[JohnR]

Can I ship you something to try out? It's not very expensive but it might be an interesting thing to try anyway. I'll pay for the postage for you to send it back to me.

[Guy 13]

Can I ship you something to try out? It's not very expensive but it might be an interesting thing to try anyway. I'll pay for the postage for you to send it back to me.

Hi JohnR
Yes, of course you can send me that mysterious item.
Please send me PM so I can have an idea of what it is,
so I will prepare myself to answer questions from the communist custom officers
and in exchange I will give you my address, might need to put it to my wife's name.
Yes, here everything is complicated with tons of red tape and corruption.
Thanks.

Guy 13

[JohnR]

Hi Guy, hopefully it won't be too complicated...! I'll send a PM.

[Guy 13]

Hi all.
I have a confirmed appointment with the store that sold me my
Sennheiser HD-650
and tomorrow I will go there with my Bottlehead Crack
and a few well recorded CDs to hear/compare a few headphones
(HD-700/800) or anything that are in the range of
300 to 600 Ohms open type.
Of course I cannot afford any of those hi-end headphones mentioned above,
but the exercise is to see/hear if anything is better sounding than my HD-650.
I am also trying to get an appointment with a store that sell the
Bayerdynamic DT-880/990 600 Ohms.
I will post my findings as soon as I get back home,
hopefully with some pictures, I love to post pictures,
it should be mandatory with all posts.
Well, that's my opinion and I am sure not all AC members share with me that (Crazy-weird) opinion.
So, see you later alligator.
I like to use that expression.

Guy 13

[jtwrace]

I love to post pictures,
it should be mandatory with all posts.

You should lead by example as I don't see any pictures with this post.      

[Guy 13]

You should lead by example as I don't see any pictures with this post.   

Hi jtwrace.
Pictures, you want pictures, how about this:





Now, I guess you are gona say that I have posted those pictures already.
Well, make up your mind, you want pictures or not?

Guy 13

[dB Cooper]

The 650's can be (as nwavguy put it) "a bit of an acquired taste". I have a friend who owns K701's (a MUCH brighter headphone) and he borrowed my 650's for awhile. His reaction was that he liked the 650s for studio recordings but preferred his AKGs for live recordings.

If a recording is "dark" to begin with, or has midbass EQ boost (as many radio stations do on their announcer mics), that can produce a "heavy" sound at times. Different recordings sound better/worse/just different on different 'phones. Fortunately, that is one of those problems that can be easily solved just by throwing money at it 

I think one of the Beyer DT's (880/990) in 600 ohm version might be the ticket for you.

[Guy 13]

The 650's can be (as nwavguy put it) "a bit of an acquired taste". I have a friend who owns K701's (a MUCH brighter headphone) and he borrowed my 650's for awhile. His reaction was that he liked the 650s for studio recordings but preferred his AKGs for live recordings.

If a recording is "dark" to begin with, or has midbass EQ boost (as many radio stations do on their announcer mics), that can produce a "heavy" sound at times. Different recordings sound better/worse/just different on different 'phones. Fortunately, that is one of those problems that can be easily solved just by throwing money at it 

I think one of the Beyer DT's (880/990) in 600 ohm version might be the ticket for you.

Hi dB Cooper.
Thanks for your comments.
This afternoon I will be listening to the HD-700/800
at the store that sold me my HD-650,
however, I cannot afford such expensive headphones,
but it will be interesting to know how they sound
and maybe afterward, dream....
Dream is free, but can also be mentally painful sometimes.

Guy 13

[Guy 13]

That's very true I think about live and acoustic recordings liking the brighter headphones better. Beyer says they're sending me the T90 today or tomorrow, so that should make an interesting impression. The highest I've had in Beyer headphones was the DT770-32, which has great detail in the highs, but also a bit dark overall. I put several headphones on sale here, but so far the only inquiry has been the Alpha Dog.

Hi daklethorn.
Thanks for your comments,
now my turn for comments, for what they are worth.
Regardless how good they sound,
I am not interested in closed headphones like the DT-770 or the same.
I know, sometime (Read often) I am narrow minded... But that's me.
Thanks again.

Guy 13

[FullRangeMan]

This afternoon I will be listening to the HD-700/800
 
Guy 13

Wow, you lucky Guy...

[Guy 13]

Wow, you lucky Guy...

Hi FULLRANGEMAN.
You are welcome to come with me this afternoon,
minds you, I don't think you will be able to make it on time.
Too bad.

