[samz0nite]

So here's the deal guys, I used to own a pair of sennheiser HD 598s and absolutely loved them aside from them being a bit lacking in the bass. Regardless, I thought they were amazing because of the price tag. Sadly, a few months later I sold them to a friend.

Now, fast forward a year. I decided to delve back into this beautiful audio world and after hunting around for the perfect pair under 150, I came across a pair sennheiser hd650s for $200. I felt like I struck gold and said screw the budget! I pulled the trigger with little hesitation. Especially since these were THEE headphones, THEE legendary sennheiser hd650s that get praise everywhere and for $200!

Today, I finally got them in the mail. I could hardly contain myself, I don't think I'd ever been so excited for a package. Anyway, I get them plugged in to my computer, as my dac/amp is yet to arrive, and begin to listen to a flac audio file. I was unimpressed. I really tried to like them but in all honesty, they didn't wow me and I just felt like they weren't much better than my old 598s which I'd gotten for $120.

I realize they need to burned in, considering that isn't a myth, and that I need a dac/amp, but will those two really make a huge difference? Is there any headphone out there that will actually make you go wow? Or am I just jaded after having my ear virginity taken by my 598's long ago?


In the end, I will probably just keep them regardless. They do sound great, but I guess I was expecting more.

 

[dusk]

hello! what were you expecting?  what's lacking to you?
 
I think dac/amp will def help a lot..  the hd598 is 50 ohms whereas the 650s are around 300, I think.  They need proper amplification to sound their best, so hang in there!  What did you end up getting for amp/dac?
 
Burn in is def a real thing, especially at the higher end, and not a myth.  Most of the new stuff I owned really opened up after a couple weeks of listening all the time.  Are your 650s new, or used?
 
keep with it, sometimes you are expecting a night and day difference when it's the subtleties that matter (and will cost you the most money to achieve). 
 
You are already in the top 90% with the headphones you have, inching out another % is difficult and expensive, and you'll never get to 100%
 
Enjoy the ride, and relax.

 

[samz0nite]

Wow, thank you so much for the reply. This literally and ligitametly made me feel better about my purchase.

I purchased them from Amazon warehouse. They were marked as "used - very good". I'm unclear how long they were used for if at all.

I went with the SMSL SD793-II for my dac/amp.


And lastly, I'm not sure exactly what I was expecting but seeing what a regular pair costs and how this was to be my first high end headphone, I just thought there would be some super evident characteristic that reflected the price.

 

[Eee Pee]

  hello! what were you expecting? 
 
Enjoy the ride, and relax.

 
If only 98% of the world of headphone people would... 
 
So funny.  Good one.  Truly laughed with ya.
 
Burn is BS.  But that doesn't matter at this point.

 

[dusk]

There are no night and day fairy tales unless it's a frank cooter amp...
 
Level up slow, spend time with your new gear for awhile, listen to tracks you know really well, and stuff you never heard of before.
 
Price is not a linear correlation to performance.  Learn that now.  And the higher up the mountain you go, the more money it will cost you to hear the smallest of differences.  What matters is how YOU enjoy it.  Don't buy something simply because it's expensive and it gets a lot of positive reviews.  Do your research, take your time, try stuff out here and there where you can.  Eventually you'll find stuff that really resonates with you, and you'll spend a great deal of time with it, but don't stop hunting the sounds and signatures of different gear. You'll find stuff you never knew you were even into, ways of experiencing sounds you never thought you'd enjoy.. you just won't know until you go on the journey.
 
I wouldn't get bogged down in a lot of audiophile terminology and concepts just yet.  All I can say is take time with your gear to really explore what it can do before you start changing things around.  You need a good reference point.
 
And you have a great resource here in headfi.  We're mostly harmless creatures who dig talking about this stuff, so feel free to join in, and welcome!

 

[samz0nite]

Once again, thank you dusk. It's clear you have much passion for audio and are very knowledgeable on the subject. Thanks for sharing your wisdom with a newbie; i don't think I've ever been so well received and helped in a forum before. I will do as you recommended!

 

[cel4145]

I went with the SMSL SD793-II for my dac/amp.

I hope that works out for you. That's a low powered amp to choose for a 300 ohm headphone, with only a rating of 1.7VPP. I supposed you are probably another victim of amateur YouTube reviews.

 

[samz0nite]

I was quite lost when it came to choosing the right dac/amp. I asked previous buyers of this particular model about them driving 650s and I was unanimously told it would power them no problem. I received the dac/amp today and it powers them just fine, volume wise. In the future, I would like to upgrade. Have you any recommendations?

 

[cel4145]

I asked previous buyers of this particular model about them driving 650s and I was unanimously told it would power them no problem.

I couldn't find that thread through your posting history on Head-Fi.

I received the dac/amp today and it powers them just fine, volume wise. In the future, I would like to upgrade. Have you any recommendations?

If you are happy with how it powers them, why upgrade? You just got it.

 

[dusk]

I was quite lost when it came to choosing the right dac/amp. I asked previous buyers of this particular model about them driving 650s and I was unanimously told it would power them no problem. I received the dac/amp today and it powers them just fine, volume wise. In the future, I would like to upgrade. Have you any recommendations?

You haven't listened to a word I said.

 

[samz0nite]

"In the future" ! haha. To me, that means until I can forget how much I spent on my current dac/amp. So, like 2-3 years. 

 

[samz0nite]

Also, I didn't ask here, Cel4145. Reddit, amazon, and youtube comments.

 

[linglingjr]

How long have you had with the hd650s? I'd just give them more time. When i went from hd600s to lcd 2s I didn't really care too much for them until after a few weeks of hearing them.

Sound signature is pretty similar between the 598s and 650s, so it won't ever be night and day unless you go to super bright headphones that sound very different, not necessarily better.

 

[samz0nite]

I got them on Wednesday and have been burning them in with pink noise since. Actually, they are sounding noticeably better. Thanks everyone who has responded. 

 

[cel4145]

Also, I didn't ask here, Cel4145. Reddit, amazon, and youtube comments.

Head-fi is typically a much better resource.

Gotta like this cartoon:



https://xkcd.com/481/