that's at least relatively easily available in Europe (not looking for a DIY kit and I'd rather not wait for months for it to actually get built if at all possible)
- that does the whole "handles large voltage swings appropriately" thing yall have talked about earlier in this thread that supposedly makes high impedance cans really shine because I'm very curious about that and
- that has a thick, warm, "tube-y" sound to it because, yeah, I know the HD650s are already warm, but I love it very warm and very thick (and I'm willing to EQ to finetune it anyway) and maybe even some added low end weight and impact if such a thing is possible
Some of the amps that I know of that seem appealing (relatively easy to get, not too pricey) are: DarkVoice 336SE, TorAudio Nick and Roger, Feliks Audio Echo, Eufonika H5/H7. I think there are some Xduoo and Little Dot amps sold somewhere around here, too. Would any of these give me what I'm looking for? Or should I look elsewhere?
That said, it doesn't have to be a tube amp, if there's like a Class A solid state amp (Rebel Amp, maybe?) that does the same thing, I could be into it. I've just been curious about tubes for a long time so I figured this is the time to finally check them out. I'll worry about DACs later, the IFI Black Label I have will have to suffice for now.
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Just received my 3rd Sennheiser in 2 years~ The HD650 sounds very different from the 800S! But I'm definitely finding similarities with the IE900. Both have more of a bass presence over the 800S~
Going to start burning them in, but initial listen was positive! These are very nice cans!
Going to start burning them in, but initial listen was positive! These are very nice cans!
ColdsnapBry
500+ Head-Fier
Absolutely, you'd be far from the first. Back when I had an Asgard 3 with internal DAC the Aeolus was my bees knees. Really loved that headphone and it was my main headphone. Didn't really have a single complaint other than weight, but I thought the suspension headband worked really well and I found it comfortable. However when I started upgrading my chain the darn 6XX kept scaling with it. I think the Aeolus sounded the best on Jot 2 and Bifrost 2, I tried to pair it with just about every tube amp under $1,200 (Feliks Echo, BHC, Hagerman Tuba, Valahalla 2 etc) - ultimately deciding that Aeolus sounded really great off a Jot 2. But once the SW51+ arrived that scaled my 6XX to another level where the Aeolus just couldn't hang anymore, the clarity in the mids and attack on the drums along with the texture and how deep the soundstage is.. just on another level sadly.
HWB3
1000+ Head-Fier
I have three sets of headphones and the 6XX's were my least favorite until I changed the cable. I was skeptical about doing it, but it did improve the sound. Now I'm playing around with the idea of getting a Little Dot or Darkvoice tube amp to see what they could bring out of Sennheiser's. Just kicking it around, mind you.
heliosphann
Headphoneus Supremus
DMS hit on a lot of the same points I had in my review. Overall a great alternative to the stock pads.
Yeah, I'll definitely be getting a pair of the suede pads in the near future. They look really well made and they don't seem to alter the stock tuning in any significant way.
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