Sennheiser HD650

[joel_hifi]

Bart/Serge, I was inspired by both of you to consider the Senn HD 6XXs series

Serge, thanks for the good advice! The EarMax Pro looks like a good alternative to the Woo's, I have sent a mail to Tube Amp Doctor, keep you posted

[PHC1]

Originally Posted by joel_hifi

Bart/Serge, I was inspired by both of you to consider the Senn HD 6XXs series

Serge, thanks for the good advice! The EarMax Pro looks like a good alternative to the Woo's, I have sent a mail to Tube Amp Doctor, keep you posted

The 6xx series fed by tubes is a Jazz/Classical listener's delight. Will look forward to your impressions Joel.

[joel_hifi]

The Brocksieper EarMax-Pro OTL Class A headphone amp arrived today

This small device looks very well executed with its nice black gloss chassis, a solid/swift volume knob, quality connectors and external PSU.

It sounded immediately very pleasing out of the box without much warm up (but even better after 30 mins) and with the stock ECC81/ECC88 tubes.

I chose the Mytek Brooklyn DAC over the Ayon Stealth as I wanted to avoid additional tubes in the path. Source is the Innuos ZENith Mk3 streaming the High Rez Masters Jazz Essentials playlist from Qobuz via Roon. Cans are the Audeze LCD-2 and my newly acquired Sennheiser HD650.

What is immediately sticking is the wonderful liquid midrange. Listening to Wayne Shorter's tenor sax on Infant Eyes from the album Speak No Evil and to Ella Fitzgerald's Ain't Misbehavin' from the album Ella And Basie was an absolute bliss. Pretty deep/tight bass, sweet highs although maybe not the ultimate word in terms of extension. Good dynamics and effortless presentation. Overall highly musical

Serge, thanks for this very nice recommendation

[PHC1]

Originally Posted by joel_hifi

The Brocksieper EarMax-Pro OTL Class A headphone amp arrived today

This small device looks very well executed with its nice black gloss chassis, a solid/swift volume knob, quality connectors and external PSU.

It sounded immediately very pleasing out of the box without much warm up (but even better after 30 mins) and with the stock ECC81/ECC88 tubes.

I chose the Mytek Brooklyn DAC over the Ayon Stealth as I wanted to avoid additional tubes in the path. Source is the Innuos ZENith Mk3 streaming the High Rez Masters Jazz Essentials playlist from Qobuz via Roon. Cans are the Audeze LCD-2 and my newly acquired Sennheiser HD650.

What is immediately sticking is the wonderful liquid midrange. Listening to Wayne Shorter's tenor sax on Infant Eyes from the album Speak No Evil and to Ella Fitzgerald's Ain't Misbehavin' from the album Ella And Basie was an absolute bliss. Pretty deep/tight bass, sweet highs although maybe not the ultimate word in terms of extension. Good dynamics and effortless presentation. Overall highly musical

Serge, thanks for this very nice recommendation

Joel, you are very welcome! It will get better and better. Just give it a bit of time as tubes do have a tendency of going through a curve of better and better performance. Enjoy! Tube rolling will yield a substantial enough difference in certain aspects of the balance. I had NOS Telefunken, the best of the best... but this was many years ago and it was a present from a very enthusiastic friend from Germany who had a small collection of them. Don't be in a hurry to swap out the tubes just yet though.

[bart]

Originally Posted by joel_hifi

The Brocksieper EarMax-Pro OTL Class A headphone amp arrived today

This small device looks very well executed with its nice black gloss chassis, a solid/swift volume knob, quality connectors and external PSU.

It sounded immediately very pleasing out of the box without much warm up (but even better after 30 mins) and with the stock ECC81/ECC88 tubes.

I chose the Mytek Brooklyn DAC over the Ayon Stealth as I wanted to avoid additional tubes in the path. Source is the Innuos ZENith Mk3 streaming the High Rez Masters Jazz Essentials playlist from Qobuz via Roon. Cans are the Audeze LCD-2 and my newly acquired Sennheiser HD650.

What is immediately sticking is the wonderful liquid midrange. Listening to Wayne Shorter's tenor sax on Infant Eyes from the album Speak No Evil and to Ella Fitzgerald's Ain't Misbehavin' from the album Ella And Basie was an absolute bliss. Pretty deep/tight bass, sweet highs although maybe not the ultimate word in terms of extension. Good dynamics and effortless presentation. Overall highly musical

Serge, thanks for this very nice recommendation

Joel, what a nice little amp!

