Consumer Audio HD 650 - Audiophile Hi-Res Open Back Dynamic Headphone, Titan

What can I say about these headphones? These are the best cans for their price and honestly well above it. When you first put them on you're greeted by a heavy clamp. To fix this, I extended the metal piece to adjust the headband and bent them outwards. The metal is what can withstand this so don't bend the plastic headband, it'll snap! The thick velour still gives a bit on a grip as your ears will certainly be making contacting with it but because the cans are oval shaped it shouldn't be too bad. After you get over the clamp, you realize how smooth and forward the mids are. It was fun and great and all but it sounded so muffled. I was disappointed to begin with. From there, I ran some pink noise for only about 20 hours or so to burn them in. Did it change the sound significantly? No. But what it did help with is to bring out some detail and helped me get used to the sound faster. The biggest change you'll have to get used to coming from bright headphones is the clarity is not forward and sharp, but rather it's present but not the star of the show. You'll hear pretty much all the detail you'd care for but it's much quieter and subdued in the background. This leaves you with just the vocals, and boy do they sound silky smooth. You'll be able to easily hear every word and jarring treble or poorly mastered tracks will be greeted with forgiveness on these. Basically, all your music will sound good. Jazz sounds particularly good with these as do slow songs as they fit it's personality great. Pair these with a good amplifier, I recommend the Valhalla 2 for an entry level or a Ragnarok if you can afford it for solid state. Honestly, these could be your end game if you prefer the sound signature. For me, I still wasn't convinced as I knew the comfort could be improved and I wanted more detail. I ruined a good thing by doing so. The rings that hold the pads onto these cans are glued so I took some scissors and ripped them off. I replaced these cans with the HD700 pads just to try. The comfort instantly increased but the bass quantity went way down (while the quality of the bass picked up, it was much more speedy and less bloomy than with the stock pads), the detail and treble went way back up and to my surprise the mids recessed a tiny bit but not by much. This could probably be fixed with tubes. Doing this pad swap though took away everything that made the 650s magical to begin with. They really do change the sound so I recommend sticking with the stock velours or equivalent if you like the bassy/warm mid forward sound signature of the stock 650s. I certainly do so I will be buying them again (they are overpriced though, they basically are velour stitched over memory foam that you could take off some old packaging, $50 is a bit too much for pads but I guess they had to add up the costs to equal the total sum they're charging for this can). So who is the 650 for? If you can't afford $1,000 cans but want sweet vocals and impactful bass (not crazy deep but rich and heavy when necessary) then the 650s are definitely up your alley. It's super forgiving so lossy files will not be a problem here nor will poorly recorded music (which is a good thing in my books as it gives you time to build up your higher quality collection). I would not recommend these headphones if you want airyness, lots of detail or clarity. Those are best reserved for the 600s, 700s or 800s. Where's the upgrade from here? Pre-fazor LCD2 or LCD2-C or the Atticus. You'll need some beefy hybrid/SS amps for those but they are indeed a better upgrade as their soundstage, mids, and overall bass are better with a bit better clarity (not night and day). To wrap things up, the warm sound is not for analyzing your music. It's for relaxing as you go about your day, it's for enjoying lyrics, it's for sipping some coffee while writing up a paper. Details are fun but I finally have found my preferred sound signature. Bright sound signatures will fatigue your ears after a while with all the detail and glaring sharpness and as a result, I think a warm sound will fit most everyone's preferences unless you're in the camp that wants to hear every last detail in your music. I'm just glad I heard truly warm cans and not just cans outfitted with some warmth to truly get an idea of the experience you get and that is one of just fun, relaxing, shivers down your spine with well recorded music. These things will love tubes! Get some Mullards, Telefunken, Philips Milliwatts, or Gold Pin 6NPC's for some additional warmth and less of a dry sound. Pour that syrup!

