Sennheiser HD 650 Review: Beautiful and Premium Studio Headphones

Last updated on 2022-09-19
By Yvonne

Sennheiser HD 650 review: Premium studio headphonesThe Sennheiser HD 650s don't come cheap. These headphones are excellent for professionals, with a great frequency response and solid feel.

Sennheiser HD 650

We like this

Sound of high quality
Quality construction
Sleek, professional design

The Things We Hate

Fit for tightening and clamping
Case study of hyper-specific uses
Prices tag:

Sennheiser HD650 headphones can be a great choice for professional audio producers and audiophiles. However, they might not be affordable for most consumers.

This article explains

The Design and Installation Process
Comfort and Fit
Qualitative Construction
Sound Quality
Price
Concurrence
Final Verdict
Specifications

The Sennheiser HD 650 was purchased by us so that our expert reviewer could fully test it and evaluate it. Continue reading to see our complete product review.

Sennheiser's HD 650 headphones were designed for professional musicians and audiophiles. There's really no getting around that fact—if you want to pick up a pair of HD 650s, you have to consider just how specialized they are, and just how their performance can be under-utilized or, at worst, completely misaligned. They place the highest priority on sound quality and invest most of their funds in the driver construction and open-back design. These headphones are not cheap, they're sturdy, and you shouldn't expect to find flashy features or extras on high-end headphones.

We give the HD 650 a strong thumbs-up for all these reasons, with one caveat: You need to be clear about what they are being used for and when. Below, we'll discuss the various applications.

Setup and Design: In line with all Sennheiser's Pro-Focused Models

The majority of Sennheiser high-end headphones are almost identical. The earcups are almost 5 inches long at the longest point. They look like a squashed oval. Sennheiser places them on the ear in a reverse orientation to achieve a natural appearance and standard fitting. We tested the unit in dark grey gunmetal, which is slightly shimmery. Ear cups come in a darker gray shade, which allows for some contrast.

The cup's exterior is protected by a mesh metal cage. This protects the driver and allows for the inside to shine through. It also provides an open soundstage, which improves the quality of the sound. But we will get to this in the next section.

Sennheiser's logo is printed along the top of each headband. The HD 650 model number, which is etched in a match-colored rectangle just above the ear cups, is also screen-printed. The design of this headphones is simple and elegant.

These are much more simple than the Sennheiser 600's speckled blue. We find this design to be very elegant. Whether you're using these for daily music listening or you're having clients over for a mixing session, they won't distract from their main purpose—delivering rich, beautiful, and detailed sound.

There isn't much to say about setup. The headphones are plug-and-play, so long as you have a digital to-analog converter and a headphone amplifier that can support them. We'll get to that in a moment.

Comfort and Fit - Velvety and soft with some pressure at the ears

Comfort is more important than sound quality when choosing headphones for audiophiles or producers. We found the Sennheiser HD650 studio headphones to be among our most comfortable.

The majority of headphones available on the market are referred to as 'closed back'. This means they create a seal around your ears that helps isolate sound from background noise and keep it out. Open back headphones like the HD 650 have earcups that create a more breathable area around the ears. The HD 650 has this advantage as it lets air flow. This means that your ears will not get too hot while listening to long periods. It also produces a very natural soundstage, which we will discuss in the sound quality section.

These headphones wore well for the entire week that we had them. The HD 650 is expected to last many years in a studio or home setting.

Earpads are made from a soft and velvety material which provides comfort for your ears. It is much more comfortable than most headphones' smoother and pleather materials. The only problem with the pads is the firmness and springiness of the memory foam inside. This is not as soft as those used in consumer models. This creates a snug fit and holds your head well, but can cause discomfort if you use it for a long time.

The fit of your head will determine how tight or loose the suit is. The open-back cups permit air flow to the ears. However, tightening the velvet can restrict airflow below that area. The fit of headphones is a matter of personal preference. So take this information with a grain.

Quality of Build: Strong, provided they are kept in the Studio.

