Post by Rabbit on Apr 7, 2015 10:40:09 GMT
I've been curious for some time about Sennheiser's changes to the HD650 and now I have a new one, I've been able to compare directly.
Everyone knows that the new ones have white drivers and the old ones, black. Sennheiser seem to go into denial if you mention it to them. I spoke to a rep who crumpled his face and said there have been no changes since the original. I wish I had these two to show him at the time.
First thing is you notice just how tight new Senns are. They really clamp down quite hard which made me wonder whether this tightness accounts for sound differences along with flattened pads of old ones. Well, my old ones have new pads, so it's not them. I know that bending the head band alleviates this, but I won't because my old pair lost the paint due to me stretching it.
On the face of it, sound hasn't changed or amount of detail heard .... Until you quickly swap on the same music. It then becomes apparent that the top seems just slightly better defined. Bass amount seems the same but there is just a tiny bit of extra clarity, I think in the treble. To me, they are more HD600 like but treble is perhaps a little smoother.
I had to stop using the Senns for some time after listening on the Kameleon, since I missed low bass massively. In fact, I went right off them (thanks Frans!!!
) it was the reason why I went looking for something with proper bass. After a long break and .... (I kid you not) a week with 'lower quality' headphones, I went back to the Senn once I tuned out the sound of the Fostex and the Senn with Kameleon.
I have to say, the Senn is a damned good headphone and the new version just has a fraction more sparkle which really isn't a bad thing actually. Not to say the black drivers are bad. They're not at all, but the white drivers bring the top a bit closer.
Also, if people find Senns veiled I think the answer is look at your source. The Micro with hi res or DSD files definitely has no such veil and can even verge at an attempt on harsh with poorly recorded stuff.
The sound is extremely good. Warm and powerful, with a mid response that is extremely good. Possibly the best headphones I've heard for mid response and presence.
Add the filter and you have a 'great' headphone though. Now I've ventured into 'Never Never Land' with my old limit of £300 being smashed by the Fostex, I'd say that the hd650 with a filter to bring the sub bass in is the best value headphone you can buy. To think that I could buy 4 Sennheisers with a Kameleon for the same price as a Fostex puts it all into perspective and just shows what an amazing job Frans has done with these filters. It also shows very clearly, the law of diminishing returns.
I love the Fostex sound but in terms of value for money, I'd say the Senn with filter is an absolute bargain. My next step will be to send digital to the Micro which I'll connect via line out to a filtered amp into the Senns. It's so good and easily taken for granted as a headphone.
New one is slightly better though imo.
Everyone knows that the new ones have white drivers and the old ones, black. Sennheiser seem to go into denial if you mention it to them. I spoke to a rep who crumpled his face and said there have been no changes since the original. I wish I had these two to show him at the time.
First thing is you notice just how tight new Senns are. They really clamp down quite hard which made me wonder whether this tightness accounts for sound differences along with flattened pads of old ones. Well, my old ones have new pads, so it's not them. I know that bending the head band alleviates this, but I won't because my old pair lost the paint due to me stretching it.
On the face of it, sound hasn't changed or amount of detail heard .... Until you quickly swap on the same music. It then becomes apparent that the top seems just slightly better defined. Bass amount seems the same but there is just a tiny bit of extra clarity, I think in the treble. To me, they are more HD600 like but treble is perhaps a little smoother.
I had to stop using the Senns for some time after listening on the Kameleon, since I missed low bass massively. In fact, I went right off them (thanks Frans!!!
) it was the reason why I went looking for something with proper bass. After a long break and .... (I kid you not) a week with 'lower quality' headphones, I went back to the Senn once I tuned out the sound of the Fostex and the Senn with Kameleon.I have to say, the Senn is a damned good headphone and the new version just has a fraction more sparkle which really isn't a bad thing actually. Not to say the black drivers are bad. They're not at all, but the white drivers bring the top a bit closer.
Also, if people find Senns veiled I think the answer is look at your source. The Micro with hi res or DSD files definitely has no such veil and can even verge at an attempt on harsh with poorly recorded stuff.
The sound is extremely good. Warm and powerful, with a mid response that is extremely good. Possibly the best headphones I've heard for mid response and presence.
Add the filter and you have a 'great' headphone though. Now I've ventured into 'Never Never Land' with my old limit of £300 being smashed by the Fostex, I'd say that the hd650 with a filter to bring the sub bass in is the best value headphone you can buy. To think that I could buy 4 Sennheisers with a Kameleon for the same price as a Fostex puts it all into perspective and just shows what an amazing job Frans has done with these filters. It also shows very clearly, the law of diminishing returns.
I love the Fostex sound but in terms of value for money, I'd say the Senn with filter is an absolute bargain. My next step will be to send digital to the Micro which I'll connect via line out to a filtered amp into the Senns. It's so good and easily taken for granted as a headphone.
New one is slightly better though imo.
Me going on about how brilliant the Senns actually are and how it's worth having a dedicated amp for them started him off on the design of one. It's not finished yet but I was extremely impressed by the Kameleon since I can't listen to much else any more without missing the sub bass. Hearing it made me realise the 'flaws' in many headphones are very much there but on the whole, we don't notice. Or we switch off to them.