Quote:
Originally Posted by mikeg
Guru - What's your opinon regarding how the sound of the following compare:
HD-90 Orpheus, versus HD650 running in balanced mode out of the Balanced Supra SDS XLR, versus the R10?
|
They compare very well. Putting aside the "wow!
" factor of the HE-90 and the "shock and awe" of hirsch's towering amp - the technical aspects of both setups compare quite favorably.
* The HD-650 finally has the immediacy of a good electrostat. There is PRAT and spadeloads of it. The lazy genius has finally been given a good workout.
* What happened to the soundstage!?
I think a single-ended amp will always have the problem of a collapsed soundstage. I am still unsure of the "engineering reason" behind this...probably has something to do with the CONTROL over driver motion. The soundstage of the HE-90 is akin a good speaker setup (maybe two high end bookshelves in nearfield setup with adequate amplification). There is no "inside the head" nonsense going on with the HE-90...scary! The HD-650 now has similar qualities but still sounds a little bit strained and collapsed in comparison.
* The tonal qualities are shockingly similar. The only difference I could tell was that the HD-650 was slightly tuned to the midbass and midrange and the HE-90 was midrange+treble oriented. The HE-90 has more bass than many headphones I can think of. The HD-650 just has overpowering bass on some recordings. BUT - compared to a single ended mode of listening the "congested" midrange (where everything seemed to sort of meld together because of the lower notes) is gone and replaced by plenty of "air" and a feeling of lightness...lift...Sony-esque without getting carried away.
* the HE-90 is still the king...effortless and flawless to my ears in every way. There is nothing that I "miss" in the sound and there is no headphone on my head when I listen with the HE-90. I can only dream and hope to own one some-day because THAT will truly end all forms of upgraditis. it is a shame that sennheiser decided to stop production...I want to know why
* The HD-650 driven in this way is an excellent headphone...finally...no longer an all-rounder of repute, the HD-650 steps up to the plate and smacks a big one! You can actually listen to ROCK! on this headset...and listen to Jane Monheit the next second...unflappable!
However it is still behind the HE90....for the price of the balanced amp and recabled hd-650s I would get a HE-90 and use it with the 007T running single ended.
[size=small]
Miles ahead of the rest...Miles away from the best! [/size]
gs