zeplin
1000+ Head-Fier
- Joined
- Oct 7, 2002
- Posts
- 1,466
- Likes
- 10
first off...
good freagin lord these are beautiful sounding phones.
the equipment i'm using is the Rega PLanet 2000 and the HR Cosmic. if i had to sum up in one or two words the 650's (w/Zu) type of character, i would say...excitingly dynamic!!!
my usual reference recording i use for familiarity is "The Beach" soundtrack. i have practically every note memorized, especially the techno/trance songs (Moby, Porcelan).
with my newly arrived Zu Mobius cables the 650's have now opened up like never before. everything that makes the Senns great cans, is now brought forth to even more realistic levels. i was aware that the song Porcelan had a lot of bass, but w/ the 650/Mobius there is now bass present that i never knew was there. on the opposite end of the spectrum, the highs are now completely the most articulate a headphone can be. at first glance it seems like this type of crystal clear highs would be harsh and or bright. NOT THE CASE!!! for ex, on my AT W1000's the highs were very detailed and articulate, but were often harsh on a lot of recordings. the 650's present everything there in the upper range with clear as can be perfection. again, there are things i hear now that i didn't even know was there. some other notes weren't as prominent before, even on the slightly exaggerated W1000's, but are now up front and center with a crystal-like presentation. the 650's just extend so high, so effortlessly, that i sometimes can't believe what i'm actually hearing.
i also thought the HD600's and 650 stock had a very spacious soundstage...that was until i plugged in the Mobius. it is like everything is now extended twice as far. it as if the singer (Alicia Keys) is singing softly into your ear, while in the background, you can hear her playing the piano along with all the other instruments that are each in their own position. i can close my eyes and see them in my house.
this beings me to other recordings....
i also am very familiar with both the new Alicia Keys album and the previous one. she honestly packs a lot of bass into her music...almost too much sometimes. with the 650/Mobius the bass extends deeper than ever before. with other cans, there would be too much bass for them to handle and they would therefore distort. like with the high end, it seems that since the bass extends so deep, that distortion would come into play. but that's not the case, again with the 650's. the beats on Alicia's songs are so accurate, where i didn't think they were that accurate before, and also so clear and tight. in terms of accuracy and being able to handle such strong bass, the 650's are on line with my ety's, which is hard for me to believe!! someone else said the 650's kind of mixes things together...they should try out the Mobius. but it's not like i thought things were mixed and muddled together before the Mobius. give me any album, any recording, and i can pick out each and every instrument, note, singers, etc..
in conclusion...
now i can realize why some people may have not liked the HD600's because of their laid back presentation (i however didn't think that). some people may hear and think that the general Senn sound remains with or without the upgrade cable or with the newer 650's. this may be true to some extent, but i see more changes than similarities...way more changes! the mid bassregion hump is now completely gone, and everything is simply put, more accurate and evenly balanced. the brilliant highs compliment the bass, and both of those perfectly match the midrange! every other headphone i've owned i've obviously thought very highly of, but i always knew there was some faults in them (to shed some more light...i am an exetremely picky person)...even after the very first hour of owning them. but with the HD650's, there are no problems, over emphasizing, recessed anything! this all may sound like new headphone hype, but it's not. i'm repoting how i'm hearing it, simple as that. i've admitidly confessed to my other headphones faults, and then attempted to fix them. again, i noticed these faults or slight shortcomings even after one hour of them arriving at my house. with the 650's, there is no complaints from me. i happen to like all different type of headphone characteristics and house sounds. i like everything from the more forward sounding Grados, to the very neutral sounding cans like the ety's and HP-1000's...so there's no bias here. i think i will own these cans for awhile...i'll never say never because we never knows what's going to come out in the future, but i can't see any reason as to why i'd give these up. like tom hankins has said, i honestly can say (IMO) that these are the best dynamic cans on the market in their price range...even without the upgrade cable! the Mobius just improves on what's already there! to the people who are contemplating getting these phones...you should just go for it and be amazed. if it doesn't work out for you, selling them won't be a problem...i'm sure many of you would jump all over a pair of used/like new HD650's. the really exciting part is, after every couple hours of further break-in, and from what many others have said about break-in, i am in for an even better presentation brought to me by these brilliant cans!!!
