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

Nocky24 said:
Anyone here tested the 660S against the 650s yet?
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If only I could. I really don't think there will be much in it but as I get horrible feelings of wanting pointless things I will probably get the 660S at some point soon and sell my 650's on. For ease I may well get them from you-know-where that has an easy returns policy so I can try them side by side.
 
My HD6XXs arrived today. So happy. Only problem is, I need something to drive them now. What would people recommend I use? Looking for something for listening to music, watching TV shows/movies and also music production in Ableton Live.
 
So i have the massdrop hd650s coming this year, around december i believe. I know people say they arent great for gaming but i couldnt help myself and that is my primary use. Currently i have a Soundblaster Z in my machine. To make the most of these but retain the surround capabilities what do i need to buy? I looked at the schiit stack but then realised that i would lose my surround sound in games.

Do i need to buy a stronger amp than the sbz has and connect the headphones to that?
 
jubei said:
I know people say they arent great for gaming but i couldnt help myself and that is my primary use. Currently i have a Soundblaster Z in my machine. To make the most of these but retain the surround capabilities what do i need to buy?
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Why are they not great for gaming? :confused: I use them for gaming now and then, they're good for a general stereo setup. I've used them for Prey at night, they perform very well.

I'm not a fan of fake surround processing, can't stand it and I've used a few implementations to try and get into it, but they generally suck. The GSX 1000 isn't a great DAC/AMP, but has one of the best surround functions, also the ASUS Essence STX surround is almost acceptable. But I can't stand them both. IMO, if you want surround, get a 5.1 speaker setup.
 
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I've used them for gaming and they were initially ok, though not as accurate as my AKG K702 when it came to imaging, so the placement of footsteps and other environmental noises weren't as easy to pinpoint. Also, the sound stage is quite intimate, so games where you spend a lot of time outside are not as realistic as even though you can see the sky and the far horizon, the sound cues were telling me something different.

To be honest though, once you get through a couple of days of gaming with the HD650, your brain adjusts and compensates, so everything ends up feeling just fine sound stage wise, though the slightly diffuse imaging would be an ongoing problem.

They are certainly not in the same league as my HE400i when it comes to gaming, the imaging on those is far, far sharper.
 
jubei said:
So i have the massdrop hd650s coming this year, around december i believe. I know people say they arent great for gaming but i couldnt help myself and that is my primary use. Currently i have a Soundblaster Z in my machine. To make the most of these but retain the surround capabilities what do i need to buy? I looked at the schiit stack but then realised that i would lose my surround sound in games.

Do i need to buy a stronger amp than the sbz has and connect the headphones to that?
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If you're going to use an external DAC I think you can still use the features of the sbz using your card's optical out instead of USB, assuming the DAC has optical in.
 
rids57 said:
I've used them for gaming and they were initially ok, though not as accurate as my AKG K702 when it came to imaging, so the placement of footsteps and other environmental noises weren't as easy to pinpoint. Also, the sound stage is quite intimate, so games where you spend a lot of time outside are not as realistic as even though you can see the sky and the far horizon, the sound cues were telling me something different.

To be honest though, once you get through a couple of days of gaming with the HD650, your brain adjusts and compensates, so everything ends up feeling just fine sound stage wise, though the slightly diffuse imaging would be an ongoing problem.

They are certainly not in the same league as my HE400i when it comes to gaming, the imaging on those is far, far sharper.
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:D 9/10, good job.
 
i just received HD6xx , but for some reason i m not feeling them they seem to be lower volume then mine old hd555 and less comfortable ? any suggestions

edit: they clamp vhard and foam is quit hard to is it because is it new or suppose to be like it, also sound seems to be lower compared hd555

ps : i dont have amp / dac
 
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They are quieter because they are much harder to drive than the HD555 and absolutely require an amp / dac to get the most out of them.

The clamping force is easily adjusted by pulling the extensions out to the max, so that the metal band is showing and then carefully bend just the metal band outwards a little, making sure not to put any pressure on the plastic or IT WILL BREAK.
 
The foam isn't that hard on any of my 600 series - it compacts down to about half its size before becoming more rigid.

These definitely need proper driving.
 
Been pulled from the Sennheiser website.

Been hiding at the back of their website for a few weeks, but you can only now buy them with the Apogee Groove and I don't expect there is a lot of them available.
 
Hi all.

I'm looking for a new set of headphones to use with my PC which I game and listen to music on.

I'm struggling to decide on a new set and there's so much choice out there and I don't want to stick with a gaming headset as I've read they have inferior sound.

Would the HD650 (or 660S) be a bad choice being an audiophile type set of headphones?
 
trawetSluaP said:
Hi all.

I'm looking for a new set of headphones to use with my PC which I game and listen to music on.

I'm struggling to decide on a new set and there's so much choice out there and I don't want to stick with a gaming headset as I've read they have inferior sound.

Would the HD650 (or 660S) be a bad choice being an audiophile type set of headphones?
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660S would be good choice but as with all good headphones, you really want something good to drive them with. If they are similar sounding to the HD650. which by and large they do, will be fine for both, but definitely more music orientated.

What's your gaming / music split and what are you planning on driving them with?

You might be better off with some AKG's, either the K712 (owned some they are excellent) or a long time favourite of mine, the cheaper and easier to drive K550.
 
PapaLazaru said:
660S would be good choice but as with all good headphones, you really want something good to drive them with. If they are similar sounding to the HD650. which by and large they do, will be fine for both, but definitely more music orientated.

What's your gaming / music split and what are you planning on driving them with?

You might be better off with some AKG's, either the K712 (owned some they are excellent) or a long time favourite of mine, the cheaper and easier to drive K550.
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Just want some headphones to play with for now, so nothing driving them for the mean time. Will be split 50/50 really.
 
PapaLazaru said:
Depends on how much you want to spend, it can get expensive very quickly. :D
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I've certainly noticed this!

Essentially I'd like a really nice pair of headphones with amazing sound quality. The one thing I need them to have is deep ear cups as if they aren't they'll irritate my ears! Having said this if a decent amp is needed to have them properly perform then please recommend away and I'm consider my budget!
 
Akg k712 pro are fantastic and I actually preferred them to my HD650 for sound quality but they are hard to drive. It needn't cost the earth with a good s/h amp or soundcard
 
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