Sennheiser HD650 - The classic beauty in a grey dress Appreciation thread!

The 650 get better over time for comfort. When the headband loosens abd the pads become soft they will ease up.

The X2 are very comfortable headphones. I find the creamy sound of the 650 to take me away so I don't judge them too much. I hope you hate them so I have them back in the future when I'm settled financially lol
 
Nah I still have it. My LCD-2's got returned with fixed drivers I was going to sale them but they wouldn't shift right away and selling some of my other stuff already covered everything.
 
I don't feel the X7 fails to drive the HD650 at all. My only complaint is the stock Opamp lacks bass and slightly boost the treble. For some this is ideal because the HD650 can be a little too thick sounding for those used to leaner headphones like the K7 series or Beyers.

The X7 should be able to move anything except some stubborn headphones like the HE-6 and obviously electrostats. The only reason I don't use it as a one and only is because the Mojo has my ideal sound and I like to listen in different rooms.
 
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I do miss the comfort of the X2. They sounded really good with some of the Japanese mixed with american rap tracks I have, actually better than any other headphones I have with that type of music but they couldn't resolve for sheet.

Please Philips, make a resolving, musical headphone with the same comfort and I will buy them.
 
I bought some 650's the other day as it looks like I'm going to be stable money wise for a while.

I traded my 2016 LCD-2's for a 2010 pair of LCDs and oh my god it's amazing how alike they both are but the LCD-2.1 are smoother more effortless and seductive it's a shame Audeze can't keep this sound signature.

650's will be a permanent back up pair especially with those cooler velour pads.
 
Disco_P said:
So I bought a Vali from Twst but have never owned a headphone amp before so I am not really sure how to set it up. At the moment I have my 650 plugged into my Xonar Xense which I use the 300-600 Ohm setting in the drivers and then adjust volume in windows (normally between 10-40%).

Do these settings need changing for the Vali or does it really not matter?

Also should I avoid putting the vali on my desk with my mouse and keyboard cause of the ringing that you get with tube amps?
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Unless you bang your table when you rock out. The Vali isn't that bad with ringing at all. If you tap it with pressure it will ring for about half a min at the most. I didn't find the Vali to be suspectable to interference like the Ember I had.
 
I need to roll op amps on my X7 although I do like the airy signature for soundstage in most games. I personally would prefer something a little thicker for the current HD600 that has a peak in the upper mid range but I recall you saying your HD600 was pretty smoothed over?
 
The pair I heard recently seem to have the stiffer pads like the black box 650's. I noticed the upper mids still had that peak that my 600's had a few years ago, good resolution I thought it was closer to the 650 than I previously thought but not as refined in the treble and not as neutral through the mid range but otherwise excellent.

I think all HD600 and 650's will have the stiffer pads which will need time to break in. The HD600 I listened to I compared to the Mrspeakers Ether. I thought the HD600 was a superior headphone when it came to balance especially in the treble. Resolution was about the same on my Chord Mojo. It is incredible that the 600 series is still so good and that other headphones companies need to step it up big time in their price points.


For the 600 series I'd personally just grab a Bottle Head Crack and call it a day, I'm sure you'd build one without much sweat. When my LCD-2 pre fazor eventually die, and they will because let's face it; they are made from Audeze - I may consider another Crack.
 
Yeah SS generally has a cleaner more potent bass. I think the reason I've kept my Chord Mojo so long minus it's convenience is because extended at both ends and had a slight bloom to the sound with great thump!

The Crack plus HD650 has really magical mids but it's always nice to have that sub bass.


By the way listen to The Sound Of Silence by Disturbed OMG it sounds so good on the LCD-2/HD650 and I imagine 600 the vocals just haunt your head.
 
flinco said:
I have a new pair of these HD650s arriving tomorrow.

I currently have Goldring DR-150s and a FIIO E10K. I do not plan on upgrading the E10K.

The OP states that certain headphones like AKG K712 will sound better on lower end gear. Is the E10K sufficient to make the HD650s sound good? Or am I better off returning them and getting the AKGs?
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The K712 IMO will sound better on the Fiio gear in terms of dynamics, clarity. The 650 really come to life on amps like the Bottle Head Crack, Valhalla2 and even the Little Dot offerings like the MK3 and even better on the Zana and Icon HP2.

The 650's are not the cleanest headphones but their resolution and detail retrival is only rivaled by the HD800 IMO! They have the best tonal balance, smoothest treble and Cohesiveness that can only be rivaled by an older LCD-2 and bats of you are lucky and get a good one. If you plan to upgrade your gear in the future you 650 will reward you. Out of the Fiio gear you will drive them fine but if you want to see what they really can do take your 650 to an audio store and demo some of their high end amps and you will hear a headphone that will put most expensive headphones to shame.
 
If you want to experiment with tubes on a budget the MKII is a good amp -I thought it was pretty close to the MKIII with the right tubes. The Vali is more resolving sounds a little more high end than the MKII overall. The Vali has a slight aggressiveness to its treble but not harsh, slight lag to its vocals giving a haunting quality. MKII is inherently dryer, can really sound fantastic with the right tubes like the M8161, the vocals were outstanding and is one my fav parings for vocals to date.

If you are the adventurous type, go with the MKII

If you are a plug on and play, go Vali.
 
Listen to the 650 for a week then switch back to the X2. Their signatures will become more obvious. You will notice the large resolution gap between the two. Sometimes many struggle with A B comparisons -if I don't have my reference tracks on hand I'd struggle to give a good explanation of differences as our ears need time to adjust and our brains to understand the sound signatures.

Try this, listen to Hotel California and don't pay attention to the main cues; instead listen to the subtle cues ones you normally wouldn't pay attention to and then switch headphones...I bet they wouldn't be audible on the X2 or not as obvious.
 
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