[3ntropy]

I just got these today and..... wow. After reading very mixed opinions, I didn't really know what to expect, but I was in love as soon as I heard them. Only running from my AV receiver atm, as I haven't decided on DAC/Amp yet, but I am so happy with them already. Coming from D2000s, these seem exactly what I wanted.

 

[MattTCG]

You will never truly change the primary sound signature of a hp with changing any of the surrounding gear TBH. (please don't throw tomatoes at me) 

 You can make small changes, possibly...but we're talking very small percentages here. If you don't get a hp and think, "wow, that's pretty good" then it's usually best to box it back up and return it. Your reaction to the hd650 tells me one thing...it's not for you. If you were to go through and read every page of this massive thread, of all the things you'll find you won't find "energetic treble" used to describe the 650. It doesn't have that kind of treble period. 
 
This is a smooth mellow treble response if not a touch darker . Does it go through a break in period, yes. Will it suddenly have energetic treble, no. Will it eventually have the deep punchy sub bass that you mention, no.  I don't mean to be daddy downer here but there are some simple realities to be faced. The things that you keep mentioning that you're looking for are not found in the hd650. 
 
gL!!

 

[ffivaz]

Quote:

Any suggestions for good DAC matches for the HD650? I'm wondering if there are any DACs that can quicken or tighten up the sound and/or make it a little warmer?
 

 
I have a Halide DAC HD (for the rest, same setup as you, w/o speedball), and I really like it. It is dynamic, trebble are never harsh, nor sibilant. There is something round and smooth that I really enjoy. But, it's a USB-only DAC...
 
Another way to change the sound of the Bottlehead Crack is tube rolling

 

[ButtUglyJeff]

^^^ Agreed with Matt 100%!
 
If you don't like "laid back", the HD650s will disappoint you.  But most love these, if they give them proper time to appreciate...

 

[MattTCG]

I've owned about 20 hp's. There is one pair out of that entire group that I haven't sold and never will. Wanna guess which one? 

 

[Gilly87]

I've heard the Speedball upgrade for the Crack is good for them, does your Crack have it?
 
I doubt they are going to get much faster though. I'm confused though; the bass on my pair is pretty punchy. Not as tight as the SM3, but definitely not lacking, unless you're really looking for the bass to grind. But if the SM3 with filters had satisfactory bass for your tastes, I don't see why the HD650 would be a problem...hm. Maybe you really do need to burn them in, or perhaps they are defective...

You're right, it does sound contradictory. To clarify, what I mean to say is that the treble is very slow and without energy. Treble seems to have slow attack and decay. At the beginning, they were very harsh because despite being slow, they had a very metallic sound to them and were on the verge of being sibilant without ever getting there. It seems like I tried to bring the treble to life by making them louder, but the loudness just made them very harsh and unpleasant. (It's like animating a dead horse instead of actually having a live horse.)

This seems to be mainly attributed to the newness of the drivers. After about a day of burn in, I came back to my headphones and the treble lost a lot of its harshness. Now I don't find them harsh, but just sluggish

. I'm hoping to quicken them somehow, but this is allegedly part of the 650's laid back character.

Thanks for the concern. I have updated my impressions in the subsequent posts

.

 

[CoolBurn]

Quote:

I've owned about 20 hp's. There is one pair out of that entire group that I haven't sold and never will. Wanna guess which one? 

 
Is it made by someone who calls himself "Dr." ?
 

 

[joebobbilly]

Quote:

You will never truly change the primary sound signature of a hp with changing any of the surrounding gear TBH. (please don't throw tomatoes at me) 

 You can make small changes, possibly...but we're talking very small percentages here. If you don't get a hp and think, "wow, that's pretty good" then it's usually best to box it back up and return it. Your reaction to the hd650 tells me one thing...it's not for you. If you were to go through and read every page of this massive thread, of all the things you'll find you won't find "energetic treble" used to describe the 650. It doesn't have that kind of treble period. 
 
This is a smooth mellow treble response if not a touch darker . Does it go through a break in period, yes. Will it suddenly have energetic treble, no. Will it eventually have the deep punchy sub bass that you mention, no.  I don't mean to be daddy downer here but there are some simple realities to be faced. The things that you keep mentioning that you're looking for are not found in the hd650. 
 
gL!!

Also agreed. However, do give the cans a bit more time. These take time to appreciate and giving your mind/ears more time to adjust certainly allows the HD650 to convince you that it is worthy of your love

.