These are the first step. Like anyone looking to make this kind of investment for headphones I did a lot of reading before buying. That is only going to get you so far. You need to hear these. Ten years ago I listened to a pair of HD600 straight off a disc-man with NO amp. I was completely blown away, I set out to find the perfect headphones for one hundred dollars, that was a mistake. I kept buying headphones in that range over the years and nothing came close. I was torn between these and the 600's, but decided that I loved the look of these and a few reviews pushed me to get the 650's. I highly suggest going to Guitar Center or some place that you can compare them, I believe the 600's maybe the superior sounding ones (it's always the ugly ones). It's been said that a good set up is the Lehmann Audio Black Cube Linear amp/HD600 using a 650 headphone cable. But there is no way I'm paying that kind of money for an amp... I'm not an expert and I don't plan to collect anymore headphones (unless I end up with a pile of extra money). If you are just getting into quality sound, these will destroy what you thought was possible for home listening. Even without burn-in, and an expensive amp and listening to a 128kbps file in itunes, you will want to throw out your old headphones, you will look at them with disgust and you will start ripping everything you own at lossless. These only get better with everything you bring to them, they are hungry for better. More than likely I'll be getting a Schiit amp as my first amp. Currently running these from an Apogee One for digtial or a Technics SA-5170 for vinyl and happy with this setup. I'd love to understand why people think these should have a dedicated amp. Things that you will notice when you listen. The sound stage will be expanded, the clarity and richness will be improved, the separation: you will hear things you never noticed (one voice will clearly become 3 layered voices, one piano will become 4, fingers will slide on strings) everything will become a personal concert. If you are on the fence about these don't hesitate, it's like going from and old TV to a HUGE HD one with bluray. If you are an audio pro, you probably already own these. If you didn't like something about these and you think they need to be amped, you have more money than brains (or very good hearing). If you want to significantly improve your daily enjoyment of music, buy these now. Like everyone else says there are cons: The band is tight, they are open so you can hear everything in the room (ie keyboard clicks and talking) and people can hear the headphones. These are most likely for home use only. Good thing they look more comfortable than most of the furniture in my house. You should know by now what you are getting into with these. These come in a huge foam lined box, there was nothing to cut, no way to tell if it had ever been opened or not. The cord is kevlar (think bulletproof vests) and replaceable, one time I sucked them into the vacuum roller (not this pair), seemed bad but survived (HD 495). They are light and comfortable to wear for me (not as comfy as my HD 428). They look amazing, much better than the HD600's. I think there is a lot that could be improved about how they are built (comfort and usability), but I'm insane when it comes to small details. You will want a multi-disc player or good quality digital music (big hard drive). What I listened to so far: NIN, Tool, The Cinematic Orchestra, Sam Prekop, Zoe Keating, Underworld, Aphex Twin, Miles Davis, Amadeus Soundtrack, Kodo, Led Zeppelin, Billy McLaughlin, Doomtree, Yo-Yo Ma, Alice in Chains (unplugged), Rodrigo Y Gabriela, Nirvana and Jimi. And I'll go to bed after I listen to everything that exists... These shine with live and acoustic tracks. Don't wait 10 years like I did. Get them now and start hearing your music for the first time. So worth it. On a side note, I'd consider getting a second pair of these rather than spending the money for a nice surround sound system. I figure the audio is as good but much cheaper. If Schiit is reading consider making an amp for movie buffs and their girlfriends to share. Update: I'd suggest the wireless HDR 120 for TV and Movies. Update: I recently found the Monolith Liquid Platinum amp for a great price as an open box almost half price from their own site. I also found XLR cables to swap for the headphones and for my CD player to the amp. I am extremely happy with this upgrade and was skeptical that it would make any difference but I am glad I invested. No regrets. A friend had recommended the Monolith Liquid Spark (probably a good option if you aren’t changing out the cables or have a lower budget), but once I found the deal on the Platinum I was determined to get that as my end game amp. I admit I should have made the investment sooner but it took me a few years too save up the money. Don’t waste these headphones maximize their potential with an amp.

