Sennheiser HD650 Love (Appreciation Thread)

@EagleWings brought the JAR mod over to my place so I was able to compare them with a stock 6xx on my DC-1 + LCX setup. My impressions of the JAR mod had a mostly extended headband and the pads were relatively worn in, probably halfway between brand new and completely dead.

I pretty much agree with most of what @EagleWings has said. Mids are definitely more present tonally as well as greatly reduced veil. It also has the effect of pulling the bass and treble back by comparison. The bass (especially the midbass) was tighter, not quite to 58x levels but much better than stock in that regard. I do somewhat wish it wasn't pulled down less since kick drums have a good amount less weight to them, but the increase in clarity is an acceptable tradeoff.

I didn't find the treble any brighter with the removed front foam, but I can't say how much of that could have come from my sources (I'm a bit more familiar with the sound up top of my Mjolnir setup than my LCX setup). I quickly got to the point where I stopped trying to analyze them and enjoyed the music, so I think that's somewhat indicative of its performance.

The 3-D printed baffle was a surprise to me; I had expected something the consistency of Dynamat or foam when I saw the pictures, but the baffle is hard. Even though it exposes the back of the driver, it's quite a long ways down before you'd hit the driver and the hardness would make it rather difficult to have something poke through. It does leak a bit more sound into the surroundings as a result. I believe this mod works by stiffening the frame rather than dampening.

tl;dr: I quite like the mod and am strongly considering sending my 6xx to be JAR modded.

(edited per @Hands requests)

 

Does anything change in terms of how (un)fatiguing the sound is?

 

Yes, compared to my slightly bright stock 650, the JAR650 is less fatiguing in the treble, as it is more linear and smoother. If the fatigue is caused by the slightly forward presentation of the 650, the JAR650 won't be any different.

 

I think @EagleWings 650 is not broken fully yet, his 650 is noticeably brighter than my 6xx.

@Baten The JAR650 did not feel harsher in the treble compared to my stock 6xx. I don't believe the changes to the mids would make them more fatiguing, but I didn't listen to them for more than an hour.

 

The nervosa is strong with this one. Concerned about debris getting in there. Is the piece removable?

 

I don't think so, I did try pulling on it and it didn't budge at all.

Some background on the mod if you haven't been looked into it, this is not a DIY mod. You have to send them to a guy in Korea to have the mod performed (at somewhat considerable cost), so you could probably ask him to tune it with some foam on the back or something. If you're somewhat on the fence for reasons such as this, it's probably not worth it due to all the potential heartache involved. At some point you have to be willing to leave it or #yolo it and live with its concessions for the improvement (or do many of the available DIY mods, some of which pull the back foam off anyways).

 

Thanks, familiar with the mod and its cost. I did some Dynamat modding on my pair but stayed away from the foam.

EDIT: Got two cats and a dog...

 

So this Jupiter Audio Research is based in Korea? If so, I should be able to save on international shipping, or better yet, pay a visit for a listen.

 

I own the J-Mod/JAR650 headphone @Jinxy245, @EagleWings, and @famish99 auditioned. It was modded for me using a new HD650 by Jupiter Audio Research. I burned it in for ~80 hrs before any listening. Then listened 50+ hrs over 2-3 weeks (sound was so good I had trouble taking it off). All to say that this isn't a beat-down headphone w/suspect pads. It's nicely broken in, no more than that.

Comments re issue of DIY/cheaper vs more expensive, fully modded HP from Jupiter Audio Research:

• I was on a long losing streak w/headphones before the J-Mod. went through 4-5 of them (one 4X the price of the JAR650), but sold them because they didn't satisfy me sonically, were uncomfortable, or both. Only 1 cost less than the J-Mod/JAR650.
• But then, listening to this extensively modded headphone & comparing it to stock, IMO the sound is so good, it's a bargain.

Based on the JAR650's sonic quality (well above its price), it's a keeper for me. The stock HD650 really impresses me--but regardless, the JAR650 is on a higher level.

PS: I agree with everything @EagleWings said in his sound comments on previous page.

 

Maybe a fabric cover for when they sit on a stand...?

 

So I got in contact with Jupiter Audio Research, turns out he is a very friendly guy (and a fellow Korean, which is something I don't see here every day!) and is located quite close from where I live. He offered me a local audition or a mini-meet, which will take place next week or so. I'll compare the JAR 650 with my trifecta-modded HD 6XX and Utopia on my Yggdrasil/ZDS and report back. FWIW he seems pretty confident with his mod, he had also owned the Utopia but sold it because the JAR 650 was supposedly more balanced sounding. Hmm...

 

A comparison to the "standard" trifecta mod is precisely what I was waiting for. If these are any better then I'd be interested in picking these up instead of modding a vanilla HD650.

 

I wonder if there could be some version of this mod that gets you some of the sonic benefit but maintains an external covering (not necessarily stock grill). Cats and cat hair are a very real part of my life.

 

Just cut up some nylons and use that as a dust cover.

Take the pads off and stretch it out on top of the baffle before reattaching them. I do that on my stock HD650 because the foam touches my ears and I find it pretty scratchy.

Assuming Jupiter's replacement rear 'grill' snaps in place like the stock one you should be able to take it off, stretch the nylon over the top and sides, and reattach it through the nylon.

 

So I took the back foam pads out again and I still just can't decide (I'm still having troubles properly listening right now -- I don't know what the deal is, but it sucks) but for now I think I may like it better without them after all. Anyway, one thing I'd like to know: how much would it affect the sound to put nylon or something on the back of a normal HD650 (eg I don't have that Jupiter mod or anything.) I haven't removed the spider grill part because I've had such a devil of a time deciding whether to keep the foam in there or not and it is just so much easier to put the foam inside (well, not easy per se, but easier) than to try to glue it on the back or something. So basically other than removing the foam the back of my HD650 is 100% stock. (I haven't even gotten the Dynamat to put in there yet -- though for a temporary solution I realized I could probably get away with using some of the blue putty that works well for simple cheap mods until I can do it properly.) I'm not even sure exactly how to put it in there really -- I guess it can just fit between the grill cups and the plastic of the casing? Though it seems like it would be better if it could be made more form-fitting. (Maybe it's better to try to cut it to fit exactly and glue or something.) I've also been wondering about if I did do the quarter mod how it would affect it if I did the nylon in addition to the stock foam so the driver is still protected.

It seems like from the measurements in that PDF posted waaay back there (I think it was on page 4) nylon over the front did make a measurable difference versus the stock foam and the quarter mod and the back of course is designed to be quite open, so I'm not sure if it could affect pressure or something. Perhaps someone has tested this at some point? This thread is... quite long... As far as on the front goes, I believe his measurement there is only if you completely replace the stock foam with just nylon as opposed to a quarted-modded stock foam + nylon. So perhaps the difference wouldn't be so extreme? Maybe it would be equivalent to the K240 foam which it says has a material in addition to the foam?

 

Needs more pilcrow.

 

What?