Sennheiser HD 650

[AntAxon]

I'm thinking of buying a pair of Sennheiser HD 650 headphones and I see they are rated at 300 Ohms would a Marantz PM8005 headphone output be okay for them? Or do I really need to get a dedicated headphone amp? In which case what amp would you recommend? The budget for the HP amp would be around £500 but would rather spend less if I could.

Thanks for any advice. *biggrin*

 

[MajorFubar]

Unless the h/p output of the amp has been geared for low-impedance phones, you should be fine. Try it and see. In any case I thought 650's had been discontinued in favour of the new 660's. Hope you're getting a great deal on them.

 

[AntAxon]

You can still get HD650s okay. I've seen then for about £270 via PriceSpy from a company called Music Square but I've not heard of them before so I'm not sure to order them or not.

 

[Deleted member 108165]

The hp output on my Pearl Lite amp seems to drive my HD650's fine.

 

[AntAxon]

What do you think of the HD650s? They have got pretty good reviews, I've not heard them yet but I have had less expensive Sennheisers before and I have been quite impressed.

 

[Deleted member 108165]

What do you think of the HD650s? They have got pretty good reviews, I've not heard them yet but I have had less expensive Sennheisers before and I have been quite impressed.

Personally I adore them, they're my go-to headphone for every occasion. Not as neutral as the 600's as the bass is very slightly enhanced. Super comfy for long listening sessions, as all Senns are. Get them at the right price and I'm sure you won't be disappointed. They've been on sale basically unchanged for years so must be a testament as to how good they are. One caveat, I'm not a head-fi geek, I prefer speakers.

My other cans are: Grado SR225, HD598, RS220, and Shure SRH840.

Hope this helps, any more questions just ask away and I'll do my best to answer.

 

[MajorFubar]

I agree with Doug. Bass is slightly enhanced and the treble is rolled off a little, in fact they have a noticeable notch around 5-7kHz which to my ears can sometimes suck too much life and zing out of raspy instruments and cymbals and is the cause of what some detractors call the 'Sennheiser viel'. I do like my 650's but the 600s (and 580's which preceeded the pair them of them) are more neutral.

 

[AntAxon]

Decided to order the Sennheiser HD650s. Got a good deal from Audio Emotion in Fife. I'm really looking forward to getting them.

 

[dalethorn]

Decided to order the Sennheiser HD650s. Got a good deal from Audio Emotion in Fife. I'm really looking forward to getting them.

The 650 is a great headphone, but if you encounter anything that sounds unpleasant, try a little EQ - it can make the difference between heavenly pleasure and teeth-clenching agony. Just a thought.

 

[Deleted member 108165]

Decided to order the Sennheiser HD650s. Got a good deal from Audio Emotion in Fife. I'm really looking forward to getting them.

Good for you. Come back and let us know how what you think of them, Ant.

 

[AntAxon]

Decided to order the Sennheiser HD650s. Got a good deal from Audio Emotion in Fife. I'm really looking forward to getting them.

Good for you. Come back and let us know how what you think of them, Ant.

Audio Emotion phoned me yesterday to tell me that they could not get the HD 650s from Sennheiser as they were out of stock. So they offered me the latest HD660s at a very favourable price. It seemed rude to refuse. I've seen various reviews of them some saying they are better than the HD 650s some saying they are not as good I supppose it all comes down to the differences in peoples perception. I will let you know what I think, like you I'm no expert on headphones but I believe they have the HD 700 drivers so they must be pretty good.

I mostly use my speakers but it is nice to have some good headphones for the times when I can't turn up the volume when she who must be obeyed is in bed.

 

[paulkebab]

Decided to order the Sennheiser HD650s. Got a good deal from Audio Emotion in Fife. I'm really looking forward to getting them.

The 650 is a great headphone, but if you encounter anything that sounds unpleasant, try a little EQ - it can make the difference between heavenly pleasure and teeth-clenching agony. Just a thought.

Couldn't agree more dalethorn, I've not heard the Senns but for any headphone, a bit of EQ is a must. Back to the OP, until I actually bought a headphone amp I was a bit sceptical, mainly due to price - try one as soon as you can.

 

[dalethorn]

Decided to order the Sennheiser HD650s. Got a good deal from Audio Emotion in Fife. I'm really looking forward to getting them.

The 650 is a great headphone, but if you encounter anything that sounds unpleasant, try a little EQ - it can make the difference between heavenly pleasure and teeth-clenching agony. Just a thought.

