[HPiper]

I finally joined the club, got my HD650's yesterday. All I can say is WOW, I should have done this years ago!! Most awesome sound I have ever heard coming from my headphone amp. While I know there are supposedly better headphones, I find that hard to believe. I can't find any faults with these at all, including the magical veil people keep talking about. I sure do not hear any veil whatsoever. Maybe I am one of those lucky people who own an amp that removes it, or maybe it is a figment of peoples imagination, I don't know. All I can say is I am really really happy about this purchase. Now I own 3 Sennheiser phones, hard part is going to deciding which one to get rid of, I sure don't really need 3 of them. Thought just came to me, I am becoming one of you guys, I have 5 headphones now and 4 amps...oh no...it's happening...addiction!!

 

[Delirious Lab]

Just three weeks? Surely your pads are still in like-new condition.

 
Three weeks with me is no concern. Two years with the previous owner... might be.

 

[devhen]

I finally joined the club, got my HD650's yesterday. All I can say is WOW, I should have done this years ago!! Most awesome sound I have ever heard coming from my headphone amp. While I know there are supposedly better headphones, I find that hard to believe. I can't find any faults with these at all, including the magical veil people keep talking about. I sure do not hear any veil whatsoever. Maybe I am one of those lucky people who own an amp that removes it, or maybe it is a figment of peoples imagination, I don't know. All I can say is I am really really happy about this purchase. Now I own 3 Sennheiser phones, hard part is going to deciding which one to get rid of, I sure don't really need 3 of them. Thought just came to me, I am becoming one of you guys, I have 5 headphones now and 4 amps...oh no...it's happening...addiction!!

 
Its not a figment of their imagination, its just the way warm headphones are perceived by those that are used to and prefer brighter headphones. If you need neutral or emphasized highs you might very well find headphones like the HD650 to be veiled. Personally I prefer laid back headphones and don't consider them veiled but others who have tried my HD600 and DT880 preferred the 880 because they were used to cans with a similar treble spike. I think its totally fair for people like that to refer to the HD600 or HD650 as veiled, its just important for everyone to realize that "veiled" doesn't mean "incapable" or "inaccurate" or "inferior". It doesn't even mean that treble detail is necessarily missing. It just means that the amplitude of the treble is slightly lower than on some other 'phones. In other words, its simply a sound signature. If someone doesn't like it and calls it veiled that's fine but lets remember that that's a subjective opinion related to the sound signature and that particular user's preferences.

 

[HPiper]

Well I have my Grado's for that!! <lol>

 

[eltocliousus]

Quote:

Well I have my Grado's for that!! <lol>

 
I find the HD650s to be surprisingly neutral, the warm sound has been exaggerated for years and will likely continue

 

[Stoney]

The "veil" was indeed real.  But the design changed.  I got mine sometime after 2007 and side by side they were much improved, plus there were visible differences. It also helps quite a bit to remove the foam sheet under the pad (I replaced with plastic window screen) and to get a transparent cable (I love my new Cardas Clear Light, a good value too).  
 
Down the pages that these links take you to, I have made several posts and added more links that might be helpful: 
 
Bought the new HD650 (post 2007 with metal mesh visible through the outside grille); comparison to HD800

Determined newer HD650s are more balanced than the darker, older version
 
 

Quote:

 
I'm not seeing free shipping with the plug adapter added. It says
 

Add $48.36 to your basket to receive Free Shipping using UPS GROUND

 
so it seems the free shipping is for orders over $100?
 
You can get the pads a little bit cheaper at B&H:
 
http://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/116427-REG/Sennheiser_050635_H50635_Ear_Cushions.html
 

 
Possibly their threshold for "free shipping" has gone up!  Yes, I saw them for sale at several outlets including B&H, where I've bought several things including cameras... remember those?  

 

[eltocliousus]

Quote:

The "veil" was indeed real.  But the design changed.  I got mine sometime after 2007 and side by side they were much improved, plus there were visible differences. It also helps quite a bit to remove the foam sheet under the pad (I replaced with plastic window screen) and to get a transparent cable (I love my new Cardas Clear Light, a good value too).  
 

 
I haven't been able to listen to a 'black screen' HD650 yet, although I did try a new cable and removing the foam sheet and neither gave any audible difference to my ears. I'd try the de-foam mod on the baffle side of the driver but I'm reluctant as there's no easy way to reverse it.

