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Bogon
3
Apr 25, 2018
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Love them! Incredible with an amp (I just uses an old Fiio portable). I find I wear them more than my Beyerdynamic DT 880. And definitely more than my good old Sennheiser HD-555. Glad I bought em
Apr 25, 2018
JohnathanV
28
Apr 25, 2018
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BogonHow do they compare to the dt880? I also have those and waiting for the 6xx, and was wondering about their differences/similarities
Apr 25, 2018
Bogon
3
Apr 25, 2018
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JohnathanVThe DT880s are really great and I'll never part with them. But... the these new HD6XX cans just sound _better_. Better in the high end, clearer, bigger sound stage. Sound stage is quite noticeable when you have several instruments playing at once and/or in classical music -- they are clearly separated.
Apr 25, 2018
Evshrug
3770
Community
Apr 26, 2018
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JohnathanVThey both are very high quality (despite being considered “mid-fi“ against the current crop of high end and flagships) and comfortable, and the HD 6XX as well as the higher Ω models of DT 880 have a smoother, less grainy sound than portable 32 Ω headphones.
YMMV for preference, but the DT 880 has less mids presence and a sharper treble spike, both have a nice natural sounding amount of bass.
Apr 26, 2018
KrisBali
63
Apr 28, 2018
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BogonWhich fiio u using?
Apr 28, 2018
Evshrug
3770
Community
Apr 29, 2018
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KrisBaliGood point, maybe I should dig out my old E12... I never got to try an E11, sadly
Apr 29, 2018
Bogon
3
Apr 30, 2018
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KrisBaliJust a simple old FiiO E6 Fujiyama (similar to the current A1). I also have one of those cheap Altoid tin headphone amps sold on eBay that I use occasionally
Apr 30, 2018
Bogon
3
Apr 30, 2018
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BogonI also forgot to mention that, out of the box, the DT880s are more comfortable when worn for longer periods. The HD6XX has too much head clamp force out of the box. It's easing up as I gently bend them each day. NOt a big issue overall though.
Currently the the DT880s are the most comfortable long-session cans I've worn so far (even better than my old Sennheiser HD555s and definitely better than my AKG K-240 studios). I don't think, even once they're properly broken in, that the HD6XX's can beat the DT880s for comfort, but who knows (they are pretty comfortable though).
Apr 30, 2018
Evshrug
3770
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May 2, 2018
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BogonThe HD 650 were a surprising experience for me. Can a clampy headphone be comfortable?
My thoughts for a long time were “Find headphones that feel like clouds, that you can forget you’re wearing them.” My first “serious“ headphone was the Audio Technica ATH-AD700, which were super light, suppposed to be circumaural, and the Wings were supposed to feel like not wearing a headband at all. It never really got to the point where I forgot I had them on though... that has only happened (much later) with the Sennheiser HD 800.
Fast forward to October last year, where I couldn’t pass up on picking up the famous HD 650. Fresh out of the box, yes the clamp was strong, but the padding was also good so I didn’t feel like my head was being crushed. I also watched videos of how to carefully stretch the headband, which I did manually... I didn’t want to crush the pads on some books. Just pull out the extensions to max, and gently straighten the curves of the metal extensions and the plastic headband, only enough force till resistance is felt and hold it there for a few seconds, testing it out along the way to make sure I don’t go too far and never flexing it enough to crack anything.
End result: pretty much one of the headphones I can wear the longest. It’s still fairly snug and I don’t forget I’m wearing it, but it never causes my jaw or muscles to become sore, and the divot in the headband plus the soft padding up there are IMO better than the padding on the DT 880 I used to have: the padding never gets hard like the leather-wrapped memory foam of the DT 880, and the divot creates a break right where the DT 880 headband would cause a hotspot after an hour. I have started becoming even more critical of headbands lately, as my hair has been thinning and my bald spot has been growing in the past few years. The circular DT (and AKG K712/Q701/K612, and Audio Technica) pads extended further forward and back on my head from my ears, hitting points on my head that are a bit softer and squishy (and beard-y), so I like the oval pads better. Plus, at under 300 grams, the HD 650 is really light. Put it all together plus the refined and beguiling but smooth sound signature, and the HD 650 is my first headphone I go for to wear while working or relax with after work.
