Sennheiser HD650 Love (Appreciation Thread)

Discussion in 'Headphone Measurements' started by purr1n, Sep 27, 2015.

Tags:
  1. Eric_C

    Eric_C Friend

    Pyrate
    Joined:
    Sep 26, 2015
    Likes Received:
    364
    Trophy Points:
    63
    Hope I'm not too late: pm me instead, I'm in Singapore and I've got done Dynamat from @Gaspasser
     
  2. Dino

    Dino Friend

    Pyrate
    Joined:
    Jun 21, 2016
    Likes Received:
    3,332
    Trophy Points:
    113
    Some people are experimenting with that and it looks like it is showing promise. I don't think we have a "standard" magnet foam method yet.
     
  3. DigMe

    DigMe Friend

    Pyrate
    Joined:
    Aug 25, 2016
    Likes Received:
    8,802
    Trophy Points:
    113
    Location:
    Tejas
    I have searched but I cannot find whether or not anyone has A/Bed identical mods except for one using damplifier pro and one using Dynamat. Has anyone done that to see if there's a difference?
     
  4. zonto

    zonto Friend

    Pyrate Contributor
    Joined:
    Sep 30, 2015
    Likes Received:
    4,975
    Trophy Points:
    113
    Location:
    Boston, MA
    Yes. As I and many others have repeatedly shared, D.Pro is an objectively better damper than Dynamat/Extreme.
     
  5. DigMe

    DigMe Friend

    Pyrate
    Joined:
    Aug 25, 2016
    Likes Received:
    8,802
    Trophy Points:
    113
    Location:
    Tejas
    Thanks. I had seen some of your posts speculating that damplifier may be better but For some reason I had not found that post by @James Whiting which was very helpful.
     
  6. Kattefjaes

    Kattefjaes Mostly Harmless

    Pyrate
    Joined:
    Sep 5, 2016
    Likes Received:
    4,521
    Trophy Points:
    113
    Location:
    London, UK
    Sadly, Damplifier Pro doesn't appear to be on sale at all, here. Given how little I'm enjoying the morbidly obsese sound of my HD650 with the Dynamat, paying a fortune in customs handling fees from the US isn't calming the grumpiness :)

    I fell in and out of love with the sound for a bit until I realised that the difference was how challenging the music was to reproduce.

    It sounds OK on fairly sparse music, but anything layered, and the bass just shits all over the rest of it. Not sure if its the removal of the rear foam/spider or the Dynamat. Tempted to pull all the Dynamat out and see if it sounds less like a teenage street racer's vehicle. Right now, they're basically ruined headphones.
     
    Last edited: Nov 26, 2016
  7. zonto

    zonto Friend

    Pyrate Contributor
    Joined:
    Sep 30, 2015
    Likes Received:
    4,975
    Trophy Points:
    113
    Location:
    Boston, MA
    To clarify, though subjective impressions may differ between D.Pro and Dynamat/Extreme, D.Pro is an objectively better damper because it's thicker. @Kattefjaes, please see the link to the international sampler pack in my post here.

    I'll be adding this kind of stuff to the draft compendium later, but don't want to go in circles on the point now.
     
  8. Kattefjaes

    Kattefjaes Mostly Harmless

    Pyrate
    Joined:
    Sep 5, 2016
    Likes Received:
    4,521
    Trophy Points:
    113
    Location:
    London, UK
    I have seen it. Like I say, not crazy about paying $10 shipping and about £10 customs fees, plus waiting ages to get it. Feeling a bit disenchanted. Thanks for the link, though.
     
  9. zonto

    zonto Friend

    Pyrate Contributor
    Joined:
    Sep 30, 2015
    Likes Received:
    4,975
    Trophy Points:
    113
    Location:
    Boston, MA
    As to your point above, I'd guess you're hearing the effect of the rear foam removal (loss of driver damping), potentially exacerbated by your amp, instead of the effect of the mass loading (reduction in bass distortion). (source)
     
  10. TwoEars

    TwoEars Friend

    Pyrate
    Joined:
    Feb 2, 2016
    Likes Received:
    2,006
    Trophy Points:
    113
    @Kattefjaes

    I second what @zonto is saying. And I don't think it's about dynamat vs damplifier. That's just mass dampening so I think either will work fine, but the dynamat does seem easier to work with. However - what you're hearing as flabbiness is the loss of rear dampening. If you don't like this you need to add back some dampening.

