So I recently imported a pair of HD650's to spend some more quality time with alongside my HD600's, so I could better compare the two on my own time and let go whichever I landed up liking less.
I've recently started reincorporating more EDM, D&B etc into my daily listening and thought it would be an extra bonus to have the added bass on the 650's, and was curious to compare the sound signatures in my own space and on my own equipment.
I've given the 650's about 48 hours of constant play on automatic, running my playlists on repeat, as my 600's definitely opened up a fair amount after some use. Listening to the two side by side however, I have to say I'm confused by the comparisons between the two sets. I'm asking myself if the writers of reviews I've read in the past comparing these two were just making things up for the sake of having something to write about.
There is definitely an immediately perceptible difference - the 650 is a darker sounding can, which I already knew. However - and this is what I find confusing - it seems to be a negative (subjectively), rather than a trade-off. Over and over I've read "the 650's have more bass, more bass, more bass, darker but more bass, etc" over and over again. "The 650 has a better sound stage" over and over. I hear none of that. At all. The 650's are darker with zero other audible differences to my ears. I'm in the perfect position to compare, since I have both pairs driven at the same time by an HPA-9 at the moment and the volume, source and song doesn't change, and I can literally swap headphones within a second or two. The 600 is a brighter headphone - which I prefer, since my brain seems to interpret this as added resonant clarity. But honestly, besides that, they could be the same pair of headphones. Bass punch, bloom, roll-off and sub-bass seem identical. Sound stage, when compared with some binaural recordings and on some of my favourite live classical music is also identical.
I can't separate the two in any other way, and for the life of me can't figure out the debate around these two. You either want a brighter sound, or a darker sound, the end. What am I missing?
I've recently started reincorporating more EDM, D&B etc into my daily listening and thought it would be an extra bonus to have the added bass on the 650's, and was curious to compare the sound signatures in my own space and on my own equipment.
I've given the 650's about 48 hours of constant play on automatic, running my playlists on repeat, as my 600's definitely opened up a fair amount after some use. Listening to the two side by side however, I have to say I'm confused by the comparisons between the two sets. I'm asking myself if the writers of reviews I've read in the past comparing these two were just making things up for the sake of having something to write about.
There is definitely an immediately perceptible difference - the 650 is a darker sounding can, which I already knew. However - and this is what I find confusing - it seems to be a negative (subjectively), rather than a trade-off. Over and over I've read "the 650's have more bass, more bass, more bass, darker but more bass, etc" over and over again. "The 650 has a better sound stage" over and over. I hear none of that. At all. The 650's are darker with zero other audible differences to my ears. I'm in the perfect position to compare, since I have both pairs driven at the same time by an HPA-9 at the moment and the volume, source and song doesn't change, and I can literally swap headphones within a second or two. The 600 is a brighter headphone - which I prefer, since my brain seems to interpret this as added resonant clarity. But honestly, besides that, they could be the same pair of headphones. Bass punch, bloom, roll-off and sub-bass seem identical. Sound stage, when compared with some binaural recordings and on some of my favourite live classical music is also identical.
I can't separate the two in any other way, and for the life of me can't figure out the debate around these two. You either want a brighter sound, or a darker sound, the end. What am I missing?
