The HD650's do not sound quite as good to me on my 6s iPhone (same CD quality uncompressed music)--probably because of the 300 ohm resistance of the 650s, so a good amp does improve the quality of the sound to my ears.

I would recommend it - but make sure you choose the correct amp.

If you already own a set, make it a goal to get a proper amp to compliment these.

You have to have a proper amp to drive them and hopefully a good DAC to get the right signals, and lossless (or at least CD quality) but you won't know what you are missing until you buy these and use them with an amp

Paired together with a proper AMP/DAC, these headphones will truly sing

I bet with powerful amp they even getting better

with the right amp

Before you jump off the edge about this, let me qualify by saying that to run these phones with iPod you MUST invest in a good quality headphone amp, which I did.

The Sennheiser HD 650 is an excellent pair of headphones to own; when paired with a proper, Amp and Dac

Just don't forget that you need an amp but even in this area you don't need to go bananas and spend huge amounts of money on an expensive amp

Super clean get a good amp and you'll be golden

Super clean get a good amp and you'll be golden

The only advice I can pass on is to get a good (doesn't have to be crazy expensive) headphone amp for these cans

Second these are very power hungry and you good a good strong amp to drive them, not good for computer use without a headphone amp, and the soundstage is odd

I do have some nice headphones, like the Hifiman HE-400, Audeze LCD-2, Beyerdynamic T90 and the proper amps to drive them well

These headphones are no joke, they do require a good amp and I personally feel the matrix m stage barely fullfills the power requirements for these hd650s

These are going to be daily listening hooked up to a half-decent amp and run through computer

Another point I would like to add is about Balanced amps and cables

I would recommend a headphone AMP like the OPPO HA-2SE or Schitt Valhalla 2 along with their DAC's to get the most of these headphones

Period!As long as you have the correct amp for a headphone (this isn't synergy but there is a measurable science behind this), and you're not clipping and of course the amp must be audibly transparent, all of those amps will sound the same

Period!As long as you have the correct amp for a headphone (this isn't synergy but there is a measurable science behind this), and you're not clipping and of course the amp must be audibly transparent, all of those amps will sound the same

Both are 300 Ohm headphones that shine with all tube headphone amps as well as good solid state amps, but you will need a headphone amp to get the most out of these well built and great sounding headphones

The best headphone you will ever hear, but make sure to get a good amp

I gave up expecting decent sound from ripped files years ago, good headphones are a brutal test for any equipment; current sound source for these headphones - Marantz CD player and Yamaha Integrated Amp

lot)What's the best amp to drive these?

They need a fairly powerful headphone amp if you want the best sound - your portable iPod probably isn't up to the task unassisted

but you'll need a good amp to pair with them

I am using the the Teac HA P50 portable headphone amp to drive these

you start to use the Sennheiser HD 650 headphones, you will most likely feel that this was one of the best music listening headphones at the price point of approximately $400.00 to $500.00.To obtain the maximum sound quality of the Sennheiser HD 650 headphones, you will need a good quality stereo pre-amp and or stereo amplifier to power the headphones

They scale extremely well from basic to really expensive DACs and amps.

If your device can't provide that voltage, even an inexpensive headphone amp like a Schitt Magni-2 will provide more than enough voltage and audio quality for these headphones.

I use affordable amps the Schiit

An old stereo receiver, a cheap portable amp, literally anything to give them the power they crave.

They are hard to drive at 300 ohms, but a decent amp should drive these without issue

I will keep this cans and I will purchase a portable amp so that I can enjoy my iPod (Send station pocket dock recommended).

I recommend a separate DAC/ AMP that can produce clean power

If you plug a Les Paul into a solid state practice amp, you might not be impressed with the results

so if used without adequate power they probably would not have the big tight and punchy bass as they have with a good quality high power headphone amp

I'm sure a more expensive/refined amp system would be even better,

Don't use the HD650's with any source other than a good headphone amp, and if you have the Icon HDP, follow the steps above

I don't own so powerful headphone amp yet

I also wanted to point out that these headphones might just seriously require a good amp

At 300 ohms, they require a pretty solid headphone amp to shine, one designed for a 300 ohm load.

So Please note ( Source, DAC, proper amp, all this matters to get full out of this headphones)

When you're on the go the IFI Black Label is a portable DAC amp to power your HD 650 when you're away from home.

but make sure you have a decent amp in line too

With a solid state amp, they just sound like the have a high quality tube amp in the mix

My biggest fear with purchasing HD650's was needing a super duper $1000 amp to drive them.

