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I've never found the bass lacking at all. Maybe all the people who've suddenly started claiming it's lacking are making you think it is. Likewise I suspect people vaunting the 600s are contrarians, since the 650s' drivers are just the best and most closely matched from the same stock as the 600s.
I use Amperior and ER4P for outside use, and basically the improvement with 650s is massive; they're the closet thing I've heard to speakers, and the strings in classic and jazz really have depth and subtlety.
The driver stock is indeed more or less the same. Technically speaking, so is HD700. However all three are cut rather differently, which is to say, voiced rather differently. HD600 is pretty much linear as a "neutral" (read: analaytical) type headphone voice. HD650 is very much a "warm" colored presentation that could be argued as more "natural." So preference of one of the other tends to rest on if you want flat/neutral or warm/natural voicing and how the rest of your signal chain is voiced. Performance wise the two are extremely close otherwise though the slight technical accuracy nod goes to HD650, it's almost too little to mention. It's mostly two flavors of the thing. The big price difference between them is humorous.
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It's not the bass (not all of it) that's lacking, it's just the sub-bass, the really deep frequencies. And I'm the one who noticed it, sadly, I can't blame anyone else
But you are right, maybe I'll get over it. I won't be making any impulse buys, don't worry.
Unless someone knows a really good "replacement" (basically a HD650 with added sub-bass), I'll probably just keep saving for a LCD-2. If only I could stop robbing that piggy bank ;D
+1, absolutely true. Like I said it's virtually the only true flaw of the 650, and is simply a limitation of a dynamic driver with that particular diaphragm size. HD700 probably squeezes a little more out of the nearly identical driver, presumably with stronger magnets and a thinner/lighter version of the diaphragm. But there's only so low it can really go. However getting "perfect" performance across all frequencies is an impossibility. Getting the sub-bass performance with the refinement of HD650 will involve giving up something somewhere else (recessed mids, peaky treble, etc), or involves spending a
lot more money to get something somewhat closer to perfection in all areas. And that, still not perfect and with compromises. If you listen to music that
requires sub-bass performance, best bet is pick another headphone that you're willing to accept the areas it compromises on more than a lack of sub-bass. LCD-2 would certainly be the next stop. HE-400/500 is are options as well. Denons may have good sub-bass performance, but they're a long way from LCD-2 still, and they have a wildly different (virtually opposite) sound signature of HD650. HD650 is a warm frown curve, Denons are various forms of V-curves. A "fun" but less "natural" sound.
HE-400 is a good equal with HD650, I see it as a good compliment, with a lot more sub-bass performance, but without the smoothness and refinement of HD650. The two sound very different, but in good ways.
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I'm surprised that the HD650 do not have good sub bass performance. I was so impressed with their small, portable consumer cans (PX200ii) that I had my eyes on one of the high end phones. Perhaps it's the sound signature that I like, too. However, if it doesn't have the sub-bass, can it be tweaked through EQ? I often use EQ especially for movies. Basically, which open back cans have the nice sound sig of the Sennheiser with good bass performance? Are the HE-500 worth looking into?
PX200ii is not a very good sounding headphone overall. The bass performance is there, but it lacks detail and texture...the typical bloom and "one note bass." The bass HD650 has is more detailed and refined, but it clearly decides to not attempt that which it can't do well at: sub-bass. The trouble is the diaphragm size requires a certain amount of throw to produce a certain amount of low frequency sound. Enough that if you start pushing too much low frequency, you'll start distorting and blooming into the mids. It doesn't EQ very well on the sub-bass side.
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Even with an eq, the hd650s won't have that much sub-bass. They just aren't meant to be a bassy phone. The he-500 actually doesn't have an much bass as the he-400, and although they are more detailed, if you want more bass, the he-400 would be a good option to consider. Also, the d2k/5k supposedly have a lot of sub-bass.
+1 as well. HE-400 may be the bassier HE, but the HE-500 is the warmer voiced one like HD650 but with more extension and bass detail. But yes, if you're looking for bassy, HE-400 is a great pick that I'd consider equal with HD650....different in sound, and opposite in strengths/weaknesses. Denons are a whole different animal entirely in a Grado sort of way (they don't sound like Grado, I mean they're unique as Grado is unique), so that's a route to go if you want something extremely different.