Guy 13

[FullRangeMan]

Hi FULLRANGEMAN.
You are welcome to come with me this afternoon,
minds you, I don't think you will be able to make it on time.
Too bad.

Guy 13

Oh you most kind.
Local say: What counts is the intention.
Thanks and good listening. 

[Rocket]

Hi Guy,

Is there any chance the dealer will take the headphones so you can swap them or trade them for another pair.  The headphones dealer I go to has a 30 day return policy as long as the packaging is fine.  I bought an AIAIAI TMA - 1 'Young Guru' set of headphones a couple of days ago, which are a closed design but are made for portable use.  I did try a pair of Sennheiser and PSB headphones (I can't remember their model numbers) and I definitely did not enjoy the Sennheiser's at all.  They had a prominence in the midrange which I didn't like, the PSB were similar in sound to the AIAIAI's but were not as comfortable to wear.

Anyway, take your time with your purchase and listen to as many headphones as you can.  I also have had negative experiences with hifi reviews and I remember buying a PS Audio HCA 2 amplifier which had received gushing reviews from reviewers and customers alike.  I read one negative review from Gerry at 10 Audio and guess what he was the only one who got it right and this experience taught me a valuable lesson.

Anyway good luck with sorting this out.

Regards Rod

[dB Cooper]

That's very true I think about live and acoustic recordings liking the brighter headphones better. Beyer says they're sending me the T90 today or tomorrow, so that should make an interesting impression. The highest I've had in Beyer headphones was the DT770-32, which has great detail in the highs, but also a bit dark overall. I put several headphones on sale here, but so far the only inquiry has been the Alpha Dog.

I llike most acoustic (studio) material on my 650s, as I am becoming more and more sensitized to any excessive hi frequency emphasis, and love 'em or hate 'em, the 650s definitely don't do that, and those highs are smooth as silk.

I heard the T90's at CAF last year and the first thing I noticed was the (to me) tipped up high end. YMMV of course. T1's and the Oppo planars supposedly will be on hand this year. Curious about both of those.

[Guy 13]

Hi Guy,

Is there any chance the dealer will take the headphones so you can swap them or trade them for another pair.  The headphones dealer I go to has a 30 day return policy as long as the packaging is fine.  I bought an AIAIAI TMA - 1 'Young Guru' set of headphones a couple of days ago, which are a closed design but are made for portable use.  I did try a pair of Sennheiser and PSB headphones (I can't remember their model numbers) and I definitely did not enjoy the Sennheiser's at all.  They had a prominence in the midrange which I didn't like, the PSB were similar in sound to the AIAIAI's but were not as comfortable to wear.

Anyway, take your time with your purchase and listen to as many headphones as you can.  I also have had negative experiences with hifi reviews and I remember buying a PS Audio HCA 2 amplifier which had received gushing reviews from reviewers and customers alike.  I read one negative review from Gerry at 10 Audio and guess what he was the only one who got it right and this experience taught me a valuable lesson.

Anyway good luck with sorting this out.

Regards Rod

Hi Rod.
I don't think the dealer will take back my HD-650, because I bought them 8 months ago,
but it cost nothing asking and that's what I will do,
because they only have 100 hours on them and I have all the original packing.
Even if he give me the full price I paid for them, that's 410 USD,
the HD-800 (That I might like) are 20,000,000 Vietnamese dollars, yes, that's 20 millions $,
well, that's only 950 in real dollars, USD that is.
I would still have to take from my empty pocket 540 USD,
money that I don't have available right now and even in a near future.
As I wrote many times already on AC, I don't believe any reviews any more.
Audio is something very personal and vary person to person.
If I decide and can afford to replace my HD-650 with something I like more,
something that is more to my liking, I have narrow down my choice to the Bayerdynamic DT-880/990
or the HD-700/800 assuming I can rob a bank to raise the money for the Sennheiser.
The HiFiMan are affordable, but I would need a new amplifier to replace my Bottlehead Crack
which makes them unaffordable for me.
Anyway, it's gona be:
HD-700/800 or DT-880/990 or I keep my HD-650, sometimes I wonder why I bought the combo Crack/HD-650 when my Decware/Omega 7F sound much, much, much... Did I wrote much, well, yes, much better in all areas. Soundstage, details, resolution, headroom and more and I have no problem polluting the house with my sound, my wife is never there anyway, she spend most of his time with her family.
I did said that when you marry a Vietnamese you marry the whole family, I know. Am I complaining, well : yes and no.
Anyway, I am only a few hours away from trying the Sennheiser up-grade headphones and for the Bayerdynamic that will probably be next week, then I will have to make a difficult decision.
I don't want to invest too much, I already did and like I said (I am repeating myself, normal, I am an old fart) I don't listen to my headphones that much, minds you if the sound quality was as good as my Decware/Omega that would be a completely different story.