Couldn't agree more dalethorn, I've not heard the Senns but for any headphone, a bit of EQ is a must. Back to the OP, until I actually bought a headphone amp I was a bit sceptical, mainly due to price - try one as soon as you can.

Yeah, I was thinking since the OP is getting a 660 instead of 650 (yes?) then he might find the sound a bit intense on top, so treble control could come in handy. On the amp note, I have the Oppo HA-2, the tiny Meridian Explorer-2, and a DragonFly Red, and I'm taking a hard look at the iFi Nano iDSD Black Label. Of the amps I have I like the DF the best, but the power is limited, and I'm hoping the iFi would be much better for less efficient headphones.

 

[AntAxon]

Decided to order the Sennheiser HD650s. Got a good deal from Audio Emotion in Fife. I'm really looking forward to getting them.

The 650 is a great headphone, but if you encounter anything that sounds unpleasant, try a little EQ - it can make the difference between heavenly pleasure and teeth-clenching agony. Just a thought.

Couldn't agree more dalethorn, I've not heard the Senns but for any headphone, a bit of EQ is a must. Back to the OP, until I actually bought a headphone amp I was a bit sceptical, mainly due to price - try one as soon as you can.

lp

Hi Paul and Dale, I have a Marantz PM8005 amplifier it's a pretty good amp for its price I think. It benefits from tone controls bass, mid and treble. Do you think that I really need a dadicated headphone amp to realise the full potential of the HD660s? What are the advantages of a dedicated headphone amp?

Thanks for your input it's great to hear from people with a lot more experience than I posses.

 

[paulkebab]

is a very capable amp from what I've read about it, and on that basis I would imagine the headphone stage is also very good. You have the advantage of tone controls (I wouldn't be without mine!) so all things considered you don't need a headphone amp but when you've heard one, it's hard not to buy one. A good one will put your headphones on another level in terms of clarity and detail, but as always, try before you buy. I think you'll be pleasantly surprised.

 

[dalethorn]

is a very capable amp from what I've read about it, and on that basis I would imagine the headphone stage is also very good. You have the advantage of tone controls (I wouldn't be without mine!) so all things considered you don't need a headphone amp but when you've heard one, it's hard not to buy one. A good one will put your headphones on another level in terms of clarity and detail, but as always, try before you buy. I think you'll be pleasantly surprised.

I know a guy in the Philippines who has some good headphone amps, and one day he fired up an old receiver with his HD650, and he said that the extra power did something amazing to the sound. I think about that sometimes - the dynamics aspect of sound, and with the 300-600 ohm Sennheisers I'd get as much power in that headphone amp as possible.

 

[Gray]

Not that I thought you'd be in any way disappointed.

Give me neutral anyday. I'll always settle for the rough stuff sounding rough, when the rest sounds as great as you've described. (We need to hear what's there - no sugar coating)

Glad you like them.

 

[AntAxon]

I’ve had the Sennheiser HD660s headphones for a couple of days now so I thought I would let you guys what I think of them. I’ve always had speakers as I don’t have any neighbours attached so I can turn the volume up a bit without annoying anyone. I do have a pair of Sennheiser RS170s which I can wear around the house but I found them a bit hot to wear for extended periods as they are closed backed and to be honest the frequency range is a bit lacking.

So I thought I would treat myself to a decent pair of open backed headphones and I’m really glad I did. There is simply no comparison between the RS170s and the ND660s headphones. The clarity, and sharpness of the ND660s is simply spectacular. The low bass is comparable to that I get from my AVI subwoofer. It’s not overpowering but somehow clean sounding. The midrange and vocals are simply spectacular as are the high frequencies. Cymbals and bells etc sound really realistic almost piercing.

The soundstage too is impressive it is easy to hear instrument’s and get an impression of their position in space. It may be my imagination but it doesn’t just seem to be left, right and middle but also to some extent in the z axis. This is only really possible though with very good recordings. I would recommend the Beatles Sergeant Peppers stereo remix to really hear this. Out of interest I also played the old Sgt Pepper stereo cd and not only did it sound like the vocals were coming from one side and the instruments from the other the sound on some tracks were muffled. What I did find interesting was at the end of the track “A day in the life” after the long piano note I could hear what sounded a bit like a chair creaking. I’ve never noticed it before.

My only issue is that poor recordings sound really awful using the HD660s. As I don’t have any decent headphones to compare against I could not say if the HD660s are worth buying compared to the HD650/600 or even the HD800s but I do know I am really happy with them.

