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

I just spoke to the guy who made my last Bottlehead Crack and he has two in build at the moment. I do kind of regret selling my last Crack. I'm going to take my 650 to my local audio dealer tomorrow and ask if they can crack a new LCD-2 out of the case so I can demo them. If I feel there's minimal difference then I'll get another Crack.
 
How much does he put on the price, got me curious if there is much of a market out there for them. Especially as I could do custom wood finishes
 
He sales then for £350 which is a pretty good! Cracks don't stay in the classifieds for long so there's a market for them for sure. If you can do custom finishes then I'm sure you can make something from them. Maybe grab a couple of kits and show off your work to build interest.
 
Quite looking forward to tomorrow. while I'm at Custom Cable I'm going to compare my 650 to other things. Is anyone interested in certain comparisons to the 650? Excuse to try more things haha
 
Ryan does your fav cables shop place have schiit on the shelves to demo? I want to try out a schiit piece for the 650s but don't want to order online only to find it doesn't offer much or anything over my D7050 and end up having to sell or return.

I want some schiit in my life! They make great looking amps and have a no nonsense approach to their marketing which I like. But the D7050 has a dedicated HP amp too.

Assuming I did get a standalone headphone amp, I'd be powering it through the NAD, the D7050 has line out, so that would feed into the HP amp, so that doesn't need to have a DAC built in or stacked on to it.

Alternatively the O2+ODAC Revision B might be something that could give greater amplification for the 650s without adding any colour to the sound.
 
Unfortunately not, no. They do have some fantastic amps for demo though. The Chord Mojo would be available and that pairs great with the 650.

If you want to use your D7050 as a DAC then get the Valhalla 2 and call it a day, honestly. The Val 2 is the second best pairing under 1k IMO after the Crack and it spanks the 02 for everything. It doesn't sound tubey like the Chinese brands. It's resolving, quick, balanced with a natural sound to it.



It's so refreshing coming home from custom cable and putting the 650's back on my head, so much more impact, natural tone separation!
 
Ah that's a bummer, do you use the Valhalla 2 for the 650s then or the Mojo?

I had the V2 bookmarked, but the only place in the UK selling them have them out of stock.
 
No I'm using the Mojo at the moment and will add a Crack to the chain again. I've had the Val 2 on a loan and it was fantastic. You can try Schiit Europe? I think even the US comes to a similar price. If you don't wanna get a Crack then I would personally wait for a Val2.
 
The crack looks a bit ghastly though and those top mounted sockets :o

I like the Val 2, I can even spray the case satin black if I do like and and end up keeping it. Europe it is!
 
Haha yeah I agree, It also is huge! I had to shift all my consoles over to make room, my god though! the sound it produces.

Awesome! make sure you share impressions when it arrives! and photos! Val2 is gorgeous.
 
Looks like ordering from the USA is the best option. What are resale values like assuming I end up not finding it offering much over the HP amp on the 7050? It would appear on casual glance that they are rather popular anyway so I should not lose much money at all. I don't fancy shipping it back to the USA you see.

Edit*
Found the correct EU site :D
 
Last edited:
Ryanr1987 said:
Haha yeah I agree, It also is huge! I had to shift all my consoles over to make room, my god though! the sound it produces.

Awesome! make sure you share impressions when it arrives! and photos! Val2 is gorgeous.
Click to expand...

Have you tried the solid stater Schiit stuff like the Asgard? I don't think I want to faff about with tubes, but I've never experienced them so don't know how different the sound is between the Schiit SS and tube stuff.
 
mrk said:
Looks like ordering from the USA is the best option. What are resale values like assuming I end up not finding it offering much over the HP amp on the 7050? It would appear on casual glance that they are rather popular anyway so I should not lose much money at all. I don't fancy shipping it back to the USA you see.

Edit*
Found the correct EU site :D
Click to expand...

No trouble reselling at all. Ah that's good, saves waiting for customs! Did you get another cable sorted? I'm looking into getting a nice chunky, custom cable.
Tephnos said:
Have you tried the solid stater Schiit stuff like the Asgard? I don't think I want to faff about with tubes, but I've never experienced them so don't know how different the sound is between the Schiit SS and tube stuff.
Click to expand...

While I love their Vali and Val2, I'm not the biggest fan of the Schiit house sound which tends to be a little rough, dry a bit less musical than I usually like(Val2 is smoother, more hifi, refined and doesn't really fit this category and so does the Vali). All are technically very good though and this is just a sound preference on my side.

Asgard 2 reminds me of a more refined magni, a bit warmer, bit more musical, I'd say it's somewhere between the Magni and Vali in tone.

I think the Vali is their best model outside of the Val. With the vali, the tubes are not roll-able so you don't have to worry about tube rolling and it's very small.
 
Yup I ordered a custom Litz braided 8core cable. 1.8m in length so perfect for my desktop and slouched back usage. Valhalla 2 inc shipping from Europe comes to £307.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top Bottom