what headphones do you own thread - i own dt150's :)

[mrk]

^^ He says there's a little less treble and a little more bass, not a signature I'd be a fan of I think I I really like the balance of bass and treble on offer from the stock pads. I tried the Dekoni pads both perforated and memory foam and whilst they were great, there was a little too much restriction to soundstage I though.

 

[Eddie99]

^^ He says there's a little less treble and a little more bass, not a signature I'd be a fan of I think I I really like the balance of bass and treble on offer from the stock pads. I tried the Dekoni pads both perforated and memory foam and whilst they were great, there was a little too much restriction to soundstage I though.

You still get the same bass and treble with the suede version.

 

[mrk]

Hmm I'll give them a try then but if they don't live up to the ears then you owe me!

 

[Timber]

What amp are you powering them with? I've had mine powered by multiple amps over the years and the better the headphones out is the better the volume/power of them you experience, also over time you gain a true appreciation for how they sound. It's unlikely you will ever get rid of them after as there really isn't much of a replacement for them. There's a reason why they've been around for so long with a rather large community for them as well as aftermarket support. I need to order a new set of earpads (OEM again having tried aftermarket but not found any that meet the quality standard) and keep them spare as I bought a set of OEM pads a few years ago which are still like new so waiting for the inevitable wearing out of them.

I have two PCs in the office (Fedora 39 & Win 11) so have the Fiio K5 Pro & Fiio K11. I also have the Qudelix 5K which is used with multiple devices. As per earlier in this thread I have the custom Sky Audio Cable so run balanced 4.4 or 2.5 with the K11 or Qudelix (and can use SE if required).

I love them so far, just need more to find more time to sit down with them. All of that being said I sense the Sundara's would be an interesting alternative to own. Probably different enough on the soundstage and bass that they would compliment the HD 650 well.

 

[Brizzles]

First time trying IEMs', HIDIZS MP-145, must admit they are surprisingly good for the price.

But i'll not be replacing my Audezes' just yet.

 

[mrk]

You still get the same bass and treble with the suede version.

Ok so went to order today and the total comes to £75 including shipping!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Stock pads are still available from Thomann for £34+ shipping for reference

Do the ZMF really last at least twice as long as the stock to warrant the cost I ask myself?

 

[Eddie99]

Ok so went to order today and the total comes to £75 including shipping!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Stock pads are still available from Thomann for £34+ shipping for reference

Do the ZMF really last at least twice as long as the stock to warrant the cost I ask myself?

Not the same pads but my ZMF Auteur pads are still going strong after 3 years of daily use, and the suede material feels much nicer than what they use on my HD 560S.

In the review video he mentions the stock pads only last a few weeks before the bass and treble start to roll off on both ends, and he was able to maintain the same sound for the whole month he tested the ZMF pads.

 

[mrk]

I've ordered them anyway because there's only one way to truly know

I will say though that the stock pads last much longer than a few weeks. I don't use them daily though so maybe this is why. Those that use them for hours every day probably will see them wear much sooner, or with bigger heads that apply more clamping force on the foam etc.

Typically the stock pads get me 2 years of use for reference before I can tell the foam has passed it as my ears end up touching the inner foam disc which is my signal to order new pads. NOt quite there yet with the current stock pads that I bought back in 22.

Edit, this guy says the HD660S, like the HD6XX/HD650 lacks soundstage, surely he can't be right because the HD650 has amazing natural soundstage. I've had many open air headphones for the last 20 years and always ended back with the HD650 because of the soundstage and imaging quality and of course how light they are.

At no point is the soundstage on the 650s "in your head" like he describes:

 

[Timber]

Edit, this guy says the HD660S, like the HD6XX/HD650 lacks soundstage, surely he can't be right because the HD650 has amazing natural soundstage. I've had many open air headphones for the last 20 years and always ended back with the HD650 because of the soundstage and imaging quality and of course how light they are.

At no point is the soundstage on the 650s "in your head" like he describes:

I think nearly every review or comment I read on the HD 6xx line flagged up their lack of soundstage. I certainly knew in advance going in that was apparently one of their main weakpoints, along with how they handle bass. And although I'm sure there is an element of subjectivity I do think there is something to the soundstage comments.

Even tonight I did a quick A-B test between the HD 650 and PC38X (reasonably wider on sound stage, although far from the widest headphone/set) and I can tell certain sounds are further away. Trying certain test tracks, like that Bubbles - Yosi Horikawa track everyone brings up. Sounds are much more in the room and with greater depth. I also think the binaural test on audiocheck.net sounds more natural on the PC38X. I am turning around because sounds like someone is there, much more than the HD 650s. Although not strictly sound stage. Unfortunately I don't have them anymore to try, but I think the TYGR 300R, HD 560S and K702/712 Pros are grreat at soundstage. At least when it came to gaming - which is where I tended to use those mostly (apart from the K712 Pros).

