[jjsoviet]

Hmm...distortion happens when the bass goes deeper, something as low as 150 Hertz, more or less. I think it needs something more powerful to drive.

 

[donunus]

Everything distorts, not just the bass. If I play music at my normal levels, it just cant stand it. regardless of the amp I use.

 

[jjsoviet]

A bad case of crest-meets-trough distortion? I've got is still, only in high volumes though. You may want to check your unit out as well.

 

[chriscu1]

Strange, I don't notice any distortion at all (through a Total Bithead). Maybe I'm just not playing them loud enough though.

 

[donunus]

at volumes lower than the distorting volumes, the bass overpowers everything which is why i need to turn them up. Turning them up makes them crap out. too bad. 50 more hours of burn in then i'll give up and sell them if that doesn't change.

 

[xnor]

Quote:

Originally Posted by JaZZ /img/forum/go_quote.gif Sensitivity/efficiency is clearly lower than that of the PX 100 – both being 32 ohm (another reason why I highly doubt they use the same drivers, apart from the blatant sonic difference) – and the PortaPro.

But the driver looks _exactly_ the same and sennheiser.com says nominal impedance and SPL are equal.
FR and THD is different due to the housing and the felt stuff around the driver, I guess.


edit:

 

[jjsoviet]

Quote:

Originally Posted by donunus /img/forum/go_quote.gif at volumes lower than the distorting volumes, the bass overpowers everything which is why i need to turn them up. Turning them up makes them crap out. too bad. 50 more hours of burn in then i'll give up and sell them if that doesn't change.

Have you tried the Astroid mod? Mine opened up when I applied the mod, and even when returning the foam back, distortions only happen in bassy tracks and under very high volumes. Try burning them in more or have them replaced. If the other unit's still like that, then you can get a better model.

***EDIT***

Try this - deliberately use bassy music and subwoofer test tracks in high volumes for a long period of time. Consider this as the HD 238's unique burn-in requirement. Mine after this procedure tightened up considerably in the bass, and distortion levels dropped to nearly a quarter than the initial, out-of-box sound. Please try it.

 

[OneSec]

donunus
So how does your 238 sounds now? Is it possible that you got a bad pair of headphones?

 

[donunus]

I was thinking that if they were a bad pair of headphones that the problem in the left and right driver wouldn't be identical. Unless sennheiser sends out matched pairs of damaged drivers with their cans

I think this is just the case of headphones can't stand donunus volumes syndrome. Recently though they have improved a little. I'll give them another 24 hour burn in stretch to see if there are any more improvements

 

[jjsoviet]

Good to hear it. Give it one more chance, and if all else fails, have it replaced or just upgrade. The SRH 440's sound signature is almost like the HD 238 IMO, save for its less apparent bass.

 

[donunus]

I had the srh 840 and didnt like them

 

[jjsoviet]

Quote:

Originally Posted by donunus /img/forum/go_quote.gif I had the srh 840 and didnt like them

So...where did it end up?

 

[donunus]

They are now in Israel

 

[jjsoviet]

Wow, a very lucky headphone!

 

[zmd]

I'm trying at the moment to sell my HD238 because I got the HD448 instead. Never having any open headphones before, I really didn't expect them to leak so much sound in and out. Too bad, I like almost everything about them.

Of course, I did a quick A/B test with the HD448 and the 238s are much more rough and unrefined, shrill even, against the smoothness of the HD448, while at the same time being more distant in the mids. Oh well, I really enjoyed them for 3 months or so.