[Steely Dan]

Quote:

Originally Posted by RedSky0 /img/forum/go_quote.gif Good to see the build quality is at least somewhat improved, the PX100s for all their portability are flimsy as hell.

Really? What have you been doing with your PX100s to break them? I admit that they look kind of flimsy, but I found mine very durable in practice, I had the same pair for about 4 years, I was constantly throwing them in the bottom of a backpack full of books, I dropped them, I got the cord caught on things The notches on the headband got looser over time, but that was about it.

As for the HD 238s, I just picked them up at the end of last week, and so far I'm very impressed. I read the headroom review before buying, and have found them to be exactly what I was looking for. Headphones at are at least as comfortable as the PX100s, with a bigger sound-stage and cleaner more detailed highs. I also own Grado SR325is, but I feel like I'll end up using the Sennheisers more at home just because they're so much lighter and more comfortable. I haven't compared them to the Grados directly so far, but an obvious difference is that the bass is a lot punchier. Although I haven't really heard the level of distortion some people in this thread are complaining about. I've been listening at relatively low volumes to all varieties of rock.

 

[zmd]

As of this afternoon I'm the proud owner of a pair of HD238s and I must say I love them, especially for being so cheap ($60 in Romania)

Comming from a muddy HD202, this is the best sound I've ever heard.

So far I've been testing them out with everything from industrial through classic rock and they're doing just great. The bass is sometimes off, but just slightly, maybe burn-in will fix that. Other than that, good soundstage and very good instrument separation; the sound is airy but not sparkly. Unfortunately they're open and have no isolation whatsoever, but hey..

I've been torn between these and the HD555, which are almost twice as expensive. Has anyone listened to both, so I can maybe know if I'm missing out? I really don't believe they're twice as better

 

[pixar1]

I own both HD555 and HD238, in soundstage HD555 is wider and more detail than HD238.
from bass department HD555 is not too boomy like HD238 but it's enough.

after a few hours I think I like HD555 more than HD238, but different people will have different kind of music IMHO.

but HD238 is a worth upgrade from PX100.

 

[baxbunny]

Great review! One of the things I love about head-fi!
I wonder how these will sound with bass heavy genres like trance and electronic music...
How "portable" would you say these are in terms of storing in a backpack when not in use?
I have the bose around the ear headphones, and these look similar -ish, but i'm betting the sound quality on the senn's are better.

 

[K_19]

Quote:

Originally Posted by baxbunny /img/forum/go_quote.gif Great review! One of the things I love about head-fi! I wonder how these will sound with bass heavy genres like trance and electronic music... How "portable" would you say these are in terms of storing in a backpack when not in use? I have the bose around the ear headphones, and these look similar -ish, but i'm betting the sound quality on the senn's are better.

They should be great to use with bass heavy genres; especially with PMP that has weaker bass response such as iPods.

These should be fine enough to throw into the backpack and travel with, but since these things are entirely plastic unlike the PX100's I'd be pretty careful about not accidentally crushing them (i.e: sitting on them, etc). They're well made overall though and will take mild to moderate abuse no problem. Also, do watch out for any type of velcro attachment since the ear pads are made of fabric and can get caught on it.

 

[baxbunny]

Quote:

Originally Posted by K_19 /img/forum/go_quote.gif They should be great to use with bass heavy genres; especially with PMP that has weaker bass response such as iPods. These should be fine enough to throw into the backpack and travel with, but since these things are entirely plastic unlike the PX100's I'd be pretty careful about not accidentally crushing them (i.e: sitting on them, etc). They're well made overall though and will take mild to moderate abuse no problem. Also, do watch out for any type of velcro attachment since the ear pads are made of fabric and can get caught on it.

I'm in the market for some portable headphones to take to school and work, riding bus. So most of the time they'll be safely stored in my backpack. No velcro on it. I have to decide whether or not i want to have "portable" or "ultra portable" like clip ons. But it sounds like these will be in the top choices once i make my final decision.

 

[violeta88]

I figured out why my headphones were distorting. There was a small piece of debris on one driver and a hair on the other driver, and I figured out that the internal amp on my ipod tends to clip at 90% volume when connected to any 32 ohm headphone. The reason why the HD595's didn't clip at that volume was that they are 50 ohms, and thus require less current. So, I tried driving them with my HeadRoom Total Airhead, and now the debris is off the driver they sound great.

