[firefoxx]

Hi all,

this my first post, at the moment ive been looking on the internet, I want to buy a good pair of phones'. I've heard mixed reports about the Senn Hd650's, some reviews say they aren't worth the money. From what I've heard of Grado, I'm tempted to go and buy them, but they don't look comfortable, and apparently the Sennheisers are much more comfortable.

So basically I want a high end pair of headphones that are comfortable as well as good quality. Another pair I was looking at are the Beyerdynamic dt990's, but I hear they aren't as good as sennheiser or grado.

So which one would you say i should go for? the hd650 or grado sr125's? I was also thinking of going for the Grado SR325i's but i don't know if theres much difference in quality. All help appreciated

[firefoxx]

well anyways, after alot of time spent, I went with the HD650's. Really loking forward to seeing how they turn out. When I next get some money I'm going to get a headphone amp for them me thinks, and maybe even some different headphone cable, as alot of people recommend that on the net.

[alexs2]

Originally Posted by firefoxx

well anyways, after alot of time spent, I went with the HD650's. Really loking forward to seeing how they turn out. When I next get some money I'm going to get a headphone amp for them me thinks, and maybe even some different headphone cable, as alot of people recommend that on the net.

You've obviously already chosen!.....I think you should enjoy them in any case,but you will almost certainly find a good headphone amp will help to do them justice.

Deal with the amp/source etc first before considering a cable change,as the latter is really quite a small percentage gain,and also be sure to try before buying...you could try something like the Kimber cable from Russ Andrews,as whilst expensive,he does offer a sale or return policy,so you can return it if it doesnt produce any benefits,unlike Cardas's importer.

Have a good look around here for opinions on headphone amps....I use an Earmax,but there are a large number of others such as the Creek at the lower end of the price range,running through the MF X-Cans,to things like the Slee,Sugden,Naim etc,as well as the DIY models.

In all cases,try to arrange a trial before buying.

[firefoxx]

yeah, I am pleased now that I have bought them, so would you recommend Earmax? I've seen the Creek amps but haven't read any reviews yet.

[sirlukas]

Hi,
Do You guys reckon, there is that huge difference in sound quality between HD595, 600 and 650? Cause price gap is quite substantial.
Another question, if I bought HD 595 would I need amplifier?

Cheers...

Out of the headphones I own, the 650's are my favourites, I hope you enjoy them.

With regards amplification, I have found the Graham Slee Solo to be a good match. It gives them the necessary kick up the backside, they are quite laid back by nature. Great sounding amp.

I use a Cardas cable on mine, a blind purchase that turned out nice. Very difficult to demo all replacement cables so I just took the plunge. I have to say out of any cables I have ever purchased it made the biggest difference. I would definatly recommend a replacement cable.

[firefoxx]

thanks, I'll check the Graham Slee out.

lukas, i've seen the hd600's on the net for the same price as the hd595's, so I reckon you'd be better off going for the hd600's. from what i've read, it definitely sounds like you'll need to get an amp with them.

[Brava 210]

Originally Posted by sirlukas

Hi,
Do You guys reckon, there is that huge difference in sound quality between HD595, 600 and 650? Cause price gap is quite substantial.
Another question, if I bought HD 595 would I need amplifier?

Cheers...

i have just got the 595 from richer sounds £99,i am using them from my marantz cd5400 phone socket - they sound excellent,also through my i-pod they sound good
Gary

600's will be harder to drive in comparison to the 595's andbenefit from a good dedicated headphone amp. The 595's are meant to have a more forward and attacking sound in can comparison to the 600's.

[alexs2]

Much depends on how much you wish to set aside for a headphone amp,as there is something to suit pretty much every budget,from sub£100 DIY amps,to £1k+ amps.

I personally like the Earmax,although in terms of maximum SPL,it is limited by the requirements of the HD600s and above,and the recommendations given above,such as the Slee,Headmaster,Naim etc may prove a better match if louder levels are required.

If anything,auditioning headphone amps is more difficult than with conventional amps,but well worth the effort in tracking down a few to get a good idea of what your phones can do,and what you might wish to buy.

[firefoxx]

the earmax ones look good, and they are in the same price range as the graham slee, but I might go for the Graham Slee if now you say that.

[NicolasB]

I would have thought the Earmax Pro would be able to drive HD650s pretty comfortably. Even the plain Earmax would be okay most of the time - HD6650 impedance is comfortably higher than the Earmax minimum.

As you can see from my sig, I own HD650s and a Graham Slee "Solo" amp, and I think it's a great combination, though I must confess that I've never actually auditioned an Earmax. The 3 "high-end" models that tend to get bandied around are those two plus the Sugden Headmaster, which is very good, but rather pricey. (Good value if you happen to need a pre-amp at the same time, as it does both).

As another possibility, if you're thinking about a CD player upgrade, you could maybe buy a Benchmark DAC1, which will sound as good as almost any CD player in the world, and has quite respectable headphone capabilities as well. (Bargain at the price).

Sennheiser themselves use a Graham Slee amp at their stands at audio exhibitions, incidentally, so they obviously think it sounds good.

[firefoxx]

nicolas, so with that dac converter, it will power headphones, and you can use any souce, cd player etc? sounds good, not sure of the benefits between that and a headphone amp.

