hd595 makes a great low power hd650 alternative

[mjb]

my favorite headphone is the hd650, properly amped. i've not extensively heard the hd595 before today, but i just grabbed a pair from a local shop and have been listening to them straight out of my macbook headphone out, and i gotta say, these are a fantastic hd650 low power compliment!

they have a very similar flavor... i think they actually sound better than the 650's straight from the hp out. i think i've finally found my ksc75 replacement.

anyway, that's all i wanted to say....

mjb

[granodemostasa]

a 200 dollar 50ohm headphone sounds better than the hd650 from a line out and better than the ksc5, that's not news

not to be against the hd595, but this is about as but kissing, head-fi like a post as an experienced and well respected member can make.

[humanflyz]

a 200 dollar 50ohm headphone sounds better than the hd650 from a line out and better than the ksc5, that's not news

not to be against the hd595, but this is about as but kissing, head-fi like a post as an experienced and well respected member can make.

woah dude, what's with the aggression here.

[mjb]

a 200 dollar 50ohm headphone sounds better than the hd650 from a line out and better than the ksc5, that's not news

not to be against the hd595, but this is about as but kissing, head-fi like a post as an experienced and well respected member can make.

i thought it would be informative...the whole spin of listening to the 595 as a compliment to the preferred 650, rather than as a headphone on its own merits...but thanks for the comments, they certainly diffuse the butt-kissing gestault of the thread as a whole. )

p.s. sometimes my inner sennheiser fanboy flairs up

mjb

[jinp6301]

I personally didnt think they sounded that great. Preferred the 580s and the grado 225s over them by a large margin

[mjb]

that's the thing...i actually think the 650's scale down better than the 600/580, so i always much preferred it to a 600/580 with low power, but it was like drinking a fantastic coffee luke warm.

as for grado's, even though they work pretty well with low power amping because of their low resistence, i just can't stand grado's without a really good source (which is typically absent in a low amp power situation)... this is why i found this hp to be a good fit for me in this situation and hadn't really considered it before (hence this post )

mjb

[blessingx]

It's been strange to watch the HD595 be called a decent HD5/6X0 alternative, to great at its price point, to "the definition of mid-fi" over the years. Part of that is the impedance and price change, but I still think they're really good all-arounds for low impedance duties too. The upper Senns smoke them of course and they are certainly grainy, but I sold off SR225s and HHF1s because they got less use than the HD595s when an amp wasn't convenient or available (eventually the only use for any of the three when better phones were around). You could say the Grados do what they do better (and I'd no doubt reach for them for specific rock artists, cello pieces, etc.), but they also do a lot more generally wrong across the board.

[mirumu]

Posts like these suggesting the HD595 and HD650 are similar always make me doubt the HD650. I own the HD595s and it's not that they're bad but they are grainy and it seems to take substantial effort in source and amp matching to make them sound good. When I say good I mean just that and no more. I've yet to hear any system take them beyond merely good. Unamped straight out of a source they sound very mediocre. Certainly if I was listening from the headphone jack on my Macbook Pro I'd be reaching for the SR-80s or some IEMs rather than the HD595s. I think the only reason I still own the HD595s is because selling them requires effort.

[n_maher]

I've always wanted to try the 595's based on knowing that Tyll likes them quite a bit. I think that the pair he used to bring to meets were recabled w/ Cardas cable.

[HiWire]

They're fine for non-critical listening... e.g. while you work, etc.

In my opinion, they should only be purchased if they're heavily discounted... they're not worth their list price when better headphones are available.

[mirumu]

They're fine for non-critical listening... e.g. while you work, etc.

I find they're too open for work, I'd be getting complaints every 5 seconds. If I had an office to myself it would be fine but if I had an office to myself I'd obviously be in a super high paying executive job and could afford to have some Stax 4070's with a Blue Hawaii in there.

Reks has me interested in trying the HD650 again.