Oh I forgot to mention the build quality is pretty good but only made out of plastic (which I knew already). They are a bit too tight at the moment but I'm sure they will stretch with use, I don't really want to try bending them. And the cups fit very comfotably over the ears but best of all even after a couple of hours I don't have hot ears!

 

[dalethorn]

My only issue is that poor recordings sound really awful using the HD660s.

This was my worry, given that the HD660 might be more like the HD700 than the HD650.

 

[AntAxon]

This was my worry, given that the HD660 might be more like the HD700 than the HD650.

They are very much like my AVI speakers which I really like for how revealing they are. Using the HD660s I actually heard Paul McCartney say F**king Hell on Hey Jude at around 2min 57 seconds. I have been told it was there before but never managed to hear it clearly.

 

[MajorFubar]

I actually heard Paul McCartney say F**king Hell on Hey Jude at around 2min 57 seconds. I have been told it was there before but never managed to hear it clearly.

It's John, I think. Listen a few seconds before that and you'll hear his full sentence is "Got the wrong chord! F--king hell!". It's never been bleeped on the radio, ever. You can hear it most clearly on the 2015 version of the '1' album, which is the first time the song has ever been remixed in full since 1968. 'Hey Jude' was the first Beatles song to be recorded on an 8-track (at Trident, not at their usual haunt Abbey Road), but even with the extra tracks, presumably it's overspill on an instrument track which couldn't be edited in post to remove it.

 

[AntAxon]

Hi Major, thanks for the information about the expletives on Hey Jude, most interesting. I've tried listening to Hey Jude on the No 1 Album but I can only hear Whoa..... F**king Hell. I think I'm right in saying you do mixing or something like that, perhaps your system can bring out even more detail than mine.

I found this on Wikipedia:

In the song's final bridge section, at 2:58, the spoken phrase "F**king hell!" appears. Scott admits that although he was told about it, he could not hear the words originally Lennon attributed the expletive to McCartney, according to Emerick, who reports Lennon's comment in his autobiography: "'Paul hit a clunker on the piano and said a naughty word,' Lennon gleefully crowed, 'but I insisted we leave it in [at Trident], buried just low enough so that it can barely be heard. Most people won't ever spot it ... but we'll know it's there.'" Womack considers that the expletive was actually uttered by Lennon.] Malcolm Toft, the mix engineer on the Trident recording, also attributes it to Lennon. In Toft's recollection, Lennon was overdubbing his harmony vocal when, in reaction to the volume being too loud in his headphones, he first called out "Whoa!" then, two seconds later, swore as he pulled the headphones off.

 

[MajorFubar]

I can only hear Whoa..... F**king Hell. I think I'm right in saying you do mixing or something like that, perhaps your system can bring out even more detail than mine.

Listen more carefully...it's not "whoa..." it's "chord", preceeded by "got the wrong...". You do need to listen carefully, but your new headphones will be easily good enough. Unfortunately I don't have any multitracks for Hey Jude so I can't do a mix showing it more prominently.

Mike Brown's list of Beatles Anomalies explains it further

 

[AntAxon]

I can only hear Whoa..... F**king Hell. I think I'm right in saying you do mixing or something like that, perhaps your system can bring out even more detail than mine.

Listen more carefully...it's not "whoa..." it's "chord", preceeded by "got the wrong...". You do need to listen carefully, but your new headphones will be easily good enough. Unfortunately I don't have any multitracks for Hey Jude so I can't do a mix showing it more prominently.

Mike Brown's list of Beatles Anomalies explains it further

It may be my hearing I did a frequency test the other day and the range was 20Hz to 14Khz thats what happens when you are nearly 59. I hate getting old. *sad*

 

[dalethorn]

I can only hear Whoa..... F**king Hell. I think I'm right in saying you do mixing or something like that, perhaps your system can bring out even more detail than mine.

Listen more carefully...it's not "whoa..." it's "chord", preceeded by "got the wrong...". You do need to listen carefully, but your new headphones will be easily good enough. Unfortunately I don't have any multitracks for Hey Jude so I can't do a mix showing it more prominently.

Mike Brown's list of Beatles Anomalies explains it further

It may be my hearing I did a frequency test the other day and the range was 20Hz to 14Khz thats what happens when you are nearly 59. I hate getting old. *sad*

All of the music fundamentals are well below 10 khz, as well as nearly all of the important harmonics. The frequencies above 10k are usually called "air" frequencies, so if you can hear 14k you'll pretty much have the air covered too. If you lose 12 khz someday you'll notice some missing "air" then, but eat a good diet and execise and you'll enjoy hi-fi to at least 80.