Sennheiser HD 650 user reviews

4.5 stars

"fantastic!!!" on September 23, 2007 by radzikp

Pros: it sounds!!!

Cons: PRICE-i know...

Summary: amazing headphones for people who looking for true sound of music.
100% recomendation

4.0 stars

"Comfort Headphones made for comfort music." on January 27, 2005

Pros: It's so comfortable wearing them, they're like giant fluffy earmuffs. They create a very clear, soft, and 3D sound, a very good speaker-substitute.

Cons: Not as strong as some people might want. The sharpness of definition requires tweaking.

2.0 stars

"Headphone for The Neophyte or High Frequency Challenged" on October 29, 2009 by RadioEngineerMan

Pros: 1. You can find cheap Senns 600/650 in the market after the user tires of them or trys the more compentent available heaphones.
2. Midrange occasionally compelling. Periodically shines in midrange voices.
3. Says Sennheiser on the Phones

Cons: 1.Muddy Fuzzy Bass - Although there is plenty
2.Mediocre to good MidRange on select recordings. (Barbara Streisand Fans)
4. Veiled and Muffled. Needs clarity counseling
5. Restrained high frequencies
6. Restrained Presence in the Mid Range

Summary: I know this critique will telling the Emperor that he has no Clothes. So here it goes.
I own both the HD 600 and the HD 650. Unfortunately I went with the recommendation of an "Audiophile" for use in a studio. I purchased the HD 600 sight unseen and ears unheard. My Mistake. The HD 650 was an unfortunate gift. Someone thought that since I had the HD 600...I would love the HD 650. The Senns were hanging on the studio wall for all to see....because I never used them for serious work...or even casual work for that matter. Now I have two Senns hanging on the wall. Bass is slightly loose and definitely fuzzy. Midrange only a small amount better. High frequencies are very poor and even non existent at the higher end. Definition is not this Phones forte. Nor is presence.....except the mid range for voice. Voices are "warm" not necessarily accurate. Always a veil. Perhaps this is the attraction. A Barbara Streisand Headphone.
Where did all this hype come from?? Was my hearing going?? or was it the heaphones?? I attached a high end dedicated analyzer mike, a spectrum analyzer to one of the earpieces. I ran signal generator test tones thru the headphones. Nothing scientific mind you, but to satisfy my curiousity. While the low and midrange frequencies registered fine....the spectrum above 12 to 14 khz rolled off embarrassingly. Of course there are other parameters. Not Scientific...but indicative.

There are many better Phones out there in this price range. Grado, AKG and even higher end Sonys. Hopefully the Senn HD 800 will be a vast improvement. I have read that not a single part of the HD 600/650 is used. Thank God. Sennheiser got the message. Stereophile should be ashamed for this recommendation. Essentially not much different than a Koss 4 AAA. These are a set of Phones that need breaking...not break-in.

0.5 stars

"Excuse the term: these SUCK!" on May 4, 2008 by soviet123

Pros: Looks great

Cons: Everything else

Summary: I flushed $550 down the commode for this piece of ****?! I have never thought that Sennheiser would make such garbage. The good: it looks great. Just great. No augument there. Now the bad. EXTREMELY fragile. I threw them on a wood desk at a MAXIMUM DISTANCE of 30 CENTIMETERS and the headband shattered like glass. So I went back to the place where I bought them and exchanged for another pair. Now the headband didn't break, but the earcup fell off. "So what?" I took some duct tape and taped them back on, and I started to play some of my favourite songs through this. The result: the earbuds from dollar shops are better than this. There is no bass at all and the treble is extremely tinny. Now I have owned at least 20 pairs of headphones, from $1 ones to $200+ ones, but these are just the worst in the worst. The open-air design leaks WAY too much sound, both music and noise. And, the earpads are stiff and so not comfortable. My last gear was a pair of Skullcandy GI's, now those are not great, but are so much better than the HD650 ones. So I thought, maybe I should use these on my computer. So I did. Even worse. The sound volume changes on its own. On my TV, the same.
Well, to pack it up, I SERIOUSLY DO NOT SUGGEST YOU TO BUY THESE! You will be giving Sennheiser money for nothing. If you want HD headphones go buy some multimedia gaming headphones for $80 and use them for music only. They will sound WAY better than these 650's. Sorry Sennheiser, but you suck.