BLON B50 thread (old title: Sennheiser HD 650 + FX-Audio DAC X6)

[BetteBalterZen]

Hi LTT

Coming from years with gaming headsets, I feel like I wanna try a open-back headset for the first time. I do listen to a lot of EDM music, so bass is still important to me. I read that the Sennheiser HD 650 still deliveres an okay-ish bass while still being open-back and not breaking the bank as well when purchasing. 

But these kind of headsets usually need a DAC and/or AMP. I currently own the FX-Audio DAC X6. Would the DAC X6 work okay with the Sennheiser HD 650? 

Hope someone can help me

Thanks, and kind regards

[191x7]

FX-Audio DAC X6 should be enough for 300Ohm headphones, but have you considered a cheaper headphone option like the Sennheiser HD 560S?

[BetteBalterZen]

7 minutes ago, 191x7 said:

FX-Audio DAC X6 should be enough for 300Ohm headphones, but have you considered a cheaper headphone option like the Sennheiser HD 560S?

Thank you

No, actually, I have not. I specifically searched for open back headphones with still good bass, that did not cost 1000s of dollars. And I found that the HD600 and HD650 actually still had an okay bass, with the 650 being a tat better, though a tat worse treble but that's fine. 

And I don't mind paying 150USD more to have a bass that works alright for EDM music. 

Do you know how the 560S compares to the HD650 with bass? 

[191x7]

26 minutes ago, BetteBalterZen said:

Thank you

No, actually, I have not. I specifically searched for open back headphones with still good bass, that did not cost 1000s of dollars. And I found that the HD600 and HD650 actually still had an okay bass, with the 650 being a tat better, though a tat worse treble but that's fine. 

And I don't mind paying 150USD more to have a bass that works alright for EDM music. 

Do you know how the 560S compares to the HD650 with bass? 

Here you have the frequency response graph of the HD 650

 

And here's the 560S from the same reviewer:

 

Based on those graphs, I'd say they are really similar, maybe the 560S having a bit smoother bass and a bit more loudness on the same source.

 

I don't have hands-on experience with the HD 650 but I do own the 560S.

[BetteBalterZen]

2 minutes ago, 191x7 said:

Here you have the frequency response graph of the HD 650

 

And here's the 560S from the same reviewer:

 

Based on those graphs, I'd say they are really similar, maybe the 560S having a bit smoother bass and a bit more loudness on the same source.

 

I don't have hands-on experience with the HD 650 but I do own the 560S.

If I understand those graphs correct, the HD560S have stronger bass at 40-80Hz, and the HD650 have stronger bass at 90-200Hz? 

[191x7]

3 minutes ago, BetteBalterZen said:

If I understand those graphs correct, the HD560S have stronger bass at 40-80Hz, and the HD650 have stronger bass at 90-200Hz? 

Curve-wise yes, but re-check the Y axis on the graph first; as you can see the 560S are closer to 95 dB than the 650.

The 560S should soundwise be called a 600-series product, they kept the 500-product-series name because of the market position.

 

For the price difference you can get some nice IEM-s and maybe even another set of closed-backs. Or multiple IEM-s.

Have you tried something like the Truthear Zero, QKZ HBB Khan, 7Hz Salnotes Zero or similar?

[BetteBalterZen]

6 minutes ago, 191x7 said:

Curve-wise yes, but re-check the Y axis on the graph first; as you can see the 560S are closer to 95 dB than the 650.

The 560S should soundwise be called a 600-series product, they kept the 500-product-series name because of the market position.

 

For the price difference you can get some nice IEM-s and maybe even another set of closed-backs. Or multiple IEM-s.

Have you tried something like the Truthear Zero, QKZ HBB Khan, 7Hz Salnotes Zero or similar?

Oh, wauw, the HD560S are ~5dB louder? That's actually alot...

To be honest, I don't know any of those headphones brands haha. I've been stuck in the gaming headsets brands ever since I started using a PC. Now I wanna try a real headset, that only focuses on good sound. I just want good bass still, because I love EDM. 

Lets say this; 

I have ~3.000DKK (~440USD)
I want a wide sound stage

I want good bass (because of EDM and I love good bass in games, explosions, loud engines, you know hehe) 
And that I still wanna use my DAC X6. 

