Bass clipping (I think) on HD 595 -- looking for advice
Mar 6, 2009 at 9:19 PM Post #32 of 65
Are you sitting down everyone? Good.

My HD-595's have stopped working. The left speaker is very, VERY faint.
The last time I used them, they were fine. Today, when I turned my equipment on and listened to them, the problem was there at the outset.

More later, but at the moment, my best guess at the moment is a problem with the V-Can.

I can't believe this. Just can't believe it.

Greg.
 
Mar 7, 2009 at 4:59 AM Post #33 of 65
I've got the original HD-595's back now, and naturally because I'm in a nightmare, they are distorting in the right channel, even at low volume.

I've completely given up. I told them that I accept that I may have blown them, and I'll wear the cost if Sennheiser say that they have been abused.

The store *originally* recommended the HD-650's, and my next step is to buy a set of them instead. Someone over in that other thread said they're supposed to be better for heavy bass, too.

The V-Can has gone back.

My HD-570's continue to work fine. (that problem that sounded like distortion hasn't returned, after having vigorously tapping the offending headphone).

Interestingly, back on my NAD headphone output, the sound is bassier - there is a definite difference in the sound between it and the V-Can. I wonder which one is more accurate - I have no idea. I notice that the frequency response for the V-Can is 20Hz, but it doesn't say how many dB it is down at 20Hz. I assume only 3dB but is that a guarantee?

I've never had an experience quite like this in my entire life.

Greg.
 
Mar 7, 2009 at 8:50 AM Post #35 of 65
I did the tap trick to see whether I could "fix" these blasted HD-595's, and now they barely work at all. Very little bass from either side, and they're more distorted.

I think there could be a batch problem - I really think that they simply haven't been put together properly.

Greg.
 
Mar 8, 2009 at 12:40 AM Post #36 of 65
What an amazing journey this is.

The set which I had returned because one speaker had almost entirely stopped working, has magically started to work again, and I now have that set in my possession again. I suggested to them that perhaps there is some kind of an overload cutout, and that it takes time for it to reset, but they insisted that it doesn't have anything like this. So, is it possible that the driver was stuck at one extreme, perhaps due to a glitch, and it fell back into position?

I'll see how long these last.

There's no two ways about it - I think the headphone output in my NAD 320BEE has more base than the V-Can. I still don't know which is more accurate, but I prefer the NAD.

EDIT: they're distorting again. I was playing a grand piano sound at quite a modest level, and they slowly started to distort.

EDIT #2: Sorry - this was my fault again. This time my software was clipping. I.e, the software synthesizer itself was clipping and sending a clipped signal to the soundcard. The headphones are still working ok. (actually, software limiting was enabled, so it wasn't a very harsh clip). Note that this was NOT the problem when I was doing the earlier testing with the heavy bass - I made sure the signal being sent to the soundcard was not clipping and software limiting was disabled as well.

Greg.
 
Mar 8, 2009 at 7:24 AM Post #37 of 65
Just regarding my comment about the V-Can having less bass than the NAD, I want to withdraw that. Right now, I don't have the V-Can, and I can't do a side by side comparison, and because I have had so many problems, I just can't be 100% sure without doing a final A/B test. One reason for my uncertainty is that when I first got the 595's, I did try them on the NAD, and I thought they had quite a bit less bass than the 570's. But today, they sound quite similar, and I'm wondering whether the 595's were working properly initially. (recall that the first pair I got were the display ones, and they're the ones that now seem to have been blown - the shop agrees with me that they are fuzzy and not working properly)

I've had my 595's for half a day now and still no problems - amazing. ;^) ;^)

Greg.
 
Mar 8, 2009 at 12:27 PM Post #38 of 65
RE: the V-Can frequency response, I've checked the manual again and I had missed something - it states that it's +0 to -1dB between 20Hz and 80kHz, which for a grand piano should be excellent I think. *shrugs*

Greg.
 
Mar 8, 2009 at 1:52 PM Post #39 of 65
Don't judge a new amp for its bass response in its first hours... My Solo amp was rather lacking in bass in the first days of use (during which I was keeping it ALWAYS powered on). Certainly less bass than from the headphone output of my previous Pioneer amp. After a couple of weeks, the situation had changed and there was plenty of bass, although of a different quality (=cleaner, tighter, more controlled, more neutral).
 
