Hey guys | Haha, you thought...

Feb 27, 2019

DuncanHaha, you thought of me? I’m flattered ^__^'` Each of the headphones @Adno has mentioned has a particular strength, but they all are going to be great performers. No stress, just success! The HD 58X Jubilee has the most bass (and deepest bass extension) of those listed, also the least expensive. It’s not a bass cannon, but it would be fun with action movies and games with explosions and spectacle. Despite the engaging energy of the headphone, the timbre or tonal realism is still Sennheiser’s DNA, evoking a sense of realism while not being fatiguing. Despite the 150 Ω impedence, this headphone is pretty sensitive and sounds good out of even a modest source (like an iPhone 6S or an LG V30, but NOT a PlayStation 4 controller... to be fair, nothing sounds great through a controller, lol). I use this headphone a LOT with my Sennheiser GSX 1000 for surround sound on my PC, a combo which honestly has left me checking if I had left on my speakers on in front of me. This has been Sennheiser’s crowd-pleaser, and I mean that in the positive sense that generally people love the way this sounds. One classic option that wasn’t listed is the AKG K7XX. The K7XX is based off the recent K712, which was considered both the most well-rounded K7-something series headphone, and also a god-tier competitive gaming headphone because of it’s sparkling upper mids and treble combined with massive soundstage presentation, the largest I’ll mention for now. It excels with PUBG and CoD for picking out details and, with virtual surround processing (binaural), can place sounds around the listener in an almost holographic manner. Rock, classical, Scifi movies, and things like that play to the AKG’s strengths. Part of what makes it easy to pick out details and accurately image, however, is that it has the lightest bass among the list. It is no slouch in the bass department, but it does lack a little meat on it’s bones, and the best synergy for it comes from tube amps (or Cavalli Liquid amps) that warm it up a little and don’t add any “hardness” to the notes (don’t let the impedence fool you, it’s the least sensitive headphone here and will need as much or more power than the HD 650 to reveal its true nature). Where the HD 58X Jubilee is perky and an instant attraction, the senior HD 650 takes a bit more time to appreciate it’s beguiling charms. This truly well-rounded headphone will be the one you would want to sink into after a long day, to relieve stress and just be entertained. The first time you hear it, there is no immediate highlight like huge bass or massive soundstage, but like many reviewers have shared, it has a liquid presentation where the music flows through with a really well-done midrange and good, smooth extension into bass and treble for a very coherent balanced presentation. Speaking of reviewers, this headphone has been the most referenced headphone to compare against for over a decade (a former flagship for Sennheiser that has been selling for 15 years), as well as a reference tuning for equalization software. At 300 ohms and what I would call “average” sensitivity; it will still get “loud enough” on a smartphone or equivalent $50 amp, and the headphone is one of the most forgiving of a bad source, but the HD 650 “scales up” the most from the better the gear you feed it. A more powerful, clean, “fast” amp with a good slew rate will tighten up every note and turn this cadillac into a sports car. The THX 789 amp on Massdrop would make an excellent pairing and bring out the best performance on a budget, but honestly a tube amp like the Cavalli Tube Hybrid or Darkvoice is addictive like a fine liquor (and tube rolling always allows you to tweak and experiment with sound at relatively low cost). Too long yet? Well, uh, good news I guess... I haven’t actually tried the HE-4XX. What I do know is it is a planar magnetic headphone, and from headphones like it (such as the old HE-400, Edition X, Oppo PM-2, and the two Planars I own: the Dekoni Blue and Audeze Mobius), I know that Planars are uniquely immune to the effect of output impedance on an amp: as long as you have enough power, it will sound great! They also can have impressive bass impact that you can feel on your ears as well as hear, but I read that the HE-4XX is much more tame and balanced than the HE-400 I heard. Others will have to chime in more about the HE-4XX. My Dekoni Blue, on the other hand, IS a basshead headphone done right, hands down the best choice for electronica and EDM. The Blue is the most power hungry of any headphone I have (Stax don’t count, they’re a different category) – if your 300 Ω HD 650 was playing comfortably at 30% volume, you’re going to want to crank the Blue to 50% or more to hear the same volume, and I could crank my old iPhone 6S up to 11 and I felt like I could still go a bit louder without hurting my ears. Hope you had some fun reading this as I did writing it; and I hope one of the descriptions mentioned something that appealed to you. Again: all these “enthusiast” choices will impress you if the best you’ve heard before was some Bose or Beats, and let you in on what you have been missing!

