[TheMilford]

Just won a set of original gray hd-414s for $30 shipped from the UK. They need earpads, which i have a new spare set.

I hope they are the 2000 ohm versions as I want to compare them to my 52 ohm reissues. I assume they are. I also hope the elements are in fine working order.

I'll let you know...

 

[mnewt]

I just rediscovered an HD414x I bought at a garage sale a few years back. Tried them on an old inherited Lafayette LA-324A - they sound good, but the jack on the amp is pretty worn out so the plug doesn't quite connect perfectly and I have to fiddle and have it sit just the right way.

Let's say I decide to invest in something less busted to drive them. Are there new amps that play well with 2000 ohm headphones? Any chance a portable amp exists that'll work? Should I not bother and look into the vintage (garage sale) market instead?

 

[kool bubba ice]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Duggeh /img/forum/go_quote.gif Such a pair sold on ebay uk a few weeks ago, alongside auctions for some nagra recording equipment from the same seller. The ending price was about £124. Vintage Beyer DT 48 headphones for Nagra Recorder etc on eBay, also Tape Recorders Reel-to-Reel, Audio, Vintage Electronics, Consumer Electronics (end time 03-Jan-09 17:01:34 GMT)

Ah.. F%%% me.. I love to hear the original.. Although looks nothing like the 'original' on the box.. The head band looks like 4 crossing steel wires.. And looks very pretty in the vintage sense. I guess the newer models are based on the consumer release DT48 silver in 51.

 

[kool bubba ice]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Reputator /img/forum/go_quote.gif Yeah if someone had a pair of the original DT48s, that would be something.

I have models from 51-08.. Minor sound differences due to ohm, use/'burn in.'.. The a/e do sound noticeably different due to the a version having rubber ear pads.. From what I read from the engineering data, little has changed in terms of the SQ, from the 1937 original.

 

[lecky]

I just got unused HD424x (from 1979), and a new set of pads, they sound really quite nice, very listenable, see what happens with more burn in (they opened up a lot within the first few hours)...

 

[nc8000]

These were my first headphones that I bought together with my first stereo in the summer of 1978

 

[MDR30]

Just received a mint pair of light grey HD414, with black cable and TRS plug. 2000 ohms (or rather 1870 ohms). Probably from the 1970s. Connected them to my CD player and valve amp only to make sure they're working, and boy was I surprised. I've read so much about non-existant bass, all mids and nothing above 2 kHz. My first impression told me otherwise: tight, musical and relatively neutral balance. Forward sounding, yes, but also detailed and fast. Could it be the impedance match of the valve amp? Don't know, but they sure sound promising.
 

 
One thing I've learned through the years: never underestimate a Sennheiser. Decades of microphone designing & production is hard to beat.
 
Now, where is that K50 I bought for peanuts?
 

 

[Saniva]

Just won a set of original gray hd-414s for $30 shipped from the UK. They need earpads, which i have a new spare set.


I hope they are the 2000 ohm versions as I want to compare them to my 52 ohm reissues. I assume they are. I also hope the elements are in fine working order.


I'll let you know...

Did you ever compare
The Anniversary to the older HD 414s?

 

[GREQ]

 
Did you ever compare
The Anniversary to the older HD 414s?

 I did.
Out of all the 'normal' HD414s, the Anniversary was the best sounding.
But if you want to get really caught up in model variants, the "HD414 SL" was the best sounding, but doesn't look much like the iconic HD414.

 

[enceladus303]

Hello there,
Recently I've become owner of three vintage Sennheiser's HD 424, HD 414 SL and grey HD 414, and there is a really funny thing going on here because HD 424 and HD 414 SL are 2000 ohm and 600 ohm respectively, and the grey 414 is supposed to be the 1968 original and 2000 ohm.
And here is the funny thing, my Audinst Hud Mini output is 300ohm max, so I can bearly drive HD 424 and the SL's, but i can drive the grey 414 quite efficiently just as loud as my AKG K 240, which are 56 ohm's.
So does anyone have any idea what is going on here?

 

[GREQ]

The ohms (resistance) and dB/mW (sensitivity) are two different things.
So a headphone with a high resistance and a high sensitivity might play louder than a headphone with low resistance and low sensitivity.

Higher resistance is good for increasing the damping factor, but more powerful amps are needed to make the best use of this.

It can also depend on the amplifiers specifications, but then it gets more complicated.

 

[enceladus303]

The ohms (resistance) and dB/mW (sensitivity) are two different things.
So a headphone with a high resistance and a high sensitivity might play louder than a headphone with low resistance and low sensitivity.

Higher resistance is good for increasing the damping factor, but more powerful amps are needed to make the best use of this.

It can also depend on the amplifiers specifications, but then it gets more complicated.

Difference between volume levels of 424, SL and grey 414 is really HUGE, to bad that there's no user manual or detailed specifications on these three headphones, or at least i couldn't find any.

Do you happen to know if modern copper cable will do any good to any of these headphones, all i have is 3 original cables but these are made of steel instead of a copper.

 

[GREQ]

I think I read something once about old Sennheiser cables having pretty high resistance, so it's not out of the question.