good freagin lord these are beautiful sounding phones.
the equipment i'm using is the Rega PLanet 2000 and the HR Cosmic. if i had to sum up in one or two words the 650's (w/Zu) type of character, i would say...excitingly dynamic!!!
my usual reference recording i use for familiarity is "The Beach" soundtrack. i have practically every note memorized, especially the techno/trance songs (Moby, Porcelan).
with my newly arrived Zu Mobius cables the 650's have now opened up like never before. everything that makes the Senns great cans, is now brought forth to even more realistic levels. i was aware that the song Porcelan had a lot of bass, but w/ the 650/Mobius there is now bass present that i never knew was there. on the opposite end of the spectrum, the highs are now completely the most articulate a headphone can be. at first glance it seems like this type of crystal clear highs would be harsh and or bright. NOT THE CASE!!! for ex, on my AT W1000's the highs were very detailed and articulate, but were often harsh on a lot of recordings. the 650's present everything there in the upper range with clear as can be perfection. again, there are things i hear now that i didn't even know was there. some other notes weren't as prominent before, even on the slightly exaggerated W1000's, but are now up front and center with a crystal-like presentation. the 650's just extend so high, so effortlessly, that i sometimes can't believe what i'm actually hearing.
i also thought the HD600's and 650 stock had a very spacious soundstage...that was until i plugged in the Mobius. it is like everything is now extended twice as far. it as if the singer (Alicia Keys) is singing softly into your ear, while in the background, you can hear her playing the piano along with all the other instruments that are each in their own position. i can close my eyes and see them in my house.
this beings me to other recordings....
i also am very familiar with both the new Alicia Keys album and the previous one. she honestly packs a lot of bass into her music...almost too much sometimes. with the 650/Mobius the bass extends deeper than ever before. with other cans, there would be too much bass for them to handle and they would therefore distort. like with the high end, it seems that since the bass extends so deep, that distortion would come into play. but that's not the case, again with the 650's. the beats on Alicia's songs are so accurate, where i didn't think they were that accurate before, and also so clear and tight. in terms of accuracy and being able to handle such strong bass, the 650's are on line with my ety's, which is hard for me to believe!! someone else said the 650's kind of mixes things together...they should try out the Mobius. but it's not like i thought things were mixed and muddled together before the Mobius. give me any album, any recording, and i can pick out each and every instrument, note, singers, etc..
in conclusion...
now i can realize why some people may have not liked the HD600's because of their laid back presentation (i however didn't think that). some people may hear and think that the general Senn sound remains with or without the upgrade cable or with the newer 650's. this may be true to some extent, but i see more changes than similarities...way more changes! the mid bassregion hump is now completely gone, and everything is simply put, more accurate and evenly balanced. the brilliant highs compliment the bass, and both of those perfectly match the midrange! every other headphone i've owned i've obviously thought very highly of, but i always knew there was some faults in them (to shed some more light...i am an exetremely picky person)...even after the very first hour of owning them. but with the HD650's, there are no problems, over emphasizing, recessed anything! this all may sound like new headphone hype, but it's not. i'm repoting how i'm hearing it, simple as that. i've admitidly confessed to my other headphones faults, and then attempted to fix them. again, i noticed these faults or slight shortcomings even after one hour of them arriving at my house. with the 650's, there is no complaints from me. i happen to like all different type of headphone characteristics and house sounds. i like everything from the more forward sounding Grados, to the very neutral sounding cans like the ety's and HP-1000's...so there's no bias here. i think i will own these cans for awhile...i'll never say never because we never knows what's going to come out in the future, but i can't see any reason as to why i'd give these up. like tom hankins has said, i honestly can say (IMO) that these are the best dynamic cans on the market in their price range...even without the upgrade cable! the Mobius just improves on what's already there! to the people who are contemplating getting these phones...you should just go for it and be amazed. if it doesn't work out for you, selling them won't be a problem...i'm sure many of you would jump all over a pair of used/like new HD650's. the really exciting part is, after every couple hours of further break-in, and from what many others have said about break-in, i am in for an even better presentation brought to me by these brilliant cans!!!