HD 650 Heavenly sonic bliss. My favorite headphone. Full rich, lush sounding voices and instruments. Widest sound stage of my headsets with excellent clarity. Very easy to separate and follow various voices and instruments in the music I listen to. Very balanced across the entire range of frequencies without one range over powering another. Everything is very clear. No muddiness of sound. Cybals and chimes crisp and clear. Snare drums nice crisp sound. Bass pleasant with excellent sound decay and appropriate reverberation lasting longer than my other headsets. I can really feel the music around my ears with this headset. The sound envelopes my head instead of feeling like its between my ears. Now I can experience the music rather than just listen to it. Makes music much more enjoyable and realistic sounding. This can be driven by my iPod, iPad, MacBook Pro, Laptops and Desktop PCs without an amplifier. I have no doubt an amplifier will improve the sound, but the sound is already rich and clear without amplification and still better than my other headphones. I'm hearing/experiencing things that I never heard before with my other headsets ... the faint pops that occur from an old LP that has been digitally recorded ... just amazing (from an iPod without amplifier). This is my experience. Your mileage may vary depending upon what you want out of your headsets. Finding the “best headphone" is a very expensive and very subjective journey. Reading reviews can only take one so far. Opinions range far and wide depending upon the reviewers individual tastes, experience with music and what one primarily listens to. Descriptions of the sound in reviews don't always help due to differences in meaning. For example what is described as the veiled Sennheiser sound may be what I call a mellow laid back sound (not sure). My advise is listen to your music with a lot of different headphones and do your own comparisons to determine what you like. What you hear coming from each headphone is going to vary with the design of the headphone, but also modulated by a. the type of music you listen to b. how the recording was originally made (microphones converting analog to electrical then stored on magnetic tape or digitized) b. the quality of the recording you are listening to (especially if digitized, what was truncated if anything) c. the format in which it is recorded and sampling rate d. the equipment you play it on and how it translates the recording back to an electrical impulse to be sent to the headphone e. the headphones themselves (open, closed, type of diaphragm material, how many speakers (i.e. the Shure 500 series has 2 woofers and a tweeter in each ear piece to achieve its balanced sound presentation across its spectrum, I have a gaming headset with multiple speakers) Having said that, the music I listen to is classical to 60s, 70s, 80s, 90s, pop, country, jazz, big bands, vocals, instrumentals. I don’t have a dedicated amplifier and play all my headphones on iPods, iPads, iPhones, Mac Book Pros, PCs, Pioneer Tuners. All my headphones sound just fine without an amplifier, but I have no doubt that an amplifier will improve the sound. My music is recorded in MP3 at 320 kbps, but I prefer M4A apple lossless or WAV at 1400 kbps for the best possible digital sound quality. I can hear the difference between 1400 kbps, 320 kbps, and the more compressed music at 192 and 128 which can be found on MP3 sites like the apple store. I convert my CD collection to both 1400 kbps and 320 kbps 44.1 MHz so it can be played at the best quality on whatever system I am using. All my headphones have been broken in with at least a 72 hour continuous play run. My headphones from most favorite to least favorite are Sennheiser HD 650 Shure 500PTH Sennheiser HD 598 AKG K550 Sennheiser HD 555 modified to 595 Sony DLP777 — bright Jaybird Spirit — midtones muffled due covering that prevents sweat getting into ear pieces Sennheiser HD 280 Noise cancellers: Bose QC2 — bass heavy, muddy midtones Bose QC3 — even more bass have, muddy midtones Dr. Dre Beats — too bass heavy, stick to rap and non-critical listening (rap) For me, the HD 650 is a 5 star headphone and by far my favorite of all my headphones. Allows me to truly feel and experience the music I like listening to using the devices I have. My iPods, iPhone, iPads and MacBook Pro can drive this 300 ohm just fine (of course the volume level has to be turned up compared to the lower ohm headphones), but the lush rich realistic sound still comes through better than the other headphones. By feel, I mean that the HD650 diaphragms move so much air around my ears I can feel and experience the music as opposed to just hearing it. The Shure PTH500 can do this in my ear canal. My HD598 does this much better than the HD 555 and has a more pleasant sound to me than the HD555. But none of these come close to the experience I get with my new HD650. It’s like standing in front of a speaker at a concert or DJ’d party except its around me ears instead of having my body feel the sound wave. The timbre, tone, character of the instruments from the HD650 is slightly better than my original reference PTH500. PTH500 and HD650 are better than my other headsets. With these two, I discovered things that I couldn’t hear with the other headsets. Sound stage of the HD650 is wider than the PTH500 which is wider than the other headphones. Both have much better separation of the instruments and vocals and much better clarity which gives the music a more 3 dimensional enjoyable sound. Much easier to pick out individual instruments and so I can more easily play along on piano, guitar etc. With other headsets I have to struggle to hear the individual parts. The