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Replacement HD650 cable |
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morris_minor
Moderator Group Joined: 27 Mar 2012 Location: Surrey Status: Offline Points: 6017 |
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Hi-fidelity in practise means different things to different people IMO. When so much music is created in a studio the "realism" is in the ears of the producer, and we, the consumers, have to aspire to a sound we assume the producer wanted. It's a bit easier with pure acoustic recordings as we all think we know what real instruments sounds like.
But at the last orchestral concert I went to (the LSO), I was struck by how the balance was not like what I would have considered a "good" orchestral recording. High woodwind pierced the full sound in a way you never hear on record, for instance. And as for the dynamics.... no contest of course. Hifi equipment has an impossible job, and compromises are everywhere. We choose what suits us, both in sound quality and cost. That we don't all choose the same doesn't automatically invalidate the kit we disregard. HD650s, which I have along with D7000s, LCD2s and Shure IEMs, have a different presentation from the others, but they are no-less "hi-fi". Some recordings I have sound better through these than, say, the LCD2s. Obviously YMMV |
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Bob
Majestic DAC/pre-amp Accession MC/Enigma, Accession MM, Reflex M, Elevator EXP, Era Gold V Solo ULDE, Novo, Lautus USB and digital, Libran balanced, CuSat50 2 x Proprius + Spatia/Spatia Links |
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Fatmangolf
Moderator Group Joined: 23 Dec 2009 Location: Middlesbrough Status: Offline Points: 8998 |
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+1 on Bob's wise words
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Jon
Open mind and ears whilst owning GSP Genera, Accession M, Accession MC, Elevator EXP, Solo ULDE, Proprius amps, Cusat50 cables, Lautus digital cable, Spatia cables and links, and a Majestic DAC. |
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jamescodway
Senior Member Joined: 17 May 2008 Location: Wembley, UK Status: Offline Points: 320 |
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What were your impressions when you listened to the HD650? Best James
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Voyager - HD25
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Ash
Senior Member Joined: 18 Mar 2013 Location: Dorset Status: Offline Points: 4334 |
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...and this is where I lose my credibility... I have only used the HD600, not the HD650. I owned the HD600 for one year before selling them. I have reason to believe (from the opinions of several other reviewers) that the HD600 and HD650 sound very very similar, with some subtle differences. These reviewers stated that the HD650 is more coloured than the more neutral HD600, from their listening tests. I listened to the Sennheiser HD600 myself quite thoroughly through my Lautus USB cable and Bitzie DAC and the sound was mostly neutral, apart from upper bass frequencies protruding out of the mixes. I listen to a lot of orchestral soundtracks and the upper bass emphasis was a trait that seemed to reoccur throughout the tracks. The upper registers of a double bass seemed to be presented louder than the rest of the bass. I just felt that the bass of the HD600 was not neutral. The HD600 is very good (the midrange is really beautiful!! ) and I'm sure that the HD650 likely has this same characteristic. I guess I'm a bit of a purist in that I only consider "hi-fi" devices to be a tool that the sound engineer can use for monitoring, mixing and mastering. When I say "not hi-fi", I don't mean that the device is a poor performer, I simply feel that the device lacks some sonic honesty, that's all. Not trying to undermine people or their choices of equipment. I'm just trying to use some reasoning and I'm aware that the opinions of people are always going to vary.
Hopefully I haven't upset anyone or savaged anyone beyond forgiveness. |
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We do not see things as they are. We see things as we are.
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gbr2004uk
Senior Member Joined: 23 Jul 2009 Location: UK Status: Offline Points: 105 |
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That's really interesting, thanks Bob. I'll tell you something -- for years I've been a subscriber to the wonderful Naxos Music Library. When I first joined I paid for the top quality sound -- in those days I think there were 3 price ranges, CD, near-CD, and FM-radio quality. It has now changed to Premium and Standard (I've no idea what they translate to in audio-maths terms). But after a season paying top rate, I thought, heck, this is coming over the internet through goodness knows how many intermediate stages, my pc and headphones or speakers are by no means top of the range (although my current pc is a bit more like it), why am I paying for a front row seat so to speak when I'm sitting at the back of the stalls (let's not quibble about whether the latter might actually be better in a concert hall!)
So I'm now with the Standard, and honestly, it's fine. Naxos is really great -- huge selection of a very wide range of music and provided you have a fast Broadband, there's no buffering etc ... No way could one ever call his hi-fi listening, whatever the definition, and yet it just suits what I want out of being able to hear good, great, indifferent, old, new music! One thing I haven't tried is whether interposing the Voyager between pc and headphones would improve it -- and I don't know if theoretically one could expect Foobar2000 to add anything? Any suggestions on the latter? On opinions and subjectivity, I recall from years ago hearing the violinist Isaac Stern in conversation with some people, and they also had a number of violins in the room (or studio). One at least was a super Strad, others were a mix of old non-Strad instruments and some by modern makers. Someone then played (it could well have been that old standby, the theme from the slow movement of Bruch #3!) the same music on different fiddles, and the assembled great and good had to guess which instrument ...etc Stern was unimpressed, saying "What we're hearing mostly is the *room* ..." And he wanted the player simply to play basic scales. I suppose such stories are legion. There's another one of someone visiting Schweitzer in Lambaréné with its suffocating humidity and heat, ruinous to any piano. It seems Schweitzer had so adapted that he didn't even realise his piano was hopelessly out of tune. OK, I'm just making excuses! Horses for courses. Cheers Brian |
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gbr2004uk
Senior Member Joined: 23 Jul 2009 Location: UK Status: Offline Points: 105 |
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The context is useful, thanks, Nuance_Ember. I knew a music teacher once and so many times I said a particular composition was wonderful, or a performance I'd heard was so enjoyable -- and so many times this musician would be so scathing and critical, this was wrong, that was awful, they didn't "bring out" a passage here or a there. So that after a while I began to wonder whether this person really liked music at all! The "enjoyment" seemed to be in the rubbishing!
I didn't think your comment about the headphone was in the same league at all, so I wasn't upset or offended but it made me think about the larger purpose. I'm a keen photographer and similar things happened on photo forums -- you'd wonder if they were looking at the actual photos aesthetically at all in some cases while they got lost in all sorts of techie things. But I don't want to be misunderstood -- of course I realise that without the technology there's no art, and clearly some designs are brilliant and others are rubbish, and the difference shows. Some concert halls have great acoustics, others, well, you know ... But to be fair to the music teacher mentioned above, I did once send them a CD I'd burned myself and I said I hoped the high frequencies weren't too shrill and the scratches didn't cause a problem. And they replied that none of it mattered because "I hear what I want to hear". Hmm... Dunno about that. Brian |
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morris_minor
Moderator Group Joined: 27 Mar 2012 Location: Surrey Status: Offline Points: 6017 |
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Brian - I'm sure that using your Voyager with your PC would improve the sound quality. I can't comment on Foobar2000 though. All I can say is try out all the combinations to see which you prefer ...
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Bob
Majestic DAC/pre-amp Accession MC/Enigma, Accession MM, Reflex M, Elevator EXP, Era Gold V Solo ULDE, Novo, Lautus USB and digital, Libran balanced, CuSat50 2 x Proprius + Spatia/Spatia Links |
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