Replacement HD650 cable

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

Nuance_Ember wrote:  If you wish to use a headphone that is as coloured as the HD650 then just buy a replacement Sennheiser HD650 (or 600) cable and be done with it,

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

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 ...