Shure 500 has been my favorite reference headphone since 2008. With its sound isolation qualities, I use it when traveling and when I don't want to disturb others around me. The problem with it is that it can eventually be painful on the ear canals and sound quality (bass) is lost when the ear canal seal is lost when moving around or exercising. Additionally, hearing the crunch of food while eating and listening with the 500s is a consequence of in ear monitors. Both the HD650 and PTH500 have the best balance across all sound frequencies with the widest sound stage. The Bose QC2, QC3, and Beats have more emphasis on bass followed by treble at the expense of midtones, so if I want really loud bass, I’ll go with the Beats followed by QC3, then QC2 for lesser degrees of bass punch. The HD 598 was my favorite after the PTH500 because its open design moves a lot of air allowing me to kind of feel the music, but not the extent of the HD650. It has what I consider a more laid back and mellow sound than the HD 555 and PTH500. Kinda relaxing and pleasant. HD555 DLP777 place more emphasis on treble. If I want high energy treble, the HD555 and AKG K550 are my go to headsets. I prefer the open design over the closed headsets because they just move air better with a generally richer sound then my closed headphone Shure 500PTH — best overall balance and 3D clarity while physically blocking outside noise HD 598 -- open, good overall balance, mellow sound AKG 550 — closed, good overall balance. doesn't move air as well as HD598, but good second choice to the 598 HD 280 — closed thin; waste of my money. was never happy with it. Sony MDP 777 — closed, emphasis on treble Bose QC2 — closed moderate bass. muddy midtones Bose QC3 — closed heaviest on bass. muddy midtone So my choices for headsets boil down to Best overall sonic experience: HD650 Best outside noise reduction/isolation and overall sonic experience: Shure 500 series Best to minimize noise spill into the surrounding environment when I can’t use the Shure 500: AKG 550 Best for heavy bass emphasis: In order from least bass to intense bass: Bose QC2, QC3, Dr. Dre Beats Ultimately the “best” headset is a subjective opinion depending upon what you want to hear and/or experience out of your music. There is a huge sliding scale of perceived quality. I wouldn’t recommend spending much on an expensive headset if your music is 128 kbps compressed. But then again, it is cheaper to just buy 1 headset and grow into it rather than spend lots of money working ones way up to the holy grail of headsets. If I knew then what I know now, I would have just bought the HD650 and stopped there.

I am not a headphone expert by any means, but these headphones are excellent !!!! I had a cheaper pair of Sennheiser's for years and they were ok ,but I always felt they were a little veiled. 3 years age I purchased a pair of HiFi man Devas and they were a big improvement but still not the sound I was looking for. I started researching and got my choices down to HD 600, HD 650, and HD pro 490 , I went for the 650 thinking if they did not give me what I wanted it was an easy return. The first listen I was stunned and knew they were not going back, I really like everything about these cans. For my listening taste and ears the vocals, soundstage, and instrument seperation is just perfect for me. My one and only complaint is that I have a bigger melon so the clamping is a little tight, not terrible but not the best on my head. In reviews this was mentioned a lot and there are a few fixes that are easy to find on the internet, mainly bending the strap a bit. I have 2 sets of speakers in my music room and I took my headphones and had them on my standmounts to stretch them out for a few days, books work as well. Last night I had a 3.5 hour session and everything was great no discomfort. I am very concerned with preserving my hearing and these headphone excel at lower volume listening, I usually listen at about 70-75 DB. My music taste is varied and I have listened to Zappa, Rush,Miles,Trane, Tangerine Dream, and Live Dead this last week and all were great. I think these headphone are a GREAT BUY and am super stoked to have them , worth every penny. I am planning on retiring in a few years and it may be hard not to try the 800s as a present to my self LOL. Give these a chance just a great purchase !!!

Pros- Stellar sound quality with EQ, Perceived soundstage is vast, Super Comfortable while also being lightweight and very isolating for a non noise canceling headphone, solid build quality, replaceable pads and cable, ability to add a mic not included, quarter inch adapter included and decently priced at $299 sale price. Cons- stock sound quality is wonky but easily corrected with eq. Look up reviewer based Resolves eq adjustments and use an auto eq app to apply them. Regular price is too high I feel. The top headband should be user replaceable but it looks like it’s just glued on. Final Thoughts- While this isn’t a perfect headphone. The isolation and almost great sound quality out of the box except for certain songs is great. But my experience with this headphone with eq makes the wonkyness of the sound for certain songs disappear and just sound fantastic for the price. The isolation for this headphone if you can get a good seal is seriously impressive, I used this headphone at an event to monitor the audio and I could make out the audio coming from the headphones perfectly with the PA system at volume levels that were uncomfortable for me. If you know this is compromised headphone and can either deal with the experience or modify it so it’s perfect for your taste I see this as a good value product if you get it at the right price.

