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Sennheiser HD650 headphones

Flint

Flint

Prodigal Son
Superstar
I mentioned in the deals forum area that Amazon was selling the Sennheiser HD650 for a mere $315.99. They were also offering 10% back if purchased with the Amazon Prime store card. As such, I effectively paid $284.39 plus tax (shipping was free) for a pair of these amazing headphones.

They came in today, and I have been loving them with all my reference material for a few hours. These are really nice headphones with that signature smooth Sennheiser midrange, clear treble, and solid yet not over-boomy bass. Love them.

The good old question often comes up, do you need a dedicated amp for high impedance headphones to really enjoy them? I would say, no. I plugged them into my desktop power DAC Power amp an had plenty of headroom to spare. With my Samsung Galaxy S7 Edge phone, I was able to get plenty of output with some left over, though they were not as loud for a given level setting as my Shure SE846 IEM headphones. With my dedicated Audio Technica Bluetooth headphone amp there was way more than enough output to play as loud as one could ever want. I had similar results with each of my Fiio headphone amps and DACs. As such, I think these do really well without a completely dedicated amp. That said, they did sound better with one of the dedicated amps than when plugged directly into the phone.
 
I seem to remember other members buying these headphones, who was that?

I have been listening to them quite a bit since I received them, choosing to wear headphones at home most of the time, even taking called with them as the earphones and my Audio Technical BT amp as the mic. I have to say, they are pretty sweet. The bass is stronger than with my AKG K701 reference headphones, but not overpowering or muddy. There are some recordings where the bass range from 80Hz to 200Hz is a bit more than I prefer, but most recordings do not exhibit that issue. The midrange and treble are perfectly aligned with all my favorite Sennheiser cans - clear, clean, details, smooth, and lacking nothing. This is exceptionally pleasant.
 
I want to also comment on the comfort of these things. Headphones tend to be a problem for me, both over-the-ear and on-the-ear, as I require glasses and they can press hard against my glasses' temple-pieces, or press my outer ear against the them, and cause headaches. So, any headphone which relies on side-in pressure to hold them in place are not a good match for me. I find the Grado and some of the Beyer models to cause me pain too soon after placing them on my head, so I really love AKG's self-adjesting head pieces as well as Sennheiser's lower pressure. Even the Sony MDR7506 is much a much better option than the Grado, Fostex, Audeze and Beyer Dynamic headphones I have tried.

I realize this is unique to every user. so I don't limit my opinions of those other brands based on this issue, but it does mean that I have much more exposure to the Sennheiser and AKG headphones which allows me to have more exacting experience to work from when making recommendations.
 
I had, I think, an HD598 at one point, didn't care for it all that much. But I haven't heard the 650.
 
I have never heard that model. Sennheiser has some models which I am not a fan of, such as all of their closed back models. They do reference headphones really well. Their attempts at trendy products are not often as good as the price demanded can justify.
 
The sound is good, so I placed an order for a short cable to use with my phone or BT amp when getting around. I feel and look silly with the long stock cable wrapped around my neck three or four times to do something with the length.
 
Flint said:
Headphones tend to be a problem for me, both over-the-ear and on-the-ear, as I require glasses and they can press hard against my glasses' temple-pieces, or press my outer ear against the them, and cause headaches. So, any headphone which relies on side-in pressure to hold them in place are not a good match for me.
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I highly recommend an exorbitantly-priced set of IEMs!
 
Great idea!

To be fair, I won't be taking these Sennheiser cans out very often, just wearing the around the house. I often don't use my IEMs in the house because I feel the sound blocking nature isolates me more than I want since I won't hear the doorbell, appliance chimes, or any other sounds I cannot always predict. Since the HD650 is open-backed, I can still hear what's going on in the house while listening to music.
 
I installed the shorter cable to my HD650 headphones, which is about 4 feet long. When I am wearing the headphones, the cable hangs to just below my knees, about three inches shorter than my male member. I can plug it into my BT portable headphone amp/interface and walk around without the amp hitting the ground and since the amp is so light, as long as I don't spin around too fast, the use of the combination is quite easy.

Generally, though, I place the amp in a pocket or clip it on a pants pocket.

I do love wearing these things listening to my music from my phone while working around the house. It is amazing sounding and makes life more pleasant. When I go outside or leave the domicile I use my Shure IEMs because they are more rugged and small, which is more appropriate when out and about.
 
I see senility has started for our Old Crazy Fart, thinking his member is that long.
 
So my question would be -- between the AKG 701's you've been promoting and your new Senn HD650's. which do you prefer as a rule?
 
TKoP said:
So my question would be -- between the AKG 701's you've been promoting and your new Senn HD650's. which do you prefer as a rule?
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That's a tough comparison to make. If I had to pick only one, it would be the Sennheiser HD650. But they are also higher end headphones and cost nearly twice the price. The more comparable AKG model would be the K712 Pro, or just released a new open back reference studio headphone (K245).

So, why would I choose the Sennheisers? They have a bit more detail, more balanced upper bass, and more dynamic range. The treble performance is similar and the midrange is equally smooth. The bass is stronger on the Sennheisers, which as higher levels isn't as pleasing as the K701, but at lower levels the HD650 is better. Really, if I am cranking it, like I would in a proper studio recording and mixing situation, I would prefer the K701.
 
Flint, you will enjoy your 650 more if you connect it to a dap plus your amps and dacs. I got the 600 modified to make it a balanced phone. The sound is also superb. For some reason local dealers here prefer the 600 over the 650. I also took out the foam covering the diaphragms and it made it sound more open.
 
No problem Flint. Btw do you remember me calling you over the phone when i was in san antonio years back? We chatted a little about prozakk and barney
 
Bote said:
No problem Flint. Btw do you remember me calling you over the phone when i was in san antonio years back? We chatted a little about prozakk and barney
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Yes, I do. It was a such shame to lose Barney.
 
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