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Get the HE-500 --- http://www.headphonereviewhq.com/get/he500/ Get the HD 650 --- http://www.headphonereviewhq.com/get/hd650/ Full review of the Sennheiser HD 650's can be found here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EbgSepqEYhY Full review of the HiFiMAN HE-500's is coming soon - will have the link when it's posted. I'll get asked a lot, what is my preference. If your neck can take the weight of the HE-500's, they are my favorite, and not by a tiny margin. The midrange, the incredible speed and the overall presentation of the HE-500's is just seductive. Not since the Beyerdynamic T1's (which are now more than double the price of the HE-500) have I felt this drawn to a headphone. Now, please don't take that the wrong way - if I happened to have some HD 650's as my daily drivers, I would in NO WAY be an unhappy man. The HD 650's are one of the best sets of dynamic headphones I've listened to. It's just that the planar magnetic technology is really something else. The 650's are definitely a fine sounding piece of work, but I just personally prefer the more intimate, more natural sounding HE-500. HE-500 Pros: - Bass - quality, depth, impact, accuracy...just killer - Midrange - I believe this may be the best I've heard...period - Treble - detailed and smooth (after burn in) - non-fatiguing - Fantastic soundstage - Multiple pads (leather/microfiber) HE-500 Cons: - HEAVY - the heaviest set of headphones I've tried - a touch over 1 pound - Cables - They're a high quality twisted pair set of cables, but wow do they tangle easy and are a pain to wrap up to store - Some say they are hard to drive - I found I was able to push them without crazy equipment - I think most who say they are difficult to drive are using tube amps, and that's a whole different ball park HD 650 Pros: - Strong, accurate bass - boosted for those who like the sound - Smooth, engaging mids a touch on the cooler side so easy to listen to for longer periods of time - Also detailed treble that is non-fatiguing and easy to listen to - Much lighter than the HE-500 - Like the cables much better than the HE-500's - Tall, engulfing soundstage - Fairly easy to drive with a decent portable or desktop amplifier HD 650 Cons: - Clamping pressure - Feels veiled compared to the HE-500's when A/B'ing directly - Bass bleeds into the mids giving a darker tone - different amps help here - Bass rolls of around 30Hz where the HE-500's reach further down Wrapping up, to me, other than the cables on the HE-500 and the sheer body-builder neck you must possess to wear them, they are in my top two headphones I've ever tried. The HD-650's, if I were to place them just off the top of my head, they're probably in the 4-5 area of my tops - not shabby by any means! Hopefully this has given you some insights as to the differences of these headphones and I hope this has helped you out. Come join the conversations on Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/headphonereviewhq Tweet me! @headphonehq My home on the interwebs... http://www.headphonereviewhq.com/ Get the HE-500 --- http://www.headphonereviewhq.com/get/he500/ Get the HD 650 --- http://www.headphonereviewhq.com/get/hd650/
