Sennheiser HD650 - The classic beauty in a grey dress Appreciation thread!
- Thread starter Ryanr1987
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Will be interested to see what your impression is - the O2 and amps using a similar output topology I've heard didn't really impress me with the 600 series - its not terrible, largely transparent with i.e. IEMs but I noticed with 600 series headphones some minor loss of mid-range articulation/sounding a little smeary in demanding sections of music and a bit of an off colour to higher pitched vocals that make it harder to distinguish gender compared to some other amps.
Took me a while to notice a difference (hard to really AB when having to climb under a desk to swap plugs then swap RCA cables) but I think I'm hearing it now.
The Vali feels relaxed, a little flatter, less umph behind it all and I guess maybe less exciting. Treble feels a little toned down, which maybe explains the lack of umph and excitement?
The O2 is just BANG, in that the music just sounds more ... alive. More energetic, more range between all of the instruments.
I'd say overall the O2 just sounds more open, clearer, more in your face. The Vali is more relaxed, the music blending together maybe a little more but maybe to the point it maybe feels a little congested at times.
I'm probably leaning towards the O2 of the two amps, I like the expansive sound, the feeling of clarity and space. The Vali is great to chill to but for some more energetic stuff (I'm listening to "Pearl Jam - Ten" at the moment), the Vali feels a little too lazy. Like it's not giving me that excitement that I feel the audio should be giving me.
Yep, I've just listened to "Even Flow" on the Vali and afterwards I felt like something was missing, I wasn't getting the full song. Swapped to the O2 and immediately noticed more punch to the song, I'm feeling it more.
Interesting!
I share your impressions pretty much to a tee but I personally look at it in a different way.
Basically I feel the more natural sound comes from the Vali. I think the Vali doesn't really add too much to the sound apart from a minor bass weight. The 02 is like the Magni in which it is a raw, exposed aggressive sound which gives you quite a bit of energy.
They(02 and Magni) are like the Grado headphones, in that they will grab your attention, sound aggressive, exciting and will wow you more. But after a while, that sound becomes tiresome, you then crave warmth, vocal weight, relaxation.
The Vali is like the HD600, It is more mellow but can kick when it needs, it has energy but next to the more exciting sound it comes across as laid back. With the Vali you get more vocal emotion, smoothness.
Just my take on them.
Basically I feel the more natural sound comes from the Vali. I think the Vali doesn't really add too much to the sound apart from a minor bass weight. The 02 is like the Magni in which it is a raw, exposed aggressive sound which gives you quite a bit of energy.
They(02 and Magni) are like the Grado headphones, in that they will grab your attention, sound aggressive, exciting and will wow you more. But after a while, that sound becomes tiresome, you then crave warmth, vocal weight, relaxation.
The Vali is like the HD600, It is more mellow but can kick when it needs, it has energy but next to the more exciting sound it comes across as laid back. With the Vali you get more vocal emotion, smoothness.
Just my take on them.
Yeah O2 is a touch bright which makes it sound quite open - any idea on how old it is as? I've never heard a 2011-2012 one and I'm wondering if there has been a manufacturing change to the output op amps used since it was designed and/or just a poor batch.
The O2 I used is only a month or so old.
So its just length not SQ?
I've never noticed any sound quality difference myself - I've got the 650 cable in my 600s at the moment just because it feels the most robust of the options I've got.
The stock cable uses decent gauge OFC copper and Kevlar reinforcement (not relevant to sound but makes it more robust) so anyone talking about a SQ difference is likely to be trying to sell a replacement cable :S
EDIT: Might be some minor considerations due to interference pickup and/or stray capacitance with the lead length but the cable is designed to minimise such issues.
The stock cable uses decent gauge OFC copper and Kevlar reinforcement (not relevant to sound but makes it more robust) so anyone talking about a SQ difference is likely to be trying to sell a replacement cable :S
EDIT: Might be some minor considerations due to interference pickup and/or stray capacitance with the lead length but the cable is designed to minimise such issues.
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As long as a cable uses decent materials and is well built (and the Senn cable is) then it's not going to sound any better or worse than any other decent cable, all the talk of buying cables that improve the sound quality is a bunch of snake oil salesmanship.
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Only change I've ever heard is from my own brain adjusting to a new sound signature. I initially hated the sound of the HD650 as it sounded muffled and lacking any treble detail. This was due to me coming from the far brighter sound signature of my AKG K702s but after about an hour the details started to appear and after a couple of hours I was hearing them normally. I can switch between the two with no adjustment needed now, it's as though the signatures are filed away in my brain and I can just switch between them. 
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