May 2, 2018
KrisBali
63
May 2, 2018
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EvshrugOut of curiosity, You use ur hd650 with which amp dac btw?
May 2, 2018
Evshrug
3770
Community
May 2, 2018
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KrisBaliSure, but keep in mind I’m pretty deep in this hobby XD
At home, I use a Sennheiser HDV 820 for all my headphones. Very dynamic and really good with any style of headphone signature I’ve thrown at it, and more than plenty powerful enough that I don’t hit any limits with regards to headroom. This means, as an amp/DAC, it basically brings out the full performance of most headphones (unless I want to buy a super super high end DAC) while being neutral enough that I can actually get a great feel for the headphone’s “natural” response.
On the go, there’s something really exciting and addicting about the HD 650 paired with my FiiO X7 (first generation) DAP with an AM2A amp module. I often let people try out the HD 650 with the headphone jack in their phone, and that is enough for people to lose their earginity. The response is usually “Wow, this is so different from $300 Beats/$30 Sony,” but then I make them try the same song on my X7, and that’s when I know I won’t get back the headphones for a few minutes :D
The HD 650 generally sounds detailed but dull and “flat” like a soda without the fizz on most smartphones, same with cheap amps with about as much output power as smartphones. The phones usually fair better than laptops and most desktop computer headphone jacks too. They respond best to amps that are a bit punchy with good dynamics between loud and soft, but essentially they’re not picky once you have a powerful enough amp. I like my HD 650 on my Cavalli Liquid Carbon, PS Audio Sprout II, Creative Sound Blaster X7, Yamaha home theater receiver, Chord Mojo... the list goes on and on. For the price and convenience, I was even impressed with the little Bluewave GET (recently on Massdrop), which sounded better than my iPhone 6S’s headphone jack despite being a little Bluetooth receiver/DAC/Amp about the size of a BiC lighter.
I used to be into tubes and a good tube amp can have great synergy (there’s that word!) with the HD 650. I’ve read really positive reports of pairing with tube amps from Garage1217, Crack, Schiit, Donald North Audio, Glenn audio... and the list goes on and on. I had a custom single-ended-triode tube hybrid that sounded amazing (and less microphonic) with Russian tubes, but I got annoyed with rolling tubes, changing the bias, interference from WiFi and cellphones, and just in general they’re a bit fussy. The magic is there in nice tube amps, but it’s also in good Solid State amps.
May 2, 2018
KrisBali
63
May 3, 2018
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EvshrugThanks for detailed explanation. I will surely check out the fiio x7. I got my hd6xx last week, for now been pairing with E10k, its ok but not overly superb. I didn't know that the hd650 could be used directly on a phone. I thought it would give no sound given its high amperage. I will try this out.
May 3, 2018
Evshrug
3770
Community
May 3, 2018
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KrisBaliOh, I have a FiiO E10k! I kinda forget the stuff I don’t use often, haha. I bought it as a USB to Coax converter for a huge vintage DAC (Theta), but it ended up being too big to manage and limited in connection options, so I sold the DAC and forgot about the E10k. The E10k also works plugged into the PS4’s USB, did you know that?
Not all smartphones are built equally... but the audio components were getting better and better as they realize the headphone market is growing. The E10k is a small upgrade from what’s built into a phone. Now, the X7 I have... it’s the first generation model, so it takes like 45 seconds to start up, and it’s a little slow in some other areas, but it was also like half off bought used, AND you can detach the amp module for upgraded modules, or amps dedicated for IEMs or high impedance headphones. I like the modular upgradability. You can use it to play audio from a Computer via usb, audio from a MicroSD card, WiFi Streaming (though shorter range than a smartphone), or as a dedicated transport to play music off the X7 but connect it to a home desktop DAC or Amp. The markII version of the X7 is faster, can hold 2 microSD cards, and is supposed to sound better, but costs more. If you want to use your phone as a player instead, you should look at the FiiO Q5, but I prefer to have my music, storage, and battery away from the notifications on my phone.
May 3, 2018
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