[Roasty]

a few weeks ago i posted a thread asking whether to get headphones first or amplifier first.. well thanks to all your advice, i went out and bought a pair of HD650 today

im so happy, my first pair of audiophile headphones. i just hope i dont get itchy and aim for a higher end pair anytime soon..

anyways, issit just me or does the headphones have some sort of a deathgrip on my head? i hope it becomes more comfortable with time. out of the box i feel it pretty much sounds quite bad, but im sure this will improve over time.

what headphone stand do you guys use with the 650? cause it has like a little notch in between the pads and im worried anything like the stands in the Headphile stand thread will deform the pads as the 'hook' area of the stand is pretty broad and large in size.

i'll be running these phones with my emu-0404/marantz cd5400 --> little dot II (arriving in a few days courtesy of zungiu). cant wait for everything to come together. i'm now eyeing the NAD320BEE amplifier which costs around US$250 here. is that a good price to pay? my friend is recommending the Marantz PM7200 which he says has cleaner highs but less bass as compared to the NAD.

 

[Kirosia]

regarding the deathgrip, it will pass. Or your head might get crushed, either/or.

 

[jimmyjames8]

Me some too! My 650's arrived today (yesterday at this writing). I had to p/u from PO due to seller wanting a delivery receipt for some reason. Box was crushed and so was my spirit until opening the cardboard box and there was the Senn box new and pristine. Plugged them in last night and I packed up the 600's after an hour. I can listen to saxaphones again. Something I could not do with my 600's. Oh happy daze!

 

[Arainach]

Quote:

Originally Posted by jimmyjames8 Me some too! My 650's arrived today (yesterday at this writing). I had to p/u from PO due to seller wanting a delivery receipt for some reason. Box was crushed and so was my spirit until opening the cardboard box and there was the Senn box new and pristine. Plugged them in last night and I packed up the 600's after an hour. I can listen to saxaphones again. Something I could not do with my 600's. Oh happy daze!

For what Masochistic reason would you ever willing listen to a saxophone?

The HD580/600/650 Deathgrip will pass within a week, a month at the absolute most.

 

[ken36]

I put my HD650s thru a 300 hour breakin. I have no idea what happened,

 

[Roasty]

300 hour break in? oh man, that seems a long time. well, i suppose i'll do the same and listen in once in a while to appreciate the evolution of the sound. right about now, the highs are a bit blurry and the bass doesnt seem all that tight. gotta love the wide soundstage though, a real improvement over my philips HP890 and ER6

really cant wait for my little dot II to arrive and see how that performs as well.

 

[akwok]

Buy the Moon Audio Blue Dragon II,

 

[jimmyjames8]

What's so special about the Moon Audio Blue Dragon? Any comparisons? At least compared to stock. Cardas? Zu Mobius? Moon is local to me, just down the road about 15 minutes.

 

[akwok]

Quote:

Originally Posted by jimmyjames8 What's so special about the Moon Audio Blue Dragon? Any comparisons? At least compared to stock. Cardas? Zu Mobius? Moon is local to me, just down the road about 15 minutes.

All I can say is that it improved on every aspect of the HD650. Do a search, there's a bunch of comparisions / reviews on the Version 2.

 

[wakeride74]

I'd upgrade the amp first, you will most likely hear more bang for your buck with an amp upgrade and that bass will be nice and tight, highs smooth and pleasingly crisp.

 

[DevilDog]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Roasty right about now, the highs are a bit blurry and the bass doesnt seem all that tight.

This is what everyone experiences with these headphones. For those who don't believe in break-in, it's hard to discount everybody saying exactly the same thing with the HD650s.
The highs will clear up and the bass will tighten and just become effortless. Enjoy them!

 

[jimmyjames8]

Quote:

Originally Posted by akwok All I can say is that it improved on every aspect of the HD650. Do a search, there's a bunch of comparisions / reviews on the Version 2.

Maybe Drew will let me try out a couple different cords when he gets back from vacation. I think he has a demo/return policy on his cables anyway.

 

[euclid]

ive mainly allowed my 650 to break in while listening to them, but occasionally after listening to a good albumn i'll let it cycle through 2 or 3 times while i am doing something else.

mine have just over 200 hours id guess, at first i found them to be pretty slow and not very engaging, lacking sweetness, crunch, impact, basically all the characteristics that would give music life. but even from the first listen i was wowed by the depth and soundstage.

after about 100hours most of my complaints went away and could stop trying pick out faults. now i have no objections with sound or comfort. i blame any faults upstream, i have grown to completely trust that the senns are reproducing whatever is being sent to them. and the soundstage and seperation is even slightly better now.

the 650s have been very responsive to upstream improvements, most recently a VHaudio Flavor2 powercord for the headphone amp. dont be too quick to blame all shortcomings on the headphones. the 650 overall presentation is very enjoyable imho and handles all music well, the expection so far is some progressive hard rock where the guitars can get smeared together and the cymbols are alittle too soft, but it may be my interconnects.

edit: if you dont have these amped yet they will not sound very good, especially for the price.

 

[gpalmer]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Roasty a few weeks ago i posted a thread asking whether to get headphones first or amplifier first.. well thanks to all your advice, i went out and bought a pair of HD650 today im so happy, my first pair of audiophile headphones. i just hope i dont get itchy and aim for a higher end pair anytime soon..

You can have a really long journey with the 650's before it becomes time to upgrade...

Quote:

Originally Posted by Roasty anyways, issit just me or does the headphones have some sort of a deathgrip on my head? i hope it becomes more comfortable with time.

It will but yes, it does have a real deathgrip thing going, it reminded me of the face hugger aliens when I got mine...

Quote:

Originally Posted by Roasty out of the box i feel it pretty much sounds quite bad, but im sure this will improve over time.

Or you'll sell it! Don't get too anxious, the Senns are a tough burn in, wait for a couple hundred hours of playng time before deciding on them...

Quote:

Originally Posted by Roasty what headphone stand do you guys use with the 650? cause it has like a little notch in between the pads and im worried anything like the stands in the Headphile stand thread will deform the pads as the 'hook' area of the stand is pretty broad and large in size.

I just use a banana hanger myself...

 

[Roasty]

erm guys, is it a common thing to get like an audible buzzing sound when the HD650 plays relatively deep bass notes?

i'm playing this CD called Ondekoza.. basically Japanese drums, and whenever there are really low bass drums being hit, i get this "bzzz" sound from the left driver only..

i've read on some threads some other people get this as well but i cant recall how they got rid of it..