[joebobbilly]

   
We will have to disagree here. Take what you said about the hd700 vs the he400 and reverse it. I wonder if you didn't type that backwards by mistake. The bass on the he400 is the crown jewel of that hp and to my ears is several leagues above the the he700.  I found the hd700 harsh, strident and overall unpleasant to listen to. And yes I listened to it on some very good amps. 
 
The he400 bass is some of the best audiophile quality bass in the game and at $300 you won't even get close with anything else. 

I haven't heard the HE-400, but if it's anything like it's sibling the HE-500 then I must totally agree with Matt about the HD700. It is IMO the most coloured HP in the Sennheiser HD 500+ lineup.

 

[dxanex]

The HE-400 and the HE-500 actually sound quite different from one another. Nobody here is arguing that the HD 700 isn't colored. I don't listen to it when I want neutrality. But for a genre like electronic music, (which I was referring to) I often prefer a more colored and fun sound, which the HD 700 provides in spades on the right setup. Like I said, HE-400 isn't bad at all...I just preferred the HD 700 much more. I'm ok with being the minority!

 
Anyway seeing as this is the HD 650 appreciation thread I'll stop there.

 

[bleudeciel16]

I got some more FLACs to listen to last night and really enjoyed my 650's.  Bass isn't terrible with a touch of EQ adjustment, but not where I'd like it for electronic music.  Sounds incredible for everything else though.  The soundstage is what really gets me.
 
Speaking of soundstage, it seems to be the weakpoint of ortho headphones.  Are there any that still have decent soundstage?  Or is that just a weakness of that design that you can't get around?

 

[RAZRr1275]

I love how these balanced through a speaker amp can stay on the same level as my HE-6

 

[ssrock64]

Speaking of soundstage, it seems to be the weakpoint of ortho headphones.  Are there any that still have decent soundstage?  Or is that just a weakness of that design that you can't get around?

I couldn't tell you for sure, but it seems that soundstage just hasn't been a big priority for ortho manufacturers yet. Maybe the new open Fostex and Oppo will change that.

 

[Citizen13469]

  I got some more FLACs to listen to last night and really enjoyed my 650's.  Bass isn't terrible with a touch of EQ adjustment, but not where I'd like it for electronic music.  Sounds incredible for everything else though.  The soundstage is what really gets me.
 
Speaking of soundstage, it seems to be the weakpoint of ortho headphones.  Are there any that still have decent soundstage?  Or is that just a weakness of that design that you can't get around?

I'm no expert by any means but recently (meaning just a couple of weeks ago) got the HE-400's and a pair of HD650's. The soundstage of the 400 I find missing. I still think there is a lot of confusion by what people mean when they say sound stage. I describe it this way, there is width and depth for me and WHERE the vocals seem to originate from.
 
The 650 the vocals are centered at my forehead and a little in front of me. This is a nice stage and there is lots of texture across instruments depth and width wise in the midrange, which is what I'm partial to. It IS very euphoric, like you are sailing on waves of music.
 
The HE-400, the vocals seem to originate at the tip of my nose. It feels very different like the vocals are coming our of YOUR head rather than at you. It is a more intimate sounding headphone. There is still a lot of width but not so much depth in the midrange, because they are midrange deficient. What I can hear on the 400's though is beautiful sounding..bass, treble a little peaky but it doesn't bother me. What's strange is that I find I miss details on the 400 in the midrange that I pick up on the 650's YET at the same time the 400's sound more crystal clear with vocal lyrics more easily heard. I still can't figure out how this seems to happen? Also with the 400's there are at moments absolutely stunning realism in vocals. It's not consistent though.
 
I don't think I can part with either pair right now. Also bought an Asgard 2 with them and am very happy with that as well. Weirdly I'm also happy with my Fiio X3 with both sets of headphones as well.

 

[TsukiNick]

  I love how these balanced through a speaker amp can stay on the same level as my HE-6

Wait you have them directly connected to the speaker inputs like on a receiver?

