[QusayM]

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 ?

Could you please tell me what SET stands for?

 

[Monsterzero]

Could you please tell me what SET stands for?

Single Ended Triode.

I'm not really sure why the HD250 performed poorly on the amp that Nick tried. Typically SET amps have a lower output impedance vs. an OTL amp, so that might be part of the problem. Perhaps a bad tube roll or maybe the amp itself is simply not in good working condition?

I tried the HD250 on the Aegis amp, which has a similar design (but different) and it absolutely rocked the HD250

 

[NickT23]

Single Ended Triode.

I'm not really sure why the HD250 performed poorly on the amp that Nick tried. Typically SET amps have a lower output impedance vs. an OTL amp, so that might be part of the problem. Perhaps a bad tube roll or maybe the amp itself is simply not in good working condition?

I tried the HD250 on the Aegis amp, which has a similar design (but different) and it absolutely rocked the HD250

Could be few exception to the rule. It certainly works well on HD650.

 

[moriez]

I'm gonna be selling a collection of Sennheiser spares and can use some help to id these earpads.
The material seems of a harder and drier kind than the original HD250 pads I've seen a couple of times.

I just - don't - know..




Today I dug a little deeper and looks they're very likely og HD430 pads. Same dimensions as HD250 pads by the way.
https://www.fullcompass.com/prod/269331-sennheiser-033166-pair-of-earpads-for-hd-540-and-hd-430
https://www.amazon.de/dp/B000KPPYHE?_encoding=UTF8&tag=bf21bestpre07-21&linkCode=osi&th=1&psc=1

 

[2leftears]

I'm gonna be selling a collection of Sennheiser spares and can use some help to id these earpads.
The material seems of a harder and drier kind than the original HD250 pads I've seen a couple of times.

I just - don't - know..




Today I dug a little deeper and looks they're very likely og HD430 pads. Same dimensions as HD250 pads by the way.
https://www.fullcompass.com/prod/269331-sennheiser-033166-pair-of-earpads-for-hd-540-and-hd-430
https://www.amazon.de/dp/B000KPPYHE?_encoding=UTF8&tag=bf21bestpre07-21&linkCode=osi&th=1&psc=1

Definitely HD430 pads; I have some of these exact same pads too for my HD250, which I bought from Sennheiser direct. For some time Sennheiser sold these (HD430 pads) as the official replacement pads for the HD250 linear once their original HD250 spare pads had run out. They are slightly shallower than the original HD250 pads though; noticeable when wearing them, hence I use different Chinese-manufactured pads.

 

[QusayM]

Hey,

Has anyone ever tried those headphones in gaming or watching movies?

 

[ArChaos]

Hey,

Has anyone ever tried those headphones in gaming or watching movies?

Not exactly a feather in your cap for watching movies, IMHO. Taking into consideration my high regards for them playing music, I would even say rather disappointing.
Gaming - I don't Know.

 

[ProLoL]

Hey,

Has anyone ever tried those headphones in gaming or watching movies?

I consider them to be jack of all trades, they've been my mainly for everything.

 

[QusayM]

Not exactly a feather in your cap for watching movies, IMHO. Taking into consideration my high regards for them playing music, I would even say rather disappointing.
Gaming - I don't Know.

Why do you think that they do not perform adequately when it comes to watching movies? Is it due to their slightly recessed mid-range or the extension in the treble region?

 

[QusayM]

I consider them to be jack of all trades, they've been my mainly for everything.

Interesting. Which amplifier do you use to feed them? Have you even got the chance to compare them to the HD 800, especially for gaming?

 

[ProLoL]

The HD800 has no competitors for gaming but the HD250 does well. The cma800i was great, feliks echo mk2 was also good. Currently I run them with my vintage power amp and I love it.

 

[QusayM]

Wow!, the cma800i and Feliks echo mk2 look expensive and highly regarded.
Which vintage power amp do you have?

I found a used pair of the HD800 at 500$ used. Not sure whether they are worth it to replace the HD250 with them. I have tried the HD430 for gaming and I liked the experience although they lack some emphasis in the treble region.

