Sennheiser HD650s - Review

Sennheiser HD650 Review

Hello all, thought I’d do a little review of some headphones I got a week ago, the Sennheiser HD650s.

For some background on my headphone experience, I own Sennheiser 485s, 595s, PC 360s (the gaming ones) and the Grado 325is (the goldies). I listen to these through a Little Dot Mk III tube headphone amp or while I’m gaming through an Astro Mixamp. When listening to music, my source is my iPod Classic connected through a Pure i20 dock (it takes the digital straight from the iPod and converts it with an onboard DAC) which feeds the Little Dot.

So, that’s just so you know where I’m coming from. I feel like I know good sound, but I’m not some super-demanding audiophile –the cheapest in ear ‘phones with the poorest quality rip can still elicit an emotional response from me, depending on what’s playing.

I’m sure you’ve seen the headphones if you’re reading this so you either like the looks or don’t, I won’t go into it. I think they look sleek and classy, and have a nice profile when worn.

The build quality on these you can’t feel from a picture, so let me say that they feel extremely sturdy and well built. Compared to the 595s or the infamously flimsy feeling Grado 325s, they are in another league. Things pivot and swivel with a satisfying authority – these cans got your back.

They do clamp harder than my other pairs, but it’s not uncomfortable because the ear pads are covered in a luxurious velvety foam, much like the 595s, and very much unlike the Grados which I honestly can’t wear for extended periods of time. These are the sort of headphones you forget you have on.

All well and good, but obviously all that plays 2 fiddle to the sound and my goodness, what a sound.

I’m not really going to describe the sound, you’ve read other reviews no doubt. Instead I’ll try to compare and contrast and just come at you from the “normal” person viewpoint – like I said, I’m no audiophile, I just know what I hear.

The 650s are the most spacious, presence defining, sound-stagey headphones I’ve ever heard. What I mean by that, is that when you’re listening to a song you can really hear the separation of the instruments in their individual spaces. This gives a wonderfully spacious sound that feels dynamic and alive.

The effect is noticeable on almost anything, but does sound best on well recorded/produced material (e.g. Rammstein) or quieter pieces with fewer instruments (Ryan Adams).

I’m sure that you’ve heard these headphones are “laid back” in their sound, or “veiled” and that this is the Sennheiser way. This is true; compared to the Grados, the sound is very different. The Grados are absolute detail monkeys – you hear everything in great detail in this wall of sound. It’s fantastic, especially for the hard hitting rock, dance, techno stuff but does the quiet stuff amazingly well too, they’re just so damn uncomfortable and they can get somewhat fatiguing with the wall of sound.

What I don’t want anyone to come away with however, is that the 650s are bad for the “hard hitting” stuff. Oh no, quite the contrary.

My music collection is varied, but certainly sways more to rock and metal, and I can wholeheartedly say that the 650s sound fantastic with all types of music. Listening to Metallica chug out riffs or Ice T spit game can be a spine-tingling experience, same as listening to Paul Westerberg or some classical music or Skrillex. Bass hits hard (more than the Grados I feel, certainly more refined), the mids are lush and detailed, and the treble soars (although not quite like the Grados).

When it comes to gaming, it’s kinda needless to say I think they perform fantastically. The gaming PC360s are some great headphones, probably on par with the 595s, however the bass on the PC360s is pumped up. Whilst this is pretty cool for games, it’s not really needed (audio engineers often push the bass up at mastering) and sounds far messier than the 650s or the 595s.

Battlefield 3 in particular with its already great audio, sounds simply sublime (sibilance!). The level comes to life around you, with distant effects and noises being placed exactly where they should. I realise that the BF3 sound team need most of the credit for that, but these headphones really let you appreciate the work.

I think you get the idea. These headphones are astoundingly great for pretty much anything you throw at them. I would say that you need a headphone amp as the 650s are hard to drive – they’ll sound fairly quiet through your iPod headphone socket and you can’t pick out all the extra juicy detail. The good news is, that some very decent cheap headphones amps can be had in many forms.

The Asus Xonar DG or whatever it is has a headphone amp built in, sounds great and is very cheap – around £20 here in the U.K. Likewise, a little Cmoy amp will do the job (despite what other say) and is again very cheap. I’ve heard good things about those Fiio ones as well.

Thankfully, the higher up you go/more you pay (never forget the law of diminishing returns however) the 650s will stick right with you, just getting better and better.

Thanks for reading – if you’ve made it through all that, go and treat yourself to a nice new set of headphones!

p.s. I’ll maybe do some A/Bs if you guys want, let me know in the chat.