(If you're wondering how these compare to the Sennheiser HD 600 Open Back Professional Headphone , please see the bonus section that follows this review.) These are, bar none, the most wonderful headphones I've ever heard. For perspective, I have or have had: Audio-Technica ATH-M50 (of course) and M40x, Fostex T50RP MK3, Oppo PM-3, Philips Fidelio M1MKII and L2, and both the Sennheiser HD598SE and HD600. None of these but the HD600 come close. If you're considering the HD598 as a lower-priced alternative, it's a great headphone in its own right (especially if you don't want to go down the rabbit hole of choosing a suitable amp), but there isn't as much family resemblance in the sound as you might think. Still, it was through buying the 598 that I decided to take the plunge on the 650—Sennheiser's 5xx series is clearly a gateway drug to the 6xx series, which fortunately is so good there's little reason to step up to the 700 and 800 besides bragging rights. There's a lot of warped machismo in the world of audiophilia, and to the greatest extent possible I'd like to avoid that in this review. Simply put, the 650 is about the best all-around headphone you can buy for its current Amazon price of $315.99. If you already have an amp and/or a dedicated listening setup and you've never heard these, you owe it to yourself to try them. Worst-case scenario, you don't like them and you're out $6-7 for a return label. Best-case scenario, you find out just how good (and yes, also how bad) recorded music can sound. These are very much the BMW 5-series of the headphone world: there are bigger, faster, and more expensive options, but these remain the perennial gold standard. Maybe they're not your style, but there's no denying their refinement and artistry. I think they sound absolutely perfect. Some complain they're too "laid back," even "veiled." I suspect those people just don't hear very well, because if you have sensitive hearing, "exciting" headphones are a euphemism for "death by treble." I have dog-like hearing, and most of the time it's more curse than blessing. Even with the 650, the treble can be brain-piercing with the wrong amp. As for amp recommendations, this is a contentious and fiercely debated topic. As a general rule, you should spend the most on the final device in your playback chain (speakers/headphones), and progressively less on the "upstream" components: amp, DAC, media player. Given a budget of no more than $300 for an amp, you could buy the excellent Aune B1 Class A Portable Phone/Headphone Amplifier and still have enough left over to pay for a year of streaming music. Of course, if you want to pair the 650 with "endgame" gear, by all means do! The 650 has a reputation for "scalability," meaning its sound will (allegedly) continue to improve with better amps, DACs, recordings, etc. My own gear is fairly modest, so I can't speak to how this sounds plugged into a $5,000 amp or rewired with $700 cables. I will say that it REALLY comes to life with a tube amp (I have a Darkvoice 336SE), but I completely understand if that's a can of worms you'd rather not open. All I know is that the 650 sounds good enough to be the end of the headphone rainbow for me. The audio hobby is usually a desperate, futile struggle against diminishing returns, and as far as I'm concerned, the 650 IS that threshold in the headphone world. In other words, you can spend ten times more, but it won't sound ten times better. Given that, you might be wondering whether you even need an amp with these. "Need" is a strong word, and in the context of expensive headphones it's pretty hard to maintain a sense of perspective. I've done the unthinkable and plugged these directly into my iPhone's headphone jack, and you know what? They STILL sound phenomenal, but only for easy music. What's easy music? Pop, rock, basically anything recorded to be uniformly loud. Without an amp, the 650 can fall apart on classical and jazz recordings with a wide range between loud and quiet sections—there simply isn't enough power on tap to move the diaphragm as nimbly as this sort of music demands. If you never listen to instrumental music, you might be able to get away with not using an amp, but I can't recommend it. Buying such marvelous headphones and not amping them properly would be like buying a beautiful painting and not framing it. You can do it, but for a little more money you might as well get the full effect. Let me end with some totally subjective words that describe the sound of the 650: rich, natural, musical, effortless, clean. Now some words that could just as well be applied to a fine wine (the combination of status anxiety, groupthink, and reckless cognitive bias unites both hobbies): broad-shouldered, velvety, well-mannered, savory, harmonious. In either case, a smooth finish. :) Bonus section: HD650 vs HD600 Obviously if you've read this far, you're deep enough into the audio hobby to have realized an important psychological