[PHC1]

Joel, how are the HD650s breaking in for you?

Such nice cans! I spent the evening listening to the 650s. I had another pair that I finally got a chance to pull out of storage today. Brand new. These need a bit of hours on them but they bloom fairly quickly. They were a bit stiff and mechanical sounding first 30-40 min and then started to sing. A few hours later, I had a fantastic listening session. All Ben Webster tonight.

[bart]

The both of you inspired me to listen more to my Senns.
I rarely listen to headphones indoor (for sports outdoor I have my Klipsch in-ears).

I know it's not ideal, but it gives me very decent sound in my bed room nowadays: 24/96 files in my Qobuz app on my iPhone, then through the Audioquest Red Dragonfly into my HD650s.
I don't need loud music in my bed so there is just enough juice in my phone to feed the cans.

[joel_hifi]

Originally Posted by bart

The both of you inspired me to listen more to my Senns.
I rarely listen to headphones indoor (for sports outdoor I have my Klipsch in-ears).

I know it's not ideal, but it gives me very decent sound in my bed room nowadays: 24/96 files in my Qobuz app on my iPhone, then through the Audioquest Red Dragonfly into my HD650s.
I don't need loud music in my bed so there is just enough juice in my phone to feed the cans.

Bart, I have been following the exact same path to burn then in

Qobuz on iPhone/iPad/MacBook -> AQ Dragonfly Red -> Sennheiser HD650

[bart]

Originally Posted by joel_hifi

Bart, I have been following the exact same path to burn then in

Qobuz on iPhone/iPad/MacBook -> AQ Dragonfly Red -> Sennheiser HD650

Joel, great minds think alike.

[joel_hifi]

Originally Posted by PHC1

Joel, how are the HD650s breaking in for you?

Such nice cans! I spent the evening listening to the 650s. I had another pair that I finally got a chance to pull out of storage today. Brand new. These need a bit of hours on them but they bloom fairly quickly. They were a bit stiff and mechanical sounding first 30-40 min and then started to sing. A few hours later, I had a fantastic listening session. All Ben Webster tonight.

Serge, thanks for asking and for your patience!

I've been burning the HD650s in almost daily since they've arrived early January, with music sourcing from Qobuz on iPhone/iPad/MacBook via AQ Dragonfly Red.

The very obvious is that they deliver beautiful mids. Lows are well controlled and highs are rather smooth.

Very good headphones overall, a happy first entry into the world of Sennheiser

After a month of listening exclusively to the Senns I decided it was time to pull out the Audeze LCD-2 and the AudioQuest Nighthawk for a little comparaison.

Here's my take on how the HD650s fared, to my ears and will full disclaimer:
1) apologies to the ones who already know it all as those cans have been around for a while!
2) anyone is entitled if not encouraged to disagree

Even though the HD650s are the lightest of the lot, the tightish clamping can somedays make them slightly uncomfortable (Serge I will follow your advice). AQNHs are clear winners in that respect, and the LCD2s are pretty much behind due to their extra weight.

The LCD2s & AQNHs deliver a deeper bass than the HD650s, although the AQNHs can sometimes get a bit thick. The 3 headphones clearly excel in the midrange area, with the AQNHs sometimes providing a euphonic presentation, and the LCD2s probably being the most accurate. The LCD2s offer the most detailed yet sweetest highs. I think I might have noticed the famous "veil" on the HD650s when listening via the Dragonfly Red? When it comes to headphones I find it difficult to make obvious statements about soundstage, but I'd say that the LCD2s probably provide the widest picture.

Overall the LCD2s seem to offer the most accurate and coherent presentation, the AQNHs can get addictive but on the back of rather obvious colouration, and the 650s maybe not be the most precise but in the end they are a pretty musical offering and can therefore fulfil the role of daily companion.

But I seem to have caught the heaphonitis bug and as a result feel the need to move further up the cans ladder. With that perspective in mind I have just ordered the Mezze 99 Classic, to make sure that I enjoy the house sound before possibly making the jump to the x times costlier Empyreans... looking forward to this new adventure