[Monsterzero]

Do these use the same cable as the HD6xx line,or? Wondering if buying a beefier cable will bring out even more goodness...?

Did we ever figure out if the HD250 cable is compatible with other HD cables(600/650/6xx)? Im thinking about ordering a cable from ZMF for my pair but I have no idea what connector type this is.....

Anyone?

 

[Malfunkt]

Did we ever figure out if the HD250 cable is compatible with other HD cables(600/650/6xx)? Im thinking about ordering a cable from ZMF for my pair but I have no idea what connector type this is.....

Anyone?

It absolutely is. I just purchased a cable that came with my friends HD6XX. I'm using another aftermarket 650 cable on my HD540. I'm quite familiar with the connectors, and they are the same size as the ones on my old HD25.

If anything they are very close, and with these older headphones you want a good fit. They aren't slipping out, and have solved my intermitten connection issues on both sets.

 

[Monsterzero]

Have you noticed much sonic improvement?

 

[Malfunkt]

Have you noticed much sonic improvement?

Sounds great, would sound the same with any decent cable. I'm not a cable believer (having worked with 'audiophile' speaker cable manufacturers before, I can say they are getting away selling the Emperor's New Clothes)

 

[L0rdGwyn]

@Monsterzero Just be careful, make sure you get connectors that are slim enough. I have a custom made HD600/650/660S cable I made with these Furutech connectors and they are too thick to use with the 250 Linear.

Here is a pic of those connectors:



Anything with a base that is thicker than the stock HD650 cable probably won't fit. Here is a pic:

 

[Monsterzero]

@Monsterzero Just be careful, make sure you get connectors that are slim enough. I have a custom made HD600/650/660S cable I made with these Furutech connectors and they are too thick to use with the 250 Linear.

Here is a pic of those connectors:



Anything with a base that is thicker than the stock HD650 cable probably won't fit. Here is a pic:

Thanks for that! Do you have a source for the correct connectors?

 

[jhog]

Just bought a pair of these on eBay, very intrigued to see how it goes!

Planning to run them out of a Headstage Arrow 5TX and an Alo Continental V2. Do they have enough juice? Hope so, as am not really interested in non-portable setups.

In any case, they sound exactly what I’ve been looking for as closed back solution, after a few misfires. Fingers crossed!

 

[jhog]

Just bought a pair of these on eBay, very intrigued to see how it goes!

Planning to run them out of a Headstage Arrow 5TX and an Alo Continental V2. Do they have enough juice? Hope so, as am not really interested in non-portable setups.

In any case, they sound exactly what I’ve been looking for as closed back solution, after a few misfires. Fingers crossed!

 

[477621]

Thanks to this thread, I pulled the trigger on a pair of first gen 300's. Crikey they are awesome.

My favourite open can is my HD565 Ovations and they have seen off all challengers. But these 250's will be getting some serious use now too.

They arrived covered in smoke tar and a bit stinky. But thanks to white vinegar, some elbow grease, laundering the stock foams and some fresh Beyer leather pads they now smell as nice as they sound.

I tried initially with the Beyer driver foams but the stock ones sounded less bouncy.

The new Beyer pads have a much better seal than the original ones.

I now want to hear the 600's.

Here are the pads that I bought.

Top is Beyers, bottom is original Senns, the mounting rings fit the Beyers easily.

The finished article along with the hired help

 

[L0rdGwyn]

Thanks to this thread, I pulled the trigger on a pair of first gen 300's. Crikey they are awesome.

My favourite open can is my HD565 Ovations and they have seen off all challengers. But these 250's will be getting some serious use now too.

They arrived covered in smoke tar and a bit stinky. But thanks to white vinegar, some elbow grease, laundering the stock foams and some fresh Beyer leather pads they now smell as nice as they sound.

I tried initially with the Beyer driver foams but the stock ones sounded less bouncy.

The new Beyer pads have a much better seal than the original ones.

I now want to hear the 600's.

Here are the pads that I bought.


Top is Beyers, bottom is original Senns, the mounting rings fit the Beyers easily.


The finished article along with the hired help

Very cool! Glad you are enjoying them. I use the ZMF Universal lambskin leather pads myself, which fit very nicely and are very comfortable, highly recommended.

 

[477621]

Interesting, I will have a look in to those. I'm very happy with the seal I am getting on these Beyers.