(Edited)

Feb 27, 2019

Duncan

3731

Feb 27, 2019

EvshrugOf course I did! You're a gentleman and a scholar.

Feb 27, 2019

Feb 27, 2019

DuncanA scholar, everyday, but a gentleman only on Tuesdays, Wednesdays, and Saturdays ;)

Feb 27, 2019

adtrisno

Feb 28, 2019

EvshrugFor movies and gaming, it has to be the K7XX no? The soundstage isn't even close which makes it a no brainer for me. Music would be a totally different story. 4XX would be my next choice or my choice if I was strictly going by options given by the TS. As Evshrug mentioned, your amp better be up to snuff on any of these choices, bar the 58X...

Feb 28, 2019

Adno

Mar 4, 2019

Evshrugthanks a lot what about 6xx where would it place between all of these ?

Mar 4, 2019

Adno

Mar 4, 2019

Evshrugsorry just saw that you talked about 650 and now i have a better awarness of my choice thanks alot brother for the help

Mar 4, 2019

Adno

Mar 4, 2019

adtrisnothanks alot for the help

Mar 4, 2019

Vote

Mar 4, 2019

AdnoI would say the HD 6XX (equivalent to an HD 650) is the most well-rounded of all among these choices. It fares excellent in all categories (it was Sennheiser’s flagship for many years until the HD 800 was released), and will sound the most “honest” and realistic of all the mentioned headphones. I personally prefer it over the HD 58X Jubilee (it does the core music things a bit better), but the Jubilee is just a bit easier to drive off of modest components (like my Creative Labs Katana that I have been using with my PS4 Pro). The AKG has a larger soundstage and a more detail-focused, analytical sound, but the HD 650 still has good detail and soundstage while sounding a bit more natural, musical, and never harsh.

Mar 4, 2019

ElectronicVices

2937

Mar 5, 2019

EvshrugAgree, as is typically the case, did want to add I have an exception to the "doesn't sound good from a controller". The Phillips X2 is so easy to drive it works damn well from an Xbox One controller with a BoomPro. Outside of that singular example I agree on that front too. Edit: K7xx is based on the Annies and the K712 is then in turn based on the Annies with ever so slightly different tweaks.

(Edited)

Mar 5, 2019

adtrisno

Mar 5, 2019

ElectronicVicesTrue. You don't want to drive a K7XX or a 6XX from a PS4/XB1 controller...

Mar 5, 2019

Mar 6, 2019

ElectronicVicesAnnies!!! Have I met you before on Mad Lust Envy’s gaming thread? Imma be a snob and insist that there is no exception to “doesn’t sound good from a controller,” at least not from the PlayStation 4 controllers I have experience with 😉 Sure, IEMs and efficient headphones will probably get enough power from that dull, flat, hissy, short battery life, oddly wired ... 😉 But yes, many headphones will get loud enough!

Mar 6, 2019

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ElectronicVices

2937

Mar 7, 2019

EvshrugLurked around there but never really posted in that particular thread, my head-fi account's been dormant for quite some time. Can't speak to the PS controllers, only XB1. The X2 never really scaled with better gear, sounds damn near the same on every combination I've got. If they hadn't gone through the whole "glue debacle" I would have kept recommending them.

Mar 7, 2019

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Mar 7, 2019

ElectronicVicesGluegate! Ack, that sounds horrible. Yeah, the pads weren’t originally intended to be replaceable, and some even deposited stuff from the pads on the wearer (dye? Flakes?). I just remember Mad coining the term “Annies,” at least I heard him say it when they were released and before I saw others use the same. Plus, he also was a big fan of the Philips X1 and 2, so I just wondered. regarding better than base gear... I admit that it’s a pretty big price jump to get an extra $100 piece of gear vs using what is included, and a lot of people just don’t see the benefit or want to deal with extra wires and pieces. I’m just at a point where I get frustrated and feel limited if I don’t at least have clean, unfatiguing audio

Mar 7, 2019

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