That said as to which is more natural could be debated. I think for music soundstage is less important, or at least that's my view. I do think with gaming soundstage is much more useful particularly on games that are well mastered or have huge environments, i.e. Horizon Zero Dawn.

 

[mrk]

Hmm yes for gaming soundstage matters more than for music, music you want to be intimate but still "alive", like as if you're sat in front of the band in the room and the ambience just surrounds you with the instruments clearly there covering the front 180 degrees audible vision which I find the HD650 does perfectly - It is neutral out of the box and that's what gives it that natural sound and why I've always gone back to it after buying numerous other headphones and then selling them on a while later.

I often use the HD650s for gaming though and have no issues with pinpointing exact location and distance from any sound in any modern game. I am using a DAC/Amp though not a dedicated soundcard and the output is tailored to stereo imaging so this probably helps a lot. All other 3D enhancements and effects are naturally off.

The HD650s also leverage some EQing to taste, I've found this to be the case when I replaced the NAD amps with the Topping which has gain, treble and bass controls. 2 notches on bass and 3 on treble with the gain applied gave the 650s a bit more capability and that's on top of the dedicated headphone amp output on the NADs which I found to be really excellent with that warm "NAD sound" which somehow the Topping seems to have replicated at a quarter of the cost of the NADs.

If there's ever a sale then I think I will have to just buy the updated HiFiMAN Sundara off Amazon and try them out for myself to put both back to back and see what's what. These things are quite subjective yeah, and everyone hears things differently, plus everyone has different source equipment, interconnects and whatnot that can colour sound in different ways. My only concern is that comfort is often mentioned in comments on user reviews, long session comfort seems to require re-adjusting often, something that you never have to worry about on the HD6xx series since they are so light and the earcup size/clamping quite reasonable.

I have a sneaking suspicion that I likely would end up going back to the HD650 though purely because of how honest it is and whatever you play through it, and of course the comfort even if I fall asleep wearing them.

 

[mrk]

After much trawling I came across a review of the ZMF on the HD650 and the guy has had some serious cans for comparison and given his musical tastes mentioned in the link, they seem to align with exactly why I too love the HD650:

https://www.reddit.com/r/headphones/comments/spb7i8/zmf_suede_sennheiser_hd6x0_pad_impressions/

Roll on delivery day for the pads!

This comment in particular did amuse given the headphones he's heard and owned:

I will literally pay thousands of dollars if someone made an HD650 with extension. I haven’t heard it yet, and there’s not much I haven’t heard.

Edit* Scratch all of that.... Turns out Sennheiser updated the stock pads to a new construction with different foam. Apparently they last longer than the original style ones I've been buying for years. The new ones have the article number 050635 and i found them on Amazon. Visually they have an angled interior wall and the thickness is slightly different too. They are £46 on Amazon and I just placed an order which should be arriving by the evening same day. I have cancelled the ZMF pads order as a result in favour of the updated official pads.

 

[rids57]

The HD650 are great when it comes to tone and timbre but they lose out when it comes to soundstage and imaging. I just compared them to my HD800S and the difference is rather noticeable, the soundstage is quite constrained compared with their bigger brother and the imaging is basically three blobs, centre, left and right. I still love my HD650 after all these years but I have to accept they are far from perfect.

 

[AMDPower]

These seem to have that effect on a lot of people listening to them,

Rare unboxing and AMA from an owner,

"*I WAS NOT EXPECTING THIS NEXT PART* I felt a tear forming. And then tears forming. And before I knew it I was just outright sobbing. Sobbing at the beauty of the music. The pureness and earnestness of the sound. The sweetness of it. All wrapped in this feeling of nostalgia, past memories, and a deeper sense of humanity.

Frankly speaking, it's the hardest I've cried in nearly a decade. I rarely cry."


I can't help but wonder if the grandeur of the whole thing helps add to the emotional experience, to be completely honest this is probably one headphone I would be reluctant to try out for fear of ruining everything else!

nice find..

 

[Ayahuasca]

The HD650 are great when it comes to tone and timbre but they lose out when it comes to soundstage and imaging. I just compared them to my HD800S and the difference is rather noticeable, the soundstage is quite constrained compared with their bigger brother and the imaging is basically three blobs, centre, left and right. I still love my HD650 after all these years but I have to accept they are far from perfect.

I'd certainly hope the HD800S provides a noticeable difference given the price

However, they also made the HD700 at a rather high price, which really aren't very good outside of a few niche use cases.

