[thee mutz]

@ Saberpunch: my opinion : try the Linear 2 if you have the chance, it sounds better than the Linear 1 and has more bass.

 

[QusayM]

@ Saberpunch: my opinion : try the Linear 2 if you have the chance, it sounds better than the Linear 1 and has more bass.

The Linear 2 is more V-shaped compared to Linear 1. In addition, it is a better match with modern headphones amplifiers. The bass is indeed more present and emphasized. However, when it comes to the bass extension, I cannot really pick up a clear winner although, to my ears, the Linear 2 has slightly more extension on both ends of the sound spectrum.

The most bassy headphones of Sennheizer is the HD 420 sl, at least among vintage s

 

[QusayM]

Yeah, the AC is def much warmer than the HD250. I was speaking purely about the bass response in a head to head vs. the AC.

Nothing wrong with enjoying an amp like that, and as I said above, I can see where the HD250 might come off as bright and/or piercing out of such an amp.
This hobby is all about system synergy and if you heard the HD250 out of an OTL with good NOS tubes, I think your opinion might change.

The AC competes against the HD250 in overall performance. Will the AC be a clear winner by a significant margin?

 

[Monsterzero]

The AC competes against the HD250 in overall performance. Will the AC be a clear winner by a significant margin?

It depends upon what aspects you value. The bass hits much harder, the sub bass is more noticeable and tighter. Staging on the AC destroys every closed back I've heard, including the VC. It's just an all around better headphone, but...
It's quite warm and costs a few thousand dollars, so it's kinda comparing apples and oranges

 

[Saberpunch]

@ Saberpunch: my opinion : try the Linear 2 if you have the chance, it sounds better than the Linear 1 and has more bass.

I am not sure if I want more bass on the HD250 tbh. If the opportunity arises and I got extra cash, I might try the Linear 2. But I think so far, the Linear 1 is a great balance of bass and good clarity for me right now. I notice squeezing them to my head gives a huge buff to bass, but that is something I prefer to do sometimes, but not all the time. But there is also something more to the HD250 that I like and it’s not bass. I have the ATH-L3000 and the Onkyo A800 for my mid bass and subbass needs. There also something special with the Linear 1 that keeps drawing me in right now. It could be still the honeymoon phase or I actually really like these headphone. Currently need more head time with the headphone and continue soul searching what I like about this headphone.

On the topic of buying another vintage headphone, rather than another HD250, I am honestly more interested in buying the Sennheiser HD540 Gold 600 Ohm and the AKG K500. Those headphones received high praises in this thread, so that’s going to be my next high priority vintage headphone along with the Sony MDR SA-5000.

 

[Monsterzero]

If you value neutral, as in flat line, little bass, then the HD540 is for you.

I had for a week and moved them on to another owner. I can't deal with no bass

 

[thee mutz]

@ Saberpunch: the AKG K500 has very little bass, same as the K501, K400 and K401. If you want a vintage AKG with a decent amount of bass get a K240 sextett EP.
If you should be interested in an old model Sennheiser HD 580, i have one up for sale in the classifieds

 

[Saberpunch]

@ Saberpunch: the AKG K500 has very little bass, same as the K501, K400 and K401. If you want a vintage AKG with a decent amount of bass get a K240 sextett EP.
If you should be interested in an old model Sennheiser HD 580, i have one up for sale in the classifieds

I heard the AKG K500 have very little bass and is really hard to drive, maybe about the same to drive like the AKG K1000. But in exchange for the lack of bass and being harder to drive for the K500, the clarity and transparency is better over the other AKG headphones except maybe the K1000. I actually got a chance to try a K1000 (bass neutral version I believe) and a Mysphere 3.2 on a Viva tube amp in a audio show recently. Mysphere headphone is the successor of the K1000. Both were great, but I prefer the Mysphere 3.2 because it provided more details, clarity and bass to my ears in the short demo session. Either way, it’s better to hear it for myself and experience part of history of why the K500 gets a lot of praises.

