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

[191x7]

2 hours ago, BetteBalterZen said:

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

Let me know.

[Stan2292]

a few things...

 

1. you said you want a pair of headsets but you are looking at hd650 which is a headphone. so i'm not sure what you actually want

2. assuming you want headphones not headsets at hd650's price range, hd650 isn't a bad choice. you can also try hifiman xs but planar sounds different and you need to experience it for yourself to see if you are into planar in general

3. dacs don't impact sound that much. good dacs have low noise floor and low harmonic distortion. in terms of sound "quality", i double you can tell the difference between a good $300 dac and a good $1,000 dac. you mentioned you like bass. then maybe considering buying a dac that comes with a desktop app that lets you eq the sound

4. what does impact the sound a lot is amp. you are looking at hd650 which has 300ohm of impedence. you need a headphone amp for that. amp does greatly change the soundscape. some amps make the sound warmer, some amps gives you more bass etc. a lot of them come with knobs that let you adjust bass/mid/treble independently. so look into amps

[BetteBalterZen]

1 hour ago, Stan2292 said:

a few things...

 

1. you said you want a pair of headsets but you are looking at hd650 which is a headphone. so i'm not sure what you actually want

2. assuming you want headphones not headsets at hd650's price range, hd650 isn't a bad choice. you can also try hifiman xs but planar sounds different and you need to experience it for yourself to see if you are into planar in general

3. dacs don't impact sound that much. good dacs have low noise floor and low harmonic distortion. in terms of sound "quality", i double you can tell the difference between a good $300 dac and a good $1,000 dac. you mentioned you like bass. then maybe considering buying a dac that comes with a desktop app that lets you eq the sound

4. what does impact the sound a lot is amp. you are looking at hd650 which has 300ohm of impedence. you need a headphone amp for that. amp does greatly change the soundscape. some amps make the sound warmer, some amps gives you more bass etc. a lot of them come with knobs that let you adjust bass/mid/treble independently. so look into amps

Hi Stan2292

Thank you for your inputs etc. 

1. Yes, @191x7 already asked me the same question. That was a mistake on my side. I want a pair of headphones, not headset. If I ever end up using headphones as "daily driver" when gaming, I will just purchase an external microphone. 

2. I actually did look at some of the HIFIMAN's but they are very expensive and after seeing Z Reviews on the new BLON B50s yesterday evening, those made much more sense to me, also the way he describes the bass he experiences, that's exactly what I want - I think, hehe... 

3. That's good info, thank you. Yeah the FX-Audio DAC X6 is nothing special, but as the BLON B50s are very sentitive, they don't require any AMPs or DACs really, and I did not feel like buying a new AMP or DAC as well. But lets see haha; after trying the BLON B50s and I - hopefully - will see how "high-end gaming headsets" have fooled me for years thinking they have good audio, I might get hooked and at some point will try some very high end headphones + AMP/DAC.

4. Again, good info - thank you! I know my FX-Audio DAC X6 works wonders with Equalizer APO. Might not be as perfect as an AMP/DAC that can control lows-mids-highs exclusively but I think for starters, the FX-Audio DAC X6 and Equalizer APO will do me fine. 

[BetteBalterZen]

7 hours ago, 191x7 said:

Let me know.

I will!

3-7 days shipping - very excited! 

[191x7]

17 minutes ago, BetteBalterZen said:

3. That's good info, thank you. Yeah the FX-Audio DAC X6 is nothing special, but as the BLON B50s are very sentitive, they don't require any AMPs or DACs really, and I did not feel like buying a new AMP or DAC as well. But lets see haha; after trying the BLON B50s and I - hopefully - will see how "high-end gaming headsets" have fooled me for years thinking they have good audio, I might get hooked and at some point will try some very high end headphones + AMP/DAC.

4. Again, good info - thank you! I know my FX-Audio DAC X6 works wonders with Equalizer APO. Might not be as perfect as an AMP/DAC that can control lows-mids-highs exclusively but I think for starters, the FX-Audio DAC X6 and Equalizer APO will do me fine. 

FX-Audio DAC X6 has built-in amplifier circuitry, it's a combo unit and quite a good one especially in the sub $100 range.

 

@BetteBalterZen the GameDAC should also be usable as a AMP/DAC unit.