    I first removed all rear dampening but later added back maybe about 50% of what it originally was. Nice compromise. I think @Marvey had the same experience. We talked about this over in the HD650 thread. It's a bit confusing that there are two HD650 threads going on but mergining them at this point would probably be a PITA.

    @TRex (below): Yupp - the dampening mod mostly gives you better tightness and soundstage.
     
    Last edited: Nov 26, 2016
  11. TRex

    TRex Almost "Made"

    Contributor
    Joined:
    Aug 29, 2016
    Likes Received:
    389
    Trophy Points:
    63
    Location:
    Bay Area, CA
    @Kattefjaes did you also put some Dynamat on the driver after removing the spider & foam? From what others did, dampening the driver after spider removal is a necessity.

    Mine is just dampenes by Damplifier Pro and I don't think the bass is overwhelming - just tighter. I haven't removed spider cage or remove foam.
     
  12. Kattefjaes

    Kattefjaes Mostly Harmless

    Pyrate
    Joined:
    Sep 5, 2016
    Likes Received:
    4,521
    Trophy Points:
    113
    Location:
    London, UK
    I'm not really hearing flabby bass, just too damn much of it :)

    I dunno, I just went back and re-did it all slightly more neatly, will see if that helps. I am not averse to bass (being an ageing junglist) but this sounded skewed.

    (Yes, I damped the driver. "Standard" layout as per @zonto's nice post on page 39.)
     
    Last edited: Nov 26, 2016
  13. Dino

    Dino Friend

    Pyrate
    Joined:
    Jun 21, 2016
    Likes Received:
    3,332
    Trophy Points:
    113
    I am not getting the elevated bass on my modded HD650. The bass hump is gone, for sure. (I have a stock pair and compared them.) Also the bass sounds tighter with the mod.

    I used Damplifier Pro. I left a bit of a gap between the magnet hole and the Damplifier Pro doughnut. I reamed the doughnut holes a bit, the opening on the magnet side is a little smaller than the opening on the other side (outside). I covered the doughnut with gaffer tape for aesthetic reasons - one of my doughnuts looked messed up after drilling and I ran out of Damplifier Pro after a couple of attempts on that doughnut. (I am doubtful that the tape makes a difference but I am listing every variation that I can think of.) I have those little tape "hairs" that I didn't notice until I photographed it. I was going to trim them but haven't because I can't see them with the grilles on. I have been listening from a PonoMusic Player in balanced mode. (Some have suggested amplifier impedance could be making a difference, IIRC.)

    I don't know if any of this makes a sonic difference, just putting it out there.

    [​IMG]
     
    Last edited: Nov 26, 2016
  14. Garns

    Garns Friend

    Pyrate
    Joined:
    Jul 9, 2016
    Likes Received:
    2,483
    Trophy Points:
    93
    Location:
    Sydney, AUS
    It's really not anything to do with the dynamat, I did just that mod alone for a long time and it has no effect on midbass quantity. It is removing the rear foam. Assemble yourself: the stock foam pieces, some 1/4 open cell foam (probably you have some old packaging lying around), some felt, some cotton pads, some quilt wadding, some toilet paper, and basically anything else you might feel like. Get some blu-tack and attach the above in varying quantities to the magnet hole, until you are happy with the balance between the mid-bass and the "liveness" of the treble. Once you're happy, find something less blue to stick it down with. Think of it as like tube rolling but 1000x cheaper.
     
  15. Kattefjaes

    Kattefjaes Mostly Harmless

    Pyrate
    Joined:
    Sep 5, 2016
    Likes Received:
    4,521
    Trophy Points:
    113
    Location:
    London, UK
    Actually, re-doing the Dynamat has tamed it a touch, despite the new circular pieces on the magnet being a bit smaller. I really wish I had a coupler and mic to do CSDs though, feels like there's more ringing than there was, especially in stock. I wonder if it's because I am having to turn it up more to hear the mids properly?