I think I could get more out of them with a better amp

Using a decent amp and DAC, it rivals and often surpasses headphones double and triple it's price.

I'm not 100 % sure but checked online headfi.org other online 3 volt 500 mv - 32 ohm, everyone says they incredible scales with powerful amp

I also found out they required a proper amp to drive them; so I bought a Little Dot MK III at the same time.

However with a good amp/dac I'm often sit back in blissful heaven listening to music open back headphone design is really quite amazing

what you put into embe prepared to spend as much if not more on a good amp-dacplug these into a schiit lyr tube amp with some nos orange globe tubes and hang on for the ride of your lifeopen back-well,not much to say here-these were not made to be on the go

I'm sure a more expensive/refined amp system would be even better,

great.ive paired these with headroom's portable micro amp and they work great together.

It's not a joke -- buy an amp

I plan on building a Crack Headphone Amp to power these even further, but right now I'm loving what I'm hearing.

great.ive paired these with headroom's portable micro amp and they work great together.

Is it worth stepping up from the hd hd 598 yes as long as one has a decent amp

These sound amazing although when I first purchased them I didn't have a suitable amp for

No need for an extra amp sound great with good volume direct from my Marantz CD Player or my Pioneer Elite Reciever

An old stereo receiver, a cheap portable amp, literally anything to give them the power they crave.

Most cheap Amp's won't power these

Bought the portable amp for my ipod, figured it should increase my satisfaction with both the 650 and

Actually I would highly recommend a headphone amp such as one from [...]

After finding a proper amp to drive them I place my order and spent the next 24 hours barely able to contain my excitement

Assuming you don't sweat as much as me, you'll never want to take them off :pAs a newbie to higher end audio equipment, I bought a somewhat cheap DAC/amps,

It's because these headphones are 300 ohms and require a pretty decent amp.

HD650's sound great with a light weight portable amp like a FiiO 11 or 17 (with too much power you will deafen others in the room - 650's are really open back!).

Don't forget to get a proper amp due to the impedance of these.

Even though he nails it!Over the past few weeks, I have performed multiple "tests" comparing the HD650s to the HD590s - through the new HeadRoom Portable Micro Amp, which has plenty of power to drive the big 650 cans

For the DAC, I ditched the Dragonfly and Modi because the Modi was worse than the other options and I already had a Creative X-Fi Titanium HD, and its DAC sounded very good to me (roughly the same as Dragonfly).For the Amp, I decided to

So this "scaling with expensive amps" mentioned in the opening paragraph essentially means listening to the various amounts of second harmonic distortions of tube amps.

provided you have a decent amp the bass is fine.

Paired with a proper Amp and DAC and given some time, the Sennheiser HD650 lives up to its position on the throne of sub-$500 headphones

I bought these headphones a year ago and they sound amazing (paired with a good amp)

For maximum enjoyment listen in a very quiet environment and use high quality source material and a good amp

You can drive it amazingly well with a Cayin C5 portable amp

Either way you go, for music, movies or games both pairs of cans are extremely comfortable for long listening sessions but you will need a good DAC/Amp to really appreciate either.

The people at Sennheiser have created a truly classic piece of equipment--with the right companion equipment (proper amp and source material) these headphones will bring you to tears

Fares excellent in general useCons:- Requires a powerful amp to reach its full

these sound fantastic with a schiit modi 2 uber dac & magini 2 uber amp.

Of course you need to pair these up with a nice amp for it to

Second these are very power hungry and you good a good strong amp to drive them, not good for computer use without a headphone amp, and the soundstage is odd

As long as you can a good enough amp that is transparent, a HD 650 will sound as good as it gets

With a good headphone amp, these 'phones sound simply amazing

I personally would recommend pairing the HD650 with a nice solid-state amp.

AND saving significant money over just about any decent retail headphone amp)

Drive them with a decent amp of course

iPhone/iPod with its up-to-the-minute tech and styling, hooked up to my homebuilt tube amp, designed to evoke in miniature the great Marantz tube amps of the past

For those who want the quality but don't like the idea of spending hundreds on an amplifier, Headroom ([...]) has their own brand of cheap, portable headphone amps that work

I know there are more powerful headphone amps out there, but this thing at about 2 o'clock on the dial can bounce these HD650's around on my head, and it's crystal clear

Even without burn-in, and an expensive amp and listening to a 128kbps file in itunes, you will want to throw out your old headphones, you will look at them with disgust and you will start ripping everything you own at lossless

They're probably right, and eventually I will get around to upgrading to an adequate amp and an external DAC, but even at a base level, these headphones have been a treat

Transparent wrt the audible domainIf two amps are audibly transparent, they will sound the same minus placebo, irrespective of one being better or vice Verma

not a rip off also amazing sound quality recommend getting an amp for them.