Eric

 

[jjsoviet]

Quote:

Originally Posted by violeta88 /img/forum/go_quote.gif I figured out why my headphones were distorting. There was a small piece of debris on one driver and a hair on the other driver, and I figured out that the internal amp on my ipod tends to clip at 90% volume when connected to any 32 ohm headphone. The reason why the HD595's didn't clip at that volume was that they are 50 ohms, and thus require less current. So, I tried driving them with my HeadRoom Total Airhead, and now the debris is off the driver they sound great. Eric

Bumped, 4 graet justis

I've tried the astroid mod and even removing the rear foams like you said in an earlier post. So, how exactly did you work your way around the bass distortion? At first I thought my pair was defective, but then this thread came to me.

I only have an iPod Touch and Classic, as well as a Motorola ROKR E8 which all tend to distort the bass extension in the 238. What is a possible fix for it? My only amp here is a Fiio E5, nothing much.

Hope to see replies. Cheers.

 

[violeta88]

I found that the rear foam prevents distortion, so that needs to go back in. Also, the astroid mod tends to clean up the sound. But, over time, I let the headphones break in more, and they will play cleaner at slightly higher volumes. The problem with distortion isn't necessarily that they are defective, it is that they are very sensitive to clipping of the source material (music) that you are playing on it. If you listen to rock, pop, R&B, Rap, etc. then some or all of your music might have clipping present in the signal (distortion from going over the maximum volume limit of the CD format dynamic range). Also, MP3 compression aggravates this clipping and can actually cause it with some music. So, lossless encoding or OGG/AAC encoding is a must with these headphones. And, amping with a high current headphone amplifier (like a HeadRoom Airhead/Bithead or better) will help as well. I think what's going on with the HD238's is that the design allowing the great bass extension might be limiting the HD238's power handling capabilities as well, since the drivers are so small. I hope this helps, and I also found that my pair had a hole in the rear foam due to my disassembly, so I had to replace the foam, and that helped quite a bit. (luckily I had a sheet of the right type and thickness at home). Good luck!

 

[biscuiterietraou]

im a phonak owner looking to get a pair of these. is the clarity comparable to the detail of the phonaks?

 

[jjsoviet]

Thanks violeta. I also found another possible solution to the problematic bass by playing low-frequency sweeps from 300 Hz to 10 Hz, and using subwoofer-test bass music. In the course of playing such tracks, I switched to some rock and pop music, and surprisingly the aggressive distortion has been tamed a lot. There are still traces of distortion, but they're more tolerable now. You can try that to confirm if this is true.

Well, I've got to update my iPod Touch now, as it's still running on firmware 2.0. Will the latest version help it a bit? Also, I'll once again employ the lossless music I have, and look into my CD collection for some ripping. Thanks!

 

[violeta88]

I think the first gen iPod touch probably won't notice much of a change if any with the Version 3.1 firmware, but I have a Gen 2 touch and more difference lies between the chipset of the 2nd gen touch and the chipset of the 1st gen touch. The Second generation ipod touch uses a Cirrus Logic Codec and the Gen 1 touch uses a Wolfson chip with a noisier headphone out.

 

[jjsoviet]

Quote:

Originally Posted by violeta88 /img/forum/go_quote.gif I think the first gen iPod touch probably won't notice much of a change if any with the Version 3.1 firmware, but I have a Gen 2 touch and more difference lies between the chipset of the 2nd gen touch and the chipset of the 1st gen touch. The Second generation ipod touch uses a Cirrus Logic Codec and the Gen 1 touch uses a Wolfson chip with a noisier headphone out.

Thanks for the info. Will try 3.1 anyway, since I bought it already. Other apps I need are also unavailable in 2.0 too.

Well, did you try subjecting your 238 to low-frequency sweeps? I need confirmation if the changes are real or just plain crazy.

 

[violeta88]

I'm not exactly sure how to do generate low-frequency sweeps, but my 238's are playing pretty well, though the bass can be somewhat loose at times. They've had probably around 120 hours of playback on them now though

, so you probably aren't crazy, as the low-frequency sweeps would qualify as a break-in procedure and I have found with break-in and amping that the distortion tames quite a bit. They'll never be as good as the HD595's in terms of tightness, but they are better in the mids than the 595's and about equal in the highs (with less grain).

 

[jjsoviet]

Nice bud, thanks again for the heads up. I'll break them in more to see if there will be more improvement. Congratulations on your HD 580's!