 

[Rem0o]

Quote:

You will never truly change the primary sound signature of a hp with changing any of the surrounding gear TBH. (please don't throw tomatoes at me) 

 You can make small changes, possibly...but we're talking very small percentages here. If you don't get a hp and think, "wow, that's pretty good" then it's usually best to box it back up and return it. Your reaction to the hd650 tells me one thing...it's not for you. If you were to go through and read every page of this massive thread, of all the things you'll find you won't find "energetic treble" used to describe the 650. It doesn't have that kind of treble period. 
 
This is a smooth mellow treble response if not a touch darker . Does it go through a break in period, yes. Will it suddenly have energetic treble, no. Will it eventually have the deep punchy sub bass that you mention, no.  I don't mean to be daddy downer here but there are some simple realities to be faced. The things that you keep mentioning that you're looking for are not found in the hd650. 
 
gL!!

+1. No equipement or tweak will make the HD650 something it isn't. It will just improve on what it does great already.

 

[Gilly87]

Just nabbed an Asgard on eBay for $145 shipped...muahaha...should make up for my failed O2 build and keep me happy until I get my soldering chops up to doing the Crack.

 

[MattTCG]

Nice score and good plan. 

 

[longbowbbs]

Quote:

I've owned about 20 hp's. There is one pair out of that entire group that I haven't sold and never will. Wanna guess which one? 

Yep...HD650's are a permanent part of my collection too....

 

[olddtfan]

Ive had mine for almost 2 years and have no plans to ever part with them.

 

[Pepper]

Quote:

Yep...HD650's are a permanent part of my collection too....

I think he's talking about his Beats by Dre .
 
Anyway, I am warming up a lot to the HD650s. I'm at maybe 25-30 hours of burn-in, and the sound has improved by LEAPS AND BOUNDS. The bass has tightened up so much, it is outrageous. The treble lost almost all its metallicness and harshness, and the lows now exist (whereas they were just oddly absent before).
 
I think my two largest qualms are the whooshier nature of the bass and the slowness of the treble. But that's part of the laid-back character of the phones, from what I hear. There's not much I can do to fix that. I'm looking into the SAA Equinox cable, but I am skeptical of cables (I don't know if it's all just marketing bogus). The guys on Headfonia seem certain that there is a difference between cables. There is such mixed opinion about.
 
Overall, though, they are fairly pleasant to listen to. I get why they're non-fatiguing and relaxed. They really do sound "gentle": whooshy bass and slower treble would do that.
 
Another 20 hours, and I'll see how I feel about it. And then maybe there will be some final settling in at around 100hrs. Before, I was going to rate the HD650s at a 2/5, but now I ca certainly see why they aren't deserving of such a bad score. Maybe not my perfect sound signature match, but now I'm not baffled as to why people might like them at all!
 
P.S. They kind of remind me of the Sony MDR EX-1000, which were also slow and gentle.

 

[longbowbbs]

Yep...HD650's are a permanent part of my collection too....

I think he's talking about his Beats by Dre .

Anyway, I am warming up a lot to the HD650s. I'm at maybe 25-30 hours of burn-in, and the sound has improved by LEAPS AND BOUNDS. The bass has tightened up so much, it is outrageous. The treble lost almost all its metallicness and harshness, and the lows now exist (whereas they were just oddly absent before).

I think my two largest qualms are the whooshier nature of the bass and the slowness of the treble. But that's part of the laid-back character of the phones, from what I hear. There's not much I can do to fix that. I'm looking into the SAA Equinox cable, but I am skeptical of cables (I don't know if it's all just marketing bogus). The guys on Headfonia seem certain that there is a difference between cables. There is such mixed opinion about.

Overall, though, they are fairly pleasant to listen to. I get why they're non-fatiguing and relaxed. They really do sound "gentle": whooshy bass and slower treble would do that.

Another 20 hours, and I'll see how I feel about it. And then maybe there will be some final settling in at around 100hrs. Before, I was going to rate the HD650s at a 2/5, but now I ca certainly see why they aren't deserving of such a bad score. Maybe not my perfect sound signature match, but now I'm not baffled as to why people might like them at all!

P.S. They kind of remind me of the Sony MDR EX-1000, which were also slow and gentle.

The HD650's pair beautifully with my Decware CSP2+. They love a nice OTL Tube amp.