Guy 13
   

[Guy 13]

I llike most acoustic (studio) material on my 650s, as I am becoming more and more sensitized to any excessive hi frequency emphasis, and love 'em or hate 'em, the 650s definitely don't do that, and those highs are smooth as silk.

I heard the T90's at CAF last year and the first thing I noticed was the (to me) tipped up high end. YMMV of course. T1's and the Oppo planars supposedly will be on hand this year. Curious about both of those.

Hi dB Cooper.
I like acoustic, single instrument, small ensemble, percussion and bass, deep and powerful bass, like in Fanfare for a common man.
I am not too much into singer, I bought some Adele stuff, but....
The T90 and OPPO are again outside my budget limits.
However, I do like the look of the OPPO and I hate the look of the HD-800, but if the HD-800 sounds good, I can easily forget about how ugly they are, especially when you can't see them while they are on you noggin.
I will get back to you when later on today, today in Vietnam, because right now, it's Thursday 9am.

Guy 13

[Guy 13]

The DT770-32 that I used to have and the T90 that I'll be getting are not the same, and they are not even similar.

As far as I know from buying a lot of headphones, and reading your requirements, you will not find a satisfactory headphone for $500. Different amplifiers make only a tiny difference compared to the difference between headphones.

When I started in hi-fi I made a lot of purchase mistakes because I either believed the promises of great sound that I read in ads, or read in reviews, or read in users' comments about their personal preferences.  I wish I had just half of that money now, and I could retire.

But now I know what I'm getting, and I know it's not perfect, but I have a good idea how to make it work for me.

Hi dalethorn.
Well, if I can't find something I like for under 500 USD, then I will keep my HD-650.
They are not that bad, but not that good, to my ears.
If all my pockets were filled to the rim with $$$ I know what I would buy:
Either Audeze or Stax.
That being said, I will wait and see if my wife will win the lottery jack pot.
She was not born on a Friday 13th like me, therefore, she is more lucky than me.

Guy 13

[Guy 13]

I saw the Innerfidelity curve of the T90, and it was frightening. At least until a few months ago when I found a solution, to get the crispy detail of those Tesla drivers without suffering the peakiness. I was shocked going from the Mad Dog to Alpha Dog, realizing that they didn't just 'improve' the Mad Dog sound with greater clarity or linearity - they turned everything upside down and a warm and musical (to me) sound became sterile. If I had no other option, I could take those really nice acoustic foam pieces off of the Shure 840 earpads I have and stuff them into the T90 earcups, which I'd bet would reduce the harshness but preserve most of the detail. That's the other side of the coin for the Alpha Dog - not just having the stock configuration, but the possibilities for users to further customize. The benefits are often great for just a little effort.

Hi (Again) dalethorn.
I don't know if I mention it, but I have taken out the thin foam pad that (I think) is for protecting the drivers from dust and it made a small improvement, but not enough to start liking my HD-650.
O.K. still four more hours to my meeting with the HD-700/800.

Guy 13

[Guy 13]

I had the HD800 for 4 years, and there is nothing like the HD800 until you get to the Stax SR009. I wish I had the HD650 so I could do analysis on the colorations (if any). I figure there may be some that would restrict the soundstage.

Hi (Again and again) dalethorn.
Coloration that restrict the soundstage???
Hummmmm...
I did not knew that, are you sure?
In the past 25 years, I never heard any headphones that had any soundstage.
For me all of the headphones only have sound on each ear and on top of the head,
nothing in the front like speakers.
I am anxious to listen to the HD-800 as they say it as a huge sound stage.
Hearing is believing.
Only 3 hours left...

Guy 13

[G Georgopoulos]

In the past 25 years, I never heard any headphones that had any soundstage.
For me all of the headphones only have sound on each ear and on top of the head,
nothing in the front like speakers.
I am anxious to listen to the HD-800 as they say it as a huge sound stage.
Hearing is believing.
Only 3 hours left...

Guy 13

Guy 13,I Agree With You 100%
Tell Us About HD-800 When You Have a Chance To Listen...