I use the HD650 on the RX3 and L3 and it doesn't sound dark.  It's rather 'bassy' than 'dark'.

I think when you have enough voltage swing and current through it, it will become fine.  Mine is the silver version as stated.

I don't think voltage swing or current is a problem w/ either the Bryston BHA-1 running balanced or the Super 7 or BA.  We never did get to try it w/ the Mjolnir but that may have been a better 'synergy'.

I know this thread is old, but i'm really bored..doubt anyone will see this...

I got an HD-650 a week ago. Mainly due to having an ODAC now and I wanted to give it another chance. All the old pairs I had were very bloated in the mid-bass and didn't have enough treble for me. Strangely enough I liked them over the HD-600 for vocal oriented music.

This pair seems to be totally against the general consensus of what an HD-650 should sound like. It actually seems more neutral/balanced than my HD-600 and HD-580 (have both, i'm weird).

It's mid-bass doesn't stick out like a sore thumb and it has better low-bass extension than both by far. It's bass is nearly the same as my favorite DJ100. I'd say the bass is slightly elevated about neutral. Better controlled than that of the HD-600 somehow.

There is a part in the upper mids that sounds slightly forward. These don't seek to lack treble at all.

The soundstage is actually better than that of the HD-600. Not larger though (I think).

BTW I find the HD-580 better sounding than the HD-600. I think there's one other person here who thinks so too.

The HD-600 puts me to sleep, but the HD-650 is now one of my favorite headphones. Very strange..I previously preferred the 598 to the 580 and 600.

Another thing..this one is very revealing of my lower bit-rate tracks. I actually had to go back and re-rip a ton of stuff. My harsh and fatiguing tracks are a little easier on the ears though.

I know this thread is old, but i'm really bored..doubt anyone will see this...

I got an HD-650 a week ago. Mainly due to having an ODAC now and I wanted to give it another chance. All the old pairs I had were very bloated in the mid-bass and didn't have enough treble for me. Strangely enough I liked them over the HD-600 for vocal oriented music.

This pair seems to be totally against the general consensus of what an HD-650 should sound like. It actually seems more neutral/balanced than my HD-600 and HD-580 (have both, i'm weird).

It's mid-bass doesn't stick out like a sore thumb and it has better low-bass extension than both by far. It's bass is nearly the same as my favorite DJ100. I'd say the bass is slightly elevated about neutral. Better controlled than that of the HD-600 somehow.

There is a part in the upper mids that sounds slightly forward. These don't seek to lack treble at all.

The soundstage is actually better than that of the HD-600. Not larger though (I think).

BTW I find the HD-580 better sounding than the HD-600. I think there's one other person here who thinks so too.

The HD-600 puts me to sleep, but the HD-650 is now one of my favorite headphones. Very strange..I previously preferred the 598 to the 580 and 600.

Another thing..this one is very revealing of my lower bit-rate tracks. I actually had to go back and re-rip a ton of stuff. My harsh and fatiguing tracks are a little easier on the ears though.

what was your source and amp when you owned the HD650 in the past?  since the ODAC designer has set the Benchmark DAC1 as a "benchmark", i can think of 5 HPs that would be a good fit with my BM DAC1 - the HD650 would be one of them.  while i still found the HD650 to be musically lacking, i found their FR balance to be quite neutral with excellent detail.  an easy pairing to recommend.

Quote from: tdockweiler on November 26, 2012, 05:48:00 AM

I know this thread is old, but i'm really bored..doubt anyone will see this...

I got an HD-650 a week ago. Mainly due to having an ODAC now and I wanted to give it another chance. All the old pairs I had were very bloated in the mid-bass and didn't have enough treble for me. Strangely enough I liked them over the HD-600 for vocal oriented music.

This pair seems to be totally against the general consensus of what an HD-650 should sound like. It actually seems more neutral/balanced than my HD-600 and HD-580 (have both, i'm weird).

It's mid-bass doesn't stick out like a sore thumb and it has better low-bass extension than both by far. It's bass is nearly the same as my favorite DJ100. I'd say the bass is slightly elevated about neutral. Better controlled than that of the HD-600 somehow.

There is a part in the upper mids that sounds slightly forward. These don't seek to lack treble at all.

The soundstage is actually better than that of the HD-600. Not larger though (I think).

BTW I find the HD-580 better sounding than the HD-600. I think there's one other person here who thinks so too.

