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Pioneer se-4. anybody had these?

Jul 24, 2009 at 8:17 PM Thread Starter Post #1 of 13
ourfpshero

ourfpshero

Headphoneus Supremus
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pioneer se-4. supra-aural open air headphone. just got these today. after having some luck with vintage pioneers i took a chance. they came in the box in rather pristine condition. soft pleather pads like the monitor 10.
specs say 20-20k hertz (of course), 150 ohms.
they sound a lot like an open air version of the monitor 10. very flat response curve, not too much bass, bass doesnt go very low, sweet mids and mid highs

anybody else run into these?

 
Jul 24, 2009 at 9:10 PM Post #3 of 13
got these on my lunch break so i will get some comparisons up by tomorrow.

and i will sign up in wikiphonia (which i love btw) and do some contributions
 
Jul 25, 2009 at 12:57 AM Post #4 of 13
ok did some comparisons with the monitor 10. sounds very similar. if you took away a little of the monitor 10's highs and added a little to the bass end you get the se-4.

the se-4 is slightly harder to drive (probably due to open design) but they are very close. they might use the same drivers- they look the same anyway

these actually sound best un-equalized. i generally like a smile eq but these prefer the flat sound. like them so far!
 
Jul 26, 2009 at 2:48 PM Post #5 of 13
now used these for a few days. i can honestly say i prefer these to the monitor 10. the larger soundstage and bass handling capabilities makes me very happy. also the sound is very non-fatiguing, perfect laid-back, high end vintage-y sound

btw the box says 1981 on it. these are 'lightweight' at 11.5 ounces! for the time that is lightweight. like the monitor 10 this has great build quality and the look and feel of a high end headphone.
 
Sep 19, 2009 at 3:17 AM Post #6 of 13
I just dug out a pair from my grandparents' place (where I've been storing stuff for years). I need to pick up a 1/4" to 1/8" adapter to listen to them but based on what I've read above, I'm looking forward to it...
 
Sep 19, 2009 at 3:32 AM Post #7 of 13
Sweet. I'd love to get my hands on some more vintage pioneer pairs. I really enjoy my old SE-30's.
 
Sep 19, 2009 at 5:00 AM Post #8 of 13
You're experience with them is the exact opposite of mine. When I listened to a pair, they had zero bass. Using test tones, bass severely dropped off at 150Hz.

They are some strange headphones. The headband design is great, but the cup design is pretty strange. The baffle just loosely fits in the cups and the driver is glued to the back of the cup. There's about 1/8 inch (.33 cm) gap between the baffle and the driver.

I bought them to use as ortho foster phones, but they have so many issues that I never bothered.
 
Sep 19, 2009 at 2:51 PM Post #9 of 13
wow- i would actually call these bassy headphones. i have noticed that certain tubes on my ld3 amp (have several tubes) will not give bass on these at all. my monitor 10 does the same thing, along with other vintage cans. but my xenos solid state amp gives great bass on these.
 
May 9, 2016 at 1:08 AM Post #11 of 13
I bought a pair of these back in the late 80s/ early 90s and still use them today. They are superbly clear but as you probably know if you have used them, don't respond excessively to bass. High and mids are perfect but there is a certain "body" lacking. Having said that, there is no noise at all. I still use these great phones and am listening to some Ryan Sheeler as I type.  
 
Feb 13, 2018 at 6:35 AM Post #12 of 13
Excuse me if I'm reviving this thread. It's been a couple of years since I had bought this pair of headphones. They were extremely cheap at the thrift shop so I picked them up, but the pads are worn-out. Which pads should I use in order to replace them? I've been browsing the internet but I didn't find anything, just a pair of generic 80mm pads on aliexpress that may or may not fit.
Thank you in advice.
 
Oct 15, 2022 at 4:15 PM Post #13 of 13
ourfpshero said:
pioneer se-4. supra-aural open air headphone. just got these today. after having some luck with vintage pioneers i took a chance. they came in the box in rather pristine condition. soft pleather pads like the monitor 10.
specs say 20-20k hertz (of course), 150 ohms.
they sound a lot like an open air version of the monitor 10. very flat response curve, not too much bass, bass doesnt go very low, sweet mids and mid highs

anybody else run into these?

Click to expand...
I have had a pair of these since new. I also have AKG K240 Sextett, AKG 701 and Sennheiser HD700's. They remind me a bit of the k240's as they have a slight "monitor" sound. A tad bass heavy on some tracks but I still use them occasionally.
 
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