[BetteBalterZen]

40 minutes ago, 191x7 said:

FX-Audio DAC X6 has built-in amplifier circuitry, it's a combo unit and quite a good one especially in the sub $100 range.

 

@BetteBalterZen the GameDAC should also be usable as a AMP/DAC unit.

Ah yes, true, thanks for reminding me, and yeah true again, didn't really think about the GameDAC like that... I will experiement with it and see how it differs from the DAC X6

[Psittac]

20 hours ago, Stan2292 said:

a few things...

 

1. you said you want a pair of headsets but you are looking at hd650 which is a headphone. so i'm not sure what you actually want

2. assuming you want headphones not headsets at hd650's price range, hd650 isn't a bad choice. you can also try hifiman xs but planar sounds different and you need to experience it for yourself to see if you are into planar in general

3. dacs don't impact sound that much. good dacs have low noise floor and low harmonic distortion. in terms of sound "quality", i double you can tell the difference between a good $300 dac and a good $1,000 dac. you mentioned you like bass. then maybe considering buying a dac that comes with a desktop app that lets you eq the sound

4. what does impact the sound a lot is amp. you are looking at hd650 which has 300ohm of impedence. you need a headphone amp for that. amp does greatly change the soundscape. some amps make the sound warmer, some amps gives you more bass etc. a lot of them come with knobs that let you adjust bass/mid/treble independently. so look into amps

I'm pretty sure the hd6xx/600/650 are all 250ohm and low sensitivity

Dac's do make a drastic difference when going from onboard to something quality but like you said the $300-1000 range probably isn't nearly as drastic.

 

 

@BetteBalterZen I haven't read to much of this thread, I just would get input from multiple people.

 

The open backs I own are HD6xx Fidelio X3 Harmonic Dyne Zeus and Beyerdynamic DT1990pro.With the DT being above your price point I can recommend the other two pretty handidly.  The Fidelio X2HR and X3 are going to be a walk in the park for your dac/amp to drive while being a little warm with kind of a veiled appeal to them, they certainly have more bass than the 650 you are looking at.  I can also recommend the Zeus as it's got amazing soundstage imaging and stereo separation, this one will also be very easy to drive with your DAC X6.  My only gripe with the Zeus is that after wearing other headphones for a while they are a touch heavy and can fall off the head when not sitting upright, but the pads are excellent and comfort is great as well.

 

I would look into the ones I mentioned along with others first.  The HD6xx/650/600 family really don't have a lot of bass but are always faithful to the mastering when the bass is present.

[BetteBalterZen]

7 hours ago, Psittac said:

I'm pretty sure the hd6xx/600/650 are all 250ohm and low sensitivity

Dac's do make a drastic difference when going from onboard to something quality but like you said the $300-1000 range probably isn't nearly as drastic.

 

 

@BetteBalterZen I haven't read to much of this thread, I just would get input from multiple people.

 

The open backs I own are HD6xx Fidelio X3 Harmonic Dyne Zeus and Beyerdynamic DT1990pro.With the DT being above your price point I can recommend the other two pretty handidly.  The Fidelio X2HR and X3 are going to be a walk in the park for your dac/amp to drive while being a little warm with kind of a veiled appeal to them, they certainly have more bass than the 650 you are looking at.  I can also recommend the Zeus as it's got amazing soundstage imaging and stereo separation, this one will also be very easy to drive with your DAC X6.  My only gripe with the Zeus is that after wearing other headphones for a while they are a touch heavy and can fall off the head when not sitting upright, but the pads are excellent and comfort is great as well.

 

I would look into the ones I mentioned along with others first.  The HD6xx/650/600 family really don't have a lot of bass but are always faithful to the mastering when the bass is present.

Hi Psittac

Thank you for your input, I appreciate it. 

I actually already ordered the BLON B50s since Z Reviews geeked out like crazy about them and they only cost me 137USD (17USD being for shipping). How Z Reviews explained the B50s sound stage and how the bass is felt in his body, sounded exactly like what I would like.

But it is noted, that the Fidelio X2HR and X3 have good bass and this is exactly what I want, so thank you, I will - literally - have this noted hehe in a Notepad. 

Thanks again!