Do you have any you wanna recommend? 

And thank you so much for all help!!

[191x7]

19 minutes ago, BetteBalterZen said:

Oh, wauw, the HD560S are ~5dB louder? That's actually alot...

To be honest, I don't know any of those headphones brands haha. I've been stuck in the gaming headsets brands ever since I started using a PC. Now I wanna try a real headset, that only focuses on good sound. I just want good bass still, because I love EDM. 

Lets say this; 

I have ~3.000DKK (~440USD)
I want a wide sound stage

I want good bass (because of EDM and I love good bass in games, explosions, loud engines, you know hehe) 
And that I still wanna use my DAC X6. 

Do you have any you wanna recommend? 

And thank you so much for all help!!

Those brands (7Hz, Truthear, QKZ, KZ, Moondrop, ...) are Chinese headphone and IEM (in-ear monitor) manufacturers. Many people not in-the-hobby haven't heard about those.

 

When you say headset, is that an error or do you need the headphones to come with a microphone (headset = headphones + microphone in one unit)?

 

I have to warn you about open-back headphones, they usually aren't bass-heavy because the sound leaks and thus it's hard to boost sound pressure with lower frequencies.

Open-backs make for decently linear sets, open sound stage etc. Heavy bass usually doesn't mix well with "open sound stage" and "good directionality" since the lower frequencies easily overpower the higher, at least in regular human hearing.

 

Here's an example of a 20€ IEM with decent sound stage and directionality that also is bass heavy; the QKZ x HBB.

 

And here's my favorite gaming IEM; Truthear Zero (50€)

 

Check Amazon and AliExpress for those 2 and look also for 7Hz Salnotes Zero (20€, tuning similar to Truthear Zero) and Tangzu Wan'er.

Order any of those that you'd like. You won't be disappointed. I mean, for the prices you can even get two with different tuning and try them out. XD

 

You might also want to check fresh Reviews on youtube, his wallhack tier headphones and IEM-s.

 

The HD 560S are probably the best wallhack-tier headphones for gaming under 200€ and beat many under 500€.

And the Truthear Zero, in my experience, come really close to that. I actually switched to them from the 560S because I can't have gamer-hair at work.

So I use the 560S on weekends and such.

 

With any and all of those the DAC X6 is great!

[BetteBalterZen]

12 minutes ago, 191x7 said:

Those brands (7Hz, Truthear, QKZ, KZ, Moondrop, ...) are Chinese headphone and IEM (in-ear monitor) manufacturers. Many people not in-the-hobby haven't heard about those.

 

When you say headset, is that an error or do you need the headphones to come with a microphone (headset = headphones + microphone in one unit)?

 

I have to warn you about open-back headphones, they usually aren't bass-heavy because the sound leaks and thus it's hard to boost sound pressure with lower frequencies.

Open-backs make for decently linear sets, open sound stage etc. Heavy bass usually doesn't mix well with "open sound stage" and "good directionality" since the lower frequencies easily overpower the higher, at least in regular human hearing.

 

Here's an example of a 20€ IEM with decent sound stage and directionality that also is bass heavy; the QKZ x HBB.

 

And here's my favorite gaming IEM; Truthear Zero (50€)

 

Check Amazon and AliExpress for those 2 and look also for 7Hz Salnotes Zero (20€, tuning similar to Truthear Zero) and Tangzu Wan'er.

Order any of those that you'd like. You won't be disappointed. I mean, for the prices you can even get two with different tuning and try them out. XD

 

You might also want to check fresh Reviews on youtube, his wallhack tier headphones and IEM-s.

 

The HD 560S are probably the best wallhack-tier headphones for gaming under 200€ and beat many under 500€.

And the Truthear Zero, in my experience, come really close to that. I actually switched to them from the 560S because I can't have gamer-hair at work.

So I use the 560S on weekends and such.

 

With any and all of those the DAC X6 is great!

Thank you for explanining everything. 

And sorry; I just mean headphones. I will just over time buy an external microphone. So no need for microphone on the headphones. 

I saw these were In ear. I don't want those. Needs to be overear and that I should have said - my bad I already have KYGO in ear's and yes, the bass is heaaaavy in those. 

So what I'm getting from your suggestions; If I wanna try open back, it would make sense to try the HD560S.

