Sennheiser HD650 Love (Appreciation Thread)

Keep It Simple!Just do not do it .Let it be,like it is supposed to be.

 

songmic, Today at 4:29 AMReport
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The Damplifier Pro is a bit better having compared them both. Not that big a difference but if your OCD like me and don't mind redoing your 650's its worth it. You will hear a difference but nowhere near the level of just doing the mod!

Happy Listening

 

Maybe I missed it, but don't think I saw much of a reply to this. I have heard both, but not back-to-back so take this with a grain of salt as I was going on memory. I run a Mjolnir 1 with modified HD 650 daily, and heard my headphones from a Jotunheim at a meet. My immediate impressions were that the treble was "smoother". I mean in the sense that the tonal balance didn't strike me as different (again, from memory), but there were several points in specific tracks that were problematic with Mjolnir 1 that sounded good out of Jotunheim. By problematic I mean some note is just a bit harsh or grating, or otherwise "too much". Another caveat is that I listened to the Jotunheim after a GSX2, and my immediate impressions of that amp were the exact opposite, so maybe I was still recovering from the GSX when listening to the Jotunheim. TL;DR: If I wasn't dithering over tubes, I'd have picked up a Jotunheim after having heard it.

 

On another note I found that increasing the clamping force made some noticeable improvements. More like refinements. Since there seems to be an undercurrent of simplifying and I of course go to the opposite extreme I won't go into all the details. But I can assure you that as different as the mod looks It has smoothed the sound, gave it a slightly sweeter more liquid balance particularly in upper mids and above. This characteristic also shows up int the lower range as well. I don't know why exactly but it does. My only concern is if it reduces pad life. But I can live with that!

If anyone is interested I will post the picture. It looks a bit odd and is slightly reminiscent of how the suspension on the Paradox Slant is hung. I am using the stretchy bands to create more clamping force than provided by the spring in the stock headband. I did a couple more damping things with it as well on the headband. Mainly intended as spacer blocks to maintain cup extension while the bands pull. So some inadvertent stuff that just works. Serendipity perhaps but it is what it is!

I am not sure where the end lies in this ongoing mod but it keeps getting just that much better every time I fiddle. OH WELL...LOL!

Merry Listening

 

I would think increased clamping force, which could also be accomplished be bending the metal parts of the headband inward, would simulate having worn pads resulting in increased bass response. Maybe this is what gave you the perceived smoother sound.

 

All, the Sennheiser HD650/M Compendium is now live. Hoping SBAF visitors and members alike find it a helpful resource going forward. Please PM me if you have suggested revisions or know of other helpful resources to add.

 

However the smoothness I describe appears seperate from the bass as in just female vocals with simple or no accompaniment. And there is an increased layering and spacing of the soundstage with more focus and correct sizing of performers and instruments. Bass is tighter with more impact but on balance is not particularly more. There may be even a hint less mid bass emphasis...as if on balance it shifted slightly downward! I cant explain why...not what I expected. But I do prefer it. Trying to fine tune clamping which twisting stretchy hair bands does allow me to do. Dont want to crack the headband by bending metal to create clamping force!

Merry Listening

 

This seems like it would be helpful in your clamping experiments.

I enjoy your adventuresome approach to experimenting with the HD650 and reading the posts about your findings. You have been going where "no man has gone before".

 

This is not to say these are significant diffences. But they are noticeable on material I know! Subtle differences add up and as one becomes accustomed to them they are more easily detected and also become harder to live without. Could I consistently A/B them...maybe...but that isn't the point. Substantial differences are always a magical surprise...but the subtle ones are what you have to tinker, fiddle and play with to accomplish. They are the reward for dilgent tweaking!

merry listening

 

Cue the Star Trek music. Relative poverty and extreme expectations force one to go where I can afford to go. Time and ideas I have far more of than money. This site is a gold mine and a repository of diy inspiraton for such

Thanks

Merry Listening and Happy New Gear!

 

Thank you for your efforts

The Compendium is Awesome....!

Merry Listening

 

Finally got the damplifier pro in, and did the original mods. Used one of the layouts, mainly with donut, spider cage and rear foam removed, with very good results. Saw the KISS mod a little too late, ended up adding one piece of foam on each side behind the donut which helped the treble a little.

Here's how it looks like:
http://imgur.com/a/hBWrF

I managed to bring my pair down to a local store to compare with a stock HD650. Some observations:
- reduced mid bass hump
- slightly more low end extension and detail
- a tad more treble presence without being fatiguing
- vocals a little more open sounding and staging has subtle improvements in air
- better dynamics

Very pleased with the results. Thanks to the community here at SBAF!

P.S. interestingly although I am quite treble sensitive, I actually listen to them without front foams. Also, I used @SoupRKnowva's layout, without covering the two vents on the top half of the cup.

