Sennheiser Hd650: Any good?

Archived from groups: rec.audio.tech (More info?)

"Asterix" <alon.wolman@verizon.net> wrote in message news:<G7sad.5336$Mh7.951@trnddc04>...
> What do you think?

Suggest you:

* Go to Google.com
* Search groups for:

Sennheiser Hd650

Archived from groups: rec.audio.tech (More info?)

I would suggest you listen to them, and judge buy what you hear. Also,
visit the various sites that give out opinion, but in the end, you must
trust what you hear. Sennheiser is a reputable manufacture of
professional audio equipment with a very high reputation for all their
products.

--

Jerry G.
======

"Asterix" <alon.wolman@verizon.net> wrote in message
news:G7sad.5336$Mh7.951@trnddc04...
What do you think?

Archived from groups: rec.audio.tech (More info?)

"Asterix" <alon.wolman@verizon.net> wrote in message
news:5nOad.3850$Rp4.1095@trnddc01
> Hi,
>
> trying to gain insight into these phones... they have a fascinating
> character that I getting used to. Definately a high-quality, detailed
> sound but maybe a little bit bright and stinging (not-so-mellow) and
> somehow tainted with a sort of coating of some sort. That's my major
> gripe. Does anyone know what I'm talking about? It's as if the phones
> were designed with primarily pop and rock music in mind (not
> classical like the hd600 'symphony'.) The response is not flat and
> there is something tiresome about it. Nonetheless I can't seem to put
> them down, since the sound is very immersive and sensous.

So what's going on here, are you suffering from buyer's remorse?

Archived from groups: rec.audio.tech (More info?)

Arny Krueger wrote:
>
> "Asterix" <alon.wolman@verizon.net> wrote in message
> news:5nOad.3850$Rp4.1095@trnddc01
> > Hi,
> >
> > trying to gain insight into these phones... they have a fascinating
> > character that I getting used to. Definately a high-quality, detailed
> > sound but maybe a little bit bright and stinging (not-so-mellow) and
> > somehow tainted with a sort of coating of some sort. That's my major
> > gripe. Does anyone know what I'm talking about? It's as if the phones
> > were designed with primarily pop and rock music in mind (not
> > classical like the hd600 'symphony'.) The response is not flat and
> > there is something tiresome about it. Nonetheless I can't seem to put
> > them down, since the sound is very immersive and sensous.
>
> So what's going on here, are you suffering from buyer's remorse?


Arny, that's one of the things I really like about you--right to
the point! I very much think I would like to meet you personally
some day. :-)

I think I empathize with the OP questions as I've been there
before. You get a system put together and it does so many things
just "right" to your liking but there's this one thing that
doesn't fit into your comfort zone the way you want it to. In
order to decide what to do about it, you need to get a better
handle on exactly what "it" is. I've always found that getting
other's opinions and interpretations was always beneficial to me,
even if I end up disagreeing with them. Ultimately the increase
in understanding of the problem winds up with you replacing the
component or changing something else to balance out the things
you don't like about it but enabling you to keep what you do like.

Anyway, responding to the OP's question, I'm not familiar with
the 650's but I did use the 580 and 600s a lot prior to loosing
my job a way's back (and subsequently most of my audio equipment)
:-( The 580 and 600 phones are extremely similar. If you know of
anywhere you could get a pair to borrow for a while, listen to
them at length and use them in comparison with the 650's. The
600s or 580s may be a bit less fatiquing to listen than the 650s
and that might be what you are experiencing. Also, because the
580/600 phones are similar in other ways to the 650s, it could
help you get a better handle on what it is that doesn't seem
quite "right" to you.

Also, the electronics driving the phones can have subtle
differences in the way the final sound is presented. Some of the
phones like the 600's can also sound better with an external
headphone amp that can better drive the higher impedance phones
so you might want to experiment there too if you really like most
of how the 650's sound.

- Jeff

Archived from groups: rec.audio.tech (More info?)

> The
> 600s or 580s may be a bit less fatiquing to listen than the 650s
> and that might be what you are experiencing.

