Mixing Headphones - Neumann NDH 30 vs. Sennheiser HD 650

[Robin L]

That true about the comfort of the Beyerdyanmics. They are very comfortable. I could wear my dt990s forever it seemed. But then I got used to them, thought I could trust them, and none of my mixes worked ever and I had to audition on many different playback systems until I figured out mix problems ... Wasn't worth it.

On the HD650s sub bass, have you tried tuning them? The shelf and couple of other tweaks from Amir's review does incredible things.

Sennheiser HD650 Review (Headphone)

This is a review and detailed measurements of the Sennheiser HD650 open back headphone. I purchase mine back in 2017. It costs US $400 with free shipping as of this writing from Amazon. My sample is near new because I don't use it everyday (due to high noise level, I have to wear closed back...

www.audiosciencereview.com

Yes, I've used parametric EQ, never sounds like enough of an improvement to get excited.

 

[Robin L]

WIthout tuning, there is a massive audible spike at around 12.5khz. I find they are much clearer with that taken care of through tuning. But I agree, they ARE wonderful for what they are. $25 and you get close to reference quality aside from one or two easily fixable quirks.

I suppose either I don't hear that high up (highly probable) or that the spike will depend on the shape of the auditor's ear canal. I don't bother with PEQ, very happy with the sound of the Zero 2s without.

 

[LevityProject]

I suppose either I don't hear that high up (highly probable) or that the spike will depend on the shape of the auditor's ear canal. I don't bother with PEQ, very happy with the sound of the Zero 2s without.

For sure, The exact location of the spike is not possible (yet) to know ... Is it possible to know withing a tight enough range that it can be dealt with reasonably?

 

[Robin L]

For sure, The exact location of the spike is not possible (yet) to know ... Is it possible to know withing a tight enough range that it can be dealt with reasonably?

Knowing that my high-frequency hearing cuts off around that neighborhood means it's not an issue for me. That is a mighty high-pitched resonance, probably will affect different people differently.

 

[LevityProject]

Knowing that my high-frequency hearing cuts off around that neighborhood means it's not an issue for me. That is a mighty high-pitched resonance, probably will affect different people differently.

That's fair. Anyone under 40 or those who have protected their hearing can hear that resonance clear as day. I'm in the latter. I've gone to great lengths to protect my hearing.

The resonance at 12ish kHz on the salnotes is very much there. If you can hear above and beyond the resonance, dealing with it creates an IEM with pleasant sparkle.

Ironically, for using it with a wireless system, I don't touch it because wireless lops off the top end and the 12k spike helps preserves treble in that case.