That good Sennheiser sound

[Davesrose]

Greetings everyone.

OK, so I'm now officially stepping into headphone bliss now. I just got a Headroom Micro amp to bring life to my 6 year old HD580s and brand new HD595s. I also just joined this site....had perused it when deciding on what kind of headphone amp to get. Definitely for a first time buyer, these portable solid states seem to do the 580s justice. Used to be I just didn't use my Senns on portables. They sound phenominal with a headphone amp that has high gain output. When my flimsy 580 stock cable went out, I decided to get the 595s as my backup/ portable use phones. Now I'm starting to use them interchangably for my day to day use. I'm finding certain strengths with the 580s over the 595s and visa versa.

Which brings me to this thread. Many of the threads I've read on the 595s are either people loving them or hating them. There isn't much comparison between them and the 580/600/650 series. For a relative newbie in the world of audiophile headphones, I'm wondering what the difference is between the 595s and the 650s? Are the 650s more of an improvement of the 580/600s? Several threads seem to indicate that it's detail/bass response is more like the 595. Since the drivers are recessed like the 580s, I assume they have a grander soundstage then the 595s. But are they as bright as the 595s? Since I'm at the throws of how much to keep upgrading, I'm wondering if the $200 price difference for the 650s vs other Senns is worth it! I have found my old 580s sound amazing with a dedicated amp. I can get a lot of detail with them, even pluged into the computer using foobar. Their detail opens up with dsps like dolbysurround.

Now that I've done some serious listening with the 580s and 595s, I can say that I like the 580s for acoustic presentations, and the 595s for electronica or general listening. The 580s certainly are warmer, and seem to bring out more bass/ less midrange in a recording. I find that to be more pleasing in a quite environment (be it Irish folk music, or a classical quartet). What is amazing to me is how certain abient sounds are so different with each headphone I try. The 595s don't seem to have as warm a sound, but seem to stay pretty consistant in it's bass/mid range tones. I've found that the bass can be quite strong with an adequate source (ie, it seems like a really good reference phone that only brings out what the original recording has). Since I have just listened to Sennheiser (and not Grado or AKG), I'm also wondering how all those compare. Seems like the Grado camp likes the fact that they don't require a lot to be driven, and are more bass heavy then Senns get. I'm thinking that maybe the next headphone to try is the AKG 701...reviews I've seen seem to indicate that it might be the 595 on steriods. Anyone out there listened to both and can compare? It's a toss up between them and the HD650s for my next step!

 

[apostate]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Davesrose Are the 650s more of an improvement of the 580/600s?

Yes, they definitely have a sound more inline with the 580/600s than with the 595s.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Davesrose Several threads seem to indicate that it's detail/bass response is more like the 595.

The 650s bass IME is much heavier than the 595s.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Davesrose But are they as bright as the 595s?

I haven't heard the 580 but considering they share the same drivers as the 600, which I own, I'd wager that the 595s are the brightest of the 4 headphones. Some that may also be attributed to the fact they have the least quantity of bass of the 4.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Davesrose Since I'm at the throws of how much to keep upgrading, I'm wondering if the $200 price difference for the 650s vs other Senns is worth it!

It's always best to listen to them first if you can, preferably in a quiet setting for a decent amount of time to get a good impression of what they sound like. You're the only one that will really know if they agree with you. I don't think linking the 580/595 is an absolute guarantee that you'll like the 650. They are are a very smooth, very refined headphone but they do sound a bit different.


Ant

 

[Davesrose]

There in lies the problem! How can you audition expensive headphones when the only way to get them is off the internet? Just comparing the 595s and 580s, I can appreciate how each heaphone sounds different. There's only so much one can gather from stereo reviews, as this is all subjective.

 

[Davesrose]

Thanks for the mini-review of the 650, Ant. Sounds like maybe the main difference with the evolution of the 580 (first 600 then 650), is that the bass gets tighter. That's why I wonder if the AKG 701 is more like the 595 (as reviews I've seen of that say that it's great at reference, but also has an open soundstage). If it's a better upgrade from the 595 then the 650? I've noticed that since plugged into a dedicated headphone amp, the detail opens up more with the 580. I don't think the 595 is totally lacking in bass though....it is brighter and carries more midtones, but when plugged into my headphone amp, it will get some really deep bass if it's a recording that has it. Well I'll keep listening to both the 580 and 595 to see which one I really like. So far it's just a toss up. I like one for some recordings, and the other for other recordings. I can see how collecting headphones gets addictive

 

[apostate]

I definitely don't think the 595s lacks bass either. If it's there it will definitely show it and mine (120 Ohm) needed an amp to really get the most out of it. I've found that, particularly with bass, it's usually a little truer to the recording than my 600s are in that if a recording is light in the bass it's more likely to reflect that whereas the 600 seems to try to "make up for it" a bit.

It's definitely hard to audition headphones. There's only one place near me that carries any high end headphones, even then only Senns and Grados, and they hardly ever have the highest models (580/595/6x0, 325i/RS-2/RS-1/GS1K) available. It's also hit or miss if they have an amp available to use (usually either RA-1 or XCan v3). *sigh*

If there isn't anyone around that you can demo them at the best things to do is keep an eye out for meets in your area, order them from a vendor with a good return policy, or keep an eye on the for-sale forums and at least try to pick them up cheaper. You'll at least lose less that way.

Unfortunately I haven't heard the 701s. They're on my list to hear though as well. Then again I'm half tempted to sell everything and get some electrostats. :

Ant

 

[Davesrose]

Sounds like we may have a similar taste in headphones....so if you get the 701 let me know your take on them! My 595s are the 50 ohm version. Ordered them before I knew there was two versions. Just thought that maybe there was a misprint on the Sennheiser USA site...since there are only a few brochures that list the 595 as 120 ohm. Even headphone.com just lists the 50 ohm version. I guess from a true audio geek perspective, it would be interesting to see if there's any difference in the 120 vs 50 ohm 595. I suspect there wouldn't be much of a difference (as there are so many other things that effect sound quality...ie amp, interconnects, etc). My 595s sound good on a laptop, but the bass really opens up on my amp.