I've always thought that was a terrible description of the HD 650. Even those that used the term "veiled" talk about the great resolution of the 650. Well, which is it? Veiled would tend to describe a sound that blocks certain dynamics, and I've never seen the 650 given negative marks for dynamics. I think the whole thing started when the 650 came out and was more bass oriented than the 600 predecessor. Some idiot described that as veiled, and it stuck. I happen to prefer the less bass oriented 580/600, but the 650 is an excellent pair of headphones that gives up nothing in dynamics as compared to the 580/600.