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Wow! Sennheiser HD 540 Reference are so good.
Dec 23, 2014 at 6:33 PM Post #916 of 4,351
redbull said:
If i have to pick just one headphone, i probably go with sony ma900.
Click to expand...


If I had to pick just one and had to choose between the HD540 or HD800, it would have to be the HD540. As much as I like the HD800, there is simply too much poorly mixed material that the HD800 is not enough forgiving of.

When the material is good, the HD800 can be stunning. But the HD540 is a better all-rounder. As much as I would like it that all my favorite artists got the sound engineering right, I have to be realistic and accept that many great albums are not optimally or even well mixed.
 
Dec 23, 2014 at 7:01 PM Post #917 of 4,351
HD800 allowed me to recognize the inadequacies of the HD540 but there is no way that I would choose the HD800 over it. HD540 is much more engaging; it has analogue rhythm with transparent neutrality. It's not quite as magnifying as the HD800 but I'll take phase over microdetail any day. It's easy to forget about the HD540 being on your head but HD800 is quite a bit heavier and is less stable when positioned. I can just plug a HD540II into my laptop and still enjoy music and have it connect with me emotionally.
 
Then for the times that I want to have the most incredibly fantastic aural experience, there will be K1000 from Graham Slee Proprius from Majestic DAC.
 
Dec 23, 2014 at 9:10 PM Post #918 of 4,351
2leftears said:
When the material is good, the HD800 can be stunning. But the HD540 is a better all-rounder.
Click to expand...


Yeah, hd800 is an amazing headphone but not very much all rounder. Its resolution is jaw dropping, but its hard to choose hd800 over ad2000 for Black Eyed Peas albums, for example.

@ CosmoMemory, what type of music do listen the most?
 
Dec 24, 2014 at 12:56 PM Post #921 of 4,351
Yes, my reference albums were presented with a large realistic size with the HD800. HD540II scales the presentation down a little bit but is more expressive and the instruments convey more emotion. AKG K1000 presentation beats everything I've ever heard and is simply beautiful. I will show you more.
 
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LeBfgCryVrk
 
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eqztcWoYOpM
 
Some Japanese instruments such as the Sho have a difficult tonality which only the most uncolored transducers seem to get right. HD540 and HD800 seem to present instruments like the Sho very faithfully. The K1000 does so as well. Headphones such as the HD600 do not have the tonal fidelity that I expect from cutting edge transducer technology.
 
Dec 24, 2014 at 10:12 PM Post #922 of 4,351
How's vocal weight/body, forwardness with hd540 compared to hd800?

K1000 is a nice headphone with nice tonality, but i find instrument separation can't really match modern transducer technology, imo.

Did you have a chance to try k501?
 
Dec 26, 2014 at 8:18 AM Post #923 of 4,351
No, I haven't used that model. I don't know much about headphones really; I only know what I need to know. I will not be buying any other headphones now; the conventional isolating left-right positioning is a performance limitation, to my ears. I pursued headphones in the first place to try and achieve compact speakers that give big speaker performance and remove interaction with the listening room.
 
I don't currently see a headphone solution that could take me any further forward.
 
Dec 26, 2014 at 6:27 PM Post #924 of 4,351
o0cosmomemory0o said:
  Yes, my reference albums were presented with a large realistic size with the HD800. HD540II scales the presentation down a little bit but is more expressive and the instruments convey more emotion. AKG K1000 presentation beats everything I've ever heard and is simply beautiful. I will show you more.
 
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LeBfgCryVrk
 
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eqztcWoYOpM
 
Some Japanese instruments such as the Sho have a difficult tonality which only the most uncolored transducers seem to get right. HD540 and HD800 seem to present instruments like the Sho very faithfully. The K1000 does so as well. Headphones such as the HD600 do not have the tonal fidelity that I expect from cutting edge transducer technology.
Click to expand...


I disagree with this... My HD600's have very realistic tone, and it is similar (at least in the treble) to the HD540 II. The HD800 on the other hand doesn't really have as realistic treble in my opinion; at least certain aspects of it are not as prominent like with the HD600 and the abrupt treble spike that the HD800 has tends to make cymbals sound a bit one dimensional at times.
 
Dec 27, 2014 at 2:30 AM Post #925 of 4,351
mjolnir125 said:
  I disagree with this... My HD600's have very realistic tone, and it is similar (at least in the treble) to the HD540 II. The HD800 on the other hand doesn't really have as realistic treble in my opinion; at least certain aspects of it are not as prominent like with the HD600 and the abrupt treble spike that the HD800 has tends to make cymbals sound a bit one dimensional at times.
Click to expand...

 
How's vocal weight of HD540 II compared to HD600?  I imagine HD 600 is weightier? more intimate? and HD540 vocal more distance?
 
Dec 27, 2014 at 4:42 AM Post #926 of 4,351
HD600 upper bass elevation alters instrument tone in this region and affects dynamic transitions. HD600 sounds somewhat congested compared to HD540II, in my opinion. HD600 treble seemed to be at quite a natural level although HD540II has improved extension in both treble and bass regions. HD600 has a punchy upper bass and a lack of low bass reproduction. HD540 seems linear all the way down, with a roll-off natural for the driver size. If I'm not mistaken, HD600 has smaller driver diameter than HD540, I think. Pretty sure I measured HD540 driver as 36mm across (10mm cut off the radius compared to HD800 56mm diameter driver). I'm sure HD600 is about 30mm. I will have to double-check. HD540 and HD600 both excel in the midrange though and yes, I have used them both for extended listening.
 
Jan 1, 2015 at 5:36 PM Post #927 of 4,351
I'm sorry Telefunken is the best,to me it's like dream comes true
the TH60 makes all vintage stax/sennheiser sound like plastic toy.
TH60 resolution is 3x-4x higher than 540/800/lambda,
and it's the most musical,most realistic sounding headphone I've ever heard
I've sold all other cans
 

 

 

 
Jan 2, 2015 at 1:59 PM Post #928 of 4,351
pkshan said:
I'm sorry Telefunken is the best,to me it's like dream comes true
the TH60 makes all vintage stax/sennheiser sound like plastic toy.
TH60 resolution is 3x-4x higher than 540/800/lambda,
and it's the most musical,most realistic sounding headphone I've ever heard
I've sold all other cans
Click to expand...


Real Funny Pkshan! Lol.
I hope you are being sarcastic here.
 
Jan 3, 2015 at 11:58 AM Post #930 of 4,351
AKG/Sennheiser/Stax are just headphones
TH60 has the best timbre,best clarity,the dynamic is terrific 
it's a serious hifi ("hi-end" by today's standard) equipment.
 
All AKG/Sennheiser I've heard, sound plastic when compared to TH60,
Telefunken used to be the best hifi company in the golden analogue age,it was the best of the best
AKG/Sennheiser were mainstream headphone company in 1970's.
 
(TH600 is not better than TH60, Telefunken went downhill after mid 1970's)
 
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