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Sennheiser HD 480II

post #1 of 11
12/7/12 at 1:47am
Thread Starter 

Greetings,

 

I have an old Sennheiser HD 480II cans I use in my semi-pro studio for mixing and mastering.

 

My cans are getting old and well used, so I am thinking Christmas present.  

 

What are the best cans nowadays (open-back) to replace my cans with (without losing the flat natural sound of the 480's) and without spending arm and the leg?

 

Thanks.

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post #2 of 11
1/21/13 at 10:27pm

Grab a HD560 from ebay (non "II" is better)

 

its the Sennheiser flagship in the golden era.

they are transparent, flat, natural, & sweet.

don't forget buy some new pads for it

 

I would say the 560 is competitive to hd800,

hd800 has better clarity,better sound stage,

hd560 has 80% clarity of hd800, & its more musical, more linear than hd800


Edited by pkshan - 1/21/13 at 10:28pm
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post #3 of 11
1/22/13 at 1:51am
Quote:
Originally Posted by ibanezwizz View Post

Greetings,

 

I have an old Sennheiser HD 480II cans I use in my semi-pro studio for mixing and mastering.

 

My cans are getting old and well used, so I am thinking Christmas present.  

 

What are the best cans nowadays (open-back) to replace my cans with (without losing the flat natural sound of the 480's) and without spending arm and the leg?

 

Thanks.

do you have any budget in mind? :)

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post #4 of 11
1/22/13 at 5:02am
Thread Starter 
Quote:
Originally Posted by BillsonChang007 View Post

do you have any budget in mind? :)

 

Yes, about 250 EUROS

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post #5 of 11
1/22/13 at 5:07am
Thread Starter 

Just bought a pair of HD 598. Awful! Took them back. Piercing high end, just terrible. So I’ve eliminated 1 pair which 480II's blow cleanly out of water. I think I will get some new ear pads for 480’s and be done with.

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post #6 of 11
1/22/13 at 4:20pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by ibanezwizz View Post

Just bought a pair of HD 598. Awful! Took them back. Piercing high end...

 

Wow, that's the last thing I would ever associate the 598 with. To me, they sound a bit rolled off, if anything. Are you sure they weren't defective in some way? In any case, I hope you're happy with what you've got.

 

-Bob

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post #7 of 11
1/22/13 at 5:41pm

Actually mine sounded both rolled off and piercing. (The two aren't contradictory. If there's too much lower treble energy and not enough high treble energy you'll get that effect). Anyway, I sold them within a week.

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post #8 of 11
1/22/13 at 6:28pm

The hd480 II is sound like a portable version, lower quality of hd560

(the HD480 Classic is the best in hd480 family, the HD560 early version (non II) is better than HD560 II)

 

they were developed by the same team i guess

the timbre of these old Sennheisers are identical to the HE60/HE90 (natural,transparent,sweet)

new Senn sound nothing like the old Senn ,they are fatty,muddy,unnatural,

except HD800 ,which is like an upgrade version of HD540 (clear,but a bit thin, not very musical)

 

hd560 (early version)

 

 

hd480 II

 

 

hd480 classic

 

 

 

HD540

 


Edited by pkshan - 1/22/13 at 6:46pm
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post #9 of 11
1/23/13 at 3:30am
Thread Starter 
Quote:
Originally Posted by hesson11 View Post

 

Wow, that's the last thing I would ever associate the 598 with. To me, they sound a bit rolled off, if anything. Are you sure they weren't defective in some way? In any case, I hope you're happy with what you've got.

 

-Bob

 

Don't know if they were defective? I don't think so but maybe - everything is possible...

 

I am a pro musician, sound engineer and music producer. I need my headphones to be flat, neutral, balanced and natural sounding. As I had the opportunity to compare head to head, the HD 598 were anything but flat and natural sounding. Bass was strong, mids were clear but the colouring of the sound was felt quite strongly. The top end however was what made me return them at once. It gave me an immediate headache at high volume. The hi-hats and the cymbals were what killed them for me. Way to sharp, piercing, unnatural and way to prominent.

 

Just my 2 cents, I discovered this many a time; newer isn’t always better…

 

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post #10 of 11
1/23/13 at 4:13am
Quote:
Originally Posted by ibanezwizz View Post

Don't know if they were defective? I don't think so but maybe - everything is possible...

I am a pro musician, sound engineer and music producer. I need my headphones to be flat, neutral, balanced and natural sounding. As I had the opportunity to compare head to head, the HD 598 were anything but flat and natural sounding. Bass was strong, mids were clear but the colouring of the sound was felt quite strongly. The top end however was what made me return them at once. It gave me an immediate headache at high volume. The hi-hats and the cymbals were what killed them for me. Way to sharp, piercing, unnatural and way to prominent.

Just my 2 cents, I discovered this many a time; newer isn’t always better…

Hi!

Probably, your HD598 is defective/not enough burn-in. I tried them ones although it is just a 5minutes, the bass are behind mids & highs that are forward. Not at all veiled & there's a bit of sibilance although not so noticeable. If clarity & balance is what you need, DT880 are good with E10 however I never get to try those. Hopefully I can try them in the near future as I am flying to Singapore soon! (YEAH!)

Billson smily_headphones1.gif
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post #11 of 11
1/23/13 at 5:07am
Quote:
Originally Posted by ibanezwizz View Post

 

 

 

 

Don't know if they were defective? I don't think so but maybe - everything is possible...

 

 

 

 

I am a pro musician, sound engineer and music producer. I need my headphones to be flat, neutral, balanced and natural sounding. As I had the opportunity to compare head to head, the HD 598 were anything but flat and natural sounding. Bass was strong, mids were clear but the colouring of the sound was felt quite strongly. The top end however was what made me return them at once. It gave me an immediate headache at high volume. The hi-hats and the cymbals were what killed them for me. Way to sharp, piercing, unnatural and way to prominent.

 

 

 

Just my 2 cents, I discovered this many a time; newer isn’t always better…

 

Just want to say that i agree with what you said. Especially the piercing treble, i had the HD558 (not much different) and it also had it. Needles to say i returned them after a week, was hoping that some burn-in will help them but it didn't do nothing.

Alot of people say that they are rolled-off or dark sounding etc. but to me they were more piercing then my grado! (which i kept cus it's too good with rock!)

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