The HD-600 puts me to sleep, but the HD-650 is now one of my favorite headphones. Very strange..I previously preferred the 598 to the 580 and 600.

Another thing..this one is very revealing of my lower bit-rate tracks. I actually had to go back and re-rip a ton of stuff. My harsh and fatiguing tracks are a little easier on the ears though.

what was your source and amp when you owned the HD650 in the past?  since the ODAC designer has set the Benchmark DAC1 as a "benchmark", i can think of 5 HPs that would be a good fit with my BM DAC1 - the HD650 would be one of them.  while i still found the HD650 to be musically lacking, i found their FR balance to be quite neutral with excellent detail.  an easy pairing to recommend.

The last time I had them I didn't have a very good computer DAC. I was in the CD only phase and this was only about 1 1/2 years ago. I've made sure to check the same equipment and see if I got the same or different results.

I can't afford any very expensive amps ($400+), but I remember buying the Asgard and loving it with the HD-600/D2000, but not the HD-650. I can't understand why. Is the Asgard supposed to be considered a warm sounding amp? If so, maybe that's why. I clearly remember liking it more with the E9. Can't explain that one.

I switched to a Headroom Micro Amp and it sounded much, much better to my ears. Despite the improvements it still had a mid-bass hump and lack of treble. I mainly did that because it also sounded great with my AKG stuff.

I don't find the Micro to be be all that warm. I think it's fairly transparent, but probably not as much as the O2. It's never changed any of my headphone's sound signatures. It only as good as what it's connected to of course.

Tyll just measured one version and it seems to measure flat. I guess most amps do, but they sure don't sound that way.

I won't be upgrading my amp because it sounds so good right now. Probably the best headphone i've heard yet. It's a bit tough getting used to it's "thicker" mids, but I like it. If I ever do upgrade, it'll be maybe a hybrid tube amp for my DJ100 and Q701!

I didn't have the ODAC before (obviously).

I do remember on day one trying it with just a Clip+ to Total Airhead and it sounding very good. I can't say it's that dramatically different with the Micro Amp. It seems a lot "flatter" with the Micro amp and ODAC though.

BTW for anyone that's curious, the Micro has tons of power. It can even drive the K400 and 600ohm headphones quite well. As you'd expect, I still have to deal with people telling me i'm still using a portable amp! Volume doesn't mean much, but this 650 only needs 30% volume on low gain.

I bet when they made the Micro they had used the HD-650 for testing 

I do have a feeling the ODAC is making the 650 a bit more revealing than it normally is. Not sure about this. The ODAC seemed to benefit my 650/DJ100 more than the Q701. Very strange. I don't know what this means. I think the 650 scaling up with better gear isn't non-sense after all.

I'll think about sending this 650 in, but it's just been too addicting lately. Can barely take it off my head. It's been maybe a week and my opinion hasn't changed much. It is kind of weirding me out how so many of my songs vary so much in recording quality. Yeah, with the HD-650! Makes no sense. I thought it was supposed to be very forgiving and make everything sound good  Of course it's not fatiguing.

This 650 is actually just as fun to listen to as my 598. Love how it sounds with even my portable amp. I need to try it with a CMOY too. I have a Fiio E11, but I imagine that will be awful with it.

Marv's post 4 got me to thinking about the difference pads make with sound on the HD650.

On the left you can see my 13 year old HD580s. These have pads that are very well worn in. The indentation in the pad is made from very lightly pressing with a finger and that is the true shape of the pad. The rest is mostly just "puff" from the velvet. These headphones fit me like a glove and I always thought there was something 'magical' about this specific pair... no other 580/600 sounded like them and I've said that in some other thread here. Basically they sound more alive in the upper mids relative to other Senns.

This week I bought a new pair of HD650 and you can see the huge difference in the pads when it's compared with the former. They are super stiff and barely compress on the head.



Now on to the sound quality. Keep in mind these HD650 are not broken in if you believe in that. Out of the box with the stock pads they didn't impress me. I went through my usual test tracks and never got excited about what I was hearing. They sounded good, but hell I have an HD800 a few feet away from me.

Now I switched over the well worn pads from my HD580 onto the HD650. Immediate difference in sound. They sound much closer to my old HD580. But either subconscious or real there is still some of the HD650 sound, that is a thickening of the bass and not quite as active treble.