[Stan2292]

8 hours ago, Psittac said:

I'm pretty sure the hd6xx/600/650 are all 250ohm and low sensitivity

Dac's do make a drastic difference when going from onboard to something quality but like you said the $300-1000 range probably isn't nearly as drastic.

nope. they are all 300ohm with 103-105ish db/mw at 500hz. literally 2 seconds of google.

 

if dac makes a "drastic difference" when you switch from onboard, there's something wrong with your onboard or your setup. most commonly people run their power hungry gpu's power supply cable too close to the motherboard's dac chip. so hearing low distortion low noise audio from an external dac for the first time is going to give them the illusion that it sounds "different". but in reality it just sounds a bit more correct. amps straight up change the frequency response of your headphone which is way more drastic and very noticeable even by completely untrained ears.

[Psittac]

On 1/28/2023 at 2:48 AM, Stan2292 said:

nope. they are all 300ohm with 103-105ish db/mw at 500hz. literally 2 seconds of google.

 

if dac makes a "drastic difference" when you switch from onboard, there's something wrong with your onboard or your setup. most commonly people run their power hungry gpu's power supply cable too close to the motherboard's dac chip. so hearing low distortion low noise audio from an external dac for the first time is going to give them the illusion that it sounds "different". but in reality it just sounds a bit more correct. amps straight up change the frequency response of your headphone which is way more drastic and very noticeable even by completely untrained ears.

ok, I was wrong about the impedance of the 6 series, I was also wrong about the sensitivity, I had to look it up but never knew the 650 was so sensitive.

 

Though your logic on dac's being external only giving improvement because of this...... is unequivocally false.  I have experienced system noise and this is not the same thing that a lower quality dac such as onboard audio has.  I have also experienced a couple different external dac's and can attest to the point that they do offer something different from one to another.  But even to someone who hasn't experienced an external solution, we can break it down logically.  The DAC is the very first thing that touches the analogue chain, it's right in the name "digital to analogue".  So the very birth of the analogue signal is entirely at this moment.  You don't think that the implementation of such a device isn't going to provide a noticeable affect?  I'm not here to argue which item impacts the experience the most, nor diminishing returns.  However I will stand firm against the statement that it has little to no impact.

 

For transparency's sake I haven't been entirely capable of isolating and comparing dac's as on the lower end they are typically tied directly to an amp.  Which also says that if I am attempting to test a given dac on a higher end amp I am in turn double amping which can have terrible results.  But I have experienced horrible dac's even if decoupled from their amps.  This also isn't another "point of no return" where a bad product is just a bad product and adequate is all that there is, but I can tell a difference even in higher end dac's when not including amps.

 

[Psittac]

21 hours ago, BetteBalterZen said:

Hi Psittac

Thank you for your input, I appreciate it. 

I actually already ordered the BLON B50s since Z Reviews geeked out like crazy about them and they only cost me 137USD (17USD being for shipping). How Z Reviews explained the B50s sound stage and how the bass is felt in his body, sounded exactly like what I would like.

But it is noted, that the Fidelio X2HR and X3 have good bass and this is exactly what I want, so thank you, I will - literally - have this noted hehe in a Notepad. 

Thanks again!

I have the Blon BL60 and I'm really really not a fan of them.  But it has nothing to do with the headphones themselves rather my unique situation, for some reason when my jaw pops due to my TMJ they ring like tinnitus and I can't handle it.  They are beryllium drivers which I would imagine is the main reason, but my Zeus don't do this.  Since your post I happened to click on that review and have to admit I almost wanted to purchase them as well.  If I knew that you were considering closed back I could have recommended the NTH-100 and by god I rarely pass a chance to suggest those.  But I'm certain you will be happy with the Blon's.  Should you decide to make a hobby out of this I recommend finding a reviewer that shares your views off of what you have Experienced and go with other suggestions of theirs.  Typically you start with something that everyone has reviewed as a reference so you know what aspect you would like to expand upon and experience for yourself.  I will say that coming from a HT setup and a 12" SPL subwoofer I have always been disappointed with "bass" or rather sub bass because I like to shake walls.  So keep your expectations reasonable and you will be able to see what bass is meant to sound like beyond just skull shaking.

