[LarryK2]

. . . should do it, but as others have mentioned, your source(s) could be the problem. Do you listen to vinyl? If not you really should give it a try; to me it's more organic sounding. Digital, unless it's really well executed, tends to have all kinds of nasties. (I do listen to, and enjoy digital, but listen to vinyl 70% of the time.)

A good tube amp might just make your 580s work for you. I have a Woo Audio (WA) 3 in my office and a WA6 (maxxed) at home - 650s, 580s, and AKG 701s all sound good to me - just different. I haven't owned the 580s, but have heard them in my systems - I own both the 650s and AKG701s. I prefer the 650s 80% of the time (classical music).

Cheers,
Larry

 

[illy2k]

x2 for the 650's

I also have the same issues with sibilance and bright headphones and while the 701's are A+ on conveying detail after about an hour I probably cannot listen much anymore. The 650's are smooth and provide great detail without the harshness.

 

[DunninLA]

Quote:

Originally Posted by obobskivich /img/forum/go_quote.gif from everything I've read, the HD 650 is basically the 580 on steroids, things like a better cord and housing, better driver matching, etc, so I wouldn't think that HD 650 would entirely give you what you want, although only your ears can really tell you that

I think you're getting the HD 600 (which is everything you describe) with the HD 650, which sounds different altogether than the HD 580. Most describe it as having additional bass depth, better treble extension, and a lower treble dip in energy.

 

[Shahrose]

Quote:

Originally Posted by mail4u /img/forum/go_quote.gif It's interesting that you say this. The harshness of the 580's is perhaps the lower highs. Therefore I'm wondering if the 650 harshness you mention is a remnant of the 580 design. Maybe the others recommending the 650 could weigh in on this.

yea i've definitely made the HD650 sound harsh, but ofcourse, only with bad recordings. if they sound harsh on the HD650s, they sound harsh on all my other headphones as well.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Caution /img/forum/go_quote.gif The harshness you are experiencing may be a source/amplification problem rather than the headphones them self. What are you using?

it doesn't happen with most recordings. my music collection is predominantly made up of electronic, rock and classical music. electronic music and badly recorded rock is most prone to harshness. i've never heard any trace of sibilance from any of my classical recordings or well-produced electronic/new age.

as for my equipment...it's listed in my sig.

 

[mail4u]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Caution /img/forum/go_quote.gif What's your source?

My main source is an 80g Ipod classic and also a 5 year old Cambridge 300 DVD player. File format is lossless.

From the recommendations it looks like both the Kenwood and HD 650 will meet my needs. The Kenwood seems only available from <pricejapan.com> for $384. Isn't it distributed in the US yet? JRMusic sells the 650 for $320. Buying in the US facilitates return and warranty if needed. I think I'll go 650.

Thanks to everyone for the help.

Very best regards,

Mail4u

 

[Acix]

K702 are the smoothest sounding for me...

 

[Packgrog]

Quote:

Originally Posted by mail4u /img/forum/go_quote.gif It's interesting that you say this. The harshness of the 580's is perhaps the lower highs. Therefore I'm wondering if the 650 harshness you mention is a remnant of the 580 design. Maybe the others recommending the 650 could weigh in on this. The Kenwood looks like a very good phone from what I can glean from the internet. It's a distinct possibility. The AKG might be a bit bright for me. Read some complaints about the headband pressing on the head. I'm in a small Iowa town so there's no possibility to audition any of them. I trust the experience and views of the dedicated Head-fiers and will base my final decision on your suggestions. I did hear the Bose at BestBuy and found it recessed in the highs (perhaps too much) and very comfortable.

Hah! A fellow Iowan! Yeah, I doubt there's much in the way of meets out there, but then again, I haven't lived there since '93. Don't know how much it might have changed.

As I've stated in probably too many threads now, the two 'phones that struck me most from the meets I've been to in NYC and Chapel Hill, NC have been the K701 and HD650. If smoothness is what you're after, stay away from the K701. The K701 is extremely detailed, but I also found it very fatiguing and bright, not exactly what I would call "smooth". The HD650 were the opposite: still detailed, but the more relaxed and warm. I'm openly biased, but for very clear reasons. I've tried both headphones on multiple sources at different times, and every time I hated the sterility of the K701 and loved the smoothness of the HD650. No better adjectives come to mind.

That said, these things really aren't cheap, and I would advise against blind buys. The HD650 may be disappointing if you can't drive them properly (they REALLY need an amp), so I recommend finding either a quality store that carries them or going to a Head-Fi meet at the nearest decent sized city (Chicago would be good for Eastern IA where I grew up). DEFINITELY try before you buy at this price point.

 

[obobskivich]

I'd suggest audition on the HD 650, K701/2 (we seem to have two views, a few people saying 701/2 are smooth, and a few people saying they're the opposite of what you're looking for, would be at least worth 10 minutes of your time to audition), and possibly the Denon's or some higher end AT's (the W11's are probably impossible to find for audition, unless you go to a meet, but A900's or W1000's may be possible, depending on where you live)

you might also want to look at some electrostatics, if audition is possible in your area (or a meet)

 

[krmathis]

SR-007

 

[decur]

my vote is hd650
be carefull about your source with these phones!
i find that ipods/imod > to amp do not work well with these phones
650s sound best from computer>to good quality dac or cd player/turntable
a good source can make a huge difference in what you are hearing!!

 

[adalyan]

The Sennheiser range is good HD650 & HD600 but those were already mentioned. many times. Another candidate may be the Ultrasone ULE2200. It is very smooth sounding and the SLogic takes away some of the listening fatigue for me.

 

[ISALULA]

Sennheiser HD 650 in my opinion.

 

[kojebee]

I'd give a shout for the Kenwoods. Very smooth with all amps presently in my possession.

 

[1Time]

The HD650 is the smoothest of the Sennheisers.

 

[chaozh]

I like HD 540G.