[Whitebread]

I got a pair of HD650s today. I've only listened to them for a few minutes but I have a few comments. The Soundstage is wider and deeper than any headphone I've listened to thus far. instruments have seperation and are defined in the soundfield. The problem comes when I listen to more mainstream music. There is a veil, and the sound is laid back, all of it except for the bass. Normally, I wouldn't worry about this except these are the things that some of you have been saying about the HD650s. I'd normally let the headphones burn in for at least 100 hours, but I'm worried that the same sound will be there later. Sure, it's damn great for instrumental recordings and Third World, but it's not nearly as exciting with everything else. Do these headphones change much after burning them in? Will removing the pading over the driver effect the laid back sound much?

 

[granodemostasa]

they change, and it gets better. nevertheless i think you have discovered the veil; it's a bit slow and laidback for that type of music, that's why i mostly listen to classical on it.

 

[Kirosia]

what source and amp are you using?

And yeah, the senns's treble is a bit low, they're supposed to emulate speakers or something. To be honest, it ain't that bad once you get used to it. Also, realize that the 650 is very recording dependant, a lot of the stuff out, especially mainstream, is inherently cruddy sounding. So it's not *necessarily* the phone's fault if something sounds really bad.

 

[Whitebread]

My source and amp are crappy right now because I'm in the process of completley overhauling everything. The HD650s were just the first step. Right now I'm using my Onky TX-SVS15PROII headphone out with my Computer or Denon DCM-370 as the sources. The headphones came, the new computer with a Chaintech sound card is on the way and I will build an M3 preamp as soon as the computer is done.

I'm also finding that, yes the source has a lot to do with it. Either that or the seens are opening up faster than I thought. The crappy stuff, sounds really crappy and the better recorded/encoded stuff sound pretty dynamic and exciting. I will let them burn in over night and see what they sound like tomorrow.

 

[darkninja67]

The 650s are known for being laid back. I found them boring on some genres but I loved the mids for male vocals. Give the cans and your ears some time.

 

[Whitebread]

I also want to add that the heavy bass is an unusual or goffy atribute for a headphone with otherwise laid back presentation. I find I'm turning the boost down and turning the trebble up. The rolled off highs also add to the unusually heavy bass. Hmmmm.....................

 

[skyline889]

Yeah, just leave them running constantly for a few of days to let them burn-in, that way they'll be mostly settled in and you'll still have time to return them if you want.

 

[fewtch]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Whitebread I also want to add that the heavy bass is an unusual or goffy atribute for a headphone with otherwise laid back presentation. I find I'm turning the boost down and turning the trebble up. The rolled off highs also add to the unusually heavy bass. Hmmmm.....................

You're using a receiver's headphone jack as the source? Note that if it has a high output impedance (most do) it will bloat the bass with Sennheisers, and not in a subtle way. The only real solution to this is a dedicated headphone amplifier.

 

[Whitebread]

THe M3 Based Pre-amp is on it's way and I dont think the late arivial is going to be much of a problem. The more I listen, the more I like the headphones.

 

[Kirosia]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Whitebread I also want to add that the heavy bass is an unusual or goffy atribute for a headphone with otherwise laid back presentation. I find I'm turning the boost down and turning the trebble up. The rolled off highs also add to the unusually heavy bass. Hmmmm.....................

The bass thing was a problem for me in the long run. Ended up obscuring the subtle details, and sort of ruining the musiciality of the sound.

 

[ODG]

When I got my fresh 650's it had a bloated, conjested sound with little treble. Vocals sounded very bland and boring. It takes a strong amp and source with high treble to push it hard and unviel it. Then after a year I noticed it became very easy to drive, with tight clean bass, smooth mids and detailed highs. It now sounds very similar to HD600's leaner brighter sound when I first compared each other in store. Good thing I didnt waste money buying upgrade cable. Cause the usual thing people here will recommend is to get pricey cables to fix the viel on fresh 650's. I see now why many people would not like the new 650's cause it takes very long time to show up.

 

[granodemostasa]

Quote:

Originally Posted by ODG When I got my fresh 650's it had a bloated, conjested sound with little treble. Vocals sounded very bland and boring. It takes a strong amp and source with high treble to push it hard and unviel it. Then after a year I noticed it became very easy to drive, with tight clean bass, smooth mids and detailed highs. It now sounds very similar to HD600's leaner brighter sound when I first compared each other in store. Good thing I didnt waste money buying upgrade cable. Cause the usual thing people here will recommend is to get pricey cables to fix the viel on fresh 650's. I see now why many people would not like the new 650's cause it takes very long time to show up.

you serious, my 4.5 month old Senns arn't burned in yet? now i'm starting to wish i'd never bought that blue dragon..... ho well. I'll see what happens when it gets here.

 

[ODG]

The M3 has a warm sound I've heard. It might not tighten the bass much or worse on fresh 650's. A PPA or Dynahi would match better, both strong amps with lots of treble detail.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Whitebread THe M3 Based Pre-amp is on it's way and I dont think the late arivial is going to be much of a problem. The more I listen, the more I like the headphones.

 

[SennFan]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Whitebread I got a pair of HD650s today. I've only listened to them for a few minutes but I have a few comments. The Soundstage is wider and deeper than any headphone I've listened to thus far. instruments have seperation and are defined in the soundfield. The problem comes when I listen to more mainstream music. There is a veil, and the sound is laid back, all of it except for the bass. Normally, I wouldn't worry about this except these are the things that some of you have been saying about the HD650s. I'd normally let the headphones burn in for at least 100 hours, but I'm worried that the same sound will be there later. Sure, it's damn great for instrumental recordings and Third World, but it's not nearly as exciting with everything else. Do these headphones change much after burning them in? Will removing the pading over the driver effect the laid back sound much?

Glad to hear you like? your 650's. Don't despair, they will get better. Sorry for the cliche but they truly are like a fine wine. Give them some time and I guarantee you will both warm up to each other. I agree that they particularly excel doing classical but they are hard to beat with most any other style of music. Reserve further judgement until you make sure that they are properly amped and burnt in.

 

[ODG]

YMMV, I used my 650's on and off over a year. First month I got them I would listen to them a few minutes then stopped cause it was too mundane and boring sound. I had compared the K240s (k240s has low treble) to new 650's (both amped) and the K240s beat it in treble detail . Now 650's make K240s sound very vielled even unamped.

Quote:

Originally Posted by granodemostasa you serious, my 4.5 month old Senns arn't burned in yet? now i'm starting to wish i'd never bought that blue dragon..... ho well. I'll see what happens when it gets here.