Sennheiser HD800 + HD650

Fantastic

This is one of the most easily recognized and well regarded high end headphones in the past 20 years. I've read a lot of reviews on this, but after purchasing it for myself, the sound that came through was very full and warm, with a mid-range soundstage and a substantial but not punchy mid-bass. I think I hear the "veil" that a lot of audiophiles talk about, which comes through as a slightly dark treble and mids. However, this seems to affect vocals very little. Some may be bothered by this, but I'm definitely not.

Anyways, Sonic Electronix offered a great price for these, and I'm quite satisfied with the product, the value, and the service.

Step up to the HD 650

After two years with the HD 598, the HD 650 is a step up headphone for me. The HD 598 is very good but I was curious about taking my listening to the next level. I had been endlessly reading and watching reviews. Finally, after an opportunity to listen to the HD 650 as well as some other contenders, I made my move. This is a terrific headphone: smooth, detailed, non-fatiguing, with deep, warm bass response. The clamping pressure is somewhat tight but by no means uncomfortable. The HD 650 sounds excellent out of my AV receiver and Fiio X3 on high gain setting. It sounds even better with a dedicated headphone amplifier.
I'm very happy with my choice. Sonic Electronix offered a great sale price and fast shipping.

Great audiophile headphone at a reasonable price

I bought the HD 650 while on promotion at Sonic Electronix. Though I expected this to be a quality product, it was still very impressive when I first opened the box. The headphone is well designed and looks high-end.
Compared to my Grado SR 60i and Audio-Technica ATH-M50, the HD 650 has much richer and more precise sound. It is more comfortable to wear than the 60i and comparable to the M50.
At 103 dB, it is a highly efficient headphone. I can hear a lot of details in the music than with the other two headphones. With 300 ohms, it means low distortion but also means it is better to be driven by a dedicated headphone amplifier. I am now using a CEntrance DACport to drive it. The sound is acceptable, though I suspect it would sound more louder and better if I had a more powerful amplifier. But for now, I am satisfied with the performance. Overall, I am happy with this purchase. For new users who don't have a dedicated amplifier, make sure you maximize the volume bar on the music player on your computer; otherwise you might think the HD 650 is too hard to drive. I did not realize this problem when I used the HD 650 for the first night, my heart sunk when the sound from the headphone was so low. Previously, it was not much an issue with my M50 as that one is much easier to drive and it is loud enough even the player on my computer is set at the medium volumes. Not the case for the HD 650.
I am also pleased with the purchase experience with Sonic Electronix.

HD 650

I was very pleased with the Sennheiser hd650 headphones. They are very spacious and present. These cans have some serious output impedance and need to be used with an amplifier to get their full potential. Over all I would say these are an incredible value.

Great Headphones

I'm not an audiophile and I haven't owned many headphones, so I can't really be technical about this. All I know is the HD 650 sounds very good with the built-in amp in my sound card. It is comfortable to wear in long periods and the build quality is pretty good.

Pretty Amazing

Things I like:
Snug fit but comfortable
Sexy looking headphones (like me, lol)
well balanced, crisp clear sound and open sound makes echos from instruments sound amazing.
good for jazz, oldies, and vocals (sounds amazing on Hide & Seek by Imogen Heap)

They don't sound bad but not my favorite when I was listening to hip hop, dubstep or other music with heavy bass. They don't have that impact you would expect when listening to those types of music. I prefer my Beyerdynamic DT990s for that. With that being said I would choose the HD650 for every other type of music. I really went back and forth between the two but really couldn't choose one over the other so I just went ahead and got these as well. That may seem like a lot of money but when you listen to music all day it's definitely worth the investment. It's nice to treat yourself well every now and then.

A must have for music enthusiasts

Quite honestly if you're looking at buying these headphones, you probably know exactly what you're getting into. I'm not going to go into great detail on them as there are reviews out there that do a much better job than I could ever do, but I'll just briefly state some of my thoughts on them.

I currently own the HD600, HE-500, SR 325is, M50, and some IEMs. The HD800 provide by far the best resolution and soundstage off all my other headphones. The details you'll hear from recordings will blow your mind (chairs adjusting, hands sliding over acoustic guitar strings even though they're not vibrating, etc.). I'm currently taking the PHillips golden ear challenge and I feel like I'm cheating with them, they're that good.

Which brings me to their only weakness, they're too good. If you have a low quality recording, bad amp, bad production, or any non-ideal part in the chain, the HD800 will expose it tremendously. Everything else needs to be near-perfect like it or else the experience will be sub par at best. When all the stars align and everything is high quality, It will be heaven on earth though.

As for gear, I used to have a schiit asgard 2 and modi as my amp and DAC, but I don't think they quite cut it for them (by no means bad though just not full potential). I recently upgraded to the Oppo HA-1 and I couldn't be happier with the set up now. So do your research and get ready for an experience .

