Sennheiser HD650 Love (Appreciation Thread)

Probably a noob question but what changes does reducing reflection cause? A reduction in perceived treble/ringing?

 

Bought a pair of AKG K240 foam and applying it to my beloved HD650 (new version) along with some dynamat (received from @philipmorgan yesterday).
My first impression: with only AKG K240 foam replacing the original Sennheiser one, sound have more clarity, less veiled. Adding the dynamat seems tighten bass a bit, and add some resolution in treble and bass. Both changes are subtle, but very noticable. and my HD650 is much more enjoyable now.
Thanks @philipmorgan for providing me some dynamat, so I have a chance to apply this mod.

 

For me, adding (quite a lot of) blu-tack tightened the bass in a subtle but definitely noticeable way. With the blu-tack in place, removing the rear foam had a very obvious effect on the quantity and quality of the bass.

 

Excuse me for asking, but where do you live?

 

I live in Germany.

 

Oh ok. I was trying to look for someone in SEA and see if he has some leftover Dynamat that he could ship me. Thanks.

 

I removed the blu-tack and applied the Dynamat. Managed to get some good coverage of the magnet without cutting the foam cage by cutting pizza-wedges and laying them like carpeting over steps. The Dynamat seems to be much more effective at controlling the bass - good impact and more texture. No rear foam sounds pretty good now. I might add a little more DE to see if I can get the bass a bit tighter.

Photos: http://imgur.com/a/KJ2e1

@Ash1412 I'll probably have some left over after I do my T50RP Mk3s. But I thought you mentioned shipping to your home was problematic. PM me your address and I'll see what I can do.

 

Thanks for the suggestion but I think I'll stick to only the back foam and plastic removal mod for now until I find the need for better bass. Right now the treble seems very well tamed and the bass isn't overbearing for me.

 

Impressions of the mod, my friend sent me a HD650 a year back but due to worn and smelly arse pads, it collected dust at home till this year when I felt like restoring it. HD650 was already partially modded with the foam disc taken out so thats my starting point.

Found the HD650 too slow and mid bass too much and too wooly for me. Did the quarter(or 20c in Singapore) mod and lived with it for a day or so. Bass hump was reduced and transients become much quicker overall but bass was still somewhat loose but something one can live with.

Applied the Dynamat today after stealing some from @HitmanFluffy, bass seems more defined and slam harder overall, very nice.

@Ash1412 where are you? I'm pretty sure some of us are around somewhere.

EDIT: put dynamat all around the magnet like @thegunner100 did, maybe its my imagination but it might be too much of a good thing, bass getting kinda obnoxious.

 

I'm in Vietnam. Although I would probably love a pair of modded HD650, I just bought my first pair a few weeks ago and have already ripped off the plastic ring. I think that's enough modding for me right now, especially since this is the first headphone I've ever bought that's over 50$. Even though improvements might be noticeable, I don't think they will turn the HD650's bass into TH-X00's bass overnight. These cans are just not designed for subwoofering. The midrange and the treble are, however, truly ear-opening, even without proper amplification. I figure I'll move through amp and DAC upgrades first before totally committing to modding these. I remember another member who used stock HD650s with a ZDS and Yggdrasil.

 

That member is me. And guess what, I recently modded my HD650 and I'm very glad I did. After being spoiled by modded HD650, I cannot think of going back to stock HD650 now. That the improvements might be noticeable is an understatement in my opinion; the improvements are significant.

You're right, HD650's bass won't be TH-X00's bass, not even with modding. However, while I had not felt that the latest iterations of the HD650 with silver drivers were veiled sounding by any means, listening to the modded HD650 makes the stock HD650 feel congested by comparison. It lets the HD650 breathe, and take away an extra layer of veil (actually two layers in the literal sense, one piece of foam on each side of the driver) and gives it better openness, airiness and resolution. There's a reason why modded HD650 is called HD850 in this community.

I was afraid of modding in the beginning just like you, and refrained myself from attempting any mod for quite a long time despite all these reports from others how much better the mod sounds. So I manned up and overcame my FOM (fear of modding) and after a couple attempts, succeeded in perfecting a modded HD650 that I love very much.

In retrospect, I think modding the HD650 should be the first step once you start committing to HD650. You can upgrade your DAC and amp from there on. It's the most cost-effective means of getting the best out of HD650 before you start spending $$$.

 

What mods are you currently having on your HD650?

 

The mod usually comes in 3 steps, but I was only able to complete 2 out of 3 so far. The 3rd step requires Dynamat which I haven't been able to get my hands on yet. But the first 2 steps are already quite a significant upgrade.

1. Remove the tiny foam disc behind the grill. All you need is a small pair of tweezers. Careful not to rip the foam disc should you decide to reverse the mod for resale.

2. Cut a coin-sized hole on the center of the foam pad on the earpad size. You need a knife of course.

Refer to my earlier posts in the thread for details, in a couple pages back.

 

I've only removed the back foam and snapped off the plastic ring holding it per Hands' instructions. Would you recommend the quarter mod and why?

 

How much smoothness and warmth are lost with the mods? Does detail and airiness improve without the treble getting more prominent or harsher? I really enjoy stock, but if I can get a little more airiness, I'd be willing to try the mods. I just don't want any more harshness or treble presence.

 

I perceive the mods to add treble detail and bass definition without imposing harshness anywhere. These are very subtle changes, as solderdude's measurements point out.

 

I currently have modded and unmodded HD 650. In my experience I think it loses decent amount of smoothness and warmth with the mod. I wouldn't perform the mod if I were you, it really becomes a different headphone imo. YMMV of course.

 

If you want to retain the smoothness of HD650, I think you should do something like I did (adding dynamat and changing the front foam with AKG K240 foam). It opens up treble but with only a small of amount. Removing rear foam will add too much treble IMO. I bought AKG K240 foams for only 5 euro + ship, which is a reasonable price.

 

I assume the K240 foam is thinner or more open than the Sennheiser?