[alvin sawdust]

  Self-made (actually an amazing woman did them).
 

 

Good effort. To be fair though the 540 makes a good fist of throwing the soundstage out in front of you anyway or at least in my experience.

 

[alvin sawdust]

Have had my 540 reference II for about a week now and I am enthralled. Didn't want to gush about these as I have invested in getting the best out of my HD800 but they are so balanced and the highs are absolutely spot on. I don't find the lows wanting as some have reported but maybe that is having them juiced by a fairly decent otl amp.
Although the 800 have a bigger, perhaps ballsier sound, the 540 draws you in and engages like a person. They have all my head time at present.

 

[o0CosmoMemory0o]

I preferred the HD540II to the HD800 overall. HD800, roughly speaking, scales up the 540II image size, bass weight and neutrality but the rhythmic engagement is greatly lost, in my opinion. Focussing of the 800 presentation seemed a bit off even though it is the most resolving headphone of microdetails I have heard. After using both with a properly amplified and pure signal, the strengths of each become clear. I missed the effortless bass weight of the 800 when I returned back to the 540II but the incredibly musical and engaging quality made it my winner for enjoying music.
 
Note the characteristics of the earpads in the previous photo. Velvet material with firm pored foam lets some sound through and out so it isn't isolated in the listening chamber. The pads shown are thick providing a lot more enclosed air and distance to the ear, which allows the imaging to really shine. Loved the 540II when I had it. True high fidelity if properly implemented. I personally did not perceive any sound improvement from angling the earcups; the pad thickness alone made the difference for me. Stereo imaging of the HD800 is not from the angled drivers IMO. The culprits are the larger driver radiating area and larger chamber space which gave a superior ear coverage I think. Where I think the ring radiator design of the 800 makes the difference is in its microdetail resolution IMO. Maybe this is due to a more planar wavefront being emitted?? No idea. Something about its size and shape allows it to magnify low level subtleties more than any other headphone I've used.

 

[432789]

I haven't tried the HD540 but I read somewhere here that they are basically the same to the HD530 in terms of sound, so 530's can be had for almost 3x more cheaper, making the value even more astonishing than it already was, so I bought the 600 ohm version after reading someone's praises here, and wow just thanks man, I had my doubts, but I ended up selling all my other headphones, who knew Head-fii can sometimes fill up your wallet,  I like the slightly oval earpad shape of the HD530, together with the thick pads it fits in my ears perfectly. To me comfort plays quite a role on my preferences. I use the now modded HD530 on a Highly modded DarkVoice with almost all parts inside upgraded, plus JAN and Sylvania tubes...  Sometimes I forget to eat           ♥♥♥♥ Very nice phones

 

[432789]

I just tried the HD540II today, stock and with my thick pads, they are very good, very similar to my HD530, but i prefer my HD530, they are slightly more realistic sounding. #Deplorable01

 

[mysticstryk]

Anybody finds an HD540 reference II or Gold being sold somewhere, let me know!

Trying out some vintage Senns for fun.

 

[GREQ]

Anybody finds an HD540 reference II or Gold being sold somewhere, let me know!

Trying out some vintage Senns for fun.

There are two on ebay[dot]de currently. 
They pop up fairly regularly over here.

 

[mysticstryk]

There are two on ebay[dot]de currently. 

They pop up fairly regularly over here.

Looks like a bunch over there. Can I even buy them though being from the US? Never done international eBay shopping before, but do it all the time with Amazon.

 

[GREQ]

Best to email the seller first.
Definitely send the message in English and use google translate for the German version.
 
From my experience, many Germans don't like to ship out of EU. So you might need some luck or patience.

 

[mysticstryk]

Best to email the seller first.

Definitely send the message in English and use google translate for the German version.

From my experience, many Germans don't like to ship out of EU. So you might need some luck or patience.

Makes sense, I bet shipping costs are pretty steep.

Thanks!

 

[nopietns]

-

 

[nopietns]

Does anyone know how do the HD 560, 530 and 520 compare to the HD540 model?

 

[ukaudiophile]

I own both the 540 & 540 gold units in storage. I've owned them both from new as I was a Sennheiser dealer way back then. Sadly due to so many outside things going on in my life, I no longer have the time to enjoy them. :rolleyes:

 

[Hofy]

Bringing this thread back from the depths.
I am a new 540 owner.  I bought a pair of  HD 540 I 600 Ohm cans on eBay.  I just happened to see the ad go up live and it was $79.95 or offer.  I put in an offer of $70 and an hour later I was the new owner.  I think I got a good deal even for the shape they are in.  Yes the ear pads are shot.  I have some cheap Chinese replacements coming until I figure out a better solution.  The only other pressing issue is the headband.  The foam bumps in the plastic area are now flat.  Also you can see from the photo they have a weird twist.  Any ideas on how to best deal with this?   I have no problem sewing the top part onto a new bottom part but have no idea of where to start.  Thanks for any pointers and suggestions. 
 

 

[GREQ]

Regarding the bendy headband, since it's nearing the edge toward the garbage I would try adding some heat. 
First remove it entirely from the headband assembly.
Then focused use of a hair dryer, interrupted by flattening it with a pile of books and letting it cool (use old newspaper against the hot/warm headband - you don't want to accidentally ruin any books) might get it in a usable shape after a few tries.