Sennheiser HE90 - Page 3

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Curiosity. First Orpheus ever.

well, i thought that he90 could do better on other amps like bhse but HE90/Aristaeus combo was pretty darn good.

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Originally Posted by neilvg 

 

Every now and again these types of posts appear here.  I've owned these headphones and the HEV90 amp for several (like 10) years and I have tried them with dozens of amps including custom amps costing 10+K.  What does this all mean?  Well, coupled with the fact that if you are listening to the limited edition new run sennheiser released several years ago, you could be hearing two different phones.  But also, these headphones vary quite a bit depending on the amplification.  Drive them through a poor stax amp with a converter cable and they will sound crappy.  I have no idea what basis is being used to describe these headphones here.  What amp were you using?  What source?  These are high end audiophile phones where every component piece matters and impacts the sound.  

 

I also own the HE60's.  They are not 95% of an HE90.  They are totally different and not easily comparable.  Enjoyable for their own and different reasons.  The HE90's, to me, were the sole reason I never was tempted to switch to listening to speakers.  I have since moved onto a speaker rig, but my rocking chair, late at night, with my Orpheus combo is still one of the best things I can do for my ears, and mind ;)

 

Yes they are expensive.  And probably overpriced.  But there are very few systems that sound like it.  Couple it with a good aftermarket headphone amp like the T2 and you are listening to some of the best audio reproduction available.  They aren't about transparency, speed, depth, detail, soundstaging, bass, or any particular characteristic.  They create their own world where a recording takes on a euphonic albeit somewhat inaccurate glimpse into the music.  It depends on what you are going for.  As for me, these phones aren't reference monitors - there are plenty of choices for that - and generally much less enjoyable from a listening perspective.  But these things just take you into pure listening bliss!

 

Neil

 

think so, too.

Quote:

Originally Posted by blubliss 

Not true, and I have the combo.

 

show off 

heh, yeah, sorry.

Listening right now to make sure I was right 

whether it sounds good or not is, of course, a matter of opinion.  still, you can't argue that with such a transparent amp as the T2, you will more clearly hear the voicing of the transducer

I'll stick to the 009s that you so kindly helped me procure :D
 

Quote:

Originally Posted by blubliss 

heh, yeah, sorry.

 

Listening right now to make sure I was right 

Kevin believes the bias is quite important for the HE90, so if you listened at the Stax bias, this may be a factor.  I can tell you I have heard both on the T2 and I prefer the proper HE90 bias of 500.  There is a difference.  I assume the BHSE was biased at 580.

It was indeed at Stax pro bias - i'll make a point of looking out for anyone who has a BH/T2 with a true 500v bias

@El_Doug : In a minimeeting of Thai headfiers  last month, we listened the DIY T2 built by Chinnasettawong (XF2 Mullard + Telefunken Cca).

Chinsettawong set  two outputs : Stax (580v) and HE90 (500V)  The phones in that meeting included HE90, HE60, SR009,

SR Omega and O2mkI.  The DIY T2 drove the HE90 beautifully  , most Thai head-fiers said that it was the best combo while

the SR009 and O2mkI  were next.

Interesting!  I may have to give the HE90 another go, this time with a 500v bias BH/T2. 

I wasn't a fan of the HE90 with a Stax Pro bias BH/T2, and Im definitely not big on the HE90/HEV90.  Still, I won't discount the headphones entirely until I try every combo available :) 

It's probably just not your flavor, doubt the bias thing will change that.

probably. some people like stax, some people like sennheisers.

HE90 sounds considerably better from the HEV90 than the BH.  Actually I think the bias issue is true...I used to run my HE90 from the normal bias socket of my BH as it sounded better from it than the pro bias socket (which could make the HE90 sound a bit strident).

MultiQuote doesnt work on the iphone - but I think it is clear that at least two things are going on:  the he90s are clearly not everyones cup of tea, and in that price range, everyone deserves to be as discerning as they wish.

While i managed to write that all on my iphone.. The typos.. Ugh embarrasing

The correct bias is crucial and so is the correct ballast resistor.  Even though some of the newer HE90's were supposed to be optimized for the Stax pro bias I haven't ever seen any evidence of them doing anything different with those drivers.  My old set certainly didn't have the high value resistors needed to do that. 
 

Quote:

Originally Posted by Piotr Ryka 

 

 

 

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Curiosity. First Orpheus ever.

I must say I doubt that given how the project came about.  It just looks like it was built by somebody with access to the parts and not wanting to fork out for the OTT chassis.  Why cram the purpose designed PCB's in a square chassis and they are also stuffed with the wrong parts.  If I could see the other side of the boards then I could determine which version of the HEV90 this was (there were 3).