But if I want headphones that focuses on good bass, I still need closed back, like my previous gaming headsets. 

You have already helped me so much and I really appreciate that, but if you have time and want to help, do you have any recommendation for any closed back headphones? 

[191x7]

19 minutes ago, BetteBalterZen said:

Thank you for explanining everything. 

And sorry; I just mean headphones. I will just over time buy an external microphone. So no need for microphone on the headphones. 

I saw these were In ear. I don't want those. Needs to be overear and that I should have said - my bad I already have KYGO in ear's and yes, the bass is heaaaavy in those. 

So what I'm getting from your suggestions; If I wanna try open back, it would make sense to try the HD560S.

But if I want headphones that focuses on good bass, I still need closed back, like my previous gaming headsets. 

You have already helped me so much and I really appreciate that, but if you have time and want to help, do you have any recommendation for any closed back headphones? 

I know you need over-ears, I mentioned those IEM-s because I know you can afford to try at least one of them, and you should. And I know you'd love them.

 

For closed-back, AKG K361 would probably take my recommendation although I'm not sure how good those are for gaming. Reviewers like them.

 

The closed-back I owned were the HyperX Cloud (Takstar Pro80) and they were good. But miles worse for Battlefield, CoD, PUBG and such games that I heavily play.

 

I am not an audio reviewer or audio enthusiast. I'm just a competitive shooter player who's a huge techie, enthusiast and who just recently entered the IEM hobby.

 

Edit: What were your previous gaming headsets?

Just please don't tell Razer, Logitech, Steelseries, Corsair or Astro, my 13€ Moondrop Quarks DSP beats all of their products in gaming.

[BetteBalterZen]

29 minutes ago, 191x7 said:

I know you need over-ears, I mentioned those IEM-s because I know you can afford to try at least one of them, and you should. And I know you'd love them.

 

For closed-back, AKG K361 would probably take my recommendation although I'm not sure how good those are for gaming. Reviewers like them.

 

The closed-back I owned were the HyperX Cloud (Takstar Pro80) and they were good. But miles worse for Battlefield, CoD, PUBG and such games that I heavily play.

 

I am not an audio reviewer or audio enthusiast. I'm just a competitive shooter player who's a huge techie, enthusiast and who just recently entered the IEM hobby.

 

Edit: What were your previous gaming headsets?

Just please don't tell Razer, Logitech, Steelseries, Corsair or Astro, my 13€ Moondrop Quarks DSP beats all of their products in gaming.

"I know you need over-ears, I mentioned those IEM-s because I know you can afford to try at least one of them, and you should. And I know you'd love them." Well, you certainly did sell them quite well with that sentence. I think though for now I wanna stay with some - then now - closed-back headphones. 

I will take a look at the AKG K361/371 and see how they perform and compare to other headphones. Thank you again for suggestion here. 

And sorry to disappoint; previous headsets have been Logitech, Corsair and Steelseries. I'm currently using the Steelseries Arctic Pro + GameDAC. These are okay though, I just feel like they could be much better.  

[191x7]

3 minutes ago, BetteBalterZen said:

...
And sorry to disappoint; previous headsets have been Logitech, Corsair and Steelseries. I'm currently using the Steelseries Arctic Pro + GameDAC. These are okay though, I just feel like they could be much better.  

My friend@B1GLeo went from those Arctic Pro with the GameDAC to the Sennheiser HD 560S. Guess what he says...

... best audio upgrade of his life. And he was on high-end Steelseries headsets for 10+ years.

I somehow managed to persuade him to try those in a store (luckily he's in Germany and was near a store with headphones you can try) and it was love on first sound.

But the GameDAC should be fine.

[BetteBalterZen]

Just now, 191x7 said:

My friend@B1GLeo went from those Arctic Pro with the GameDAC to the Sennheiser HD 560S. Guess what he says...

... best audio upgrade of his life. And he was on high-end Steelseries headsets for 10+ years.

I somehow managed to persuade him to try those in a store (luckily he's in Germany and was near a store with headphones you can try) and it was love on first sound.

But the GameDAC should be fine.

Wauw okay... I think I've been fooling myself with the wrong headsets and that +2000 DKK is needed for good sound (that is not actually that good sound appearently...) 

So glad you took your time to help here, explaining everything, giving suggestions and so on. Really appreciate it. 

