[ibanezwizz]

Greetings,
 
I have an old Sennheiser HD 480II cans I use in my semi-pro studio for mixing and mastering.
 
My cans are getting old and well used, so I am thinking Christmas present.  
 
What are the best cans nowadays (open-back) to replace my cans with (without losing the flat natural sound of the 480's) and without spending arm and the leg?
 
Thanks.

 

[pkshan]

Grab a HD560 from ebay (non "II" is better)
 
its the Sennheiser flagship in the golden era.
they are transparent, flat, natural, & sweet.
don't forget buy some new pads for it
 
I would say the 560 is competitive to hd800,
hd800 has better clarity,better sound stage,
hd560 has 80% clarity of hd800, & its more musical, more linear than hd800

 

[BillsonChang007]

Quote:

Greetings,
 
I have an old Sennheiser HD 480II cans I use in my semi-pro studio for mixing and mastering.
 
My cans are getting old and well used, so I am thinking Christmas present.  
 
What are the best cans nowadays (open-back) to replace my cans with (without losing the flat natural sound of the 480's) and without spending arm and the leg?
 
Thanks.

do you have any budget in mind?

 

[ibanezwizz]

Quote:

do you have any budget in mind?

 
Yes, about 250 EUROS

 

[ibanezwizz]

[size=10pt]Just bought a pair of HD 598. Awful! Took them back. Piercing high end, just terrible. So I’ve eliminated 1 pair which 480II's blow cleanly out of water. I think I will get some new ear pads for 480’s and be done with. [/size]

 

[hesson11]

Quote:

[size=10pt]Just bought a pair of HD 598. Awful! Took them back. Piercing high end... [/size]

 
Wow, that's the last thing I would ever associate the 598 with. To me, they sound a bit rolled off, if anything. Are you sure they weren't defective in some way? In any case, I hope you're happy with what you've got.
 
-Bob

 

[pp312]

Actually mine sounded both rolled off and piercing. (The two aren't contradictory. If there's too much lower treble energy and not enough high treble energy you'll get that effect). Anyway, I sold them within a week.

 

[pkshan]

The hd480 II is sound like a portable version, lower quality of hd560
(the HD480 Classic is the best in hd480 family, the HD560 early version (non II) is better than HD560 II)
 
they were developed by the same team i guess
the timbre of these old Sennheisers are identical to the HE60/HE90 (natural,transparent,sweet)
new Senn sound nothing like the old Senn ,they are fatty,muddy,unnatural,
except HD800 ,which is like an upgrade version of HD540 (clear,but a bit thin, not very musical)
 
hd560 (early version)

 
 
hd480 II

 
 
hd480 classic
 

 
 
HD540
 

 

[ibanezwizz]

Quote:

 
Wow, that's the last thing I would ever associate the 598 with. To me, they sound a bit rolled off, if anything. Are you sure they weren't defective in some way? In any case, I hope you're happy with what you've got.
 
-Bob

 
[size=10pt] [/size]
[size=10pt]Don't know if they were defective? I don't think so but maybe - everything is possible...[/size]
 
[size=10pt][/size]
[size=10pt]I am a pro musician, sound engineer and music producer. I need my headphones to be flat, neutral, balanced and natural sounding. As I had the opportunity to compare head to head, the HD 598 were anything but flat and natural sounding. Bass was strong, mids were clear but the colouring of the sound was felt quite strongly. The top end however was what made me return them at once. It gave me an immediate headache at high volume. The hi-hats and the cymbals were what killed them for me. Way to sharp, piercing, unnatural and way to prominent. [/size]
 
[size=10pt]Just my 2 cents, I discovered this many a time; newer isn’t always better…[/size]
 
[size=10pt][/size]

 

[BillsonChang007]

[SIZE=10pt][COLOR=000000]Don't know if they were defective? I don't think so but maybe - everything is possible...[/COLOR][/SIZE]

[SIZE=10pt][COLOR=000000]I am a pro musician, sound engineer and music producer. I need my headphones to be flat, neutral, balanced and natural sounding. As I had the opportunity to compare head to head, the HD 598 were anything but flat and natural sounding. Bass was strong, mids were clear but the colouring of the sound was felt quite strongly. The top end however was what made me return them at once. It gave me an immediate headache at high volume. The hi-hats and the cymbals were what killed them for me. Way to sharp, piercing, unnatural and way to prominent.[/COLOR][/SIZE]

[SIZE=10pt][COLOR=000000]Just my 2 cents, I discovered this many a time; newer isn’t always better…[/COLOR][/SIZE]

Hi!