truth about yourself: you can't leave well enough alone. Neither can I. That's why, even after falling head over heels in love with the sound of the HD650, I ordered the HD600. I just had to know. The verdict? It's almost too close to call, but for my preferences the 650 is the better headphone. The two have been compared to death online, but if you have the capacity to think for yourself, audio review sites and forums are usually an unsavory if fascinating combination of shilling, self-justification, and "follow the leader" parroting of received opinions. Many self-proclaimed "audiophiles" have strong opinions about equipment they've never actually heard, which I can't accept. Given that, I decided the only way to compare the two headphones honestly was to listen to both myself for hours, going back and forth on a wide variety of recordings. The difference between a good recording and a bad recording dwarfs the difference between lossy and lossless, and the HD600 (more so than the HD650) may end up changing your taste in music because it makes good recordings sound SO GOOD and bad recordings sound SO BAD. In other words, it reveals the "truth" of the recording, and sometimes the truth hurts—it's really hard to enjoy The Killers now. The fact is that the 600 and 650 are ultimately more alike than different, and the popular insistence that they sound completely different has more to do with what Freud called "the narcissism of small differences" than the headphones themselves. If you Google some variation on "HD650 vs HD600," you'll hear over and over that the 650 is "bassier" or "darker." Not really. There's actually very little difference across this parameter. Piano music presents an exception, but this is rarely what people think of as a bassy genre. There are two significant differences. The first is soundstage. The HD650's soundstage is wider, but that doesn't mean it can make a cramped recording sound airy. The HD600's soundstage is more intimate; there's less space between left and right channels, but it's not a huge difference, and I could see people preferring (or at least not minding) the HD600's tighter spacing. The most striking difference between the two headphones is in what I'd call "smoothness." The best analogy I can think of comes from digital photography. As an image sensor increases its sensitivity, it also increases its noise because you can't amplify a signal without also amplifying noise. There are two rival philosophies for dealing with noise: leave it as "grain" or smooth it out. Grain has its devotees, and the advantage of grain is that it preserves fine detail. The disadvantage is that past a certain point it becomes a distraction. The advantage of smoothness, meanwhile, is that it looks superficially nicer. The disadvantage is that when you look closely you won't see all the fine details. Like all things, it's a continuum of compromise. The 600 is the headphone to get if you value detail at the cost of an occasionally unpleasant grainy and even metallic quality to the sound. The 650 is the one to get if you care more about music than sound and don't care if your headphones sand down the sharp edges of your music a bit. Going back and forth between the two, it quickly becomes clear that the 650 is the stronger all-around performer: it sounds nicer on more recordings and across more genres. The 600, meanwhile, is the champion of a particular niche: good recordings with lots of micro detail. Want to be able to count how many times the skin of a drum reverberates after it's struck? Want to hear such fine vocal gradations you'll know how a singer felt during recording? The 600 is for you. Make no mistake: at its best, the 600 produces the most astonishingly detailed sound I've ever heard. Unfortunately, at its worst it sounds grainy, jumbled, and not particularly musical. I'm sorry to report that piano music sounds particularly off on the 600: low frequencies disappear and take the fullness of the keys with them. Vocals can sound oddly recessed, even far away. In general, the 600 seems to fare better with female vocals than male ones, and with strings over pianos. It's absolutely glorious for acoustic guitar, but then, so is the 650. The 650's great advantage lies in its ability to bring out vocals like a spotlight. They stand out so clearly and powerfully from the instrumentation that you'll feel like you're hearing your favorite songs for the first time. The effect is really quite incredible: it's like there's a special sonic column reserved for vocals and unpolluted by other sounds. Based on Sennheiser's own specs, the 650 has lower distortion than the 600 and it's clearly a more refined driver unit. Whatever the technical reason, the 650's background is pitch black: sounds rise from and fall back into a sea of silence. Be forewarned: a well-recorded vocal track through the 650 may bring tears to your eyes, and that's why I kept the 650 and returned the 600.

