Sennheiser HD650

Ok, I thought you would've auditioned every possible 'improvement' for the HD650.

I'm getting the filter when it's available. I'm curious to hear the difference.

 

Ive suddenly gotten some volume balance issues. Right channel is way 5-6dB louder. Really strange...
Its not the cable nor the amp, so its the drivers! Clue? Its pretty new drivers aswell so its kinda sad...

 

Gonna pull the trigger on these to go with my incoming Jotunheim.

I've got my eye on a used pair bought in 2012 having gone through 3 owners with light pad use. Couple questions...

How long do the drivers last? Should I try and find one that's newer? I am still trying to stick with used pairs for finance reasons.

The pads on the pair look decent but how important is pad condition to sound quality? I'll go ahead and post the link to the cans so you can get an idea of what they look like:

http://www.head-fi.org/t/820520/sennheiser-hd650-newer-silver-version

 

Ok. I should be able to get new pads fairly soon after I buy the 650. Even if it takes a week longer or whatever do you still think they will sound good enough without new pads?

 

My advice to you:

Get a new one from the UK. You don't have to pay VAT so the price is very good.

If you buy a 2012 one you will most likely have to spend more getting new pads anyway...new pads from S3nnheiser are expensive, knock off pads from eBay suck.

Might as well get a brand new one with warranty.

Current UK price = $303

Check out Bax shop UK.

 

I'm in America though. What's shipping like from UK?

 

Not paying vat + saving on new pads will cancel out the shipping cost.

And you get the satisfaction of a brand new headphone which will hold its value better.

Sometimes new is better value than used. Especially in this hobby where people try to sell 5 year old cans for 80% of their purchase price.

I got a 6 month old HD650 in the UK for $242. The pads were a bit flat and brought the drivers too close to my ears which for me reduced the soundstage to nothing.....

 

My only issue with buying new is if I don't like them I will lose money in a resell, since you can't return opened, used headphones. Buying used allows me to try them and not lose much if anything in a resell.

 

Yes, I suppose having to buy new pads makes my last post a moot point.

 

OK. Wanna find a low priced but good quality balanced cable too. Any ideas?

 

I was on the exact same quest in the UK. I purchased one made by Oscar at Soundperfectionreviews. It is made of van damme starquad and has cardas connectors.

I'm not his friend or affiliated in any way. I met him for the first time at Canjam London 2015 and I emailed him when I needed the cable.

He charged me $50 for a 3m length. I'm quite happy with the result.

I don't believe in cable sound and would never spend more than $100 unless I absolutely had to.

Will PM you his email if you want.

Also check out Venus Audio cables on eBay. Their prices are reasonable and materials seem to be good quality.

 

@ColtMrFire - learn to read the threads or use search function, bra. This has been answered maybe hd650 times recently.

 

@JoshMorr please tell us what's on your mind my friend

BTW, the HD650 is still available on amazon.co.uk for < $280 shipped (after you take out VAT, add shipping and consider some conversion rate). Buying used for $40 less is not worth it. I got mine from there and verified serial numbers and it all checked out.

 

Check the HD650 Appreciation thread. We talked about this a page or 3 back.

 

It's pretty amazing that they continue to have this deal. A lot of people thought it was such a great deal when Adorama had the HD650 for $284 after $15 rebate but here it continues to be for sale for $282 shipped (as of today).

 

Yeah, my HD650 came from Amazon too- they beat the pants off most other UK dealers (plus, I have Prime, so the next-day shipping was taken care of).