I work from home and have my headphones on all day. The comfort of the 250's is lovely for the whole day. I like how similar they are in clamp (or lack thereof) to my Ovations.

Very cool! Glad you are enjoying them. I use the ZMF Universal lambskin leather pads myself, which fit very nicely and are very comfortable, highly recommended.

 

[477621]

Thanks for that! Do you have a source for the correct connectors?

The cardas connectors fit perfectly if that helps?

I have three of the custom cans cables for my little Senn family. Well made, sound nice. I bought them for convenient length than anything else.

 

[477621]

The Sennheiser HD250 Impression Thread



Sennheiser HD250 Linear 600ohm (background) with modern day HD700

Well, I’ve only had the Sennheiser HD250 for a short while, but long-enough to realize what an incredible classic I have come across. Even more surprising, there is little fanfare here at head-fi.org and no dedicated appreciation thread.

I'd like to first thank @MrTechAgent who has helped shine some light on these old classics, in particular the HD540. With his videos, I would never have sought this out. I highly recommend checking out his HD540 Reference (1985) video, but also the rest of his channel.

And when I say classic, I’m putting these up there alongside the LCD2 and HD650. I may go as far to say it surpasses them in the aspect of natural, linear tonality. These are smooth, warm, detailed headphones that sound very expansive despite being a closed-headphone. Contrasted against an LCD2 or HD650, they have very extended, clear and natural treble. It is so involving. Beyond this, the rest of the sound is also on point, and the bass is superb, with it almost bordering on too much (and for those that want less there is the open back HD540).

So rather than just a review, I feel these cans truly justify their own Appreciation Thread, as they are not only rare, but under-appreciated given their capabilities to this present day.

I’m going to keep my impressions short for now, as well as the background on these headphones, as I actually only have a limited time with them, and secondly, it is difficult finding information on these. I’m hoping others will contribute some of their own experiences and information.


Remembering a Sennheiser Classic

At some point, the HD250 vanished into history. What remains is rather scant online. Keep in mind, this wasn’t just an ‘80s headphone, it was being produced until the early 2000s. There are two versions, the HD250 Linear and the HD250 Linear II. From my understanding it was brought back in the nineties due to popular demand, and given a new coat of paint. From what I have read, they are pretty much identical, but a number of user will describe one as being bass light, or one better than the other, etc. Further confounding this is that there exists 300ohm and 600ohm versions! Some users have reported that depending on the quality of the pads it can (no surprise) alter the sound signature. One user pointed out that they got their HD250 to sound very close to their HD540 with partially vented pads. Above all, a number of users agree that the HD250 (and perhaps to a larger extent the HD540) are preferred over the HD580,600,650. Or at the very least putting them at or near the same level.


Mine were form Radio-Canada studio headphones. In great condition with new pads and cable.

Can this Really Be Compared to the HD650?

I know controversial right. I love the HD650, and I won’t get into to this too deeply at the moment. I feel that the HD650 is perhaps a bit too relaxed. For instance, on dynamic classical recordings, the high-end was a bit uninvolved. It is an incredible headphone in its own right, and if you are an enthusiast of the HD650/600/580 then you may be surprised that these classic Sennheisers really pull it off. But maybe you shouldn’t be. It’s not as if this company came out of nowhere and dropped the HD580 on us.

What I find is that brass, strings, bell tones, glissando, really anything that hits those top notes is clear as day. This is some of the most accurate and best treble I’ve heard in can, let alone a closed can. The rest of the spectrum is all very present. This isn’t the more mid-centric sound we’ve heard from many flagship cans. Some people may say the mid-range is recessed, but it sounds perfectly balanced with the high-end, and the low range of the HD250 is also very natural, with percussion sounding life-like.

Even soundstage, is quite open, and imaging on this can is superb. You can easily place the depth of the different performers.

Let’s just put it this way, if you could have an HD650 with more sub-bass extension/volume, and more lifted accurate highs, would that interest you? Many people have been pointing those traits as some of the HD650s minor weaknesses. But here we have a Sennheiser can that pretty much nails reference tonality, in a closed back!


