The All Purpose Advice Thread

Discussion in 'Advice Threads' started by purr1n, Sep 26, 2015.

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  1. barelyincollege

    barelyincollege Nice Pit Bull

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    Try Shozy's earbuds, they have smaller housings than VE's offerings.
     
  2. Imraan

    Imraan Friend

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    Thanks @Warped and @winders for the replies. I've been offline for a few days, work and child commitments. @Didactylos, the above is all correct & I think definitely worth tinkering with. It's a powerful, high-quality and expandable system that also gives you a lot of added value in the metadata and music discovery areas. I also have a mix of FLAC and ALAC files, which Roon handles seamlessly.

    Interested to hear how you get on, feel free to PM me...
     
  3. Ice-man

    Ice-man Friend

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    I just wanted to put this out there. I sold off my 650's a few weeks ago, to fund a pair of pre-calibrated pair from Sonarworks. Long story short, it didn't work out and I ended up with nothing. So I said screw it, I'll just buy a brand new pair of 650's and move on. I ordered a new pair from Amazon and got them on Friday. Now here's the rub...they sound nothing like my old 650 (both silver drivers in the newer style box).

    The new pair is "thinner" and more neutral especially in the mid range. Vocals pale in comparison to my old pair iirc. Yeah, I know that there are some differences due to pad wear. I get that. But I had just replaced the pads on my old pair a few weeks before selling them. And maybe burn in plays some role here. But damn, these sound WAY different than my old pair and not in a good way. I'm thinking possibly a silent revision or something.

    Now that being said, who wants to trade their old ratty pair for my brand new ones? :confused:
     
  4. Skyline

    Skyline Double-blindly done with this hobby

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    @Ice-man

    Now you've got me really curious about how mine stack up. I'm guessing they're of the thin(ner) more neutral variety. They certainly don't have a veil like the pair I borrowed from @rtaylor76 , but I believe his were the old drivers and with more worn pads so that didn't surprise me so much.

    And thus began the SBAF craze for "vintage" HD650s. :p
     
  5. SineDave

    SineDave Friend

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    I've done some searching but can't find anything addressing this particular question, so hopefully some folks here can help me out.

    I'm currently running a maxxed out ECP Torpedo III as my daily driver amp at work with SDR modded HD800's fed by a Gungnir Multibit Gen5.

    I'm looking to upgrade amps, which appears to leave a couple of options that are well respected around here. Either Eddie Current (ZDS, Aficionado), or Donald North Audio (Stratus). I am currently trying to determine if I would like the sonic signature more of DNA or EC, however audition opportunities for this gear are really hard to find locally here in Houston. Is anyone able to contrast the way these amps sound at all? I'll continue to hunt for a meet I can attend to hear them.
     
  6. Ice-man

    Ice-man Friend

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    I want my damned veil back. This pair sounds like @Bill-P modded the shit out of them until they are dead neutrtal...lifeless...unengaging...better for mixing than listening to music for enjoyment (heavy sigh). I'll continue to burn them in and hope for the best.
     
  7. Dino

    Dino Friend

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    @Ice-man - That is disturbing. I would enter the label ID into the Sennheiser authentication page out of curiosity. (Actually, I have done that when I bought new HD650s just because it is there.) I have not heard of counterfeits, but I would wonder.

    http://qr-sennheiser.com/index.php?id=5&L=1&id=5

    Edit: I would also exchange your pair for another new pair since Amazon makes that so easy (if you bought directly from Amazon rather than an Amazon seller) in case yours are defective. I never heard of HD650s sounding like yours. I also have not noticed any changes from using new HD650s for a while. (I never tried burn-in with these.)
     
    Last edited: Sep 25, 2017
  8. Elnrik

    Elnrik Super Friendly

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    My pair is about 11 years old. Chips on the headband paint. Not modified. I swore I would never sell them, but I might be convinced to do so. They have new pads and headband pad.
     
  9. Dino

    Dino Friend

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    I hope no one in authority got tired of reading "Sennheiser Veil"...
     