[alexs2]

Originally Posted by firefoxx

nicolas, so with that dac converter, it will power headphones, and you can use any souce, cd player etc? sounds good, not sure of the benefits between that and a headphone amp.

The Benchmark as Nic has said,has not only an excellent DAC,but also a pretty good headphone amp inside,so if you were in the market for a very good DAC to upgrade your CD player with,plus a headphone amp,that would fill the niche very nicely.

[NicolasB]

The Benchmark unit is a Stereo DAC and a headphone amp in one box. In fact you can even use it as a digital pre-amp as well - plug its line outputs straight into a power amplifier.

So, for headphone listening, you would take the digital (SP/DIF) output from a CD player or DVD player, and feed that to the DAC (optical or coax connection) and you'd plug your headphones straight into the DAC's headphone socket.

Caveats:

This a stereo DAC, not a processor: so the only thing you can usefully do with it is take a digital stereo signal, convert it to analogue, and then feed it on to headphones, or to a power amp (or a pre-amp/power amp) and then on to stereo speakers. It's much less useful for an analogue source, and is probably not suitable for watching TV, because the reclocking of the digital audio signal will cause the sound to lag behind the picture.

[Jim Pixel]

I have currently a few Sennheisers and just the one Grado (325i) and although I was going to go for a Senn 650, I just couldn't bring myelf to buy them although oneday I might just... I also have a Senn 590 which is good but can sound a little muffled with some types of music but the headphones I like most of all is the Senn HD 280 Pro. These things constantly amaze me and I think they are the best sounding phones I ever owned, yes even better than the Grado 325i. Even though the 325i is a better headphone, it is very picky about which music it likes...

Why do I say that?? Because it will reproduce anything you feed into it and if you have poorly edited music it will reproduce it and make it sound terrible. Don't dismiss this as there is a lot of very poorly edited music out there, both in MP3 format and on the genuine releases from artists, on CD. It has a beautiful bass and can reproduce any higher sound fed into it but can make those higher frequencies sounds like a cat sliding down an iron roof with claws extended. Eeeeeeeehh.!!! Very harsh on your ears with poor music... The Senn HD 280 Pro, on the other hand, seems to be able to outdo the 325i in almost any area and without getting harsh on your ears at any time... The only thing about the 280 Pro is that they surely are an ugly headphone but I don't mind that too much... The Grado 325i can outdo the others with orchestral music and some types of music with moderate levels of bass but it seems to get overloaded when too many fast beat sounds are crammed down its throat and it starts to show. The 280's just keep on truckin but it does not seem to like light easy listening sounds as much as the 325i... I can see why they say the 280 is a good DJ headphone, as it is really good for rock n roll stuff whereas the 325's are more for relaxing, precise sounds... They (whoever "they" are) also say that listening to the Grado's is like actually being in the band whereas with the Sennheisers, it's like being in the same room but infront of the band. Both just sound worlds apart from each other when playing the same tracks. Neither is better in this respect, just distinctively different from each other...

Grado's are a terrible fit on the ears too, sitting ontop of them. They feel like they will fall of at any time and can squah the ears to the point of making them hurt like nuts after an hour or two. The 280 Pro sits over the ears and cuts out ALL sounds from the outside world. It is also the quietest phone I owned. Somebody can almost yell at you and you wont hear them. They have a habbit of feeling like a vice over your head though as they are a tight fit and I have lent them out t a few people and they say they got dizzy when wearing them but you get used to them.

The leads from the Grado (I think they are all the same here) are a pain in the *rse as they keep getting all twisted to hell and try to wind up on each other. They have one to each can and they come together infront of you and feel like No8 fence wire. This is no joke and is very uncomfortable and you always know they are there, distacting you from your music. I put the headphone on from behind, leaving the leads across my back. This is a good measure but don't sit on the leads or you may pull them away or rip your own head off as you move around. This, in my opinion, is Grado's worst feature. Very poorly designed...

I also own may other brands of phones - Philips, Koss, Technics and also have a 'Rega Ear' amp. What a small but neat little amp. I use this, with a Koss TD/80 headphone, on my laptop at work sometimes and it makes the laptop come alive... Headphone amps - Oh yes, they do a good job alright...

I have both the Sennheiser HD650 and the Grado SR225. Both are great headphones, but the Sennheiser is simply superior than the Grado in terms of sonic quality and comfort, esp. if you use a non-stock cable on it. I used the Cardas cable and have recently changed for a Zu cable. The Zu works great with the HD650 (although its more expensive than the Cardas.) Its more transparent and has deeper, firmer bass. I have replaced the stock cable of the Grado with the Cardas (The Sennheiser plugs on the cable has to be cut away and the can of the Grado has to be opened for soldering); the Grado becomes more musical and sounds much smoother, the improvement is so obvious that I opine its something worth doing if you are a Grado user. By the way, I use a Decware MLB tube headphone amp to drive the HD650.

[firefoxx]

hi,

i've got the sr225's and hd650's now, and although i prefer hd650's, the sr225's are still alot fun with rock music. I agree that the sr225's aren't very comfortable.

i've just bought a cheap chu moy amp and im interested to see if it makes a difference to the sound.