 

[mrk]

Yeah both HD800 and 700 series both have their flaws where the HD650 excels, likewise HD650 has its flaws where the others excel - All down to the style of sound you're after. To me the HD650s sound personal and natural, which is evident given they are mid-forward in soundstage which is what gives them that "live" feeling for music. For the price they're hard target to beat but also a big reason why many still have them and they're compared against in reviews too.

If I had a HD8XX, I'd still have the HD650 put simply But no point going that route when I'd rather have a planar driver and dynamic in combo to change things around depending on mood!

 

[Timber]

I'd certainly hope the HD800S provides a noticeable difference given the price

I'd probably really enjoy the HD 800 but unfortunately I don't think I could ever spend that much on headphones.

I do feel there's a gap in Sennheiser's range, something between the £400-700 region that isn't the HD6xx line.

Edit* Scratch all of that.... Turns out Sennheiser updated the stock pads to a new construction with different foam. Apparently they last longer than the original style ones I've been buying for years. The new ones have the article number 050635 and i found them on Amazon. Visually they have an angled interior wall and the thickness is slightly different too. They are £46 on Amazon and I just placed an order which should be arriving by the evening same day. I have cancelled the ZMF pads order as a result in favour of the updated official pads.

As someone who has only recently purchased the 650s this sounds like good news - longer lasting pads is good. I have the same page in my favourites for when I need to look at new pads. Also noticed they are readily available from that big German site.

 

[mrk]

Well new pads are here, looks like I already had the new new rveision anyway when I bought the last pair from Sennheiser direct in Jan 2022

The old pads have gone down quite a bit though!

And the old discs were well-indented

Edit*
This playlist on Spotify is excellent for headphone heads

 

[Rroff]

I'm sad Sennheiser seem to have largely dropped the Momentum line, aside from some wireless variants - the original 1.0 on-ears were stylish with quite a satisfying, if a little flawed, signature and nothing else has the bass rumble in in quite the way they do - would love an updated version which fixed (if it is possible) the audio flaws while improving the comfort a little and keeping that bass.

Have to say I'm really struggling these days with using anything other than in-ears/earbuds for anything other than short listening sessions though - especially the HD600s just sit so heavily on my head, wearing glasses doesn't help there either, even the portable Sony MDRs I have after a couple of hours feel uncomfortable.

This playlist on Spotify is excellent for headphone heads

Not my taste in music but definitely some good tunes in there for giving speakers/headphones a good workout. A few in there I've got in my speaker test playlist like Hotel California.

Playlist I use for testing (though I have most of them in higher quality than Spotify):

Not necessarily my tastes but test for variety of different things.

 

[mrk]

I'm sad Sennheiser seem to have largely dropped the Momentum line, aside from some wireless variants - the original 1.0 on-ears were stylish with quite a satisfying, if a little flawed, signature and nothing else has the bass rumble in in quite the way they do - would love an updated version which fixed (if it is possible) the audio flaws while improving the comfort a little and keeping that bass.

Have to say I'm really struggling these days with using anything other than in-ears/earbuds for anything other than short listening sessions though - especially the HD600s just sit so heavily on my head, wearing glasses doesn't help there either, even the portable Sony MDRs I have after a couple of hours feel uncomfortable.



Not my taste in music but definitely some good tunes in there for giving speakers/headphones a good workout. A few in there I've got in my speaker test playlist like Hotel California.

Playlist I use for testing (though I have most of them in higher quality than Spotify):

Not necessarily my tastes but test for variety of different things.

I'm playing that playlist on the NeoBuds Pro 2 and the bass kicking so low is rather awesome to experience from TWS buds. Playing in LDAC from the PC and it may as well be wired the clarity is that clean. Probably the best wireless earbuds I have heard to date for clarity and overall dynamics although at £120 I would expect them to be this good I guess.

I think the Baseus Eli Spot 1 has better details in the highs, more authentic sounding as they are open-air IEMs, but the bass on the NeoBuds is way punchier.

On that playlist the Why So Serious track is especially standout, at 3:25 when that low bass comes in I can feel the bass in my head with the little clicks in the background slowly fading in, it's so precise with no distortion at even 90% volume it's an experience for sure from in-ears.


I have a custom playlist I add new tracks to as I come across them btw just for demonstrating speakers/headphones:

 

[Rroff]

On that playlist the Why So Serious track is especially standout, at 3:25 when that low bass comes in I can feel the bass in my head with the little clicks in the background slowly fading in, it's so precise with no distortion at even 90% volume it's an experience for sure from in-ears.

Yeah Hans Zimmer is almost always gold and a serious test of any headphones if you've got a decent quality version of his music as he really knows what he is doing.