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BuntzenB
28
Oct 14, 2020
checkVerified Buyer
HD 650 for $220!
I mean the title says it all. They're the well acclaimed HD650 for $220, while the 650 was considered a good deal at like $400.
Notably, the plastic body and hinge construction feel suspiciously flimsy, but I don't have a 650 to compare. they only change between the 6XX and 650 is the body, or so we're told, so maybe that's where they saved a few dollars. The all matte black plastic looks cheaper and junkier in my opinion (although I do like the fact that they're blackout).
It has a removable cable which is nice, and there are many options for a balanced set of cables, if you're into that.
In terms of driveability, they are actually not too bad. A lot of people say you need an amp to run them, which while that will give you the best fidelity, is intimidating for new audiophile folks, and I think frankly is not true. They sound pretty good when I have them directly into my headphone port on my laptop (and even get "loud" at about 65 percent volume), but when plugged into my phone dongle they are only loud enough at 90 percent volume and can't really get "loud".
Overall recommended.
Recommends this product? Yes
Evshrug
3772
Community
Oct 20, 2020
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BuntzenBBoth the HD 650 and HD 6XX use the same lightweight plastic and hinge design, with a glossy finish on the HD 650 and (IMHO) nicer matte finish on the HD 6XX. Though it is light and only the adjustment arms are metal, these headphones can easily last decades with occasional pad replacements.
The HD 6XX is actually a dark “midnight” blue. HD 650 is silver.
All speakers/headphones “need” an amp to function at all, the question is if the amp built-in to your laptop/smartphone dongle is powerful and clear enough. Amps create the pulses of power that “push” the magnets and driver membrane inside your headphone, the challenge is to do this without adding distortion to change and limit the sound quality.
It appears your laptop has a more powerful amp than your dongle. Some people don’t have a powerful enough amp, and the loud parts of songs might “clip” and rather turn into mushy distortion or artificial metallic nastiness (while also hitting a “ceiling” in loudness). A clearer amp and DAC can also improve the sense of distance and locality. Some people who don’t have a good enough setup (or try to use it’s plugged straight into a console controller, for example) may get an HD 6XX and wonder why it doesn’t sound any better than a $100 headphone... and the answer is the gear upstream is holding them back.
It is true that you can hear better sound quality if you connect your HD 6XX to a better setup than your laptop, but it’s entirely up to you if you’re satisfied with what you’re already hearing. 4/5 stars, sounds like you are enjoying! I’m just advising you that if the upgrade bug strikes you, at this point you’ll hear a bigger improvement by upgrading to a soundcard or DAC/amp than buying a new headphone.
BuntzenB
28
Oct 21, 2020
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EvshrugThanks for your reply!
I guess the finish of the plastic is a personal thing, and I have no doubts they could last a while, but comparing them even to something like ath m50x they have a much worse build quality.
And as to the... mansplaining... about headphones and amps, as much as I sounded like a n00b in my original post, I do actually know quite a bit about audio. And I do have an amp of sorts (really a usb interface - it's for music recording/production, behringer umc202hd) and yes I certainly can hear a difference.
Evshrug
3772
Community
Oct 21, 2020
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BuntzenBYou probably know more about music production than I do!
My apologies if you felt like I was talking down on you... I was half intending the reply for anyone else that came by your review. I have literally met people who bought an HD 6XX, and say something along the lines of “I don’t get the hype, these sound worse than my [portable headphones],” but after digging deeper we found out that he was using a portable device that wasn’t up to the task.
So, it wasn’t me calling you a n00b, more just setting an expectation for others that not everyone will have the same experience as you. I agree it’s worth trying the HD 6XX on whatever you have, don’t be intimidated (which is the point you were trying to make, I believe), but at the end of the day the HD 6XX is a bit harder to drive and benefits from/has a higher potential with a nice setup more than common portable headphones.
(Edited)
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