They are! (I own a pair of 580's) Not only that but the 580's sound more
accurate/even in terms of the tonal spectrum.

> Some of the
> phones like the 600's can also sound better with an external
> headphone amp that can better drive the higher impedance phones
> so you might want to experiment there too if you really like most
> of how the 650's sound.

Absolutely, these headphones require an amp, and since the 650's are so
extraordinarily sensitive, a good quality one is necessary to reap the
benefits of these higher end phones. My $50 cmoy amp just doesn't cut it. I
am considering upgrading to a Ray Samuels Audio Emmeline SR-71 portable
solid-state amp.

On my Luxman tube amp, with 2 EL34's/channel in a push/pull configuration
(35 watts/channel,) the 650's reveal everything. The sweet, laid-back sound
of the tubes comes right through. Everything is there. Not to mention the
improvements in the sound all the way from the deepest bass to piercing high
notes. These headphones sound amazingly in tune (perhaps because they are
made with a diaphragm of variable strength tuned by ear) as well.

What I don't like about them is that they are not as laid-back as the 580's.
The 580's make it feel like you are in the center of the audience, not right
next to the instrumentalist. They simply are a pleasure on my ears from that
regard. But at the same time they don't reveal all of the details and
nuances that the 650's can. They also don't have as pure a sound, without as
much sparkle and shine.

The 650's are great phones but the 580/600 may be more listenable.
Personally I can't put the 650's down because of the good things it offers.
I just wish it would more like the 580/600 in terms of basic listenability.

Asterix



"Jeff Wiseman" <wisemanja@earthlink.net> wrote in message
news:416CA94C.DD9BF616@earthlink.net...
>
>
> Arny Krueger wrote:
> >
> > "Asterix" <alon.wolman@verizon.net> wrote in message
> > news:5nOad.3850$Rp4.1095@trnddc01
> > > Hi,
> > >
> > > trying to gain insight into these phones... they have a fascinating
> > > character that I getting used to. Definately a high-quality, detailed
> > > sound but maybe a little bit bright and stinging (not-so-mellow) and
> > > somehow tainted with a sort of coating of some sort. That's my major
> > > gripe. Does anyone know what I'm talking about? It's as if the phones
> > > were designed with primarily pop and rock music in mind (not
> > > classical like the hd600 'symphony'.) The response is not flat and
> > > there is something tiresome about it. Nonetheless I can't seem to put
> > > them down, since the sound is very immersive and sensous.
> >
> > So what's going on here, are you suffering from buyer's remorse?
>
>
> Arny, that's one of the things I really like about you--right to
> the point! I very much think I would like to meet you personally
> some day. :-)
>
> I think I empathize with the OP questions as I've been there
> before. You get a system put together and it does so many things
> just "right" to your liking but there's this one thing that
> doesn't fit into your comfort zone the way you want it to. In
> order to decide what to do about it, you need to get a better
> handle on exactly what "it" is. I've always found that getting
> other's opinions and interpretations was always beneficial to me,
> even if I end up disagreeing with them. Ultimately the increase
> in understanding of the problem winds up with you replacing the
> component or changing something else to balance out the things
> you don't like about it but enabling you to keep what you do like.
>
> Anyway, responding to the OP's question, I'm not familiar with
> the 650's but I did use the 580 and 600s a lot prior to loosing
> my job a way's back (and subsequently most of my audio equipment)
> :-( The 580 and 600 phones are extremely similar. If you know of
> anywhere you could get a pair to borrow for a while, listen to
> them at length and use them in comparison with the 650's. The
> 600s or 580s may be a bit less fatiquing to listen than the 650s
> and that might be what you are experiencing. Also, because the
> 580/600 phones are similar in other ways to the 650s, it could
> help you get a better handle on what it is that doesn't seem
> quite "right" to you.
>
> Also, the electronics driving the phones can have subtle
> differences in the way the final sound is presented. Some of the
> phones like the 600's can also sound better with an external
> headphone amp that can better drive the higher impedance phones
> so you might want to experiment there too if you really like most
> of how the 650's sound.
>
> - Jeff