[jackbocracken]

I've searched the forums and read every thread that contained any mention of the 650s. From what I've heard the most common complaints are temperature and the need to take a break every two hours or so.

Well since I haven't actually used any really high quality headphones before, and I'm thinking about purchasing these (yes I read about every other option, no I have not auditioned each option yet), I was wondering just how uncomfortable these are. I've gone easily six hours wearing cheap ~$15 behind-the-head style Philips headphones, and not really been bothered by the hard plastic resting on the tops of my ears. I know that the heat issue is completely unrelated to this situation, but I figured maybe the discomfort factor may not be enough to bother me?

I know of a place where I can audition the 650s, but I'd feel really stupid just sitting there for two hours with them on.

Oh, and how exactly does one go about burning in headphones?

 

[usc goose]

welcome to head-fi... yeah, i need sleep. (non-standard greeting around here) i haven't used these but you sound like someone who probably won't worry too much about the heat. i mean, it's not like wearing an oven or anything, it's just that your ears get shut off from air circulation. the thing is with closed headphones you might be more apt to suffer headphone fatigue. a strange kind of sea sick feeling for me that's hard to describe. i only get it with closed headphones. apparently it has something to do with your brain getting tired of trying to decode a sound signal from your ears only to place that sound as originating inside your head. or something.

as for burn in there seems to be 2 theories. 1.) set headphones to a volume a touch higher then your normal level. load up a cd or playlist of your type of music. play in sock drawer or closet for a couple days. or 2.) my method of just listening to the things, they'll break in anyways with time.

 

[KJ869]

I assume the problem is Pleather pads, and you can fix it by modding some other pads, like dt-880 what are slightly 2 big. I will hopefully feel the problems next week, if theres realy problem. I hope my phones arrive soon, please come, please......

 

[PeterR]

Quote:

Oh, and how exactly does one go about burning in headphones?

Just let them play at normal listening volume. Headphones, when they're fresh out the box, will improve, sometimes considerably, after they've been playing for a while. Doesn't mean that you can't listen to them before you've performed some magic burn-in ritual, but you should wait until they've clocked a few hours (say 100-200, depending on the phones) before drawing any conclusions about their sound. Impatient people, i.e. us, will therefore let them play continuously on their own for the first few days, that's 'burning in'. Don't take the term literally, you don't want to torture them, just set the volume to what you'd use when wearing them. It's a gradual thing, performance will stabilize more and more over time, and changes will become less and less noticeable.

 

[Trounce]

I've found the 650s to be very comfortable, for the most part, but I have had to take them off every couple hours though. Which I don't really mind because, let's face it, we need to stop and smell the roses occasionally as well.

As for the sound, they feel pretty in-your-face and a little congested, even after 100 hours of burn-in. I am used to the wide-open soundstage of the Beyer DT770s, with its recessed midrange and awesome bass. The bass on the DVD Edition goes just as low as the 770s, and the impact is 95% as strong: I was really impressed. The midrange is, as I said, more upfront, but the mid-bass crossover is very apparent, and that's why I sometimes find the phones unpleasant for certain types of music, especially techno, because the midrange basically clouds the bass. The treble, though, is a whole different animal. Just gorgeous, absolutely smooth and listenable. I am so impressed with the extension, yet utter and complete control, of the treble, that, even if my midrange quibbles stay after complete burn-in, I'd keep the cans anyway. For vocal music and most rock, the sound is absolutely gorgeous. For classical, though, because the soundstage is pretty congested and slightly boomy, it doesn't fit. This is more a rock phone. I am using the DVD-Edition BTW.

Will post a review shortly.

 

[miroslav]

After over two months spent with my 650s, I can have them on for 4-5 hours straight with no problems. I am already at the point of not feeling the pressure from the headband at all and I learned to live with the heat issue. I just have to take care about washing my ears regularely.

I even managed to fall asleep couple of times while wearing them.

It`s like that with these you never realy forget that you are wearing headphones, but, in my case, they never get in the way of enjoying the music they deliver.

My Trackmasters opened up fully at around 50 hours. They have been stable ever since.

 

[Rizumu]

I'm of a slightly different opinion than everyone else, I can tell.

Everyone's head is different after all...The pads will get quite warm after a couple hours but I just take the headphone off for a minute or so and resume listening. That's not really a problem for me. The real problem is I can't really wear these at night much. I can't imagine falling asleep with these on, partly because they're too big for me to lie down with and partly because of the comfort. The clamping and fatigue of wearing a closed headphone really gets to me at night for some reason and I can't wear them too much or I get a headache (whatever goose said about the brain trying to decode....yeah).

The sound is worth it though

They aren't _very_ comfortable but they aren't horribly uncomfortable. It was my main worry in getting these phones, but to tell you the truth, once I got them, I don't think I would've preferred any other closed phone more (in the same price range of course, I wouldn't have minded R10's

). Great sound...just be sure to burn them for awhile

 

[jackbocracken]

One of the reasons why I didn't consider the DT770s was because I intend to use these occaisionally from portable sources.

I don't really know. I'm not sure how practical it would be to lug these things around...perhaps I should just keep these cheap Philips and try out the 770s then?

How do the 770s compare to the HFI 650s?

I already read up on the DT 250/80s and the Senn 280s...both weren't seen as good as the HFI 650s.

I'm planning on getting a laptop that I'd use to write stuff with outside of my dorm next year (I'll be a freshman at UW). So I was thinking that maybe it's a good idea to have closed headphones I can take with me in case the place I go is noisy, but then I realized that I can't really hear anything with the cheap Philips phones on anyway...Argh. So many choices.

I think I'll search for opinions on the 770s for now, and try to listen to both the 650s and 770s.

EDIT: after reading some posts about the 770s, I've come to the conclusion that they wouldn't work for me...I don't really need a lot of bass to be happy, as I listen to a wide range of music so I wouldn't benefit greatly from it (unlike people who listen to a lot of techno, for example). Also the only thing driving my headphones would be my computer (TB Santa Cruz) or some sort of portable audio device.

 

[Rizumu]

Wow, you are like...me.

I decided against the DT770 as well since although the comfort was appealing, the bass-mania was not. I wanted a balanced phone that would work well for all types of music and be easily driven from MY TBSC soundcard.

Go for 'em!

 

[Trounce]

I couldn't live without my 770s. They are the perfect rock phone, period. Granted, I haven't heard the Grado 325s, but from what I've read, and heard of the SR125, they are WAY too bright for me. The 770s are just rocking. The 650s are more of an all-round phone.