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Author Topic: The Amazing Super Duper Underrated HD650. A Headphone That Kicks Serious Ass.  (Read 51298 times)

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Ali-Pacha

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Yup. Heard the 009 actually more often actually, but have not have the chance to do quick comparos between 007ses and 009ses. The HD6x0 in general would be thicker than either 007 or 009...  or less lean or ethereal. Depends on perspective.

That said, the question at hand is resolution/plankton/low-level-info. Now on that subject I did have a chance to listen to the Lambdas right next to the HD600s. And indeed, the HD600 had the upper hand.

(Disclaimer: please note that the above statements are objectively all subjective)
Unfortunately, I've never had the chance to hear my HD600 out of a good / plankton-friendly amp, so hierarchy is not so obvious to me. But the portrayal of details I've written about in my previous post tells me there's certainly far more potential on Sennheiser side than on Stax side. I've a strong Stax bug, and it's still hard for me to spend megabucks on "regular" , but I'll buy a real dynamic amp eventually  :)p3
I do agree with you on all your other points  :)p5

Ali
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maverickronin

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Bad amp? Trouble getting seal? Look pretty strange? Well, in my setup they do seem to have a large null around 4kHz for the Lambdas. But overall I don't think the measurements are too far off (specially due to seal). Could be the SRS323 I had at hand. You really feel it was that? I do not use compensation and our rigs are obviously different though. Here are the plots (note I start at 20 Hz instead of 10 Hz)

Sorry, I should have been more specific.  The FR was pretty close except for the weird null but you're distortion numbers were way higher that Tyll's, I've seen them go lower for other 'phones you've measured so it's not you're mic, and you seemed to have an issue at higher volumes which Anax suggested was a problem with the amp.

I just read that one thread so so maybe I missed something else.
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n3rdling

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I agree with ultra about Lambdas not sealing well and thus not getting anything like that bass extension.  The newer Lambdas seem to do a lot better with bass extension, likely because of the pads.  That said, FR isn't exactly what's being argued in terms of resolution.  Like Marv said, ability to dig up low level info, though FR does have a role in that.

I have to question how much some of you have even listened to stats in a quiet environment.  I know Marv has owned some decent stats in the past and I remember a loaner of the 307(?) going around a while back.  Almost every stat has close to zero sound isolation, much less than HD6x0s.  Given that, how much can you honestly judge detail extraction in a meet environment?  I think you can get a good idea of how a headphone sounds at a meet (I'm not a "meet impressions are worthless" guy), but I think resolution is the one area that's a bit sketchy to judge at a meet.  Let's not kid ourselves about how loud meets are.

Comparing them side by side at home with a number of different amps, the difference in detail extraction is night and day.  I'm starting to wonder if maybe the technologies perform differently at various volume levels.  I know Marv, Anax, and OJ listen at like 120 dB and I listen at like 30 dB.  :P  Not sure about ultra.  Maybe at really high volumes the stats are presenting the same detail level they do at low volumes, and the dynamics don't start to reveal their max detail until you start to pump up the volume?  I think that might kinda make sense since stats are in a balanced, linear force field and dynamics are in a single sided magnetic field.
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Ali-Pacha

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BTW, I want to buy some Valhalla with HD650 now. Fucking hobby  :)p2

Ali
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Ringingears

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BTW, I want to buy some Valhalla with HD650 now. Fucking hobby  :)p2

Ali

I have a Valhalla 2 almost new with low hours.  Some NOS and new tubes with 20 hours so ANOS/ANEW extra tubes too.  If interested PM me. Great combo with HD650 and HD800. Seems to like Hi-Z phones.  Just time to move on for me.
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ultrabike

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Sorry, I should have been more specific.  The FR was pretty close except for the weird null but you're distortion numbers were way higher that Tyll's, I've seen them go lower for other 'phones you've measured so it's not you're mic, and you seemed to have an issue at higher volumes which Anax suggested was a problem with the amp.

I just read that one thread so so maybe I missed something else.

The measurements that you are seeing on these particular cans on my end are from a single sweep. Lately I'm doing 8 sweeps to increase THD number resolution (removes uncorrelated noise to some extent). It is also true that the 323 amp seemed to have some issues with distortion. That said, bass distortion numbers were better with the Lambdas than the HD6x0s.

Another possible source of confusion is that Tyll displays distortion in %, while most other programs (like REW) do so in dB.

I agree with ultra about Lambdas not sealing well and thus not getting anything like that bass extension.  The newer Lambdas seem to do a lot better with bass extension, likely because of the pads.  That said, FR isn't exactly what's being argued in terms of resolution.  Like Marv said, ability to dig up low level info, though FR does have a role in that.

