[M3NTAL]

The HD580 came out in what, 1994? Pat yourselves on the back... you did good Sennheiser. I think this thread is warming everyone up for what's next... I've been ready since day 1. I purchased my HD800 from Todd at CanJam release, of all the headphones I've owned and sold.. only two ever were re-purchased. The Sennheiser HD600 and Audeze LCD2.1.

You appealed to the masses with HD660S, the HD560S and recently with the IE900, but us nerds here are still waiting... Let's see what you've got Sennheiser!

 

[Mh996]

I've climbed up and down the head-fi ladder many times. I've convinced myself that I can only listen to flagship headphones driven by tube amps with NOS tubes from the 1960s. I've convinced myself that I can only have said tube amps if they have point-to-point wiring and hand-wound transformers. I've gone about face and used the cheapest bluetooth headphones connected to my cellphone in an attempt to simplify my life and decrease some of my audio nervosa. Then I tried to climb the tube amp summit again, and for good measure, threw delta-sigma DACs in the ocean and convinced myself that only multibit ones are good enough for me. After a while, I'd go slumming again with the wireless vagrants again. I've done this vacillation many times over the years.

But the one steadfast for me as always been the Sennheiser HD 650. There's some magic in those cans that always draws me in. Those cans always get head time. They just feel and sound right to me. All is right with the world.

I double that. I've had a lot of gear pass through my hands over the years, but my HD650 will die in my arms

 

[Evshrug]

I think this thread is warming everyone up for what's next...

Oh, well this thread was my idea, and generally I don’t know about upcoming products so that I don’t have the agony and temptation of keeping a secret Still! I know everyone likes talking about their favorite headphone, or headphone they wished they had!

For a long time, I thought there were two types of head-fi’ers: the collectors, who buy a bunch of stuff at any price point so that they have as many tuning flavors as an ice cream parlor has flavors, and then the Holy Grail’ers, the people who have identified their favorite signature and usually only have one headphone at a time, chasing perfection. These days, however, I wonder if the destiny of the holy-grail quester is actually to eventually find their summit, but they don’t want the journey to end, and then their quiver of headphones mushrooms out into a collection. Or maybe that’s just self-projecting

I double that. I've had a lot of gear pass through my hands over the years, but my HD650 will die in my arms

Did you see the story, posted somewhere here on Head-Fi, of the stinky HD 800?? I don’t have a link on hand, but the story is well-told and very much worth reading

Edit: Actually wasn’t that hard to find!
https://www.head-fi.org/threads/hd8...f-heart-youve-been-warned.685261/post-9875919

Anyway, here’s to you having many fine years ahead of you with your HD 650!

 

[ThanatosVI]

Oh, well this thread was my idea, and generally I don’t know about upcoming products so that I don’t have the agony and temptation of keeping a secret Still! I know everyone likes talking about their favorite headphone, or headphone they wished they had!

For a long time, I thought there were two types of head-fi’ers: the collectors, who buy a bunch of stuff at any price point so that they have as many tuning flavors as an ice cream parlor has flavors, and then the Holy Grail’ers, the people who have identified their favorite signature and usually only have one headphone at a time, chasing perfection. These days, however, I wonder if the destiny of the holy-grail quester is actually to eventually find their summit, but they don’t want the journey to end, and then their quiver of headphones mushrooms out into a collection. Or maybe that’s just self-projecting


Did you see the story, posted somewhere here on Head-Fi, of the stinky HD 800?? I don’t have a link on hand, but the story is well-told and very much worth reading

Edit: Actually wasn’t that hard to find!
https://www.head-fi.org/threads/hd8...f-heart-youve-been-warned.685261/post-9875919

Anyway, here’s to you having many fine years ahead of you with your HD 650!

From experience I can say that this is an evolving process that "scales" with available budget.

I used to collect headphones in the mid-fi price Segment for different flavours.
While having a lot of headphones at my dispossal it got clearer over time which sound signature I like most.
Then I went on the holy grail quest and found my grail in the Meze Empyrean, which made me sell all other headphones.

I was satisfied for 8 months and started collecting again, this time summit fi headphones though.

 

[Death_Block]

From experience I can say that this is an evolving process that "scales" with available budget.

