Sennheiser HD595 vs HD650 is it worth it?

[Arcam_boy]

Hi,

I'm on the look out for some new cans to go with my new laptop. I've been drawn to the sennheiser 650's from reviews and a few peoples recommendations but I've just seen the price of the 595's on play.com

I have quite a bit of music stored on my laptop but only at 256kb as 95% of it I have on cd so I can listen to it through my hi fi.

I don't think I'll bother with a headphone amp as, although the output from the macbooks not poor, its still not the best ever to consider pairing with a £500 amp and £250 head phones.

So my basic questions is...do I spend £69.99 on the 595's or £185 on the 650's?

I love nice sounding music and have the money for the 650's but I don't have the money to waste and if the 595's are up to the job I could happily spend the money somewhere else.

Thanks for any advice.

Mark

[liambiggs]

I have the 595's they are great what I use them for, Music and Gaming. Also £69.99 is a bargain from play.com or amazon.co.uk

[Arcam_boy]

thanks liam. has anyone had any experience with both sets of headphones?

thanks
mark

[DorKnight]

IMO if you opt for the HD650s and don't amp them correctly, then you won't be using them to their full potential and you'll be missing out on what they can do.

I believe the HD595s are 50 Ohm, so much easier to drive than the 300 Ohm HD650s.

That's not to say they'll sound bad unamped, they'll still sound pretty damn good - But just not as good as they can be.

One thing to consider is would you want to upgrade in the future, and if so in which way and what type of time scale you'll be looking at - As it may be an option to purchase the HD650s now and purchase an amp a little further down the line.

[Arcam_boy]

thanks for the reply.

i would be looking at keeping them for a considerable time. my current headphones are some sony mdr v300 which i got 5 years ago and i've kept them simply as they are comfy and sounded ok although I'm now looking for a bit better quality for when using my laptop and if i decide to do some quite listening of my home hi fi. i've had a look at the graham slee solo amp and from the reviews it seems a good match with the 650's ?

if the 650's are in a different league to the 595's then i would happily pay the extra. i guess the best thing to do is go somewhere for a demo!

[DorKnight]

If there's somewhere you can audition them then all the better.

Unfortunately I've not heard the Graham Slee Solo, however, I believe one or two members here run one with the HD650s - I currently run a Naim Headline2 and Corda PREHEAD-1 MkII SE as my home amps, both sound extremely good with my HD650s & Zu Mobius.

You could always upgrade to a Amp/DAC combo down the line if that would be a better option and you find yourself wanting to go this route.