[Bushwacker]

Dropping by Jaben Network, I was surprised when Uncle Wilson showed me a HD414. I was thinking, wow, this is classic. It was remade to mark Sennheiser's 50th anni. Tried it on a Imod-hornet setup and boy it was good.

Here's a short impression.

Bass - Much less than a HD650 (which I have). However it was not overpowering or out of control.

Mids and Highs - I ran Mozart Divertimento in D.K. 136 on it and the midrange is fantastic. The details and clarity are also commendable. However, it is rather bright on the iMod-Raptor Setup. But for vocals, in my opinion its just nice. For soundstage, it cant beat a HD650 but gives this "open" feeling as the earpad is not enclosing the entire ear.

Well, here are some pictures of it.

As you can see, the pads for it has disintegrated but Uncle Wilson provided a spare set.

Upclose shot

Headband

Overall Shot

O yes, for those who are interesed in getting one, Jaben Networks of Singapore does have extremely limited stock of the HD414. Do email him at wilson@jaben.net

 

[speedbird151]

how much are these?

 

[uraflit]

wow. so THAT is how the headphones (not pads) look like!

 

[speakerhead]

:rofl:

 

[facelvega]

the revived commemorative model of the HD414 had modern low-impedance midfi drivers in the place of the much better and harder to drive 2000-ohm microphone capsules of the original. There seems to be a consensus that the original model is much better. I even saw a long article once where an outraged engineer had worked out detailed test measurements to prove that the old HD414 was superior. The problem with them is that you practically have to plug them straight into your speaker outs to get them to perform.

 

[rb67]

Man, I would love to give the HD414's a listen, especially the originals. Nice post and review!

 

[Petyot]

Quote:

Originally Posted by rb67 /img/forum/go_quote.gif Man, I would love to give the HD414's a listen, especially the originals. Nice post and review!

I also have the original HD414 (with new pads from Sennheiser) and I don't find that they sound very good. When I had my HD600 and my LD II++, I tried them on the LD and they were not comparable to the HD600. I also tried them directly out of a vintage Pioneer SA8500 amp and the sound was just ok.

It's a nice piece of history but that is about it...

Pierre

 

[ericj]

I've got beyerdynamic's competitor for the hd414 - the DT302. It's 600-ohm, but somewhat efficient.

I don't have pads that fit it so i haven't spent much time listening to it. I really ought to try and order the original blue pads for it from beyer usa, but i have some hd414 pads on the way that should probably fit.

 

[facelvega]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Petyot /img/forum/go_quote.gif I also have the original HD414 (with new pads from Sennheiser) and I don't find that they sound very good. When I had my HD600 and my LD II++, I tried them on the LD and they were not comparable to the HD600. I also tried them directly out of a vintage Pioneer SA8500 amp and the sound was just ok. It's a nice piece of history but that is about it... Pierre

If you're willing to experiment, try them directly from the speaker outs of a stereo amp. There have been reports that these can be a revelation when powered to this riduculous degree. Careful on the volume knob, though.

 

[kramer5150]

The original from the late 70s-early 80s was ~2kohms and all white. My uncle has a pair.

 

[branedamag]

Quote:

Originally Posted by kramer5150 /img/forum/go_quote.gif The original from the late 70s-early 80s was ~2kohms and all white. My uncle has a pair.

http://www.techatl.com/wrek/images/DGH_0112.jpg

That's a pair on my head in the early 70s, along with other antiques. I bailed on college in early 73, so they were around then. We used them straight out of the board. I don't remember them being so power hungry. I bought a pair myself, and went through a lot more cables than pads. Oh wait, still a Sennheiser problem