 

Glad you're enjoying the HD650M. I assume your damplifier donut is a little ways back from the edge of the hole in the magnet. Try cutting the foam to the inner diameter of the donut so you can get it flush with the magnet. Not sure what you're using to hold your current foam to the donut but you could do the same or use some of the tar from the damplifier to stick it in place. The KISS recommended placement of the foam is pressed into the hole 0.5mm but I have mine flush with good results (even simpler!). I felt the sound was more cohesive in general when I moved my foam from on top of the donut to flush with the magnet.

 

Cool, will try that out. I'm using bits of tar from the damplifier pro remnants haha.

 

I've decided to buy one HD 650 (20140120REV01 - SN 009969; black box) for reference purposes as the Paradox is not well known enough elsewhere. Here's some unmodded correction. There's a definitive reflection cancellation at ~8.8kHz, either from driver or spider, but smaller than what I've seen with other headphones. Must be the new "space" materials. Unmodded unequalized they present definitely colored but pleasant and smooth wrong vinyl compensation-like sound.
Boost at 110 Hz seems like a deliberate tuning in the driver and only slightly cup resonance. I think HD 650 is essentially on the very slightly overdampened side there which is fine by me.

Equalization mostly improves on soundstage, making it more resolving of depth and height. Specifically, the 6-8k fixes and air boost do this. Bass boost is benign in this regard.

They're very resolving and do sound a lot unlike older HD 650 I've heard. The veil is nonexistent. I'd say they can take on any flagship around now, especially with a resolving amp, like good tube and certain BJT transistor/opamp amps. Bass is obviously different from planars in that it sounds and feels like membrane instead of piston with overshoot. Every treble is notably smoother than HE-6 however rolled. I suspect modding foams and damping would improve on that.

Equalization improves them further. High consistency among sources, even cellphones - they are quite sensitive so not that much power is needed but they benefit from it. Any FET amp makes the sound confusing in bass, does not work with the sound of these headphones due to oiliness/hit.

They beat my pair of Paradox for sure, and are on par with HE-6. I actually like their presentation much more than the comparably slightly grainy, less integrated and not liquid HE-6. They are rolled a bit at both ends but that is easily equalized away. That's about it.
Want a perfect dynamic driver headphone out of the box? This is not it, but oh so very close.

I'll later listen and compare against certain modded HD 800. But I'm already pretty sure I won't be able to really decide... considering the price, that is a big recommendation.

I don't get the comments about cheap looking materials. This is made of a very high quality lacquered plastic and what looks to be spring steel. Compare to cheap stuff Hifiman uses. I know some people do not like glossy, I say to each his own. It might be a bit too stiff and not elastic enough long term, but I don't expect I'll be throwing them at walls or stepping on them any time soon.

Pity headband pad is not velour, just rough synthetic material. Maybe velour caught too much hair?
Newest pads are stiff but comfortable. Dual-wire PU cable is great quality, although Y style and the apparently custom molded two pin connectors are not as nice in case of replacement. Also it pleases me to find a proper adapter cable for minijack, not that brick lever which breaks minijack sockets and itself. Sadly no balanced cable - this is pro stuff, it should come with one.

Box feels and looks cheap though less than, say, Hifiman boxes. I don't care about this one whit. At least there's a box padded with foam.
Slider for adjusting headband height is annoying - too much force has to be applied to move it and so it's hard to move it by one skip accurately.

 

To not make a huge post, I'll make a separate one about modding ideas which haven't been tried yet:
- replace front foam and back metal mesh with (unknown thickness) nylon mesh, add dynamat-equivalent strips on front plastic edges to dampen baffle reflection. Hopefully would improve the highest end air without sacrificing driver protection and improve midrange tiny humps. Might also help with the 8k reflection. Not sure what will happen at 2-5k range where foam is active. Probably not much as AKG foam experiment showed. I still have to read Solderdude's experiment logs.
- 3D print a different mount to prevent magnet from escaping (rather than this big plastic thing they put in) - will likely fix the 8k reflection. Alternatively make a rubber suspension. I see some people do without the back mount at all but it seems risky.

Comments welcome.

 

Fit and finish is top notch. Plus, the way the whole thing comes apart without tools is kind of genius. Not needing to solder in order to replace drivers or cable plugs is not a common feature.

 

There's already a (commercial?) Japanese mod that replaces the front foam with a mesh- there's pictures of it around here somewhere.

Regarding completely cutting the spider off the back of the magnet, it seems safe. The magnet is in there very snugly, and I've yet to have it come out in normal use. When I did flomp one out during modding, while messing with the liberated driver assembly, it pushed back in snugly and easily. I suspect that since I've massloaded the back of it with goopy Dynamat now, it's even less likely to come loose, too.

 

Important comment: it seems with this model I have, I got something between the old and new pads. They look and feel like old, but compress somewhat between new and old pads as measured by Solderdude.

So what do we call them, newest pads?

 

I purchased used hd650s from adorama recently.
They came in a black box marked 009969 and 20140120REV01.
When was the last revision?
Do I own the latest version?