I've looked a bit on the AKG K371, which cost around 1400DKK, which is just fine and way within my budget.

Looking at this graph here from rtings:


The K371 should have pretty good bass, would you agree? Not that I will hang you on your comment or anything. 

If I compare to the Arctis Pro GameDAC, the K371 seems to be a clear upgrade: 


I feel like I'm aiming for the AKG K371 now... Will read up on it a bit more before doing anything of course. 

[191x7]

1 minute ago, BetteBalterZen said:

Wauw okay... I think I've been fooling myself with the wrong headsets and that +2000 DKK is needed for good sound (that is not actually that good sound appearently...) 

So glad you took your time to help here, explaining everything, giving suggestions and so on. Really appreciate it. 

I've looked a bit on the AKG K371, which cost around 1400DKK, which is just fine and way within my budget.

Looking at this graph here from rtings:

The K371 should have pretty good bass, would you agree? Not that I will hang you on your comment or anything. 

If I compare to the Arctis Pro GameDAC, the K371 seems to be a clear upgrade: 


I feel like I'm aiming for the AKG K371 now... Will read up on it a bit more before doing anything of course. 

Actually, in todays market, 185 DKK is enough for great gaming audio ( QKZ x HBB + a USB-C DAC from AliExpress + A USB-C to USB-A adapter) and better than most gaming headsets on the market.

 

What people don't know - one can get a 500 DKK HyperX Cloud, pair it with a cheap AMP/DAC and have great immersive gaming audio with decent audio accuracy.

Cause those are the Takstar Pro 80 monitoring headphones with an added microphone. And they need a stronger soundcard or DAC to sound the best they can.

And if you add 150 DKK earpads from Brainwavz on those, you get a comfortable set.

 

Good gaming audio, even for competitive/ranked purposes isn't expensive, it's just filled with trash and cashgrab companies releasing headphones that make the looks, branding and everything a priority above sound quality. That's sad. And people get under the marketing spell.

 

Not sure what the differences between K361 and K371 are. But should be fine. I wouldn't discard the 560s though if I were you.

 

 

[BetteBalterZen]

17 minutes ago, 191x7 said:

Actually, in todays market, 185 DKK is enough for great gaming audio ( QKZ x HBB + a USB-C DAC from AliExpress + A USB-C to USB-A adapter) and better than most gaming headsets on the market.

 

What people don't know - one can get a 500 DKK HyperX Cloud, pair it with a cheap AMP/DAC and have great immersive gaming audio with decent audio accuracy.

Cause those are the Takstar Pro 80 monitoring headphones with an added microphone. And they need a stronger soundcard or DAC to sound the best they can.

And if you add 150 DKK earpads from Brainwavz on those, you get a comfortable set.

 

Good gaming audio, even for competitive/ranked purposes isn't expensive, it's just filled with trash and cashgrab companies releasing headphones that make the looks, branding and everything a priority above sound quality. That's sad. And people get under the marketing spell.

 

Not sure what the differences between K361 and K371 are. But should be fine. I wouldn't discard the 560s though if I were you.

 

 

Roger that, to everything. 

I will have my eyes on the AKG K371 and the HD 560S, will look at reviews, stuff like that. But I feel like I'm probably trying one of these two. 

Thank you again, for all your time. 

@B1GLeo Hi B1GLeo, I saw that @191x7 said you came from the Arctis Pro + GameDAC to the HD 560S and that you loved the HD 560S's. But how does bass compare? More or less? I hope you can share your experience with the bass specifically. But please only do so, if you have time and want to. 

[B1GLeo]

2 hours ago, BetteBalterZen said:

Roger that, to everything. 

I will have my eyes on the AKG K371 and the HD 560S, will look at reviews, stuff like that. But I feel like I'm probably trying one of these two. 

Thank you again, for all your time. 

@B1GLeo Hi B1GLeo, I saw that @191x7 said you came from the Arctis Pro + GameDAC to the HD 560S and that you loved the HD 560S's. But how does bass compare? More or less? I hope you can share your experience with the bass specifically. But please only do so, if you have time and want to.

 

2 hours ago, BetteBalterZen said:

Roger that, to everything. 

