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Sennheiser HD650 Review (Headphone)
- Thread starter amirm
- Start date
solderdude
Grand Contributor
When considering product variances they are the same. Individual ones may differ somewhat from the 'average' and so when one is measured they may seem to be slightly different.
Different paint job, different (cheaper) cable, different price as they are made in one large production run and Sennheiser does not need to stock, warrantee and send to different distributors thereby saving money.
Different paint job, different (cheaper) cable, different price as they are made in one large production run and Sennheiser does not need to stock, warrantee and send to different distributors thereby saving money.
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Thank you for the information
thanks for all the advice and Information given. I thought an amplifier has to match the impedance of the HP but if I understood right that is absolutely not the case you actually want it to be quite low. And the reason why in testing you show certain power at certain Ohms is to how good it performs varying on the Impedance of the HP+Amp. And in genereal if I udnerstood correctly with a high impedance HP like the HD650 I need not worry about source impedance.
Thanks again and please correct me if I assumed wrong.
Thanks again and please correct me if I assumed wrong.
DonDish
Active Member
Is there someone who heard of or have an opinion about electrical qualities between HD 650 and ADI-2 pro/dac, impedance wise and others. How it fits in the sweetspot so to speak.
solderdude
Grand Contributor
There is no sweet spot. The output R is much lower than needed for HD650 and max. voltage swing of the ADI-2 is more than sufficient to reach impressive levels without distortion.
MRC01
Major Contributor
Correct. The notion that the amplifier's output impedance should match the headphone impedance has to do with power transfer, which is maximized when the impedances match. Note that power transfer is not the same thing as efficiency, and neither relates to sound quality or frequency response. More on that here.
So for audio purposes, we don't want impedance matching. We want the amp to have the lowest possible output impedance.
DonDish
Active Member
Thnx! This makes sense to me.
Just gotta say I love this forum thanks guys you really helped out an interested Dummy to feel not so dumb anymore.
with love
Julius
I too have been told that perhaps the HD650 and HD6XX have the same characteristics, but
The sonarworks company claims otherwise.
The Headphone profile in their SoundID software has separate HD650 and HD6XX profiles.
I am not sure which claim is correct or where I am wrong.
solderdude
Grand Contributor
It depends on which HD650 you compare the HD6XX to.
Not all HD650 are created equal.
Not all HD650 are created equal.
The rtings.com measurements also show FR differences similar to SsonarWorks.
Sennheiser HD 650 vs Sennheiser HD 6XX Side-by-Side Headphones Comparison
The Sennheiser HD 6XX are a revision of the Sennheiser HD 650 that are only available through the Drop website. There hasn't been a change in driver structure, and both headphones sound fairly neutral. However, the HD 6XX have a more consistent audio delivery, most likely due to their higher...
www.rtings.com
When talking about HD650s, do we need to make a distinction based on when they were made, like HD650 (2014) or HD650 (2017)?
solderdude
Grand Contributor
Yes, also consider all new Sennheisers use different pads.
The Rtings comparison is made with a HD650 they measured before the pad change.
The Rtings comparison is made with a HD650 they measured before the pad change.
04gto
Member
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Received some suede ZMF pads for my HD6XX. I am so disappointed.........in myself for not ordering these sooner. After a couple days (maybe 2-3 hours) of listening, I can say that these are a winner. I am a little curious about the perforated lambskin (my usual material preference) so I may try those too. In short: They do not detract in any way from the fundamental qualities that make the HD6XX legendary and add a touch of air/presence/clarity to the upper mids/lower treble. More importantly the soundstage is a touch wider, taller, deeper and much more cohesive. No more "three blob" or hard left, hard right and center with no blending. I have the HD560S here for direct comparison and I would say the soundstage is now better on my HD6XX. The icing on the cake is the much higher quality appearance, feel and likely longer life span of these pads. Great job @zach915m and team! These are the first aftermarket Sennheiser earpads that I have tried that don't ruin the sound.