I used to collect headphones in the mid-fi price Segment for different flavours.
While having a lot of headphones at my dispossal it got clearer over time which sound signature I like most.
Then I went on the holy grail quest and found my grail in the Meze Empyrean, which made me sell all other headphones.

I was satisfied for 8 months and started collecting again, this time summit fi headphones though.

if the empy isnt summit, what is?

 

[paradoxper]

From experience I can say that this is an evolving process that "scales" with available budget.

I used to collect headphones in the mid-fi price Segment for different flavours.
While having a lot of headphones at my dispossal it got clearer over time which sound signature I like most.
Then I went on the holy grail quest and found my grail in the Meze Empyrean, which made me sell all other headphones.

I was satisfied for 8 months and started collecting again, this time summit fi headphones though.

You did not find your grail as you have not heard the TC.

 

[Vamp898]

Oh, well this thread was my idea, and generally I don’t know about upcoming products so that I don’t have the agony and temptation of keeping a secret Still! I know everyone likes talking about their favorite headphone, or headphone they wished they had!

For a long time, I thought there were two types of head-fi’ers: the collectors, who buy a bunch of stuff at any price point so that they have as many tuning flavors as an ice cream parlor has flavors, and then the Holy Grail’ers, the people who have identified their favorite signature and usually only have one headphone at a time, chasing perfection. These days, however, I wonder if the destiny of the holy-grail quester is actually to eventually find their summit, but they don’t want the journey to end, and then their quiver of headphones mushrooms out into a collection. Or maybe that’s just self-projecting


Did you see the story, posted somewhere here on Head-Fi, of the stinky HD 800?? I don’t have a link on hand, but the story is well-told and very much worth reading

Edit: Actually wasn’t that hard to find!
https://www.head-fi.org/threads/hd8...f-heart-youve-been-warned.685261/post-9875919

Anyway, here’s to you having many fine years ahead of you with your HD 650!

I think its always a bit of all worlds.

I am a musician and i am a technician, there are (at least) two hearts pounding insight of me, craving for different things.

I, of course, want the, for me, best sound that exists, but at the same time i am also interested in how things are technically approached.

When i listen to music, i just enjoy the music as it is and want the headphones that provide the best possible sound with the sound signature i like. With my headphones, i know this is as good as it gets with the sound signature i like most. Im done, no more headphones needed.

I could just be lucky for the rest of my life but then there is this feeling... this feeling deep inside me that says "You can't improve, but why not enjoy different tastes?"

If i would not care about money, i would instantly get the HD820 just to enjoy different sound signatures and because i like high end engineering, this is where the technician in me comes out. The MDR-Z1R and IER-Z1R are awesome headphones, but at the same time, they are a piece of art from an engineering standpoint.

So they feed on both of my cravings.

If i would have an unlimited amount of money, i would instantly go to the Sennheiser Flagship store here in berlin and get an HD820 because this also does have an interesting sound signature and is an art piece of engineering.

I maybe would also get the IE900 but neither the sound, nor the engineering is giving me any cravings. I would just get it for the sake of having it and in the end... maybe just not get it? I don't know. It is a very well executed single dd design but... meh. And i would also not care about an Sennheiser with BAs from other vendors. If Sennheiser would create an Hybrid IEM, i would totally expect it to have an self-designed BA with BAs designed for music and not for hearing aids, without sound tubes.. If i want the Knowles sound, there are like 100 headphones giving me that sound, there is no reason to buy the 101 from Sennheiser.

 

[ThanatosVI]

You did not find your grail as you have not heard the TC.

Silence Siren, do not tempt me.

 

[paradoxper]

Silence Siren, do not tempt me.

 

[432789]

You did not find your grail as you have not heard the TC.

heard enough about this headphones from its measurements and from different objective reviewers, full of problem. no one likes them.

 

[Backsplash7]

For me, the Holy Grail headphone would be to start making the HD 540 Reference Golds again, just with the added benefits of modern driver technology and materials.

Keep the core design elements as they are, such as the big round earcups (so much more comfortable than the modern 500 series) and the wide soundstage they offer, keep the focus on a very natural timbre and leave the overall presentation as it is, just help it along with the bass extension and weight (but crucially not overdoing it, or at the expense of losing their sense of openness and clarity) and just add a touch more to their sense of depth, and a hint more transparency and articulation; like a classic car, it just takes a little polish to make them shine.
Also keep the high 300/600ohm resistance so that you dont sacrifice any performance at all; appeal to the home listener. For all the people wishing for a modernised HD 600 with a wider soundstage, I really think these would satisfy that desire. Though, maybe for sake of ease with cable swapping, change the cable socket to be fully compatible with the HD 600 series.

