Sennheiser HD650

Discussion in 'Headphones' started by Jeangenie, Sep 27, 2015.

  1. Psalmanazar

    Psalmanazar Most improved member; A+

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    Yeah HD 800 upper mids are dipped. The HD 600 is slightly forward in the upper mids to lower treble and the HD 650 is smoothed out. You should just test everything ABC (with D maybe being speakers) with a recording you like. I find planars to have the upper mids recessed compared to most dynamic drivers.

    From purrin on CS:

    "RAW HD800 MEASUREMENTS

    Driver is resting on top to the measurement rig. ~1mm

    Top: Simulated free-air / sponge.
    Bottom: Simulated pinna against skin/bone / solid-plate

    There is some serious potential for this driver... for either a closed or open headphone where the drivers are held closer to the ear."

    [​IMG]

    Sennheiser's resonator tech or damping skills could make the ring drivers ridiculously good. I'm surprised no modder has tried to build an HD 850 hybrid yet though the HD 800 housing is what's boosting the air giving the "false detail" forwardness on top of the real detail many people like.
     
  2. purr1n

    purr1n Desire for betterer is endless.

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    If I have time, I will transplant my HD800 drivers into a baffle mounted inside STAX SR007 cups.

    On the HD600 vs HD650 thing, what I really would like is an HD625, or more precisely, an HD650 (mods) with the Fs moved down from 100Hz to 50Hz. The major difference between the latest production cans is the HD650 has more midbass. Minor differences are that the HD650 seem better damped and slightly less efficient as a result.
     
  3. Rthomas

    Rthomas Friend

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    You can resell that BW to me anytime :D
     
  4. sphinxvc

    sphinxvc Gear Master (retired)

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    If they were the same price, I'd take the SR009 and KGSSHV over the 650s in an anemic caffeinated hummingbird's heartbeat. But they are not, and I love my modded 650s.

    See? No groupthink.
     
  5. Koth Ganesh

    Koth Ganesh Friend

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    Dude, I've got a bunch of other stuff I wish I could hang on people but the EC amps are not among them....;)

    Add: In all honesty, after joining this group, I could not sell the Audez'e and the Burson to anybody, not even in Head-fi.
     
  6. SoupRKnowva

    SoupRKnowva Official SBAF South Korean Ambassador

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    Haha same here, when I made the decision to go with the HD800s over my 009s back in the summer of last year, it was for two reasons. The first was the cost, the 009s, especially at the time were very expensive. The second was that I thought the 800s were better, technicality wise, headphones.

    Nothing to do with liking them more. I definitely prefer the 009s myself. And now I've learned that I even prefer the modded 650s to the 800s.

    For the same cost, it would be a no brainer for me to pick the 009s. Not to mention I'm slowly discovering that the top of my head is very sensitive or something, cause I'm eventually feeling pain on the top of my head with every non suspension headband headphone I've tried.
     
  7. Muse Wanderer

    Muse Wanderer Friend

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    Thanks for your advice. It looks like I need to find an HD600 and HD650 with balanced cables and try them on my system. The problem is where to find one? Maybe there is a Sennheiser retailer in London who could loan me two pairs. Or else opt for Amazon and use their return service that is quite convenient.

    Even my old meager Beyerdynamic DT660 sounds more neutral and flat, despite its obvious lack of clarity, resolution, bass and dynamics. I had seen its frequency plot and it is nicely flat giving strings a very pronounced lift. Of course it can only be regarded as a last resort as my etymotics are also neutral with way more clarity.

    Probably the HD600 or HD650 will give me the flat neutral tonality that my HD800S lacks. Even though yesterday I used the parametric equalisation to lift the 3800Hz range by 4db with a wide Q of 2 and it did the trick. High vocals and strings lifted nicely with not much deterioration in sound quality even though the soundstage did close up a bit.
     
  8. sphinxvc

    sphinxvc Gear Master (retired)

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    Anyone try out the 650 without the grill in place? Much difference in open-ness? Worth it?

    Will try it out, hopefully this weekend.
     
  9. Hands

    Hands Overzealous Auto Flusher - Measurbator

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    Yes, any subjective or measurable differences without the grill are so small that it doesn't seem worth it. But give it a shot yourself, and maybe you'll like it.
     
  10. lm4der

    lm4der A very good sport - Friend

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    Biggest improvement I have heard in my hd650's: I replaced my year-and-a-half old pads with new ones. Whoa. Treble is better, more airy and present, and the bass feels better balanced, less bloomy or thick.
     
  11. Peter78

    Peter78 New

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    Interesting. I'm surprised that after only 1.5 years, they needed replacing. Do you use them a lot?
     
  12. lm4der

    lm4der A very good sport - Friend

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    Well, the old one's don't seem excessively crushed down, but new ones have more lift. I listen probably 1-2 hours most days of the week.

    Hmmm, I am a rather warm blooded individual, ie I like very cold weather and I sweat even when the temperature isn't that warm. I think my ancestors are northern Swedes. I wonder if that could have accelerated some kind of flattening.
     
  13. Hands

    Hands Overzealous Auto Flusher - Measurbator

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    Unless one adjusts the headband for less clamp, I could see the pads wearing down over time. With a stretched headband and much less clamp, the pads should hold their shape for longer. (This also further reduces bass and brings out treble.)
     
  14. lm4der

    lm4der A very good sport - Friend

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    Thanks for the feedback, that makes sense - I have not adjusted the clamp. I actually like a certain amount of clamp, so that may be what is going on.
     
  15. Ice-man

    Ice-man Friend

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    I'm going to stop worrying and second guessing myself on the money I spend on gear for my 650. It rewards me as much (sometimes more) than my much more expensive headphones. If I want to spend $2k on a dual mono amp and $1250 on Gungnir Multibit and another $100 for the Wyrd, who would deny me? If this is the setup that gives me wood every freakin' time I cue up music and I'm happy, then what else really matters. The other three headphones that I have total almost $5k. And what do I spend most of my time listening to? You betcha...650.
     
  16. lm4der

    lm4der A very good sport - Friend

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    Here here!! Money be damned, it's the glorious sound, dammit.
     
  17. Koth Ganesh

    Koth Ganesh Friend

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    Having done the quarter mod and removal of the back foam,I do find myself spending more time with the 650. The amazing thing is that the whole spectrum now is clearer than before and there is no one part of it that sounds veiled, noticeably rolled off etc. Time to put @SKiring's dynamat to work now.
     
  18. kirayamato

    kirayamato Friend

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    @Ice-man have you done the mods ? or stock?
     
  19. gixxerwimp

    gixxerwimp Professional tricycle rider

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    Agree with you here, though I haven't tried the quarter-mod. removing the back foam and Dynmatting has improved the bass and I like the sound as is. Plus, I'd rather not expose the driver.

    I don't know if the AKG-K240 foam is thicker than the stock foam (Solderdude tested stock, 2mm thick, and K240), but it does have a "cloth" layer on top. Strange that it gives "a small increase in speed and upper frequency response", much like the quarter mod. I might order a set and pick them up when I visit relatives in Canada over Easter.
    http://www.avshop.ca/sound-amp-pa-a...nner-cushion-k2xx-series-240-241-260-etc-pair
     
  20. Ice-man

    Ice-man Friend

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    I have hm5 pads and a nice cable made by Fraggler...that's it.
     

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