This is my first post but I've been lurking for a while trying to find an upgrade to my old HD 414 (2000 ohm.). I also have a pair Stax SR Lambda driven by a high voltage amp that I designed and built several years ago, and this setup sounds absolutely fantastic IMHO. Very neutral, highly detailed mids and treble and bass extend deep. Excellent soundstage as well BTW. But enough rambling about the Stax. The thing is, I'm using this setup for critical listening in my armchair however I can’t use it in my recliner because the neck cushion gets in the way of the large cans on the Stax phone (and other full size cans). I therefore bought the venerable Sennheiser HD 414 a couple of years ago, and connected them directly to the speaker terminals on a poweramp. In this setup the HD 414 (original 2000 ohm) has some of the same qualities as the Stax, namely pretty good sparkly treble and detailed mids as well as the nice airy signature. Mids are more forward than the Stax but not too much. They are On-ear so they don’t get in the way of the neck cushion.
The only problem I have with the HD 414 is that the bass rolls of quite a lot. I then started to read about the Grado line and bought the SR80i because I thought I would like the sound signature. I know they are liked by many here but I must say that I don’t like them at all. It’s a bit hard to explain but compared to my HD 414 they sound a bit like the music is coming from cans (no pun intended) or PVC tubes or something. The HD 414 sounds much more natural and “free” or ”open” (for the lack of better words) to my ears. Not at all like the sound is coming from cans.
Is my 30 year old HD 414 really still that good? Could anyone suggest a modern headphone with the same airy and natural signature but with better bass extend? Remember it has to be on-ear and not dark sounding. I need it to be nice sparkly treble and detailed mids. Bass should go deeper than on the HD 414, but I’m by no means a Basshead.
Thanks and sorry for the somewhat long post.
Jan
The only problem I have with the HD 414 is that the bass rolls of quite a lot. I then started to read about the Grado line and bought the SR80i because I thought I would like the sound signature. I know they are liked by many here but I must say that I don’t like them at all. It’s a bit hard to explain but compared to my HD 414 they sound a bit like the music is coming from cans (no pun intended) or PVC tubes or something. The HD 414 sounds much more natural and “free” or ”open” (for the lack of better words) to my ears. Not at all like the sound is coming from cans.
Is my 30 year old HD 414 really still that good? Could anyone suggest a modern headphone with the same airy and natural signature but with better bass extend? Remember it has to be on-ear and not dark sounding. I need it to be nice sparkly treble and detailed mids. Bass should go deeper than on the HD 414, but I’m by no means a Basshead.
Thanks and sorry for the somewhat long post.
Jan
