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What’s the difference between the HD6XX and the HD650?

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(Edited by moderator jssullivan)
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JYAus
2
Feb 4, 2024
I listened with both the Schitt stack and the Ifi stack (signature and regular) and prefer both the Ifi stacks. Warmer, fuller sound that naturally compliments the 6XX
pomegren8
0
Jul 7, 2021
Are the 6xx pads identical to the Official 650 pads?
pomegren8
0
Jul 7, 2021
Are the 6xx pads identical to the Official 650 pads?
A community member
May 23, 2021
There is a factual (proven) difference in the sound of HD6XX compared with HD600 and HD650. https://www.rtings.com/headphones/reviews/sennheiser/hd-6xx The people who claim the HD6XX to be a rebrand of HD650 are full of it. The HD6XX is better than the HD650 and the HD600: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8Ki2B_fGZqw
The HD 600 is tuned differently, more neutral to the ear than the HD 650 and HD 6XX. As I replied to @Aakshey , the HD 6XX are in fact HD 650 with a different color and different accessories. It’s not a rebrand, the HD 6XX is a special edition. This is confirmed by Sennheiser themselves, in an effort to prevent doubt and confusion. It does not benefit Sennheiser in any way to have customers buy the Drop edition with lower margin. It’s easy to see they measure within measurement seating variance and sample variance when comparing two fresh HD 650/6XX units: https://www.head-fi.org/threads/sennheiser-x-massdrop-hd6xx-review-preview-head-fi-tv.824703/post-12981409 Rtings made an error in their conclusions; their claimed differences of clamp and slight bass difference are likely due to breaking in / wear on the headband and pads. Same for that Youtuber: you can see his pads look substantially flatter, but at least he’s listened to his headphones for a long time… hopefully he enjoyed them!
(Edited)
Aakshey
7
Sep 26, 2020
Contrary to public opinion, they don’t measure the same. But they do measure very close to each other. Sonarworks has measured hundreds of samples of each type and confirmed that they do measure slightly different. The 6xx is a tiny bit brighter. However, due to sample variation, some 6xx and some 650 might sound identical. Or some 650 might even sound brighter than some 6xx and vice versa. But given the average trend, 6xx is brighter. Download Sonarworks. Compare graphs of 650 vs 6xx. They don’t overlap at all. But they’re fairly close to each other.
dwane5
292
Apr 3, 2023
hard to shrug this comment off
dwane5Yup! I learned a lot during the five years I did contract work for Sennheiser, but I left in 2021.
SmithyNZ
225
Oct 6, 2019
I own both and have compared them directly. In terms of audio, the only difference I found was that the 650 is slightly louder, but this may have been due to their being well broken in etc. The finish looks more premium on the 650 but the paint on the top of the headband is prone to flaking whereas the 6xx does not look like it will have that issue.
SmithyNZIf the HD 650 seems louder, it’s probably the pads are allowing your ears to come closer to the driver. Like you said, well broken in. My HD 650 headband hasn’t flaked at all after two years, though stressing the material by stretching it aggressively could cause paint to warp and snap... paint isn’t a particularly elastic material.
SmithyNZ
225
Jan 3, 2021
EvshrugIt's just regular non-aggressive use, but I've had them for probably ten years now. The headphones cost me about us$600 back in the day so they've always been gently handled. I still love the way they sound and am wearing them now. I sometimes prefer them over my HD800S. You might be right about the loudness coming from the squashed pads. I have new pads now but sold my HD6XX over a year ago so can't compare them now (this was an old post you replied to).
jaladan
4
Oct 4, 2019
The HD6XX have a 1/8" (3.5mm) connector with an adapter to 1/4" (6.35). The HD650 use a 1/4" connector
jaladanThat’s pretty much it. Also, the HD 6XX’s enclosure is midnight blue, and it was formed in the old enclosure tooling that gives the enclosure a more “bubble” like shape (this tooling is in the process of being retired, after two decades of service). Lastly, the 1/4” terminated cable on the HD 650 is 3 meters long.
A-Rad
17
Oct 4, 2019
Crazy watching all these answers and wondering who has these and who is just trying to be cool. I just got these headphones 2 months ago. Yes they will work with your phone. I have a Samsung S7 and they sound fine with them. I was actually impressed with the sound out of my phone. Yes they will sound better out of an amp/dac which I have (schitt stack) but personally I was very impressed with how well they sound out my phone. I use them with my phone while vaccumimg my house. There is also a break in period with these as well. Probably somewhere around at least 40 hours. I almost sent them back but they keep sounding better and better. They're also a very even keeled headphone as well and what I mean is you get a very balanced eq between bass, mid and treble. I hope this helps and all those number people who don't have these aren't offended by what I say. I know reading comments and blogs can be way confusing when getting into higher end audio and at the end of the day you gotta go with what you like. If you're on the fence go ahead and buy them and remember you have 30 days to send them back. I don't think there's anything better for $220.
A-Rad
17
Oct 7, 2019
I'm pretty sure I have the HD 6xx or else Massdrop is blatently screwing us all and putting different drivers in the body of the HD 6xx, which would be a shame. But, I don't think Massdrop would do that and if they did I"m sure someone would have caught them by now.
A-RadYeah, the HD 6XX is definitely using the same drivers as the HD 650. The HD 58X Jubilee is using a smaller and more efficient driver that is easier to power with a smartphone, so I would normally steer smartphone users that way. It’s important to remember that the headphone’s sensitivity is just as important (if not moreso) when calculating the volume heard by the user. The Samsung S7 is almost equal to the LG V and G series of smartphones, aka way better than the vast majority of the market, and they can just reach about 1 Volt of output. I think my HD 650 sounds pretty good in my iPad Pro too, though it’s even better in my FiiO X7 with the medium power amp module, and moreso in my HDV 820 desktop DAC/amp. The HD 6XX is pretty revealing of the upstream gear performance, and reward higher quality gear, but doesn’t reveal the flaws in upstream gear as much as something like, say, an HD 800S, because the HD 6XX has part of its treble sensitivity intentionally reduced (to reduce listening fatigue in long sessions).
(Edited)
wyd4
37
Oct 3, 2019
Just the aesthetic as best I can tell and some packaging differences if this matters to you. IMO I much prefer the blue of the HD6xx
Z0d1Ac
251
Oct 3, 2019
Both the 6xx and 650 are mostly the same headphone. The 6xx having midnight blue mat color while the 650 is more of a gloss black/gray color. Box and accessories vary slightly. As for sound they are mostly the same (very minor db differences in the frequency, but mostly the same sound).
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