[BetteBalterZen]

2 hours ago, Psittac said:

I have the Blon BL60 and I'm really really not a fan of them.  But it has nothing to do with the headphones themselves rather my unique situation, for some reason when my jaw pops due to my TMJ they ring like tinnitus and I can't handle it.  They are beryllium drivers which I would imagine is the main reason, but my Zeus don't do this.  Since your post I happened to click on that review and have to admit I almost wanted to purchase them as well.  If I knew that you were considering closed back I could have recommended the NTH-100 and by god I rarely pass a chance to suggest those.  But I'm certain you will be happy with the Blon's.  Should you decide to make a hobby out of this I recommend finding a reviewer that shares your views off of what you have Experienced and go with other suggestions of theirs.  Typically you start with something that everyone has reviewed as a reference so you know what aspect you would like to expand upon and experience for yourself.  I will say that coming from a HT setup and a 12" SPL subwoofer I have always been disappointed with "bass" or rather sub bass because I like to shake walls.  So keep your expectations reasonable and you will be able to see what bass is meant to sound like beyond just skull shaking.

Roger that, to everything and thank you for the NTH-100 suggestion! 

And good advice to find a reviewer coming from my own "situation". @191x7 Was very kind to share A LOT of headphones review folks, so that's a good place to start

[BetteBalterZen]

@191x7So I finally got the BLON B50s home. Yup. They are very, very good, and bass is punchy but clean - exactly what I wanted, EDM music sounds insane. That said, I did have to use equalizer to make them sound like I want but damn they sound good now, and I've already heard new sounds in some of my favourites songs that I haven't heard before. And wow they can be loud... I am using my DAC tho. 

Currently running with these settings:

[191x7]

7 minutes ago, BetteBalterZen said:

@191x7So I finally got the BLON B50s home. Yup. They are very, very good, and bass is punchy but clean - exactly what I wanted, EDM music sounds insane. That said, I did have to use equalizer to make them sound like I want but damn they sound good now, and I've already heard new sounds in some of my favourites songs that I haven't heard before. And wow they can be loud... I am using my DAC tho. 

Currently running with these settings:
 

Nice, good to know.

 

I ordered myself an AKliam PD4 Pro AMP&DAC with a strong 3.5mm output and a balanced 4.4 output.

And I oredered a 4.4 cable for my Sennheiser HD560s so I could run them balanced.

It will take a week or two to arrive though.

[BetteBalterZen]

1 minute ago, 191x7 said:

Nice, good to know.

 

I ordered myself an AKliam PD4 Pro AMP&DAC with a strong 3.5mm output and a balanced 4.4 output.

And I oredered a 4.4 cable for my Sennheiser HD560s so I could run them balanced.

It will take a week or two to arrive though.

Damn, alright alright, that sounds kinda wild

[191x7]

6 minutes ago, BetteBalterZen said:

Damn, alright alright, that sounds kinda wild

Have you compared the Fx x6 and the GameDac?

[BetteBalterZen]

Just now, 191x7 said:

Have you compared the Fiio x6 and the GameDac?

Yes, I tried the GameDAC and for some reason I won't let me increase or decrease volume, dunno what's going on. 

[BetteBalterZen]

An honest update on the BLON B50s; 

After using them a bit more I've noticed that the center sounds are very, very narrow kind of sounding, but only with specific sounds and in videogames only, it's a bit hard to explain. 

All music I've heard so far, with my EQ settings, sounds fantastic. But when playing video games, most sounds sound very very narrow. Fx, in RDR2, when riding through a city,  ambient sounds and such are wide (and good) but the sounds from the horse hooves sounds like it's coming from inside my head, like a lot, sounds so awkward. Same with FH5, ambient sounds are wide, but engine sounds are so narrow sounding like it's coming from inside my head. 

 

I've tried experimenting with left channel delay stereo widening and this sort of fixes it but also makes center sounds sound kinda off, not sure how to put it into words. 

The above issues does not happen AT ALL with my Arctis Pro, so in video games, my Arctis Pros are soooo much better than the BLON B50s. So yeah, if anyone are thinking about trying the B50s and want to use them for games, stay away from them. 

[rice guru]

3 hours ago, BetteBalterZen said:

An honest update on the BLON B50s; 

After using them a bit more I've noticed that the center sounds are very, very narrow kind of sounding, but only with specific sounds and in videogames only, it's a bit hard to explain. 

