So it started about two months ago, I was curious to give the RS-1 a good listen, so I found a local dealer, and carted my DAC1 on over. Everything I played on the RS-1's sounded better than on the HD650's with stock balanced cable which I also carted along for comparison. More detail, more oomph, more PRAT, and certainly a truer representation of the leading edge of notes.
Fast forward another month and I have an RS-1 in the house. Initial impressions mirror those of my audition, and the 650's were not long for this earth at that point. However I had a sneaking suspicion to try the Zu cable on the Sennheisers, if only due to all the quasi-fanatical raving about the combination, and the fact that a certain member who listens to some similarly high-impact music chose the HD650/ZU over the RS-1.
So finally I had assembled the competitors (thanks to nanahachi's quick delivery of the Zu), and with some burn-in of the Zu cable (sounded like a brighter stock cable at first) we were ready for war.
After a couple of weeks of switching back and forth, and listening to a broad variety of my collection, I've come to the following conclusions (all based on the RS-1's with flats and the HD650 with Zu):
1: The Zu cable fixes the stock 650's attack, which was quite slow and lacking detail compared to that of the RS-1's. My favorite track for hearing this effect is Infected Mushroom "Release Me," when the guitar first kicks in around 1:14, the stock cable makes it sound quite muffled and weak compared to the edgier, more detailed presentation of the Zu.
2: The Zu cable makes the 650's significantly brighter than stock, actually with the flat's on the RS-1's the 650's sound brighter, from the mid highs upward.
3: The RS-1 has quite a resonance around 2-3kHz, which the flat pads abate slightly. This resonance can sound interesting at first, but becomes annoying after prolonged listening, as you start to notice the emphasis it imposes on the sound, making the human voice sound quite odd (I can think of no other way to describe it) compared to the purity of the 650/Zu.
4: The RS-1 rolls off the treble far before the 650/Zu, and effect not that noticeable on a fair number of rock recordings, but more noticeable on pieces featuring strings, especially with direct comparison.
5: The RS-1's bass emphasis has the effect of putting some meat on the bones of poorly recorded material, giving it some snap and thwack where there was little to none. However, when a recording has well recorded bass and drums, this effect can drown out the mids a bit.
6: Well recorded songs soar on the 650 to a plane quite higher than they do on the RS-1. By the same token, the RS-1 helps bad recordings sound a bit better than they do on the 650's. In this regard, I find the 650's are truer to the recording, whereas the RS-1 makes everything played on it sound a bit homogenous.
If I were to sum up these headphones in a word each, the 650/Zu would be "pure," the RS-1 "fun." In the end, I enjoy listening to both cans about equally and can get totally lost in the music with either one. That said, financials only allow me to keep one or the other, so it is the RS-1 that is going away, in light of the fact that the 650 is more true to the original sound IMO yet still very enjoyable, and it is quite a bit sturdier, with IMO better customer service and reliability records. If I had the money, I'd keep the RS-1's around because there are recordings they sound better with, and they are quite gorgeous headphones.
Fast forward another month and I have an RS-1 in the house. Initial impressions mirror those of my audition, and the 650's were not long for this earth at that point. However I had a sneaking suspicion to try the Zu cable on the Sennheisers, if only due to all the quasi-fanatical raving about the combination, and the fact that a certain member who listens to some similarly high-impact music chose the HD650/ZU over the RS-1.
So finally I had assembled the competitors (thanks to nanahachi's quick delivery of the Zu), and with some burn-in of the Zu cable (sounded like a brighter stock cable at first) we were ready for war.
After a couple of weeks of switching back and forth, and listening to a broad variety of my collection, I've come to the following conclusions (all based on the RS-1's with flats and the HD650 with Zu):
1: The Zu cable fixes the stock 650's attack, which was quite slow and lacking detail compared to that of the RS-1's. My favorite track for hearing this effect is Infected Mushroom "Release Me," when the guitar first kicks in around 1:14, the stock cable makes it sound quite muffled and weak compared to the edgier, more detailed presentation of the Zu.
2: The Zu cable makes the 650's significantly brighter than stock, actually with the flat's on the RS-1's the 650's sound brighter, from the mid highs upward.
3: The RS-1 has quite a resonance around 2-3kHz, which the flat pads abate slightly. This resonance can sound interesting at first, but becomes annoying after prolonged listening, as you start to notice the emphasis it imposes on the sound, making the human voice sound quite odd (I can think of no other way to describe it) compared to the purity of the 650/Zu.
4: The RS-1 rolls off the treble far before the 650/Zu, and effect not that noticeable on a fair number of rock recordings, but more noticeable on pieces featuring strings, especially with direct comparison.
5: The RS-1's bass emphasis has the effect of putting some meat on the bones of poorly recorded material, giving it some snap and thwack where there was little to none. However, when a recording has well recorded bass and drums, this effect can drown out the mids a bit.
6: Well recorded songs soar on the 650 to a plane quite higher than they do on the RS-1. By the same token, the RS-1 helps bad recordings sound a bit better than they do on the 650's. In this regard, I find the 650's are truer to the recording, whereas the RS-1 makes everything played on it sound a bit homogenous.
If I were to sum up these headphones in a word each, the 650/Zu would be "pure," the RS-1 "fun." In the end, I enjoy listening to both cans about equally and can get totally lost in the music with either one. That said, financials only allow me to keep one or the other, so it is the RS-1 that is going away, in light of the fact that the 650 is more true to the original sound IMO yet still very enjoyable, and it is quite a bit sturdier, with IMO better customer service and reliability records. If I had the money, I'd keep the RS-1's around because there are recordings they sound better with, and they are quite gorgeous headphones.