[Tokyo Shibaura]

And the same Orthodynamic Transducer you can find,
on a Kawai SH-5 and Vector Scan VSH-5?
 
Thanks,
 
Toshiba

 

[Tokyo Shibaura]

My ATH-2100.
 

 

 

 
 

 
 
Toshiba

 

[Negative818]

I posted this question in an old SE-500 thread, but I'm not sure anyone will notice so I thought I would post here too.
 
I have a question for those of you who own or have owned the SE-500. I just received a pair and I can't seem to drive them with any of my amps.
 
When I use them with my Oppo HA-2SE I don't even get any audio, just some odd popping noises. When I use my C&C BH2 I do get audio from both sides, but the left speaker starts to distort before it even get remotely close to the listening volume I typically listen at. Then, when I drive them via my Schiit Lyr (which I assume would have plenty of power to drive them) I have to turn the volume up to about 3:00 on the dial to get even close to an acceptable listening volume, albeit there is no distortion like there is with the C&C BH2. 
 
So, my question is, am I not using the right equipment to drive them or is something wrong with them? From reading the old thread Takato mentioned that he was able to drive them via his iPhone to a degree so I would figured that the amps I am using would drive them even better.

 

[ourfpshero]

  I posted this question in an old SE-500 thread, but I'm not sure anyone will notice so I thought I would post here too.
 
I have a question for those of you who own or have owned the SE-500. I just received a pair and I can't seem to drive them with any of my amps.
 
When I use them with my Oppo HA-2SE I don't even get any audio, just some odd popping noises. When I use my C&C BH2 I do get audio from both sides, but the left speaker starts to distort before it even get remotely close to the listening volume I typically listen at. Then, when I drive them via my Schiit Lyr (which I assume would have plenty of power to drive them) I have to turn the volume up to about 3:00 on the dial to get even close to an acceptable listening volume, albeit there is no distortion like there is with the C&C BH2. 
 
So, my question is, am I not using the right equipment to drive them or is something wrong with them? From reading the old thread Takato mentioned that he was able to drive them via his iPhone to a degree so I would figured that the amps I am using would drive them even better.

these are made to be driven from a speaker amps leads

 

[GREQ]

Originally Posted by Negative818 /img/forum/go_quote.gif
 
So, my question is, am I not using the right equipment to drive them or is something wrong with them? From reading the old thread Takato mentioned that he was able to drive them via his iPhone to a degree so I would figured that the amps I am using would drive them even better.

Sounds like they're faulty because you should be getting quiet music out of them at the very least.
Lyr should be able to make them sing really.
Have you checked cable integrity? 

 

[Negative818]

Thanks for the replies to my question.
 
Quote:

  these are made to be driven from a speaker amps leads

Yes true, but I would still think that the Lyr should be able to drive them since they produce 6W RMS per channel. 
 

  Sounds like they're faulty because you should be getting quiet music out of them at the very least.
Lyr should be able to make them sing really.
Have you checked cable integrity? 

I have and could not determine any faults in the cable. Nothing in the audio changed while moving the cable connections around at either the plug or where they connect the earcup. 
Do you think that the Lyr should work well with them simply due to the power it can produce or do you feel that even my portable amps should be producing greater volume as well? 
My first thoughts is that they're faulty as well. 

 

[ruhenheiM]

  Yes true, but I would still think that the Lyr should be able to drive them since they produce 6W RMS per channel. 
 

wualta used to told hook the pioneer piezo to speaker amp. they have 30v maximum input with 8ohm impedance.so they capable to accept roughly around 112watt max output. but 40watt should be enough to make them sing

 

[GREQ]

I have and could not determine any faults in the cable. Nothing in the audio changed while moving the cable connections around at either the plug or where they connect the earcup. 

Do you think that the Lyr should work well with them simply due to the power it can produce or do you feel that even my portable amps should be producing greater volume as well? 
My first thoughts is that they're faulty as well. 

I think you need to get a digital multimeter and test the cables and the drivers separately to see exactly what the problem is.
I've had one other electret headphone which was the most power hungry thing I've ever owned, but it still made tiny little musical sounds through low powered devices, and made audibly decent volume through an O2 - which is severely underpowered for such a task.