I have to question how much some of you have even listened to stats in a quiet environment.  I know Marv has owned some decent stats in the past and I remember a loaner of the 307(?) going around a while back.  Almost every stat has close to zero sound isolation, much less than HD6x0s.  Given that, how much can you honestly judge detail extraction in a meet environment?  I think you can get a good idea of how a headphone sounds at a meet (I'm not a "meet impressions are worthless" guy), but I think resolution is the one area that's a bit sketchy to judge at a meet.  Let's not kid ourselves about how loud meets are.

Comparing them side by side at home with a number of different amps, the difference in detail extraction is night and day.  I'm starting to wonder if maybe the technologies perform differently at various volume levels.  I know Marv, Anax, and OJ listen at like 120 dB and I listen at like 30 dB.  :P  Not sure about ultra.  Maybe at really high volumes the stats are presenting the same detail level they do at low volumes, and the dynamics don't start to reveal their max detail until you start to pump up the volume?  I think that might kinda make sense since stats are in a balanced, linear force field and dynamics are in a single sided magnetic field.

IMO low lever resolution is not solely due to distortion. It maybe a combination of many things. A notchy and not-so-smooth treble and/or mids response perhaps may bring certain details forward, at the expense of masking others.

I agree that getting resolution impressions proly require a more appropriate environment than can be afforded by meets. Fortunately, the 307s vs the 600s comparo was not done at a meet. It was a Massdrop loaner, and I was able to both hear and measure them in a relatively quiet environment.

I tend to listen at maybe 70 to 80 dB or less.

BTW, I want to buy some Valhalla with HD650 now. Fucking hobby  :)p2

LOL! It's not like you are going to have to pay an arm and a leg for such a combo.
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Anaxilus

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I have to question how much some of you have even listened to stats in a quiet environment.

Maybe at really high volumes the stats are presenting the same detail level they do at low volumes, and the dynamics don't start to reveal their max detail until you start to pump up the volume?

1-Speaking for myself, you we've both been to private mini-meets in quiet environments. I know myself, OJ and UB have all had the 009 in our house on extended loans before. I consider the 009 the most resolving and capable phone Stax has made to date. At this point, a 009 rig would be my choice back-up rig for less distracting and low volume listening when I need to work or have situational awareness. Not worth the cost at this point and my 800 rig is still priority but I'm finally close to complete with it. About 85% done after adding Yggy. Eventually I'll make a 009 rig unless Stax or someone else makes a better stat. Still considering the HE1000 too depending on it's affinity to modding.

2-Yes, that's correct. x100
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Ringingears

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1-Speaking for myself, you we've both been to private mini-meets in quiet environments. I know myself, OJ and UB have all had the 009 in our house on extended loans before. I consider the 009 the most resolving and capable phone Stax has made to date. At this point, a 009 rig would be my choice back-up rig for less distracting and low volume listening when I need to work or have situational awareness. Not worth the cost at this point and my 800 rig is still priority but I'm finally close to
complete with it. About 85% done after adding Yggy. Eventually I'll make a 009 rig unless Stax or someone else makes a better stat. Still considering the HE1000 too depending on it's affinity to modding.

2-Yes, that's correct. x100

1-that's correct, except I prefer by a fraction the 007 over the 009. Call me crazy. Situational awareness? Who the hell wants that?

2-that is correct 100 dB's is minimum to bring out the potential in dynamics. :)  or so I have been told.

Seriously, if I had the resources I would put together a Stax rig. But I also would want a dynamic rig as well. The best of both worlds. Nothing gives you both at this point. IMHO.
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transparent201

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That said, FR isn't exactly what's being argued in terms of resolution.  Like Marv said, ability to dig up low level info, though FR does have a role in that.

Plankton retrieval has more to do with the quality of damping(driver) and dampening(case). That is low distortion and fast decay especially in the bass department. Slow bass/upper bass decay can hide details in other areas of the spectrum because of its stronger masking effect.
If you think about it for a while, senn's headphones are some of the few trully open designs and therefore can circumvent these kind of problems . Audiotechnicas are open too but their paper baffle doesn't seem to help bass extension and the drivers' damping isn't top notch either. Beyerdynamics and AKG are semiopen, suffering also from significant distortion(AKG) and colorations such as recessed upper-mids(beyers) and plasticky sounding resonances(AKG).
OTOH, senn's flagships lean towards the dry, transparent, professional sound. You hear more of the recording and less of the device. That's the secret of success regardless of price and personal taste. No headphone sound so that you never get bored. What a pity that the market is driven by some poser audiophiles, who value more price tag and popularity instead of achieved fidelity.
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Priidik

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2-that is correct 100 dB's is minimum to bring out the potential in dynamics. :)  or so I have been told.
This feels to be very true for HD800. For me the big thing contributing to its 'fatigue'-ness.
Less so with HD650 ime.
Assuming our best tracks have 70dB DR we need to listen to those at 90dB minimum.
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