 

[ProLoL]

It's an exotic pioneer a400 which has been converted into a power amp. The HD250 requires some juice to sound good.

 

[ArChaos]

Why do you think that they do not perform adequately when it comes to watching movies? Is it due to their slightly recessed mid-range or the extension in the treble region?

As you may see in my signature, the HD250 and their open brother HD540 are my favorite "go to" headphones for music, including music videos. I do not usually watch movies with headphones, I much prefer to use my speakers for this purpose.
I may have exaggerated, being too "personal" in my opinion, when I wrote "disappointing". The reason is that my requirements for movies are a bit different than those for music. When you asked your question, I went to my computer and tried some movies with them, like Avatar2 & Lord of the Rings, movies that I expected to sound great because of their sound effects and audio production... I hoped they would maintain their clarity, detail. imaging (soundstage I didn't have much expectations from the beginning) and maintain the great bass as a foundation for all. I'm talking about the 600 Ohm model, all original, even the ear pads like new, powered by a Violectric (21V and 760mW @ 600 Ohm, so no shortage of power...) Everything was fine with clarity, detail. imaging treble and midrange, but there was no "foundation", not enough fullness to the sound, no "big" sound" when required, not even the great punchy focused bass they have with music.
I also tried with my mid-eighties vintage DT990 Beyers - perhaps a bit less clarity and detail, but better timbre and fuller sound all together, IMO considerably better.
Just for sport's sake, I also tried the HD 580/600/6XX line - as expected, in spite of their fuller sound, I just can't stand anymore their lack of clarity, detail and "in your head" soundstage, compared to the HD250 and 540 line.
Completely agree with ProLol - powered from a seventies solid state amp. (Pioneer, Maranz, Sansui and so on..) they are another story altogether, much fuller sound and presence, not to mention the bass and treble controls that take care of everything.

 

[QusayM]

As you may see in my signature, the HD250 and their open brother HD540 are my favorite "go to" headphones for music, including music videos. I do not usually watch movies with headphones, I much prefer to use my speakers for this purpose.
I may have exaggerated, being too "personal" in my opinion, when I wrote "disappointing". The reason is that my requirements for movies are a bit different than those for music. When you asked your question, I went to my computer and tried some movies with them, like Avatar2 & Lord of the Rings, movies that I expected to sound great because of their sound effects and audio production... I hoped they would maintain their clarity, detail. imaging (soundstage I didn't have much expectations from the beginning) and maintain the great bass as a foundation for all. I'm talking about the 600 Ohm model, all original, even the ear pads like new, powered by a Violectric (21V and 760mW @ 600 Ohm, so no shortage of power...) Everything was fine with clarity, detail. imaging treble and midrange, but there was no "foundation", not enough fullness to the sound, no "big" sound" when required, not even the great punchy focused bass they have with music.
I also tried with my mid-eighties vintage DT990 Beyers - perhaps a bit less clarity and detail, but better timbre and fuller sound all together, IMO considerably better.
Just for sport's sake, I also tried the HD 580/600/6XX line - as expected, in spite of their fuller sound, I just can't stand anymore their lack of clarity, detail and "in your head" soundstage, compared to the HD250 and 540 line.
Completely agree with ProLol - powered from a seventies solid state amp. (Pioneer, Maranz, Sansui and so on..) they are another story altogether, much fuller sound and presence, not to mention the bass and treble controls that take care of everything.

Interesting. By 'clarity', I assume you mean an emphasis in the high frequencies region e.g. treble. However, I am not sure about the meaning of "Fullness" of the sound. Do you mean the dominance of the Midrange?

Anyway, actually you described the HD 250's performance in movies/gaming fairly close to what I thought about them.

Nonetheless, contrary to your experience, I do find the soundstage to be relatively huge. For the comparison, it is significantly larger than the DT 990's (the 80s model). Now, here is the thing, when it comes to the bass, it is impactful in a different way. Yes, it is not as boomy but accurate and controlled.

For the record, I don't have the original earpads. Please take a look at the attached picture.