 

[takato14]

Lyr will not make them sing, it will make them explode. Lyr is voltage-driven, not current-driven. Even a lowly Asgard can blow up a Pioneer piezo. You need a speaker amp and a JB-21 to drive these ideally and to keep the voltage choked to a safe level.
 
I can get 95dB out of a Geek Out with both of my SE-500s. You should contact whoever you bought them from and ask for a refund.
 
If you can't, try applying some kinetic shock to the housing. Nothing major, just knock on the cups like you would a door. One of my pairs has a channel that cuts out until I give it a couple taps. The old things dont like getting thrown around so when they get knocked around enough the signal terminals like to pop loose from the diaphragm. Again, don't hit it hard, just a little tap. Though, if the channel matching on your pair is perfect, this likely isn't the issue.
 
If that doesnt work, replace the cable. The Pioneer piezos have janky cables that like to knot and short out, so you might have done this out of frustration yourself eventually.
 
If THAT doesnt work... ¯\_(ツ)_/¯
 
Edit @GREQ:
 
A DMM won't work, the piezos are a 100% capacitive load. This equates to roughly 10 ohms at 20kHz and 100,000 ohms at 20Hz -- the impedance listed earlier is not a spec of the headphone but a rated load impedance for the amplifier. You'd need a very expensive multimeter with variable frequency control to reliably measure the impedance of these, like Tyll's. My cheap DMM just kind of shrugs at me when I touch the terminals of my SE500's plug.
 

 
 
This is the result Tyll got from my SE-500.

 

[GREQ]

 
 
A DMM won't work, the piezos are a 100% capacitive load. This equates to roughly 10 ohms at 20kHz and 100,000 ohms at 20Hz -- the impedance listed earlier is not a spec of the headphone but a rated load impedance for the amplifier. You'd need a very expensive multimeter with variable frequency control to reliably measure the impedance of these, like Tyll's. My cheap DMM just kind of shrugs at me when I touch the terminals of my SE500's plug.
 

 
 
This is the result Tyll got from my SE-500.

Woah, funky. Good thing I steer clear of these... every now and then I get tempted to try out the 700, but it's mostly the aesthetics 

Well it would at least confirm the cable integrity which would be a more likely problem. 

 

[Negative818]

Ok, finally got to test the SE-500s out on some more powerful receivers. I first got to test them out on an old 1970 Harman Kardon Three Thirty. It was hooked up to a 1970 reel to reel tape player playing some old Christmas music. It seemed to power the SE-500 just fine, but due to the poorer quality of the recording of the music that was playing it was hard to tell just how well it was driving the headphones. This, however, gave some confidence that they weren't bad or blown.
 
Next I tried them out on a Yamaha RX-1130. I'm not exactly sure when this receive was first released, but I believe early to mid 90's. I believe it was one of the last few 4-channel only receivers released before full surround sound receivers started to take over the the market. After some desperately needed EQing (bass and treble all the way up and the mids all the way down on the receiver plus some more EQing via iTunes) I got them to sound pretty damn good. I do have to turn the volume to about 11:00, but I'm fairly pleased with how they're sounding.
 
I think I will be trying the electrical tape mod on them as they still are lacking in the bass department somewhat.
 
Thanks to those who replied to my earlier questions.
 
Now, here's a pic for your viewing enjoyment.
 

 

[ruhenheiM]

damn it.forgot to wake up and sniping this
 
http://www.ebay.com/itm/ESS-MARK-1-HEIL-AIR-MOTION-TRANSFORMER-STEREOPHONES-HEADPHONES-/152450345619?
ul_noapp=true&nma=true&si=n8p13uZ10YHkKuY7Vk3eGWVfX6A%253D&orig_cvip=true&rt=nc&_trksid=p2047675.l2557

 

[nicdoy5]

I found this special beauty. Reviews are coming soon.

 

[ruhenheiM]

loos almost similar like pioneer se-700!
 
is it planar or dynamic?

 

[GREQ]

These are dynamic.
You see them quite frequently for sale in Germany under various OEM brand names like Universum, Maeden, Watson.
I've never bothered picking one up, but I'm still curious what the guts look like.