Of course, so many people out there already consider the HD 540 Reference/Reference II/ Reference Golds to be Holy Grails just as they are. If Sennheiser were to once again support the earpads for these headphones, you'd be giving many people the chance to make to make their classic cars shine once more

 

[SIRKRA]

I strongly agree on the remake/revival of series 540 open / (250 closed too?) (obviously more refined with today standards). It would be even cooler if something special with 540 Gold could come out.

 

[lantian]

My Holly grail is definitely the Sennheiser hd 540 Reference Gold. Got them a year or two after started to get some big cans, the moment I heard. The normal hd 540 300ohm knew these where it for me(listened to a lot of big phones in the shop before including modern sennheiser and Sony offerings) , the vocals and tuning where pretty spectacular for me (they have diffuse field equalization which is a must for me) . That is until I got my hands on my beloved hd 540 Reference Gold 600ohm version, wow nothing comes even close to these. Even with underpowered amps and limited sources it was imidiatly obvious that these are way more than just some Totl headphones. These are pure magic. Now have spent past couple of years trying to find an amplifier that could actually power them(even had the 300ohm version for a while, but find it to be exactly half of what the 600ohm cans are. That was not a sacrifice I was ready to make just to run them on more stuff). So years of buying many different headphone amps, got ibasso dx200 with Amp8. In balanced it could run them just barely after a while realized only true option is to get an integrated amplifier from the time for them. After all that's what they are designed for. Gone trough many amps most notable would be pioneer a717 and a656. Eventually luck struck and got my hands on my current sansui au d33. Now we are talking this thing is like it's made for them. They sing like never before, Soundstage, imaging, sound itself everything got way better. But the golds being golds they revealed everything amiss with the Amp and all of its shortcomings(even though is the best amp I have ever heard.). At this point got frustrated and disappointed in the general quality of hifi equipment available, either new or vintage.
Decided only option was to mod the Amp myself. That's exactly what I have done. All just to gime my golds the cleanest undistorted signal possible. Long story short the amplifier has all the resistors/caps upgraded, signal cables are now pure silver, some input boards and phono preamp are gone. Now this amp can make the golds shine like they want to. Every recording every smallest detail just sounds fabulous. It's the most beautiful experience listening to these headphones. Though they have issues as well. Whyle I say issues I mean quality of life stuff. All the spare parts are long gone from market, and finding replacements is not possible. The driver will be fine for another 40 years probably, but all the foam inserts and pads degrade rather quickly. And they are huge part of the sound. If either part is missing sound won't be like intended, which made the only option to rebuild them yourself, also not the best solution but is a solution. Will not ever get any other phones unless they sound exactly like these do. With the reference goldmy headphone tourney is over, and now 3 years later I have an amplifier that is in my opinion good enough for them. My source is also perfect for me. So my hifi your ney is mostly done and that is exactly why the 540 reference gold are my Holy grail. Also got the sennheiser hd 480 classic which are enough for my portatable use on the street, and HD 569 for the commute in tram/bus. In any case thank you sennheiser for this amazing product.
Sorry if this come of a bit convoluted.

 

[Grumpy Old Git]

For me, the Holy Grail headphone would be to start making the HD 540 Reference Golds again, just with the added benefits of modern driver technology and materials.

Keep the core design elements as they are, such as the big round earcups (so much more comfortable than the modern 500 series) and the wide soundstage they offer, keep the focus on a very natural timbre and leave the overall presentation as it is, just help it along with the bass extension and weight (but crucially not overdoing it, or at the expense of losing their sense of openness and clarity) and just add a touch more to their sense of depth, and a hint more transparency and articulation; like a classic car, it just takes a little polish to make them shine.
Also keep the high 300/600ohm resistance so that you dont sacrifice any performance at all; appeal to the home listener. For all the people wishing for a modernised HD 600 with a wider soundstage, I really think these would satisfy that desire. Though, maybe for sake of ease with cable swapping, change the cable socket to be fully compatible with the HD 600 series.