 

[bleudeciel16]

 
I'm no expert by any means but recently (meaning just a couple of weeks ago) got the HE-400's and a pair of HD650's. The soundstage of the 400 I find missing. I still think there is a lot of confusion by what people mean when they say sound stage. I describe it this way, there is width and depth for me and WHERE the vocals seem to originate from.
 
The 650 the vocals are centered at my forehead and a little in front of me. This is a nice stage and there is lots of texture across instruments depth and width wise in the midrange, which is what I'm partial to. It IS very euphoric, like you are sailing on waves of music.
 
The HE-400, the vocals seem to originate at the tip of my nose. It feels very different like the vocals are coming our of YOUR head rather than at you. It is a more intimate sounding headphone. There is still a lot of width but not so much depth in the midrange, because they are midrange deficient. What I can hear on the 400's though is beautiful sounding..bass, treble a little peaky but it doesn't bother me. What's strange is that I find I miss details on the 400 in the midrange that I pick up on the 650's YET at the same time the 400's sound more crystal clear with vocal lyrics more easily heard. I still can't figure out how this seems to happen? Also with the 400's there are at moments absolutely stunning realism in vocals. It's not consistent though.
 
I don't think I can part with either pair right now. Also bought an Asgard 2 with them and am very happy with that as well. Weirdly I'm also happy with my Fiio X3 with both sets of headphones as well.

 
for $300, it sounds like the he-400's are worth getting.  sounds like they'd be better for gaming and electronic music too.  and I'd bet my schiit lyr is more than capable of driving orthos

 

[Byrnie]

Hmm now I'm pondering the thought of getting a Lyr next...

 

[ThickGlasses]

  Hmm now I'm pondering the thought of getting a Lyr next...

Happy 650th post!

 

[RAZRr1275]

  Wait you have them directly connected to the speaker inputs like on a receiver?

Yup - the 4 pin xlr gives each channel a ground so after that I just have an XLR to speaker taps adapter and hook them up via spades. 

 

[olegausany]

 Wait you have them directly connected to the speaker inputs like on a receiver?

Yup - the 4 pin xlr gives each channel a ground so after that I just have an XLR to speaker taps adapter and hook them up via spades. 

Don't want to create off topic but since you mentioned it want everyone to know that I have moded BH SEX for sale which allows you to do just that by using included adapter cable, that's the way I was enjoying HD800 until I upgraded to CSP3

 

[daniel0407]

Hi,
 
Today I was testing something, and I turn on a CD Player and connected the HD650 directly to it. I have not listen to the HD650 for about 1 month, and though, well… I spent in an amplifier, a DAC, etc, and it sound wonderful directly from the CDP. Then, I listen to the same album from my main system, and .. wow.. that the HD650 scales well is not a myth. They are not quite as good as the HD800, but I could perfectly live with the HD650 as my only headphones.

 

[DaemonSire]

I'm on the fence of picking up an HD600 or HD650.  I currently have an HE500 amped by an Emo and a Q701 (bass port modded).
 
I plan on building a Bottlehead Crack at some point and really want to try it paired with an HD600/HD650.  All the glowing reviews of the pair mean I must try it
 
My question is, which would be a better complement to my HE500?
 
I'd be using them for rock/metal, some movies and gaming.
 
Right now, I'm leaning towards the HD650.  I like a bit of warmth and bass in my music, so I think the HD650 would fit that better than the more neutral HD600.  But how different in sound are the HD650 and HE500?
 
I've read the many comparisons between the HD600 and HD650.  What I'm really looking for is to complement the HE500 and Q701 with a bit different flavour.  The Q701's are clear, crisp with great soundstage.  HE500 are warm with a nice bass impact and that 'planar' sound.  So which would be the best to round out the collection?

 

[MattTCG]

Given your preference towards a slightly warm tilt, I'd say that the 650 is for you. I used the 650 and he500 together and thought that they made wonderful complements to each other.