    The good news is that I did get into the Massdrop for the 6xx a few days ago, so that gives me wiggle room eventually, and a basis for comparison.
     
  16. Dino

    Dino Friend

    Pyrate
    Joined:
    Jun 21, 2016
    Likes Received:
    3,332
    Trophy Points:
    113
    Oh boy, Kattefjaes. The mids is another can of worms... I am just reporting my experience because I don't think the mods have to have the negative effects that you are experiencing.

    I cannot describe sound with the precision of some here, but I try my best. The mids on my HD650M seem more open and clear than on my HD650. They seem, if anything slightly elevated, probably due to the lack of the mid-bass bump. They do not sound any brighter, btw.

    That is great that you are getting the HD6XX so you can compare. Just to be certain. Also, I like having a stock pair because they seems more forgiving of poor recordings and it is the sound that got me to enjoy headphone listening in the first place.
     
  17. Kattefjaes

    Kattefjaes Mostly Harmless

    Pyrate
    Joined:
    Sep 5, 2016
    Likes Received:
    4,521
    Trophy Points:
    113
    Location:
    London, UK
    No, it's all good, Dino, love to hear your thoughts (and everyone else's). Nice tidy job on your mod, by the way.

    I think I can hear more than just the bass' admittedly impressive posterior now. Tidier Dynamat apparently helps. I need to wait for my brain to adjust now- it's still too much bass, but I am hearing actual detail in various frequencies, so could probably learn to like it. I have ordered a tube of rubber cement, so I can experiment with putting some gauze or similar over the hole, see if it brings them closer to a sensible balance.

    It's more like listening to speakers and worrying about pissing people off level now, rather than high street boy racer level as it was before. No idea what was going on there.
     
    Last edited: Nov 27, 2016
  18. Kattefjaes

    Kattefjaes Mostly Harmless

    Pyrate
    Joined:
    Sep 5, 2016
    Likes Received:
    4,521
    Trophy Points:
    113
    Location:
    London, UK
    Update, at the danger of following my own post!

    I've been mulling this one over- thinking of materials to use. Cleaning up the Dynmat helped a surprising amount, but next up was trying to tune it as above.

    The stock foam pieces got caught in a tidy-up and thrown out, sadly.

    However, I was thinking about where I could get some fine mesh. I got hold of a fine/light/strong nylon mesh (square size about half a millimetre). Blu-tacking that into place over the ports has dialled the bass a bit without strangling it, but it still sounds quite snappy compared to how it did stock. I'm really enjoying the sound, swapping between a few amps, and it's yet to sound bad on any of them.. Surprisingly revealing yet smooth sound (which is like monkey crack to me).

    I will give it a couple of days, and see how it sounds then. If it's still good, I will tack it in there with some rubber cement (the stuff that peels off, a bit like the stuff holding the HD800 mesh on). Of course, if it turns out that the blu-tack massloading was part of the nice sound, then rude words shall be said.

    Thanks for the suggestion!
     
  19. Garns

    Garns Friend

    Pyrate
    Joined:
    Jul 9, 2016
    Likes Received:
    2,483
    Trophy Points:
    93
    Location:
    Sydney, AUS
    Very good!

    You could detach the aluminium from some of your dynamat and use the butyl backing to stick it down.
     
  20. Kattefjaes

    Kattefjaes Mostly Harmless

    Pyrate
    Joined:
    Sep 5, 2016
    Likes Received:
    4,521
    Trophy Points:
    113
    Location:
    London, UK
    I could, Garns, though I think I'll try the rubber cement first. Good bit of lateral thinking, though. As ever, mentally filed for further reference.

    While I am at it, I do have some spare Dynamat, if there are a couple of UKers who need some. You get loads in a pack, and only need a little bit for the mod- so happy to donate some to people who are on the other end of cheap domestic postage.
     

Share This Page