Sold: Sennheiser Orpheus HE-90 + Custom ES Labs Housing + Stax Pro Bias + Extra Earpads & Headband
Listing ID: 46862 Views: 2886
15,000.00 USD
Condition
Excellent/Like new
Negotiability
Or best offer
Ships to
  1. North America
Reason for sale: This is my last treasure from my time in this hobby - an HE-90 that I've run with the OG DIY T2, Kerry DIY T2, Mjolnir Carbon CC, Megatron, and a few others - all without an adapter!

Plug: Stax
Cable: Stax 99.9999% copper, silver-coated
Bias Voltage: 580V
5M Ballast Resistor: No

Description: Transducers cleaned, original dust covers serviced (not replaced) by ES Labs, housing and box by ES Labs.

Performance: Many later-production HE-90’s need an adapter with an additional 5M ballast resistor (Sennheiser specified 500V bias voltage and a 10M resistor, versus Stax Pro Bias 5-pin, which is 580V and 5M). Unfortunately, this limits the dynamic potential of the HE-90 transducer on Stax Pro Bias, but is necessary to prevent the diaphragm from sticking to the stators.

The pair listed here runs perfectly without additional ballast when plugged into Kerry’s T2 (or the Mjolnir Carbon CC), at any volume, providing for incredible bass and dynamics - meaning it will run just fine plugged directly into any lesser Stax Pro Bias amp - no Aristaeus, HEV-90, or performance-sucking adapter needed!

Additionally, the OEM copper Sennheiser cable is prone to corrosion and also limits detail retrieval. The latest Stax cable reveals Shangri-La SR levels of detail, and then some. The dust covers are also a concern on the HE-90, but ES Labs did an incredible job cleaning the transducers and micro-patching the dustcovers, which is extremely meticulous and time consuming work.

Preferences: Sale within Canada or North America is strongly preferred, dealing with members I already know well and have dealt with before is also preferred, so I likely won't respond to every inquiry - I apologize in advance. Shipping via UPS is included in the listed price.
Listed by: orientexpedite (25)
Listed: 2023-04-30
Last edited: 2023-05-29
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O

orientexpedite

New Head-Fier
This pair performs perfectly plugged into the Megatron, as well as the Carbon and KGGG, which have the highest current output of any production Stax amp, as measured in mA (20-22mA).

To get the correct FR and maximum performance in terms of detail and dynamics, you really want a first-production-run Orpheus pair that can plug directly into Stax Pro Bias. However, those are usually sold paired with their matching HEV-90 amp (many of which amps have failed or failing transformers, sadly, and Sennheiser's repair ETA's extend into several years - just ask a few owners).

The Orpheus stator design was modified on the later, second production run; the full history is linked below. Take the example of a Canjam where 2 out of 3 HE-90's exhibited channel imbalance when plugged into Stax Pro Bias without the 5M resistor:

https://www.head-fi.org/threads/cau...e90-owners-in-particular.139111/post-17070395
https://www.head-fi.org/threads/cau...mpatibility-he90-owners-in-particular.139111/
https://www.head-case.org/forums/to...-he90-by-what-was-the-second-batch-different/

The second Orpheus production run transducers absolutely will not work without the 10M ballast resistor, and it's not worth the risk of trying. The FR also changes slightly on those second run transducers with 580V on the bias line; a dedicated HE-90 plug with a dropped 500V bias line is thus a must. Sennheiser replaced quite a few of those later transducers, because the diaphragms eventually fused to the stator (the usual symptom was severe channel imbalance), and that was the end of the very short-lived later Orpheus production run.
 
Last edited:
eskamobob1

eskamobob1

Headphoneus Supremus
orientexpedite said:
This pair performs perfectly plugged into the Megatron, as well as the Carbon and KGGG, which have the highest current output of any production Stax amp, as measured in mA (20-22mA).

To get the correct FR and maximum performance in terms of detail and dynamics, you really want a first-production-run Orpheus pair that can plug directly into Stax Pro Bias. However, those are usually sold paired with their matching HEV-90 amp (many of which amps have failed or failing transformers, sadly, and Sennheiser's repair ETA's extend into several years - just ask a few owners).

The Orpheus stator design was modified on the later, second production run; the full history is linked below. Take the example of a Canjam where 2 out of 3 HE-90's exhibited channel imbalance when plugged into Stax Pro Bias without the 5M resistor:

https://www.head-fi.org/threads/cau...e90-owners-in-particular.139111/post-17070395
https://www.head-fi.org/threads/cau...mpatibility-he90-owners-in-particular.139111/
https://www.head-case.org/forums/to...-he90-by-what-was-the-second-batch-different/

The second Orpheus production run transducers absolutely will not work without the 10M ballast resistor, and it's not worth the risk of trying. The FR also changes slightly on those second run transducers with 580V on the bias line; a dedicated HE-90 plug with a dropped 500V bias line is thus a must. Sennheiser replaced quite a few of those later transducers, because the diaphragms eventually fused to the stator (the usual symptom was severe channel imbalance), and that was the end of the very short-lived later Orpheus production run.
Click to expand...

Apreciate the info. Wasn't aware the second release wasn't identical to the first
 
eskamobob1

eskamobob1

Headphoneus Supremus
eskamobob1 said:
Not super interested in he90 tbh. I think I'd rather spend this kinda money on sources for my current chain than branch out even further when I don't have any great energizers and have some fairly large gripes with the top ones currently avilible tbh.
Click to expand...

Just wanna say, this was a mistake. He90 is big gud. Should have bought this one and not looked back
 
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