Using them with Fiio E11k currently (i know its underpowered) as i have no other amp with me right now

I had to have these headphones!Well, I bought the Sennheiser HD650s on Amazon a few weeks ago (at an AMAZING price), and bought a HeadRoom Portable Micro headphone amp to drive them.

So you can get wonderful enjoyment out of this set of cans even with a solid state amp section

You can use them with a more expensive "audiophile" headphone amp, but that is unlikely to really improve the overall sound if you are looking for "accuracy" in reproduction.

Combine these headphones with a good headphone amp, and a digital-in for your lossless music rips, and there is little else can do to make it any better.

If you cant afford a good amp for these like the $100 schiit magni 3 they will not be reaching there full potential but will still sound good

and I was using an Oppo 105 player with their excellent headphone amp

As noted by most reviews, great sound and detail and really needs a proper amp to get the best sound out of these

On that flip side, not having a strong enough amp or listening to bad music is going to make your time with these bad

I own solid state and tube amps I prefer the solid state for kick ass and tube for kicking back.

Not so easy to drive so you'd better get a decent amp.

The HD650 not so much, i would consider this a strict desktop home audio set up with a good amp needed to get full potential out of the headphones.

then a whole new appreciation for my A900's was that I have a great headphone amp for them and they now sound better then ever

Apparently the HD650 is great, but at the same time is "veiled", with a "dark sound signature"; it's also "hard to drive", "picky about amps, scaling with more expensive amps into the >$1000 territory".

Don't really understand why the 650's would get anything under a 5 star because they're pretty much always rated the best under $1k and it shows with a decent dac/amp

In addition, the 701's NEED a good amp to sound good but these (while benefiting from a good amp) don't suffer as much with more common equipment

If you cant afford a good amp for these like the $100 schiit magni 3 they will not be reaching there full potential but will still sound good

If you want something for your i-pod or other portable gizmo, these will work *only* if you invest in a good headphone amp.

There are very good solid state headphone amps for the 650, and Musical Fidelity makes a great tubed output stage that will take the edge off a lot of solid state preamps

They're hands down the best amp for these headphones.

If you’re looking to upgrade to these from something like a HD558 or 598 I would say go to an audio store that can provide you with a burned in set of headphones with good quality DAC/Amp and the listen to the kind of music you like

I used a decent amp on all headphones

I lost my Creek amp, spent a few weeks sourcing plans and parts, got a buddy to help me cut, smooth, weld, powdercoat and drill my chassis, then spent a couple of nights putting everything together, switching resistors and pots to balance the sound, adjusting bias and setting up for the high end of the HD650's rated input voltage, cleaning the silver contacts, and setting up

After reading countless reviews, I was led to believe that HD650s require really nice amp or can be very flawed

If you are using them on a portable amp (which will have less prodigious bass than a home unit due to power supply limitations), the slight bass hump may really help the sound.

The included 1/4 inch to 1/8 inch adapter is extremely useful when using the headphone with a portable amp (i.e. Fiio E7).HD650 is also the most comfortable headphones that I ever had

In this whole time I've only owned a small portable iBasso D2 - Viper headphone amp

For those who want the quality but don't like the idea of spending hundreds on an amplifier, Headroom ([...]) has their own brand of cheap, portable headphone amps that work

If you're spending the kind of dough for a headset like these, it makes sense to invest at least as much in a good amp to drive them to their potential

If you like a laid-back, really mellow phone with no personality, you might like these

I am etiher getting accustomed to the sound or they are improving as I use them more

In excellent condition as well--almost as if they were never opened :D Thank you!

So I looked at Sennheiser other phones as well as

and I absolutely love them months after purchasing just as much as I did the first day.

The HD650's may not have the fancy technologies of orthodynamic or electrostatic units, nor the pricey parts and accessories, but they definitely sound nearly as good and even better in some ways

I have found they sound marvelous with vintage Marantz receivers that can be obtained inexpensively, as well as from modern dedicated headphone amps