As with many headphones on this price range, the main focus was sound quality. The sound-producing regions received a great deal of attention. Sennheiser claims that the neodymium driver is of high quality. However, they have included a special acoustic fabric called'specially-designed sonic silk' in order to reduce harmonic distortion and dampen artifacts. The sound quality and premium materials you get are a testament to this.

The construction of the headphones is largely the same from the outside. The design of the HD 650 is a high-end set of headphones. However, we feel that the HD 650's handfeel is more solid than the HD 600. Although the headband has plastic covering, it is strong and stiff so you shouldn't experience any cracking. The guiding metal band inside the headband has slightly more give than our HD 600. We were able to be more confident that the size adjustment mechanism would last for a long time.

This headphone is made for audiophiles and studio listeners.

This cable is much stronger than the HD 600 or other comparable cables. Sennheiser selected the cable for one of its premium upgrades, along with the silk mentioned earlier. The cable has a high breakpoint and is well-suited to headphones. The wires can be detached from the individual cups, so that if the cables fail you will simply need to replace it.

The velvet-covered foam in the earcups, and the microfiber covered foam inside the headband feel premium. These headphones wore well for the entire week that we had them. The HD 650 is expected to last many years in a studio or home setting.

Sound Quality - Beautifully rich for certain applications

The sound quality of headphones this high-quality is mixed. It's not easy to understand, particularly if you don't know much about specifications. Frequency response is the most important aspect. The headphones can cover anything from 10 Hz up to 39.5 KHz. Although the range of hearing in humans is 20 Hz-20 kHz theoretically, most people hear much less due to subtle damage. Sennheiser offers a bit more below 20Hz to make sure all frequencies, even sub-harmonics, are present to you.

These headphones also offer a lot more range than the theoretical limits. The range that you are able to get is not limited by the headphones' limits, so distortions of this kind are less likely. Simply put, while you may not hear all that is possible, what you hear will be more precise.

Unless you have a good headphone amplifier, DAC or audio interface, the high ohm counts will mean you leave a lot more volume and detail behind.

This is what's important. The headphones were designed to be used as studio monitors and have a flat frequency response. This means that you will not experience any bass accentuation like with consumer headphones and you won't hear cutting highs as in earbuds or telephone headsets. You'll instead hear all the information as it is presented, or close to it. This pair of headphones is designed to listen to pristine sound in a recording studio, or any other audiophile environment. Unless you have a good headphone amplifier, DAC or audio interface, the high ohm counts will mean you won't be able to hear as much volume and detail.

The open-back design will allow you to hear the outside world, but it won't be as effective at blocking out noises as closed-back headphones. However, this allows you to enjoy a more natural soundstage. These headphones proved to be accurate in our testing. We noticed a lot of imperfections in the mix we heard during testing. These headphones are the best if accuracy and details are what you want.

Cost: Arbitrarily higher than the step down

Sennheiser's HD 650 headphones are expensive. They retail for $499. The HD 650 is almost the same price on Amazon as the HD 600, with the exception of $100. There is a slight difference in the price of these headphones. The HD 650 is slightly more durable, has a slightly higher frequency response, and offers better build quality. These are the things you care about, so get the HD 650. There are many other choices if you're looking to save some money.

Competiton: Some household names weigh in against

Sennheiser HD 600As mentioned above, the HD 600 is slightly more expensive, but it will allow you to have a better build quality, and less harmonic distortion.

Sennheiser Pro 280 Pro:Sennheiser’s most popular closed-back monitor is much cheaper than open-back models, and doesn’t provide as good detail or response time. The 280 Pro monitor is a good backup.

Beyerdynamic 990 -Beyerdynamic is very comparable in comfort and build quality to the HD 650. You'll also save a bit of money, provided you don't require the HD 650's response time and detail.

Final Verdict

Unbeatable detail, at a high price

The HD 650 is a great product, even at a premium price. The HD 650 does exactly what it's supposed to do, producing excellent detail and plenty of headroom at both the high-frequency and low frequency frequencies. They do this with an elegant, comfortable style that you won't get from many brands. The Sennheiser HD 650 is the best choice for professionals and audiophiles.