This Old Headphone: Reconstructing the Pioneer SE-700 (56k=slow) - Page 4

Quote:

Originally Posted by wualta 

Nifty! Thanks! I'll go resurrect my 500s.

Glad to see another owner noticed this! I had my doubts considering the age of this topic...

...and of course by replying I bumped the post back a page >_<

Quote:

Originally Posted by takato14 

I'll be receiving a set of SE-700s soon. Already have the SE-500s, and I agree with the points made in this topic: They're middy and weird.

 

However if they're converted to closed back with a little electrical tape:

 

 

 

The bass is brought up considerably, the soundstage becomes more concise and clear, and it allows you to hear all the things this headphone did right. Like their fast attack and decay, their good detail retrieval, and the good imaging they have. Not to mention it also gives you some isolation and lowers the sound leakage a lot. Normally I wouldn't bump such an old topic but I want anyone who has a set of these to know about this mod, because it makes the headphones sound a LOT better. 

Eagerly awaiting impressions. Such an interesting design and unique driver deserve some moar respeck!

How are you driving these out of curiosity

Oooo, NEVER reply to yourself! That bumps the post back a page, y'see.

Oh. You already knew that. Hee hee.

I wonder what would happen if you covered the back with felt instead of tape. Did you by any chance try that already?

Quote:

Originally Posted by wualta 

Oooo, NEVER reply to yourself! That bumps the post back a page, y'see.

 

Oh. You already knew that. Hee hee.

 

I wonder what would happen if you covered the back with felt instead of tape. Did you by any chance try that already?

Felt is actually one of the worst damping materials, plus there's virtually NO room inside the earcups. I do have some felt lying around though. I'll try it tomorrow and see what (if any) changes it yields.

Also, I don't have a dedicated amp yet. I know I'm quite a fool for buying a piezoelectric headphone without any kind of amp, but piezos typically dont gain much of anything but volume when amped. The SE-500s sound great out of my iPhone 3G. They're just quiet. 

Quote:

Originally Posted by takato14 

Felt is actually one of the worst damping materials...

Riiiiiiight.

Quote:

Originally Posted by wualta 

Riiiiiiight.

No, seriously. Felt isn't dense enough to work well as a damping material. You'd need a lot of it to get it dense enough and that would take up lots of space in the earcup. Believe me, you most certainly do not have any space to waste inside the earcups of the SE-500. I barely had room for the tape.

Ok.. I finally have the SE-700s. And quite frankly, I love them. They do everything the SE-500 does, better.

But, guess what? ONE DAY after I get them the headphone side of the cable begins to short out. One lousy day. 

Now I'm looking around everywhere trying to get them recabled. Of course, this just HAD to happen to one of the most impossible to disassemble headphones ever made. It happened to my SE-500s too, but not a fraction as bad, and those ones are easier to take apart... I really hate Pioneer right now. Who in the right mind puts such crappy cables with stiff strain reliefs even in their TOP OF THE LINE model?

Anyways, it's looking like I'm gonna end up having to do it myself. Glad to have a full disassembly guide... but how did you take the PVDF driver out of the earcup to clean it? I thought it was cemented in place.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Rexgabriel 

I'd like to hear more impressions about this. I love odd old tech.
Piezoelectric tweeters are also a pretty big deal in hi-fi. MuRata makes what is called a supertweeter. It's frequency response goes to 100khz (though it starts at 15khz) meaning that driver is vibrating FAST. I'd assume that means that with a piezoelectric driver, extreme resolution could be achieved. And in turn, with a large diameter diaphragm, powerful articulate bass.
I'm really liking the idea of buying a pair to see what it's about.

Ok. Here's a short review of the SE-700.

First off I absolutely LOVE this headphone. 

It has a very nice soundstage and excellent imaging. The detail retrieval trumps all of the rest of my headphones combined. They also have fast attack and decay, which leads to extremely fun Pace Rhythm and Timing, or PRaT for short. This amazing sense of rhythm makes the SE-700 sound extremely lively and perky. It makes them fun to listen to even though they are neutral.

These headphones have a remarkably flat frequency response. No peaks, no recessions, just a totally level playing field. The thing is, however, they don't have a lot of treble or bass extension. They do have bass and they do have treble, but the bass is very subtle and lacks authority and heft. However, the bass that is there is very well textured and detailed. 

The sound that IS there is extremely good and very addicting. As they are, they are my best headphone, by far. I'm a moderate basshead and I can't even set these down. My ears adjusted to them very rapidly and I absolutely fell in love with them. I can't believe how good these ancient beasts sound.

Not to mention the design aesthetics are totally unmatched. 

Nothing, however, is perfect. They are totally open, so no isolation and massive leakage. They are very difficult to drive, you absolutely need an amp, and a good one at that. They are also moderately uncomfortable as the earpads are thin and they are supra-aural. My pair might be more comfortable than most, because it is my understanding that most units clamp a lot more than mine do... I think the previous owner of mine stretched out the headband because of the comfort issue.

If you find a pair of these, do NOT hesitate to get them. Even if you don't like their sound, they are an utterly gorgeous display piece and are the first piezoelectric headphone ever made, making them an awesome piece of history.

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I also have the SE-500. Here's a really brief little summary:

Their characteristics are the same as the SE-700, but worse. Unlike the SE-700, they have no bass at all. Period. They completely stop doing anything at 50 Hz. The general sound is wispy and bleh, and they're not nearly as smooth as the SE-700. They are however easily convertable to closed-back which gives a little bass, some isolation, and stops most leakage. This closed-back mod also fixes the wispy-ness of the sound. One last thing to note, the SE-500s are significantly easier to drive than the SE-700s, and are more comfortable as well.

The SE-500s are still fairly good. They're also a tad rarer than the SE-700s.