 

[QusayM]

I am not sure if I want more bass on the HD250 tbh. If the opportunity arises and I got extra cash, I might try the Linear 2. But I think so far, the Linear 1 is a great balance of bass and good clarity for me right now. I notice squeezing them to my head gives a huge buff to bass, but that is something I prefer to do sometimes, but not all the time. But there is also something more to the HD250 that I like and it’s not bass. I have the ATH-L3000 and the Onkyo A800 for my mid bass and subbass needs. There also something special with the Linear 1 that keeps drawing me in right now. It could be still the honeymoon phase or I actually really like these headphone. Currently need more head time with the headphone and continue soul searching what I like about this headphone.

On the topic of buying another vintage headphone, rather than another HD250, I am honestly more interested in buying the Sennheiser HD540 Gold 600 Ohm and the AKG K500. Those headphones received high praises in this thread, so that’s going to be my next high priority vintage headphone along with the Sony MDR SA-5000.

The Sennheizer HD540 Gold are great headphones. They have more elevated and more extended low frequencies compared to the non-gold version. Pairing with woth an OTL tubes amplifier would is the best opinion, exactly the same as with the HD250.

 

[Saberpunch]

Nice, that is good to hear the Gold version gets a little buff to the low frequencies compared to the regular version. Also heard that the HD540 Gold is best when using the velours pads, so keeping an eye on that. Had a chance to buy it last February, but let my chance slip by . I always try to go with OTL amps as a first option with Sennheiser headphones. I just find all the Sennheiser headphones I tried to perform better on tube amps.

 

[NickT23]

Hello everybody, today I tried with SET tube amp. Needless to say was quite disappointed, details feels like it suck out of vacumm, extra bright and shimmer, bass extension is poor, everything feels boosted and flat, mids shouty. Sort of worst than my solid state. No difference via high z and low z. Though some music frankly sounds pretty good and acceptable.

Anyone used HD250 Linear 1 via transformed coupled tube amp ?

 

[NickT23]

i am sad to say that one of the drivers of the 540 i got last week also has a rattle when is has to play a deep bass tone I asked for a refund of the headphones but of ofcourse the seller does not respond anymore, that *******.
On advice of fellow sufferers of this problem I removed the white mesh to look for hairs, dust, dandruff, pizza crumbles or whatever can eventually cause the rattle but everything looks fine.

do you know if the drivers of the 250 and the 540 are the same? If so i can buy the working driver of your 250 and make my pair complete again

So damn unethical!

 

[thee mutz]

So damn unethical!

With this vintage audio stuff it is always a bit of a gamble what you get.
I have seen ads where the seller states that the headphones are in perfect condition, while you can see on the photo’s that there are some plastic knobs missing or broken. I think a lot of times the seller has not a clue what he/she sells, and what the weak points are, so it’s hard to blame them if something is wrong.
In this case it annoyed me the most that the seller did not even have the decency to respond to my complaint.

 

[NickT23]

With this vintage audio stuff it is always a bit of a gamble what you get.
I have seen ads where the seller states that the headphones are in perfect condition, while you can see on the photo’s that there are some plastic knobs missing or broken. I think a lot of times the seller has not a clue what he/she sells, and what the weak points are, so it’s hard to blame them if something is wrong.
In this case it annoyed me the most that the seller did not even have the decency to respond to my complaint.

Hence, unethical...

 

[QusayM]

Nice, that is good to hear the Gold version gets a little buff to the low frequencies compared to the regular version. Also heard that the HD540 Gold is best when using the velours pads, so keeping an eye on that. Had a chance to buy it last February, but let my chance slip by . I always try to go with OTL amps as a first option with Sennheiser headphones. I just find all the Sennheiser headphones I tried to perform better on tube amps.

While I do agree that an OTL vacuum-tubes amplifier would provide a subjectively pleasant sound out of vintage Sennheiser headphones, I must admit that some solid-state amplifiers do not fall short at all. I have recently tried pairing my HD 230 with a vintage power amp with a modern preamp and the result is subjectively much better in terms of accuracy, soundstage, speed and bass response. By the way, I observed that HD 230 has an edge over the HD 250.