Sennheiser HD650
 

Got home from our lunch on the water (Oyster Creek Inn - seafood plate for me - oysters & clams on the half shell, shrimp & a decent helping of crab) and the HD650s ($315 from Amazon) were on the patio (luckily, we have great UPS, Fedex & USPS delivery folks). Was surprised how heavy the box was. When I opened the outer box, the inner box completely filled it. Nicely packaged in a dedicated clamshell box with plenty of foam. Everything was in excellent physical condition.

Was wondering about both the weight and clamping force of the HD650. I found neither to a problem, though my understanding is the clamping force will relax a bit with time. I found the ear-cups to be quite comfortable during the ~1.5 hours I listened.

To start with, I listened to the opera broadcast on WRTI, 90.1 out of Temple Univ. Today it was the Chicago Lyric Opera singing "Eugene Onegin" by Tchaikovsky. The voices were excellent, with plenty of "umph" in this baritone heavy piece. Instruments were also nicely and clearly presented, but it is always difficult to tell how good they should or shouldn't be with a broadcast.

After ~45min of the opera (not one of my favorites) I put Jerry Lee's "Last Man Standing" in the CDP. Good tight bass, but a bit congested sounding in the mids (saxophone). With only an hour of run-time, this is not too surprising.

After the 1.5hr of listening with my chair moved over within 5ft of my amp I had enough of sitting there reading the new 'Stereophile', which also arrived today. Still no discomfort, so that was nice. I left the HD650s running at a moderate level so they will continue to break-in. Will listen a bit more later or tomorrow. Looking forward to the extension cable so I can listen in a more favored position. Will update and add pic's in the next few days. Will also spin some vinyl.

Thanks for the write up Glenn, I'll chime in with my opinion when mine arrive next week.

Dave - Looking forward to another perspective.

After just a few additional hours they have smoothed out considerably. Only about 15min standing while listening to some piano (Bill Evans) shows the mids have opened up nicely. Hopefully, that will continue until the cable arrives.

Glenn, I have these cans since 12 years.
I'm very happy with them and feel no urge to upgrade.

After ~48hr of break-in, the HD650s have smoothed out considerably. Very nice sound. Am impressed with how well they handle the bass end of things.
https://www.audioaficionado.org/atta...1&d=1499720546

Glenn, what are you using for a headphone amp and, what cable are you waiting for?

Jack - Am using the Sony TA-F707ES, a highly regarded 90wpc MOSFET integrated amp with the speakers turned off. Will also be using the Cary SLI-80. Currently listening thru the 10ft cable the HD650 comes with. The 20ft extension cable is a WW Nano-Eclipse, which I've just been alerted, will be arriving tomorrow. Will be interesting to compare the 'before' & 'after' results with the long cable.

Wow! My HD650's didn't come with any tubes. :D

Congrats on an excellent headphone.

The Cary SLI-80 is a very good headphone amplifier. I really loved it. From what I've been told, the CAD-300SEI is even better.

I have the Zu Audio "Mobius" cable and 10ft extension on my Senns and it was a definite improvement over the stock cable and Grado extension. Hope you have a similar experience with the WW.