(Also posted about this over on Head-Fi)
(Also posted about this over on Head-Fi)
That is interesting re the soundstage, although I'd be concerned over what changes it would have on the frequency response. Ha, I like how you keep your headphone warm at night - especially now with the cost of heating, it's a sign of the times!Received some suede ZMF pads for my HD6XX. I am so disappointed.........in myself for not ordering these sooner. After a couple days (maybe 2-3 hours) of listening, I can say that these are a winner. I am a little curious about the perforated lambskin (my usual material preference) so I may try those too. In short: They do not detract in any way from the fundamental qualities that make the HD6XX legendary and add a touch of air/presence/clarity to the upper mids/lower treble. More importantly the soundstage is a touch wider, taller, deeper and much more cohesive. No more "three blob" or hard left, hard right and center with no blending. I have the HD560S here for direct comparison and I would say the soundstage is now better on my HD6XX. The icing on the cake is the much higher quality appearance, feel and likely longer life span of these pads. Great job @zach915m and team! These are the first aftermarket Sennheiser earpads that I have tried that don't ruin the sound.
(Also posted about this over on Head-Fi)
Not too different according to this measurement https://youtu.be/0CYxIGzoNaU?t=438 although the changes are in the wrong places for my preference.That is interesting re the soundstage, although I'd be concerned over what changes it would have on the frequency response. Ha, I like how you keep your headphone warm at night - especially now with the cost of heating, it's a sign of the times!
Some further experiments with aftermarket pads for you all:
I thought I'd try out Accessory House Global pads as I can not find official pads in stock anywhere, and these are highly rated on Amazon. Alas,
This is far too significant a change for me. I did not even try listening to them as I wanted to return them for a full refund, unused. It is clear these AHG pads modify the sound far too much to be considered a viable alternative to stock pads.
I am looking into pads preemptively as, although my HD6XX still sounds good to me despite owning for a good number of months, I am aware pad wear will eventually kick in. The quest continues!
In terms of Accessory House Global, I'll say that their pads for the K702 are very good, I measured virtually no difference in comparison to the stock pads that K702's were shipping with in early 2022, when measured on my miniDSP EARS on the same unit. I can't say anything about their HD650 pads though, just thought I'd relay my positive experience though in terms of Accessory House Global.
I did not mean to disparage the company, I am sure most of their products are very good. The K702 pads certainly look more similar to the AKG ones. In the case of the HD650 pads the AHG are quite different, they are a different shape with a flat rather than rounded surface resting on the head and appear wider. The seam between the pleather which you can see on the underside of any HD650 pad and the velour is in a different place also. The foam might possibly be of a different density. I am sure this is simply another example of HD6xx pads being tricky to emulate rather than a lack of quality of AHG products: they certainly felt good and installed very well otherwise. Just not suitable for matching the stock tonal profile.
I love my HD6XX but have been considering side-grading solely due to this pad availability issue. What good is a headphone which will irreparably lose its treble response when worn pads cannot be replaced? So far I am considering a HD5xx model, likely HD560S, whose pads are not only more available but cheaper, or something like a Hifiman Sundara or HE400SE.
I've been using the HD 598SR since ~July 26, 2018 and the pads are in fantastic condition. The headphone has been used ~6 to 16 hours per day for all this time. The 598SR also comes with a 3.5mm 1m long cable for use with a cel tel and yes that cable has a microphone built in for cel tel use. The model comes and goes as per inventory levels. Sometimes it is available and other times it is sold out.
Products - Sennheiser
HD 598SR
Sennheiser’s open backed HD 598SR are around ear headphones for serious music lovers – available exclusively from Amazon or direct from Sennheiser. Powered by the audio specialist’s transducer technology, they deliver exceptional sound quality with unrivaled comfort for even the longest of...
I've probably already said in this thread that I prefer the HD560s to the HD600 (so sorry to everyone for repeating myself if I have). Better bass, lower distortion and better soundstage/imaging than the HD600. HD560s is a better headphone once EQ'd than an EQ'd HD600/650/6XX in my experience and additionally in the measurements re distortion.
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