Of course, so many people out there already consider the HD 540 Reference/Reference II/ Reference Golds to be Holy Grails just as they are. If Sennheiser were to once again support the earpads for these headphones, you'd be giving many people the chance to make to make their classic cars shine once more

I strongly agree on the remake/revival of series 540 open / (250 closed too?) (obviously more refined with today standards). It would be even cooler if something special with 540 Gold could come out.

My Holly grail is definitely the Sennheiser hd 540 Reference Gold. Got them a year or two after started to get some big cans, the moment I heard. The normal hd 540 300ohm knew these where it for me(listened to a lot of big phones in the shop before including modern sennheiser and Sony offerings) , the vocals and tuning where pretty spectacular for me (they have diffuse field equalization which is a must for me) . That is until I got my hands on my beloved hd 540 Reference Gold 600ohm version, wow nothing comes even close to these. Even with underpowered amps and limited sources it was imidiatly obvious that these are way more than just some Totl headphones. These are pure magic. Now have spent past couple of years trying to find an amplifier that could actually power them(even had the 300ohm version for a while, but find it to be exactly half of what the 600ohm cans are. That was not a sacrifice I was ready to make just to run them on more stuff). So years of buying many different headphone amps, got ibasso dx200 with Amp8. In balanced it could run them just barely after a while realized only true option is to get an integrated amplifier from the time for them. After all that's what they are designed for. Gone trough many amps most notable would be pioneer a717 and a656. Eventually luck struck and got my hands on my current sansui au d33. Now we are talking this thing is like it's made for them. They sing like never before, Soundstage, imaging, sound itself everything got way better. But the golds being golds they revealed everything amiss with the Amp and all of its shortcomings(even though is the best amp I have ever heard.). At this point got frustrated and disappointed in the general quality of hifi equipment available, either new or vintage.
Decided only option was to mod the Amp myself. That's exactly what I have done. All just to gime my golds the cleanest undistorted signal possible. Long story short the amplifier has all the resistors/caps upgraded, signal cables are now pure silver, some input boards and phono preamp are gone. Now this amp can make the golds shine like they want to. Every recording every smallest detail just sounds fabulous. It's the most beautiful experience listening to these headphones. Though they have issues as well. Whyle I say issues I mean quality of life stuff. All the spare parts are long gone from market, and finding replacements is not possible. The driver will be fine for another 40 years probably, but all the foam inserts and pads degrade rather quickly. And they are huge part of the sound. If either part is missing sound won't be like intended, which made the only option to rebuild them yourself, also not the best solution but is a solution. Will not ever get any other phones unless they sound exactly like these do. With the reference goldmy headphone tourney is over, and now 3 years later I have an amplifier that is in my opinion good enough for them. My source is also perfect for me. So my hifi your ney is mostly done and that is exactly why the 540 reference gold are my Holy grail. Also got the sennheiser hd 480 classic which are enough for my portatable use on the street, and HD 569 for the commute in tram/bus. In any case thank you sennheiser for this amazing product.
Sorry if this come of a bit convoluted.

Right YOU guys at Sennheiser, PLEASE take these posts onboard!
The secondhand HD 540 market has seen a steep rise in prices over the past three years or so, what does that tell you?
Even younger audiophiles are impressed (VERY impressed in a lot of cases) with the simplicity, lightweight, comfort, and of course, sound quality.
There is a growing demand for spare parts, notably ear pads. But headbands are also in demand because of wear.

I am confident, and I know I'm not on my own when I say this, that the relaunch of the HD 540 both standard and Gold variants would be very well received by the headphone enthusiasts amongst us.
I am equally confident that if you only made spares available whilst pondering on putting the HD 540 back into production, there would be a high demand for those spares.
So could you at least make spare available again please?
How good are the HD 540's? As someone who has owned the HD 800, HD 650, AKG K812, Audeze LCD-2, LCD-3, various Hifiman headphones and numerous others, I have to say the HD 540 is the best pound for pound headphone I have ever heard.
Yes, some other headphones go deeper into the bass region, some have a slightly wider soundstage, some have a brighter treble, ect. NOTHING beats the HD 540 for it's linear response, it sounds just 'right'. Yes it's all subjective, but the HD 540 just sounds more 'believable'. The closest I've got to the HD 540 sound cost me several times what I paid for the HD 540.
Sorry to say it guys, but your company made a mistake in dropping the HD 540, but this error could be resolved.........

