Sennheiser HD650/M Compendium

Discussion in 'Headphones' started by zonto, Nov 9, 2016.

  1. purr1n

    purr1n Desire for betterer is endless.

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  2. k4rstar

    k4rstar Britney fan club president

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  3. zonto

    zonto Friend

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    Yep! I have been in touch with @k4rstar and linked to his post in the Modifications section of this compendium. I was about to start working on that section when his post went up, so the timing was perfect. He did not have Friend status at that point and couldn't see this subforum, but gave permission to use/incorporate his post into this larger work.
     
  4. zonto

    zonto Friend

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    KISS mod info integrated. See Quick References; Measurements; Modifications—Overview, —Spider Cage Removal, —Damper Application, —Modification Tutorials, and —Additional Modifications—Alternative Rear Damping Strategies.
     
    Last edited: Dec 17, 2016
  5. Dino

    Dino Friend

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    My two cents:

    Potential topics for discussion:
    • Do we want to add a poll? (HD650 vs. HD650M; HD650 vs. HD600; probably too nuanced to get into specific mods). Would it work to bifurcate if we did a two-vote option or would people just abuse it? May be unnecessary for a Compendium.
    I don't think it belongs in the Compendium. I think this would make an interesting thread. If such a thread is created, a link to it would be appropriate in the Compendium.
    I don't really have an opinion on a one or two vote option. I actually like all three. I do have an order of preference. I feel that could change, depending on changes in the system...

    • Anything I missed? My goal was to be comprehensive enough that a user could use this as their sole resource and not muddy up threads unless the question wasn't answered here.
    "Anything I missed?" was something in the back of my mind as I went through the Compendium and not a thing came to mind. It seemed to include everything from SBAF and I was pleasantly surprised at the information that was included beyond the forum.
    • Is this usable from both established members' and guests' perspectives?
    Definitely usable from this member's perspective. The sources were by nature disorganized. This is organized. I was a little surprised than it was entertaining to reread in this form, as well as being a reference.

    Having read through all of the SBAF threads, it is kind of difficult to put myself in the place of a guest viewing the Compendium. It is certainly more organized and easier to use/digest than the threads that it is sourced from. I think it is as good as was possible in this regard.
     
  6. Yeskey

    Yeskey Friend

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    Oo, we should coin it as the Hd650k / Hd650mk to show it's departure from the standard modifications. Plus more letters!
     
  7. headphone

    headphone New

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    Thanks, great post. I really like your post!
     
  8. klyrish

    klyrish Facebook Friend

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    Thanks to this thread and the suggestion to setup a "Sennheiser" alert on Slick Deals, I just ordered a pair of the 6XX from Massdrop! For anyone else interested, click away.
     
  9. iFi audio

    iFi audio MOT iFi Audio

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    This is a VERY USEFUL thread. Seriously, it is. Before anyone posts any old Senns reladed quesiotn, this place should be labeled as mandatory to visit. Good work!
     
  10. purr1n

    purr1n Desire for betterer is endless.

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    Going to throw in my two cents.

    HD650M mod's primary purpose was to undamp the driver - to loosen things up. The HD650's (circa 2014) transient response seemed to be overly damped, kind of boring, constipated even. Thus why the complete removal of foam in the back and a coin sized cutout in the front of the driver. Solderdude wrote an exhaustive paper on the effects of these mods on FR, distortion, etc. We ended up with a few db more midbass and a little bit more in the highs??? But he completely missed the point: it was all about getting faster transient response so the HD650 wouldn't sound so boring. Not everything we hear has a handy measurement telling us all about it. Measure with trained ears first. Verify later with measurements if such measurements exist.

    The HD650K came about for two reasons: people started to do their own things, their own twists, their own materials, their own methods. Absolutely nothing wrong with this. However, from PMs that I got, this seemed to sow confusion, thus I wanted a simple version that just got to the point. Secondly, around the release of the HD6XX from Massdrop, the HD650 seemed to be slightly different. The distortion characteristics were very slightly different in the bass, FR measurements showed slightly more upper mids, and the transient response seemed just a bit faster. Thus the HD650K did not implement the coin cutout mod in front of the driver, and resused a disc of foam on the outer side behind the driver. While experimenting with ways to resuse and mount the back foam disc, I discovered an added benefit was a slight drop in the midbass. The result was sort of something with HD600/HD650 (in between) bass with HD650 highs.
     
    Last edited: Oct 2, 2018
  11. jowls

    jowls Never shitposts (please) - Friend

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    I have always been interested in why HD650 is the preferred headphone to mod over HD600. Tonal balance seems more accurate to me anyhow (and I can live with occasional 2-4khz weirdness) but doesn’t HD600 also have measurably less distortion? Wouldn’t it make sense to mod from a ‘cleaner’ baseline?
     
  12. Mdkaler

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    I get the if it ain't broke, don't fix it mentality. But the removal of spider cage, addition of dynamat extreme, and reuse of foam disc can only improve the HD600 right? Yet people rarely talk about modding the HD600, sometimes even advise against doing so.
     
  13. Jerry

    Jerry Friend

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    I think there was a general consensus that HD650 is the slightly more resolving driver that can scale a bit more with better amps.

    I also prefer HD600 more neutral tonality. And added dynamat to mine.
     
  14. klyrish

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    EDIT: moved to the appropriate thread. Sorry for cluttering this up!
     
    Last edited: Oct 3, 2018
  15. purr1n

    purr1n Desire for betterer is endless.

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    Don't do that with HD600 unless you can secure the foam discs exactly was they were before.

    LOL, I guess a HD600 toned down in the highs might be an easier approach. The HD600 already has faster transients than HD650 which I don't feel need to be made any faster.
     
  16. 7seven

    7seven Acquaintance

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    Anyone experiment with removing the grills?
    I think I prefer without them but nobody ever mentions it... either there is a technical explanation or people prefer to keep the ugly plastic underneath hidden
     
  17. Serious

    Serious Inquisitive Frequency Response Plot

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    I did, at least with HD600. Just overall more open sounding, wider soundstage. But it does look very ugly. In the end I put mine back on since I almost never use my HD600, but if it was my primary can I'd leave them off. On my HD800 I have them off.
     
  18. Jerry

    Jerry Friend

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    Please do share on HOW you open the grill on hd800 and what impact it has to the sound.
     
  19. Serious

    Serious Inquisitive Frequency Response Plot

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    You have to unscrew the driver and take off the outer ring that holds it.
    Generally also more open sounding, but to a greater extent than on the HD600. Also slightly smoother treble.
     

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