True Genre Masters

Since I’ve been here on head-fi, a term that used to be spun around a bit more was the idea of a Genre Master. In this case, it means a headphone that can play all Genres. The HD250 just doesn’t sound just great or good with all genres, it sounds outstanding with any genre providing its production is high-quality and dynamic. They are equally at home play classical music, reggae/dub, detroit techno, classic rock, pop to black metal.


If It’s So Good, Why Haven’t I Heard These?


Sennheiser has kept some of its headphones alive for a long-time. The HD600 and HD650 for good reason. The HD25 (not to be confused with the HD250) would have been relegated to being a broadcaster and ENG headphone if it hadn’t become a mainstay in the underground electronic scene across Europe and then the US.

Not too long ago, there were huge threads on Graham Slee’s old forum on both this headphone and the HD540 - its open back variant. Those are gone, but have been partially cached by Google. Graham Slee had at one point (and it could still be the case to this day) claimed the HD250 as his favourite headphone. From my understanding it was one of the formative headphones used in developing his amps. Great, so it has some industry acknowledgement. But aside from some other audio forums this headphone and the 540 are largely forgotten. But its time that they were re-discovered.

I’ll be posting in the coming weeks more detailed impressions, and how they compare to some other headphones such as the Denon D2000, Sennheiser’s own HD700, Sony MDR-7520 and Audeze LCD2 (early revision). Not to spoil anything, but they just sound right.

Out of interest, have you heard the 300 ohm ones? Curious to know if any aural difference between the 600 and 300's?

 

[Malfunkt]

Out of interest, have you heard the 300 ohm ones? Curious to know if any aural difference between the 600 and 300's?

Thanks to this thread, I pulled the trigger on a pair of first gen 300's. Crikey they are awesome.

My favourite open can is my HD565 Ovations and they have seen off all challengers. But these 250's will be getting some serious use now too.

Congrats @TheCatnipMouse, these are stellar headphones. No I haven't heard the difference between the 600 vs 300 for either 250 or 540. I have read that some advantages for 600 ohm:

"A higher impedance allows for more turns of wire to be used in the voice coil of the driver. This can result in a better “motor system” with fewer compromises resulting in better overall sound."
http://nwavguy.blogspot.ca/2011/02/headphone-impedance-explained.html

I don't know myself how true that is. But I do know that my HD250 sound amazing. They can be driven easily by the O2, but I have heard them on other amps, and they sound great as well.

Recently, I mentioned in the 540 thread that I feel both the 250 and 540 have a better musical balance than even my HD800. I really like the 800, but for jazz and even classical both the 540 and 250 have a more realistic timbre. The 800 does open up the soundstage, and relaxes the presentation while remaining detailed, so it does gain some big advantages. Still the 250/540 remain competitive and impressive. Especially like the 250, with its involving lower-end, that helps balance the complete spectrum.

 

[477621]

Congrats @TheCatnipMouse, these are stellar headphones. No I haven't heard the difference between the 600 vs 300 for either 250 or 540. I have read that some advantages for 600 ohm:

"A higher impedance allows for more turns of wire to be used in the voice coil of the driver. This can result in a better “motor system” with fewer compromises resulting in better overall sound."
http://nwavguy.blogspot.ca/2011/02/headphone-impedance-explained.html

I don't know myself how true that is. But I do know that my HD250 sound amazing. They can be driven easily by the O2, but I have heard them on other amps, and they sound great as well.

Recently, I mentioned in the 540 thread that I feel both the 250 and 540 have a better musical balance than even my HD800. I really like the 800, but for jazz and even classical both the 540 and 250 have a more realistic timbre. The 800 does open up the soundstage, and relaxes the presentation while remaining detailed, so it does gain some big advantages. Still the 250/540 remain competitive and impressive. Especially like the 250, with its involving lower-end, that helps balance the complete spectrum.

Cool, I understand the coil advantage but I am curious if that translates to anything us humans can hear for this particular model.

Interesting to hear about the 800's, they really appeal to me, but based on how handily the 565's have seen off any contender to their dominance of TheCatnipMousesearsville I have held off pulling the trigger.

There is definitely something special about the older Senns, the 150 ohm Ovations are obscene, I'm looking forward to seeing how the 58X fares when it arrives later this summer. I would have already sold on the 580's that I have were it not for wanting to compare those. I like the 580's but prefer the 565 in every way. So much that I have a second pair in a cupboard just in case mine bite the dust.

I am feeling the urge to pick up a 540 now.