I’ve been using Audio Technica AT50’s since 2004 and MSR7’s for about 3 years. The 50’s are great for bass heavy music and the MSR7’s are (I thought) great for detailed acoustic, vocal, percussion and other 1khz and higher audio. I don’t know what my expectations were with the Sennheiser HD650’s. All I knew for sure is that I have read countless reviews and articles where they are used as reference headphones. Whether as the focus of the written material, or in passing as the gear reviewers use when auditing or reviewing other equipment and music/media. The HD650’s are universally accepted as a reference headphone. So over the last several years they have sparked my curiosity. I ordered them and received them within 2 days. I am a classic rock aficionado, and have my own set of reference tracks that I use when trying out new equipment in my home studio. I’ve played guitar and drums for 35 years (not expertly, but passable?). I have a nice Roland Kit, a couple of nice Fender and Mesa Boogie Tube Amps, Fractal Axe FX III guitar processor and run it all through various digital I/O and microphones into an RME UFX+ Audio Interface. The RME interface has an excellent ADC/DAC configuration, with a very clean sound at the headphone jack that matches the outputs on the other analog outputs on the interface, but is also amplified. They didn’t cut corners. All of this is to say that I have great reference hardware, knowledge of good source media, and the headphone amplifier and DAC section from my audio interface surpasses most high end audio AVR’s. Now generally, like most folks these days, I listen to rather low end compressed MP3 audio. It’s readily available and doesn’t take up storage space. As storage space has become less expensive, I’ve started to record and save my audio in the highest quality format my interface will allow. Generally that is a minimum of 16bit 320kbps compressed, or as high as 24bit 96khz, with maximum playback capability of 24 bit/192kHz. All the detail. The things that you didn't even know were buried in the mix. The 3 second harmonies, the double tracks that are barely distinguishable, the finite exquisite breath of the vocalist as they prepare for the next line of the verse. All laid out in stunning depth and form. Strange things that you didn’t even know were in the mix, that add depth and character to the music, that are underneath the main harmony and melody of the music. Things that only an explorative and creative genius of a producer would include in the mix and final mastering. Dark Side of the Moon takes on a new landscape. Steely Dan Aja highlights perfection of studio recording at it's finest. You can get lost for hours in old recordings and hear the things that you didn't even know made the music that you enjoy so enjoyable. Edit: As an aside, I need to include something extra ordinary. Something that I would presume that maybe 1/10th of 1% of folks who actually purchased these headphones would pursue. An opportunity to audit the HD650’s via an RME ADI-2 PRO FS BE AD/DA. The RME unit is in the Top 3, or arguably is the best, mastering quality DAC and by far the best headphone amp that money can buy. Period. No exceptions. Numbers don’t lie and RME’s audio engineering team is among the finest on the planet and can back them up. The UFX+, as I mentioned, is no slouch at all. They perform tremendously in the studio, and the quality of the gear DOES shine through during headphone testing. Blissful. But…. When you listen to anything through the ADI-2, it’s clichéd to say, but it really is not just “next level”. It’s the very “top level”. That said. You have now reached a level of clarity that some people might actually find slightly uncomfortable believe it or not. The lack of distortion is unfamiliar and with poorly recorded or or media compressed with a bad encoder, the flaws shine. Too much so occasionally. On the other hand. With good to exceptional media, and phones like the HD650 that can convey expertly produced media, you will be sitting at the control desk, where the mastering engineer was sitting. Hearing everything (and maybe more) than they were hearing as they put the final touches on the song or album. I have yet to audition what are considered to be be “better” headphones. Maybe someday I’ll get a chance to A/B the HD650’s against another premium set. Until then I remain blown away by the Sennheisers. If you’re here trying to decide if you should pull the trigger on these. It is simply a resounding YES! Keep in mind that these are 300 Ohm headphones. They will require more power than your iPhone, or Android phone to fully appreciate their capabilities. You do not need a $1000 headphone amp to enjoy them. Their are several headphone amps/Pro level DAC’s from $200 to several thousand dollars that will all do the job. I highly recommend that you are able to drive them with an output of greater than 100mW minimum. Just my opinion. Do what you will. But you will not be able drive any kind of realistic bass below that threshold. Yes, people around you will hear them. But you are buying open back headphones for a reason. Your listening enjoyment. Find a place to disappear and enjoy them and turn it up. I highly recommend these headphones. They are simply incredible.