  10. Armaegis

    Armaegis Friend

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    I think the whole veil thing came about because back in the day one of the big competitors was Grado. Everything is going to sound "veiled" in comparison to them, and the Senns especially so; and then once a term gets lobbied around long enough, it just becomes the norm and is parroted without much thought because just the hint of truth without context is enough to propagate it (like Grados are "good for rock"). Nowadays we have so many murky cans (I'm looking at you Sony) you wouldn't blink twice at the HD650.
     
    Last edited: Sep 25, 2017
  11. Ice-man

    Ice-man Friend

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    I don't mean to seem like a nub, but is there really a prevalent issue with fake 650's?
     
  12. Brad Tombaugh

    Brad Tombaugh Facebook Friend

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    I also think that my HD600’s sounded “veiled” when they aren’t driven well... Off of a TEAC HA-P50 portable amp/DAC with a Burr-Brown chip, they sound soft. Moving to a Jotunheim, and switching to a balanced cable, made an enormous difference in the tightest/clarity of the bass, as well as the crispness/clarity of the highs. I think that the better DAC, additional power, and the push/pull using a balanced drive all contribute to the sound that you get from the Sennheisers. I can understand how someone who listens to the Sennheisers on a less resolving, less powerful setup would describe them as veiled, especially if their reference was a Grado or Beyerdynamic.
     
    Last edited: Sep 25, 2017
  13. Dino

    Dino Friend

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    I hope you didn't get that from my post. I just check them because it's so easy to do it.
     
  14. Ice-man

    Ice-man Friend

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    It's no problem. I was just curious if the hd6x0 was being faked. I was finally able to check and the florescent sticker on the box matches the serial number under the earpad. So I guess these are legit.
     
    Last edited: Sep 25, 2017
  15. Grahad2

    Grahad2 Red eyes from too much anime

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    If you can measure it or get an exchange, just do it. Try as the machines might, manufacturing processes and QA aren't perfect, especially when bean counters appear.
     
  16. nithhoggr

    nithhoggr Author of the best selling novel Digital Jesus

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    For several years I'd had an HD580 (with HD600 grills and HD650 cable, the configuration considered the poor man's HD600 back in the day on Head-fi), but one of its drivers died fairly recently. I've mostly given up the idea of repairing it (since it seems like any option would either lead to mismatched drivers or cost as much as a new set of headphones anyway), but, despite having an HD650, I still miss the sound of the HD580. I've considered just getting an HD600 or getting a second HD650/HD6XX to KISS mod, since I've heard that's close to the sound, but I was curious if there're any better headphones with a similar sound signature. Ideally, I'm looking for something with a sound signature similar to the 580 but with more detail and resolution (and a bigger soundstage couldn't hurt!). I'd heard the HD800 suggested as a possibility, but I've heard so much about the 800's trebel emphasis I'm a little leery of them...some reviews make them out to almost be Grados.

    Sorry if it's a bit of a well-worn question...I'd tried searching for an answer for some time, but since practically every headphone in existence has seemingly been compared to the HD600 at some point, and so many of those reviewers were inexperienced or otherwise untrustworthy, that I got rather overwhelmed trying to sort through the glut of mostly bad information.
     
  17. TwoEars

    TwoEars Friend

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    @SineDave I believe @songmic has owned both (owns?) and the HD800, he might be the guy to ask. I would be interested to hear what he says as well.
     
  18. dubharmonic

    dubharmonic Friend

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    Looking for advice on some kind of desktop stand / shelf / rack thing to organize components with 2 or 3 levels. Everything I've found with Google seems to be meant for large speaker amps. Is there a search term I'm missing? What do you guys use?

    Here's what the desk looks like now for reference.
    [​IMG]
     
  19. msommers

    msommers High on Epipens

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    Probably DIY if possible. A very basic small table to fit over Yggdrasil should clean things up if you can attach on the Mac (or visa versa).
     
  20. dubharmonic

    dubharmonic Friend

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    Thanks, any suggestions on parts or materials to use? I'm not much of a handyman :)
     
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