Sennheiser HD650 Love (Appreciation Thread)

I forgot how good the Modi 2U AK4396 -> Asgard 2 -> HD 650. Super scaled up from my Magni 2 Uber which makes old recordings (back when drum kits weren't chopped up and rearranged to bits in ProTools) sound a little out of phase. It makes the natural Sennheiser dynamics and separation of micro and macro detail come alive. Shame I can't find anything between the Asgard 2 and the Black Widow. The Liquid Carbon and HDVA 600 were too warm while the Audio-GD Master 9 was Krell sound. The less said about the Rag and the GS-X mk 2 the better.

 

I had the spider cage cut out for a while before applying Dynamat and, as I think I mentioned above, I thought that the lower treble was more forward and aggressive. I think there were some peaks but honestly I didn't listen to it for all that long, maybe 30 minutes before going to bed and resolving to do the dynamat mods the next day. It was after the dynamat was applied to everything but the ring that I started getting really awful resonances. So maybe I shouldn't have been blaming the spider cage removal entirely, but up until now I did regret cutting that thing off.

For the donut, I used the freed spider cage as a template to cut out the circle (octagon, really) and just cut it in half to cut the stuff out the middle. All I had was a pair of scissors to make due but it worked out alright. Not the neatest work I've ever done, but it suffices.

 

I still think that removing the rear foam and spider cage probably causes more problems than it fixes due to an unimpeded rearwave and all sorts of reflections.

Dynamat (or similar) has been shown to measurably reduce bass distortion. It makes sense that removing the foam in front of the driver offers similar benefits to removing a speaker grill due to there being less in the way. But I'm not convinced that futzing with the rear foam and cage is worth it. Anyone with all the mods done listened without the grills on the cups?

Following up on my post last week, I've since switched back from coin-modded K240 foam to coin-modded stock foam. K240 foam muffles the upper mids and highs too much for my liking. Maybe I'm just an HD600 guy.

 

Okay guys, a question:

I equalized in slightly more (sub)bass on my stock HD650 (approx. +3dB at 30Hz, +2dB at 60Hz). I love the results. People would say it's muddier now, but I feel like the added rumble and longer decay makes it sound more natural and ballsy.

Anyway, would a tube amp like the Valhalla 2 replace the equalizer and add slightly more rumble and decay by itself? I am currently powering it via JDS Labs The Element. If yes, I think I will abuse the shit out of the GBP exchange rate and hand over some dirty Euromonies to electromod.co.uk.

 

I agree, I tried putting the K240 coin-modded foam back in my HD650 for a few days to see if I just needed to get used to the sound. While it might have been a little better on certain recordings, I personally felt that it made it sound slower, and the mid-bass became a bit too buzzy and fatiguing. Switched back to the stock foam coin-modded, much better IMO.

 

Which relatively affordable tube amp does that?

 

@Hands So, regarding the vent on the back of the 650, is it ok/recommended now for dampener be applied to the whole vent or is it still better to only apply some to let the vent breathe?

 

HD650* ordered. Today I become a real SBAFer

*I ordered the 650 capsules for my 600

 

@MLegend, your post, read literally, is asking whether to cover the entire magnet (including the vent) with dampener (i.e., a circle) or to cut out a vent-sized hole in the dampener (i.e., a donut). Don't do the former.

I'm toying with the idea of adhering to the dampener donut one of the rear foam discs previously held in by the spider cage. Figure this would absorb some of the initial rear wave (but not as much as stock with the two rear foam discs) and also help absorb rear wave reflections instead of them hitting the metal foil of the dampener. May try without a hole and then with a hole to see if there's an audible difference.

Any ideas for a proper adhesive? Glue stick probably won't cut it...

 

I actually meant the well known doughnut shape for the magnet representing the whole magnet being covered besides the actual vent whole compared to just a small portion of the magnet being dampened like some early pictures i've seen when the dynamat was first being discussed. The way I wrote it wasn't 100% correct.

 

Thank you for the reply hands.

 

Have people come to the conclusion that removing the rear foam shouldent be done anymore?
Maybe ill try to put it back in...

 

IMO the rear foam sucks, the spider removal is amazing.

Then choices are, do you make a dynamat spider donut to replace the one you just removed or just leave it naked without anything behind it and just dynamat the other spots.

Dynamat donut dampens the sound a lot more than having a spider on it. It turns it into an HD 850 it sounds lean but measures well.

The spider removal without anything behind it makes it sound looser. But the looser sound also has pleasant harmonics it sounds more musical to me. I personally like how it sounds without dynamat on the drivers.

 

Did anyone else go full dynamat and closed the litte holes as well?

I think the bass got very tight, but I think the mids are a little recessed now?