 

[Stoney]

PS: the keys to keeping the foam from softening and flattening out (boosting bass too much) are: 
 
— Bend your headphone band (metal only) such that it has just enough force, not too much. 
— When storing, hang the headphones, don't mount them on a dummy head or the like. 
— Wash gently.  Do not try to "fluff up" the foam... it doesn't fluff.  Instead, avoid "working" it by using water flow and gentle squeezing.
— Use soap without additives.  No softener.  No antibiotic.  You don't know what will accelerate decomposition. 
— Do not store in the sun.  Store where cool. 
— Wash at least once a year after the warm season.  Better to wash every couple of months if used often. The salt and oil should not be left in place for long. If you see lasting discoloration, you aren't washing enough.  Wash your face and ears also before using if needed.  
 
Trust me, I've seen plenty of products degrade around my house and workplaces.  I have an enclosed patio with lots of sun and heat, which acts like accelerated aging tests.  I see what happens to foam in a very short time.  Even in my attic where it is hot but not bright or wet.  It just starts to crumble.  

 

[Stoney]

Quote:

 
I haven't been able to listen to a 'black screen' HD650 yet, although I did try a new cable and removing the foam sheet and neither gave any audible difference to my ears. I'd try the de-foam mod on the baffle side of the driver but I'm reluctant as there's no easy way to reverse it.

 
I forget what the foam mod on the baffle side is, but I've not attempted anything further on this generation of phone.  
 
Yes, removing the foam sheet is easy: remove the pads, remove the foam (not attached), re-insert pads.  We even get fresh foam sheets if you buy new pads. 
 
If you aren't hearing differences, it may be that your associated equipment or recordings are not quite up to the headphones.  These "scale well" meaning they keep sounding better the more you improve everything else. But, also... when the sound is "just right," then it remains nearly perfect even when something changes slightly.  It is when something is off, like "it is not bright enough" that small changes are easiest to hear.  

 

[pez]

Quote:

I finally joined the club, got my HD650's yesterday. All I can say is WOW, I should have done this years ago!! Most awesome sound I have ever heard coming from my headphone amp. While I know there are supposedly better headphones, I find that hard to believe. I can't find any faults with these at all, including the magical veil people keep talking about. I sure do not hear any veil whatsoever. Maybe I am one of those lucky people who own an amp that removes it, or maybe it is a figment of peoples imagination, I don't know. All I can say is I am really really happy about this purchase. Now I own 3 Sennheiser phones, hard part is going to deciding which one to get rid of, I sure don't really need 3 of them. Thought just came to me, I am becoming one of you guys, I have 5 headphones now and 4 amps...oh no...it's happening...addiction!!

 
I have to agree with you.  I think (as InnerFidelity stated before) that people were so used to the Beyers and Grados of that generation, that when they actually heard a 'natural' treble response from the likes of the HD 600 and 650, they just didn't know what to do.  I'm saying this coming directly from Beyer and  Grado headphones.  It was also my greatest fear when going for the Senn HD 6x0 series, but I'm glad I did, as I too believe it is over-exaggerated.

 

[BobG55]

Quote:

 
I have to agree with you.  I think (as InnerFidelity stated before) that people were so used to the Beyers and Grados of that generation, that when they actually heard a 'natural' treble response from the likes of the HD 600 and 650, they just didn't know what to do.  I'm saying this coming directly from Beyer and  Grado headphones.  It was also my greatest fear when going for the Senn HD 6x0 series, but I'm glad I did, as I too believe it is over-exaggerated.

+2 

 

[Bolardito]

I have yet to find the famous veil that the HD650 supposedly has..really. And I own cans like the HD800 and the JH13 so Im used to other sound signatures.

 

[wink]

Try comparing the standard cable to a Cardas, ZU Mobius, Equinox or other quality after-market cable. The diference is there as a grainy veil.

 

[Stoney]

Quote:

I have yet to find the famous veil that the HD650 supposedly has..really. And I own cans like the HD800 and the JH13 so Im used to other sound signatures.

 
You would only hear the famous veil if you listed to units built with the old design.  That is not to say more detail can't be extracted by mods and cables... that's true of everything.  
 
Personally, I like my HD650 compared to HD800 because of its balance, despite the spotlit strengths of the HD800... the recessed midrange and tendency to sibilance (or emphasis of it) temper my interest.  Wouldn't mind owning both! 

 

[pez]

Quote:

Try comparing the standard cable to a Cardas, ZU Mobius, Equinox or other quality after-market cable. The diference is there as a grainy veil.

But then that's not the headphone rather, but the cable creating the effect.  And even then, in a matter of opinion, it creates a flaw or a features depending on the end user.