Mar 8, 2009 at 9:49 PM Post #40 of 65
I might get the V-Can back once I am confident that the headphones are working reliably with the NAD.

Regarding bass response in the "first hours", do you think it would meet frequency response specifications in that period? If not, and I was the manufacturer, I'd "burn them in" myself to save my customers the hassle and having to put a warning in the documentation. (and I didn't see any such warning in the documentation)

While I'm here, earlier on I mentioned an intermittent distortion when playing a grand piano sound, and which went away with the V-Can - that could have easily been the software clipping issue, so ignore it *entirely*. The only distortion I am very confident about was the soft distortion with heavy bass - I went to great pains to eliminate other possible causes of that. I'm reluctant to do any more of that kind of testing for the time being. The other forms of distortion/clipping have been due to my clumsiness. With everything set up properly now, and playing *normally*, I am not having any problems.

Greg.
 
Mar 9, 2009 at 5:24 AM Post #41 of 65
Previous reply deleted whilst I do further testing.

EDIT: I found a loose connection, but that's not the problem. The headphones have definitley failed. There is no bass from the left headphone. (there is still some sound though).

These are the headphones which were basically working, but seemed to fail inbetween listening sessions. I.e - the first time I noticed a problem was right at the beginning of a session, immediately after plugging in the plug-pack for the V-Can. I took them back to the store, but they couldn't find a problem with them. The symptoms now are the same or very similar to before, but this time I *noticed* the failure during a listening session, which was listening to Birdland, John Bora, Tahitian Dreams album.
http://itunes.apple.com/WebObjects/M...98828&s=143460

Store is refunding me for the headphones, and I will try my luck with AKG 601s which I will source elsewhere.

Greg.
 
Mar 9, 2009 at 11:29 AM Post #42 of 65
Quote:

Originally Posted by skip129 /img/forum/go_quote.gif
Regarding bass response in the "first hours", do you think it would meet frequency response specifications in that period? If not, and I was the manufacturer, I'd "burn them in" myself to save my customers the hassle and having to put a warning in the documentation. (and I didn't see any such warning in the documentation)


Very few manufacturers are open on this matter and say it on their manuals. Graham Slee is one of them, and I admit that the first time I read the instructions of his amp when it arrived I had a big laugh. Only to realize that he was completely right a few days later...

Some audio equipment may exhibit less of such a behaviour, but it's common opinion that at least some burn-in is recommended for all amps.

Burning in by the manufacturer is impractical: it would raise prices of the end products.
 
Mar 9, 2009 at 11:38 AM Post #43 of 65
Quote:

Originally Posted by Lucabeer /img/forum/go_quote.gif
Very few manufacturers are open on this matter and say it on their manuals. Graham Slee is one of them, and I admit that the first time I read the instructions of his amp when it arrived I had a big laugh. Only to realize that he was completely right a few days later...


I'm still curious to know whether the amp would meet specifications before the burnin. Does Graham actually say that the amp does not meet specs until it has been burnt in? If it does meet specs before, then yes, I am very skeptical as to whether *I* would be able to hear any difference after the burnin - the V-Can specs are absolutely fantastic and if it meets those specs straight out of the box then I'm more than satisfied.
smily_headphones1.gif


Quote:

Burning in by the manufacturer is impractical: it would raise prices of the end products.


Yes, point taken. I was thinking after I had made my post that cars would be a tad more expensive if the manufacturer had to run them in themselves.
smily_headphones1.gif


But enough - have you played that song yet, and blown your HD-595s like I did?
smily_headphones1.gif


Greg.
 
Mar 10, 2009 at 2:16 AM Post #44 of 65
I have the V-Can again. Comparing some powerful low notes from a grand piano, I can NOT tell the difference between it and the NAD 320BEE amp, so yes, I think I was wrong when I said the NAD had more bass. I am not looking for subtle differences - the difference I thought I noticed earlier was pronounced, and I wanted to see whether I could still detect that difference - I can't.

I used HD570 headphones for this test.

595's have been returned, and I am waiting for my AKG's to be ordered in.

Greg.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.

Users who are viewing this thread

Total: 2 (members: 0, guests: 2)
Back
Top