 

[funasianguy4u]

@Sennheiser

For my long story making Short, my end game for full sizes headphones is HD800S. I loved it so much that I sold my Stax SR-009 and SR-009S and then bought the anniversary editions as well.

the long story

Practicality: the HD800S is very light weight, great clamping but comfortable and seems to disappear when worn on my head . Headphones can be whatever and however good, but if it weight down on my neck and or feel Uncomfortable to turn my head around with, then it isn’t worth it. The 800S nails it right on the points

Appearances: let’s be honest, the HD800s is an old design, but it looks is still futuristic. It look DartVader style, yet still stylist when worn on, even if you wear it outdoor, having a coffee, in your car. You look cool and stylish. Literally that black color and aluminum shines, both the 800 and anniversary is a bit above that, but still look cool and stylish non the less

Build quality: Amazing built, everything is so well thought out, even the internal wires are thick and of nice quality, which is also easy to upgrade to higher quality materials. It is also very comfortable to lay in bed with, literally no squeaking or farting… mind your that both Utopia and Stax has either Squeak or squeals or Farts!!!

Driveability : Yes, the HD800S in it true nature is a references headphones, and it means that literally. The 800S is so transparent, so much that it would spit sibilants and grainy textures or harsh distortions to your ears, if you have either a bad source, a bad amplifier, or both. Especially without a good amplifier, the Hd800s seems to have the bass extinct !!! However, yet, is also friendly toward newer sources, and the most important would be a quality DAC sections. If you have a good DAP with adequate powers of about 250mW per channels, the 800s starts to shine, it would even surpass many other so called easier to drive by it references nature’s. Yet, it continue to scale up, whether in dynamic, texture, fidelity or imaging, the better the DAC and the better the amp , the better the 800S will shine. With the modern DAP being power packed and so much improvements in DAC sections, for example the Ibasso DX220Max. The HD800S does wonderfully and can be portably going outdoor with you. The DAP market will continue to evolve, and the appreciations for the HD800S from me will only continue to grow.

The Stax SR009 is even more picky, not only DAC but most importantly is the energizer. Sr-009 is the most transparent and honest headphones with legendary performances. It will tells every changes within the system if you just swap around even a cables of interconnect. Having owning Stax with my DIY T2, the Stax SR-009 literally is the perfections and holy grails of headphones.
Sound performances : in comparisons between Stax system and 800S, the Stax has the most authentic and pure performances, as much as that the sub bass on the 800s sounds like a creations of reverberated chambers, or of it resonators, not as clean and precise or decisive as Stax. The same as trebles fidelity, where Stax will extend to almost infinity or as much as recorded, even 800s is a bit roll off in comparison. The layering and imagings the Stax is a clear winner, but dynamic and punches delivery, the 800s is a winner, even when Stax is driven by it legendary T2 energizer. As the end result, the soundstage of both phones are extraordinarily presenting, with Stax slightly ahead but not as tall on the vertical axis where Hd800s is slightly narrower and shallower but with a taller axis and dynamic delivery.

Maintaining: the Stax system requires a very high degree of maintenance, can’t expose to dirt, or Uv sun light, can’t wear and listen to when hair is wet, and can only be best enjoyed stationary. Where HD800S is a beater, build like a tank, you can toss it from across the room toward a mattress and still won’t break it. You can listen as soon as you are out of the shower, walk around under the sunlight, you can even ride a bike with it as the cups are wind deflectors and you won’t have to deal with wind noises. You can listen to it in your car, and most importantly, you can plug into any DAP, phone, IPads and have it to sing temporarily….Stax ? Without an energized, nope!!

So, what do I wish for in the next flagship from Sennheiser ? I take that this thread is for this question right ?

I wish for Utopia Dynamic, and 800S references signatures with 800s soundstage. Yepe! That is pretty much it. Btw, don’t trade off any of the soundstage from 800s to get more dynamic as in anniversaries edition either…definitely do not want that. Oh, additionally, please be enthusiastic about the pricing, acceptable upto $2,499 but not those ridiculous $3,999 trend

Best regard
Vince

wow - thanks for the feedback Vince, and I am eagerly awaiting for you to get your new DAP, and then plug in your Sennheiser. I assume the fuss on what cable to use for the headphone from Sennheiser does not apply, stock cable it is, right? ...cheers, Ron