All my life I hate headphones, because I couldn't listen to them longer period of times in ear canal ones were piercing my brain over on ear ones were uncomfortable with side effects my ears were sweating itching. Experience made me refuse buy any headphones over the decade because I've always felt they not worth it. Other hands I have quite old vintage Pioneer Hi-Fi Speakers which is my uncle bought in 80's. They still sounds great but only goes to frequency response 28 KHZ max. I have approximately 105 SACD ripped them to DSD ( Sony DSF) format with my old PS3, sacd ripper, Also Around 203 Hi-Res albums ( 24 BIT) which my friends & I bought shared through different online stores like ( Hdtracks, Qobuz, Hiresaudio.com etc). Rest of my collection just Redbook 16 bit 44.1 khz lossless format ), I haven't decent DSD native decoding DAC I'm using Macbook Pro 15. ( 2016) this device Audio capabilities garbage it has Cirrus Logic DAC muddy which only goes 96 khz, line out from this device only limited 48 khz max feeding this device through line out to amp to speakers were awful experience everything sounds muddy instruments sound separation, soundstage nothing is presents Hi-Res Audio sounded worth than CD etc. I have before Sony SACD player it laser head malfunctioned after 8 years of Use & went bad 8 years ago. After this thing broken from different laptops even expensive Apple Macbook Pro audio experience was worst I've experienced so far. I knew I need some sort of USB Audio Advanced DAC something to convert my DSD files Natively & Hi-Res Audio max out of resolution doesn't make sense have 24 bit 192 khz lossless file when your device DAC only can reproduce 96 khz can only output 48 khz max so you got my point. I have proper DAC now which Capable Play DSD ( 64,128) natively PCM up to 384 khz & line out headphone out not limited to 48 khz anymore it is alo headphone amp which have specs 285 mv ( 32 Ohm) 2.9 volt. 1. Sennheiser HD 650 Comfort ----------- I would give 10/10 never used anything like this before, you can listen for longer periods without getting any fatigue or discomfort they also very well breathable, I'm using this about 5-6 hours without break I've never got tired this is so big advantage this headphones have over others & what make them so special best in their class ( Note they have little clamping force in beginning when they are new but this thing easily resolved after 4 days of Use I left them on position Clamping Box 10 cm distance from each drives 4 days all day & this clamping pressure has gone) 2. Sennheiser HD 650 Sound Quality & Resolution ----------- Second batch of this product which is currently Amazon.com selling have frequency response up to 10 - 41.000 hz ( Hi - Res Audio Certified By Japan Audio Society) it has sticker on box, Sound quality resolution everything crystal clear bass in there ( Mids Vocals I've never heard anything like this they are magical & very straight forward & intimidate this headphones only woth buying just for listening female vocals they sounds so precious nothing come close this kind of quality this cans providing in this regard), Highs many others would say veiled actually I'm not agree with that they very well represented they just not piercing this is one of the magic formula which makes listen to this headphones long listen sessions without getting tired. 3. Sennheiser HD 650 -Power Requirement DAC, Amplification, Source ------------- This headphones rated 300 ohm, Power requirement for this I'm not 100 % sure but checked online headfi.org other online 3 volt 500 mv - 32 ohm, everyone says they incredible scales with powerful amp. I'm currently using them with my 2.9 volt 285 mv on 30 ohm source they driving this in required level so they sounds incredible, I've not t feeding them all 500 mv by now I don't own so powerful headphone amp yet. I bet with powerful amp they even getting better. Of Course Source material DAC also matters it will help get better results in the end. Currently my source 1200 ( 16 bit 44.1 khz albums lossless format), 105 DSD SACDS, 203 Hi-Res 24 Bit ( 44.1 khz up to 192 khz files) 150 albums I have in ITunes format 256 kb/s ACC, In my listening best sounding is DSD, 2nd place 192 khz PCM, 3 rd place Redbook CD 16/44.1, worst sounding AAC 256 kb/s . During listening sessions I'm more often trying avoid this ACC albums. So source matters as well to get full more detailed refined experience. 4. Sennheiser HD 650 - value build quality --------------- This headphones lightweight for it own class so you couldn't expect this thing being build from any metal it have metal where durability matter Driver Grills made from metal headband clamping sides made from metal, rest of the Unit it is high quality plastic. If you take a good care about your equipment I didn't think it will be broken anytime soon some people using HD 600 now over 15 years & nothing got broken during this time except pads & cable this is normal. This thing Made In Europe Ireland how many items do you own last 2 decades made in Europe ? Trust me build quality it is top notch. For 374.99 $ this headphones is steal. This is 500 $ valued headphones for the resolution comfort this thing provide I don't think they overpriced, nowadays any sub par Sony or Other HI-RES headphones costing 250 $ forget about bluetooth other futures every other headphone have sound quality through wireless option worst indeed, still best option connection for optimal sound quality is wire. Audio Software Used for testing Audio Nirvana Plus full version only available by this moment only ON MAC OS costing 74.99 $, It is bitperfect software have Lots of Audio futures & excellent sound quality 10 times better what average ITUNES sounds like, Native DSD playback, advanced metadata editing etc. I'm usually not to keen write reviews about products but I then saw some people giving this item sub par scoring one star rating so I decide wrote one. Please don't listen to this people they don't using this headphone as intended. They generally bought it plugged into smartphone jack or laptop, in my experience this headphone I'm not tried my smartphone but from Macbook Pro 15 ( 2016) headphone jack they sound like some cheap 15 $ no name headphone. So Please note ( Source, DAC, proper amp, all this matters to get full out of this headphones)