[d.n.d.]

this may be a bit long, so get ready for a good read.

first off, i joined this forum about a year ago and have been pursuing my hifi journey ever since. i found most reviews i have read on head-fi have matched what i have heard or noticed myself with the same headphones.

to make a long story short, i hear almost no bass at all with my HD650s. i came to this conclusion because i have compared it to my own headphones in my sig, and pretty much all of them have more bass.

i got my HD650s from one of head-fi's sponsors back in sept. give or take. my home setup is using a laptop as my source (mostly good quality music, ex. 320kbps), USB out to an Alien DAC which goes out a nice pair of RCA cables, which goes into my rockhopper M^3/s11 combo.

now, before i got my Alien DAC, i was running straight out of my laptop 3.5 to RCA into my M^3. since i got the HD650s, i listened for the first 10 hours and proceeded to let it burn in with music for another 100. i did notice some changes, like the vocals sounded clearer etc. but the bass was almost the same out of the box.

so then i thought it might have been my amp restricting the bass, because i tried listening to the same songs with my denon D1001s. i am more familiar with them, and they definitely have bass. but i found the result to be almost the same. so i went ahead and sent my amp off to get bass boost added.

the bass boost did help some, and once i got my alien DAC then it became more pronounced. i thought to myself, this is probably going to be as good as it gets. but, i was wrong.

i went to a local head-fi meet 2 weeks ago, and i brought my entire home setup with me. i had the chance to listen to a pair of HD600s with the HD650 cable, with the same songs i used to test my HD650s. what did i find? these things actually had bass! now how can that be? after much research before buying the HD650s, i think it is safe to say that it is universally agreed here that the HD650s are known for their bass. also, the first time i got to hear the HD650s in a quiet/ideal listening environment, i noted that the bass was much richer and more pronounced. i was listening to my music straight out of an arcam solo mini.

it was hard to believe what i was hearing, but hey..the ears dont lie. that same night after the meet i went home, and plugged in my HD650s right away. same as before :/ as bass-less as ever. annoyed, i decided to plug them back into my radio and let them burn in straight for another 90 hours. i tried listening to them again, and they still sounded the same! i have GOT to be missing something here.

so, i have effectively ruled out equipment, burn in, question of authenticity, and source. whats left? i am not totally against a recable, but i refuse to believe that i need a recable in order to hear the bass i heard from the 600s with a STOCK 650 cable.

and please guys, lets not turn this thread into a debate about burn-in

 

[Vkamicht]

Quote:

Originally Posted by d.n.d. /img/forum/go_quote.gif so, i have effectively ruled out equipment, burn in, question of authenticity, and source. whats left?

Defective pair?

 

[captian73]

They not exactly 'bass beasts'. My Ultrasone Proline 750 had more bass.

 

[hawat]

Unless they released a new revision of the hd650, it sounds to me like you probably have something wrong with your hd650.

 

[feifan]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Vkamicht /img/forum/go_quote.gif Defective pair?

Vkamicht may be right. If possible, switch a different HD650 into the lineup to see if there's a difference. If none's available, then other open back reference 'phones may be helpful.

Another possibility is the USB out. Try the toslink or coaxial. In my gear, the tos/coax links make a significant difference.

If you haven't yet, try 24/96 lossless tracks.

Still another option is to use the analog out from your computer's soundcard or headphone out to see if the HD650 bass kicks in. This might eliminate possible DAC issues in your gear.

 

[Shahrose]

Nothing is wrong with your pair. It's the pads. I bet the HD600 pads were well broken in and compressed. I've heard HD600s that sounded significantly bassier than my new HD650s only because of the compression of the pads. This means your HD650 will keep getting warmer and bassier as time passes and the pads conform to the shape of your skull and flatten.

 

[wnmnkh]

Good chance is that driver placement inside of the housing is out of place (one or both of them.)

Use your fingernail or similar thin-but-strong-object to open the grill part from the housing, and check if the driver part (i.e center part.) is slightly out of the overall plastic panel, and press it (just press it, you may find the drivers will be pushed further into the plastic panel, then you just found/solved the problem)

Do same thing on other side if needed (just do that for the sake of checking/fixing)


*and pads can contribute the problem if they sustained such long usage and compressed in extreme degree, as above poster said.

 

[Shahrose]

Also, upgrading your DAC can make a sizable improvement in bass, especially since the Alien DAC is a bit bright (and starts rolling off in the bass slightly).

 

[hawat]

If you can do try another pair of hd650 first though before buying other equipments

Mine isn't anywhere close to having almost no bass even on an unamped ipod.

 

[d.n.d.]

i will check the drivers later to make sure they are seated properly, and try to use them more to compress the ear pads.

in regards to the DAC, later down the line i may consider the cambridge audio DAC. you may be right about the alien, but it still doesnt explain how i heard sufficient bass on the HD600s

i have tried listening to my HD650s straight out of my laptop, but from what i recall it was not that huge a difference. and as for output, my laptop doesnt have toslink or optical out :/ i would have to look into an SPDIF converter when i get a better DAC.

when i get some money, i will look into getting a used pair of HD650s to compare with. or just borrowing a pair

again thanks for the suggestions guys.

 

[captian73]

are you sure the cables are in properly. I remember that when I took my cables out (a point of curiousity) putting the cables in took a smidge of effort.

 

[d.n.d.]

Quote:

Originally Posted by captian73 /img/forum/go_quote.gif are you sure the cables are in properly. I remember that when I took my cables out (a point of curiousity) putting the cables in took a smidge of effort.

yes the cables are fully seated, and i checked the drivers as well, everything is ok.

well i got to listen to another fully burned-in pair of HD650s, and we concluded the problem was me and not the headphones

turns out that i am too much of a basshead, and also i listen to my music at very low volumes so the M^3 cannot push the HD650s properly.

 

[rds]

It's not that the M3 can't push them, it's that sennheisers aren't made for low volume listening.

 

[Shahrose]

Quote:

Originally Posted by d.n.d. /img/forum/go_quote.gif yes the cables are fully seated, and i checked the drivers as well, everything is ok. well i got to listen to another fully burned-in pair of HD650s, and we concluded the problem was me and not the headphones turns out that i am too much of a basshead, and also i listen to my music at very low volumes so the M^3 cannot push the HD650s properly.

Still doesn't explain why the HD600 had more bass than your HD650 though does it

I think I may know why. Were you by any chance listening to oogabooga's pair of HD600s? They had something going on with earpad shape or drivers that made them sound bassier than my HD650 too, even after full burn-in.

Quote:

Originally Posted by rds /img/forum/go_quote.gif It's not that the M3 can't push them, it's that sennheisers aren't made for low volume listening.

x2

 

[d.n.d.]

Quote:

Originally Posted by rds /img/forum/go_quote.gif It's not that the M3 can't push them, it's that sennheisers aren't made for low volume listening.

true, very true rds. guess i dont suit them very well.

and i forgot whos HD600s i listened to; i just remembered to check they had the stock HD650 cable