I will have my eyes on the AKG K371 and the HD 560S, will look at reviews, stuff like that. But I feel like I'm probably trying one of these two. 

Thank you again, for all your time. 

@B1GLeo Hi B1GLeo, I saw that @191x7 said you came from the Arctis Pro + GameDAC to the HD 560S and that you loved the HD 560S's. But how does bass compare? More or less? I hope you can share your experience with the bass specifically. But please only do so, if you have time and want to. 

Hello,

 

I can say with 100% assurance I would take hd560s over steelseries products any day or night, both sound quality, clarity and build quality. They are also amazingly light compared to steelseries and make longer sessions an ease.

 

Regarding bass they are on par or even better, I have been using hd560s for more than half a year.

 

Trust me get hd560s.

 

 

[BetteBalterZen]

9 minutes ago, B1GLeo said:

 

Hello,

 

I can say with 100% assurance I would take hd560s over steelseries products any day or night, both sound quality, clarity and build quality. They are also amazingly light compared to steelseries and make longer sessions an ease.

 

Regarding bass they are on par or even better, I have been using hd560s for more than half a year.

 

Trust me get hd560s.

 

 

Thank you very much, I appreciate your reponse. 

[191x7]

1 hour ago, BetteBalterZen said:

Thank you very much, I appreciate your reponse. 

Look what just released

 

https://youtu.be/JnoTJ75vW4E

[BetteBalterZen]

2 hours ago, 191x7 said:

Look what just released

 

https://youtu.be/JnoTJ75vW4E

I have just seen the video. Don't know the dude or his channel but damn he looks like one that knows his stuff haha, and yeah, those BLON B50s seem fantastic from he is saying. 

Shame I can't find any frequency graphs like for other headsets. Would have loved to compare these with the HD 560S and AKG K371.

Seems like there's no real EU reseller though

[BetteBalterZen]

So I wrote this on the video, and no - I did not expect Z Reviews to reply - but why not. Some dude then replied this, haha



Maybe these B50s are not as good as Z Reviews says and atleast not better than the HD 560S or AKG K371? 

Again, I don't know Z Reviews, if he's honest or a sell out. Seems like he knows his stuff for sure but yeah...

[191x7]

I watched a ton of his videos.

Now i wonder, if you've watched headphone reviews but never came across Zeos Pantera, whose videos did you watch?!

 

 

[BetteBalterZen]

9 minutes ago, 191x7 said:

I watched a ton of his videos.

Now i wonder, if you've watched headphone reviews but never came across Zeos Pantera, whose videos did you watch?!

 

 

"I watched a ton of his videos." And he's legit? If you could chose, would you chose the HD560S or B50? 

Honestly, I've only seen videos from LTT and other YouTubers like LTT, that for years only really reviewed gaming headsets, but from time to time I've read up on Rtings.com reviews.

[191x7]

10 minutes ago, BetteBalterZen said:

"I watched a ton of his videos." And he's legit? If you could chose, would you chose the HD560S or B50? 

Honestly, I've only seen videos from LTT and other YouTubers like LTT, that for years only really reviewed gaming headsets, but from time to time I've read up on Rtings.com reviews.

Time to catch up with:

Joshua Valour

BadSeed Tech

Optimum Tech

The Honest Audiophile

GizAudio

Bad Guy Good Audio Reviews

Crinacle+

Sharur

The headphone show

Mike O'brien

CheapAudioMan

Dankpods

Mark Ellis Reviews

InnerFidelity

... And many others

 

Btw Zeos does not play competitive. When he games, it's those immersive games that he likes to hear explosions or soundtracks in.

[BetteBalterZen]

1 minute ago, 191x7 said:

Time to catch up with:

Joshua Valour

BadSeed Tech

Optimum Tech

The Honest Audiophile

GizAudio

Bad Guy Good Audio Reviews

Crinacle+

Sharur

The headphone show

Mike O'brien

CheapAudioMan

Dankpods

Mark Ellis Reviews

InnerFidelity

... And many others

 

Btw Zeos does not play competitive. When he games, it's those immersive games that he likes to hear explosions or soundtracks in.

This is gold. Thank you! 

[BetteBalterZen]

4 hours ago, 191x7 said:

Look what just released

 

https://youtu.be/JnoTJ75vW4E

Well, I guess I'm gonna give the B50s a try...