All music I've heard so far, with my EQ settings, sounds fantastic. But when playing video games, most sounds sound very very narrow. Fx, in RDR2, when riding through a city,  ambient sounds and such are wide (and good) but the sounds from the horse hooves sounds like it's coming from inside my head, like a lot, sounds so awkward. Same with FH5, ambient sounds are wide, but engine sounds are so narrow sounding like it's coming from inside my head. 

 

I've tried experimenting with left channel delay stereo widening and this sort of fixes it but also makes center sounds sound kinda off, not sure how to put it into words. 

The above issues does not happen AT ALL with my Arctis Pro, so in video games, my Arctis Pros are soooo much better than the BLON B50s. So yeah, if anyone are thinking about trying the B50s and want to use them for games, stay away from them. 

Welcome to dealing with hype products. With headphones it's best to stay with headphones that have stood the test of time. As it spent in the market for a few years at least. Unlike most tech sectors audio while slowly improving is foll of great classics for all use cases a headphone that sounds good now will still sound good 10 years later.

 If you plan on hanging out in this hobby take every single reviewer including people giving you with advice with a grain of salt. Cause everyone's ears and preferences are different. Also beware of reviewers that have affiliate codes.  

[BetteBalterZen]

26 minutes ago, rice guru said:

Welcome to dealing with hype products. With headphones it's best to stay with headphones that have stood the test of time. As it spent in the market for a few years at least. Unlike most tech sectors audio while slowly improving is foll of great classics for all use cases a headphone that sounds good now will still sound good 10 years later.

 If you plan on hanging out in this hobby take every single reviewer including people giving you with advice with a grain of salt. Cause everyone's ears and preferences are different. Also beware of reviewers that have affiliate codes.  

Yup, you learn as you go

[BetteBalterZen]

Keep coming back, I know hehe - just my newest update / thoughts;

Been using my B50's some more now and for EDM music, with my personal EQ settings, the B50s are freaking amazing actually. It's funny how the B50s seem so bad for games but for EDM music they're amazing - mids and high are good, but the bass man, the bass - it's so good. Can feel the vibration (while still sounding good).

If anyone is thinking about trying the B50s and EDM is the main genre of music, the B50s won't disappoint here. 

[rice guru]

1 hour ago, BetteBalterZen said:

Keep coming back, I know hehe - just my newest update / thoughts;

Been using my B50's some more now and for EDM music, with my personal EQ settings, the B50s are freaking amazing actually. It's funny how the B50s seem so bad for games but for EDM music they're amazing - mids and high are good, but the bass man, the bass - it's so good. Can feel the vibration (while still sounding good).

If anyone is thinking about trying the B50s and EDM is the main genre of music, the B50s won't disappoint here. 

That's how you get deep and start owning several headphones like many of us here. I have a bunch of headphones some good for some genres other just good for some.use cases. Like my 770 600 ohm I use for monitoring and helping find issues with tracks for musician friends cause it's super unforgiving. Meanwhile I use a pair of notoriously flawed sounding nighthawk carbons cause I just absolutely hits when listening to folk/antifolk/alternative music /as well as just generally badly produced tracks or I use my modded dt 990's specifically for gaming. 

[BetteBalterZen]

7 hours ago, rice guru said:

That's how you get deep and start owning several headphones like many of us here. I have a bunch of headphones some good for some genres other just good for some.use cases. Like my 770 600 ohm I use for monitoring and helping find issues with tracks for musician friends cause it's super unforgiving. Meanwhile I use a pair of notoriously flawed sounding nighthawk carbons cause I just absolutely hits when listening to folk/antifolk/alternative music /as well as just generally badly produced tracks or I use my modded dt 990's specifically for gaming. 

Ah yes, I understand now... Down the rabbit hole of headphones I go

[BetteBalterZen]

10 hours ago, rice guru said:

I use my modded dt 990's specifically for gaming. 

You mentioned "modded DT 990's", how have you modded them and why? Sounds () really interesting. Headset/headphone-modding, that I have never heard of. 

[rice guru]

1 hour ago, BetteBalterZen said:

You mentioned "modded DT 990's", how have you modded them and why? Sounds () really interesting. Headset/headphone-modding, that I have never heard of. 

Just some light modding. I've just swapped out the pads and tuning foams for tygr pads and foams to get it to sound much closer to the tygr