Great headphones

Bought this pair of headphones on sale. These headphones are generally very well reviewed. To me they are definitely worth the money. The sound of these headphones are more laid back compared to HD600, still very sweet and smooth, but darker in general. The low-end has a pretty big body, yet not excessive. lows can go very deep while being more laid back than its predecessors. Still lacking some of texture but very punchy. Highs are smooth, but not very revealing. Nothing like the DT880. Maybe that's what the famous "veiled" sound of HD650 refers to. I think the mid and mid-high is where it shines on these headphones. Very revealing mid, smooth and alive, yet not too intimidating. One thing I noticed about these headphones is that the sound quality improves with the better source and amp, and the "veiled" feeling is less and less with better equipments. Most significantly improvement is in the sound stage and transparency. The headphone can sound very large and transparent with a good DAC and amp, and more and more revealing in the highs. But they can also sound unimpressive with some low-end sources. Personally I think the amp should be at least in the $200 range to do them justice. OTL such as Crack+speedball is definitely a great pairing for these phones, and speedball is a must have addon. For me, Crack alone cannot produce a sound stage wide enough on these headphones, or completely lift the veil.

Glorious, glorious sound

I'm a previous owner of the Sennheiser HD700, and I finally decided to upgrade to the Sennheiser HD800 a few weeks ago. Even though purchasing these headphones might automatically lend you an 'audiophile' air, I do not consider myself as such, as I dislike the jargon used by some of them. I'll just use layman's language in this review.

I prefer a neutral sound signature with no emphasis on any part of the frequency range (that's how you truly hear what the artist intended. audiophile jargon stating 'exciting' just means that they tweaked it somewhat to appeal to the masses). I cannot stand excessive amounts of bass. Gives me a headache. For me, the accuracy/clarity/quality of the bass is much more important than the quantity.

Sound - 10/10. I never thought anything could top the HD700 until I treated my ears to this headphone. Funnily enough, I thought the vocals (especially male ones) sounded a little soft, but then I realized it was probably me already used to other headphones which place unnecessary emphasis on certain parts of the sound. Then I closed my eyes and immersed myself in the music, trying to pick out the separate instruments. Oh, the joy! It was like I was sitting in the midst of a concert band... No more boomy muddy bass that messes everything else up - crystal clear guitar plucks, punchy drumbeats, distinct taps on the cymbals... I could even hear the singer draw breath.

I'm a college student and my music tastes are quite diverse. I tested songs from Genesis, James Blunt, Taylor Swift, Goo Goo Dolls, Andrea Bocelli, EDM songs (I know, why the heck EDM with the HD800 but i'm a college student as I said) and even a chinese melody (Tong Hua by Guang Liang). I used FLAC formats played with Vox music player (iTunes doesnt support FLAC), on a Macbook Pro late 2011 with a Fiio e09k (Amp) + e07k (DAC) combo. Yeah, my setup is a little cheap but I don't buy into the current trend of spending a $1000+ on a DAC.

Bottom line: sound is fantastic, if you like a neutral signature. If you like bass, look towards the Audeze LCD3 (don't own it but I might get one as the perfect complement to the HD800s).

Comfort - 10/10: The headphones are MASSIVE. But the weight is distributed very well, thus they're extremely comfortable.

Look/Design/Durability - It's a headphone meant for use at home - if you were looking for something pretty and stylish to show off to your friends, stick with Beats by Dre (i'm joking please get the Sennheiser Momentum instead). These headphones look high tech, nuff said. Design is splendid, backed by a 2 year warranty. Can't say much about the durability (I will never ever let any harm come to these headphones. They've never left my desk and I keep them covered with cloth when not in use).

Features: If you're buying this headphone, it's for the sound and sound alone. No additional features like microphone or remote (who needs one when you're going to be at home near your PC anyway). However, the wire is replaceable, which is a HUGE relief if your careless self ever gets them cut/burnt etc.

Finally, the most important question. Value. With every audio company jumping on the headphone bandwagon these days, it's still hard to compare value at the top end (just like how you would argue whether a Lamborghini worth $500k is 10x better than a Mercedes costing $50k). But if I had a thousand bucks and was looking for a headphone to keep for the rest of my life, this would be it. Audio technology can improve, but our ears won't evolve that fast (takes millions of years people, and we don't even need super sensitive hearing unlike in the past where predators hunted humans in jungles). I foresee myself enjoying my music with these pair of headphones for the next 40 years or so, depending on how long i live and how fast my hearing deteriorates.

Tips:
1) Before you blow a couple of thousand dollars on a headphone and a fancy DAC+Amp, please go and audition them at a store near you. Unless you're too rich and you don't even care then feel free to send an Audeze LCD3 my way :).

Fabulous!

Lighter than many of its competitors at this price point, and with imaging and balanced frequency response that is difficult to best, the HD800 is an intersection of many fabulous qualities.