Probably, your HD598 is defective/not enough burn-in. I tried them ones although it is just a 5minutes, the bass are behind mids & highs that are forward. Not at all veiled & there's a bit of sibilance although not so noticeable. If clarity & balance is what you need, DT880 are good with E10 however I never get to try those. Hopefully I can try them in the near future as I am flying to Singapore soon! (YEAH!)

Billson

 

[Christo4]

Quote:

 
 
 
 
[size=10pt]Don't know if they were defective? I don't think so but maybe - everything is possible...[/size]
 
 
 
 
[size=10pt]I am a pro musician, sound engineer and music producer. I need my headphones to be flat, neutral, balanced and natural sounding. As I had the opportunity to compare head to head, the HD 598 were anything but flat and natural sounding. Bass was strong, mids were clear but the colouring of the sound was felt quite strongly. The top end however was what made me return them at once. It gave me an immediate headache at high volume. The hi-hats and the cymbals were what killed them for me. Way to sharp, piercing, unnatural and way to prominent. [/size]
 
 
 
[size=10pt]Just my 2 cents, I discovered this many a time; newer isn’t always better…[/size]
 

Just want to say that i agree with what you said. Especially the piercing treble, i had the HD558 (not much different) and it also had it. Needles to say i returned them after a week, was hoping that some burn-in will help them but it didn't do nothing.
Alot of people say that they are rolled-off or dark sounding etc. but to me they were more piercing then my grado! (which i kept cus it's too good with rock!)

 

[Producer]

@ibanezwizz
 
I totally agree with your findings !!
 
For two years ago, I made the same jouney to "replace" my old HD-480 Classic.
As a producer and radio jock, I thought it was easy to upgrade my old Sennheiser, because technology runs fast over the last 20 years
 
So I tested the "alternatives":  Beyer Dynamic DT-770 Pro, Beyer Dynamic DT 990 Pro, Sennheiser HD-598, Sennheiser HD-25, Sennheiser HD-595.
With this panel it should be easy to finally find a good successor.
Although they're all good headphones, none of them was able to beat the sound of the "Classic One".
Beyer Dynamics have (as mentioned) a real good bass, but a "headache hights".
The 595 and 598 series Sennheiser showed a good bass but with higher volumes they deformed the bass, while the HD-480 Classic keeps playing without any disortion...flawless.
They produced a better high for my ears like the Beyers but still too much and tried to compensate it with the sound control on the amplifier without success.
 
The only good alternative was the Sennehiser HD-25, but I missed the open ear system (use it in the studio without background sounds and noise)
I finally returned all others and after a long search for almost 1.5 years, I bought (hard to find) spareparts to (re) build a new HD-480 Classic headphone and a spare one to be safe for the next years.
 
Be aware..... those tested headphones are all "best in class" , really good performers and best bang for buck. I really can reccommend them if you don't have a HD-480 Classic around you
But in a direct comparisation with the "Classic" they were unfortunately no match.
 
Finally I'm a happy funkateer

 

[vid]

I like how pkshan was completely ignored here yet his suggestion - made twice - was a very viable one.

 

[Producer]

Well his argument was probably based on the product line-up from Sennheiser (from cheap models to expensiver ones) and not based on own experiences.
This confirmed again that cheaper priced models are not less superior in advance, compared to more expesive onces.
Most of the time you can say; "You get what you pay for", but sometimes a bargain $ 169,- at that time, can be a real knock out compared with the $ 250,- priced ones and up !!!
 
(must remark, I own the HD480Classic edition, this is the basic HD480 with selected high grade/tuned parts)

 

[organopleno]

Hello,
 
thank you for the photographs. Still, it is hard for me to tell the HD 480 II from the HD 480. Could you help me for this one ?