[xaipemw]

Hello everyone once again,

I have a strange issue--which I'm not even certain IS an issue. I've had my HD650's for over a week now. And I'm listening to them right now, actually. I am writing to describe a strange issue/problem that I'm not even sure is the headphones.

I'm listening to Glenn Gould right now--the Brahms Intermezzi album. Intermittently, I hear what can be described as a "pop" or a "click" noise in the left side only. It's sort of freaking me out, because I don't know if it's :

A) my left driver is messed up somehow

or

B) These cans are so detailed that I'm actually hearing a defect in the recording itself (Gould turning the pages of music??)

I can, of course, hear Mr. Gould singing sometimes in the background--but I heard that with my stupid V600's also. I'm really worried that there's something wrong with my cans. Any ideas/suggestions?

 

[Tyll Hertsens]

Every once in a while we get someone who has a hair stuck through the foam cover over the diaphragm and the tip of the hair touches the diapragm as it moves. My suggestion is to remove the ear pad, and inspec the foam oval for hairs.

 

[xaipemw]

Quote:

Originally posted by Tyll Hertsens Every once in a while we get someone who has a hair stuck through the foam cover over the diaphragm and the tip of the hair touches the diapragm as it moves. My suggestion is to remove the ear pad, and inspec the foam oval for hairs.

HAH... wow, that would make me look like a hair-shedding oaf! Seriously though, I held the left can up to a task lamp's light, and I can't see anything.

How, exactly, does one remove the ear pad on these things? And, please, don't answer "carefully".

Is there a diagram or what-have-you about this?

 

[Demolition]

Quote:

Originally posted by xaipemw How, exactly, does one remove the ear pad on these things? And, please, don't answer "carefully". Is there a diagram or what-have-you about this?

There's a diagram in your owner's manual. It's not very descriptive, though.

All you have to do is grip the housing with one hand and pull the earpad with the other. It'll eventually pop off.

D.


edit: removed the word "gently". I should have remembered from prior experience that there is nothing gentle about the effort needed to yank the pads off.

 

[ch1nkster]

I think it's just the infamous "grattle" Check your drivers and make sure there's no hair inside them. Use the search feature and search grattle and you'll get some useful advice.

 

[dd3mon]

Here's the process:

Grab a hold of the velvet earpad firmly. Pull. Keep pulling until it unsnaps itself from the driver housing. You won't break it (and if you do, it's relatively cheap to replace).

The velvet earpads simply snap in and out, and sandwich a thin foam pad between them and the driver. When the pads are removed, the foam will come out easily. You'll see a plastic enclosure with a circle hole in it, behind which is the driver. Blow on this area (somewhat firmly, as to make sure you're removing any debris, but I wouldn't suggest such pressure as compressed air or anything).

It requires a little oomph, and some faith that your cans are made to be taken apart (which they are). They will easily snap back together as good as new. I've done this several times experimenting with foam mods or going completely foamless (note: completely foamless drastically increases the chances of this 'grattle' occuring!).

-dd3mon

 

[Joe Bloggs]

Wouldn't the Grattles be a much more continuous noise than what he's describing here, though?

 

[JaZZ]

xaipemw...

...couldn't it be on the recording? Glenn Gould is known to have used a chair prone to strange noises during his recordings. Have you already tried to swap the channels? If your electronics don't allow it, just swap the channels with your headphone cable. I bet the clicking or whatsoever noise will now appear in the right channel.

 

[mikey]

hi jazz has a point - if you listen to gould's goldberg variations, youd think your headphones had gone to heaven, ie, *kaput* - there are all kinds of sounds on it thats not 100% part of the music. does it happen when you listen to other cds? check this out before you get invasive with the 650s.
cheers

 

[xaipemw]

Well, I happen to own another recording of the Brahms Intermezzi, played by Idil Biret. I put that in and heard....nothing out of the ordinary. I don't know how to reverse channels on my headphones, so I didn't try that. But I am fairly confident that the noises I was hearing was Mr. Gould creaking his chair. The odd thing is that those noises are so much more "in my face" than the piano is in those recordings! I can't really explain it other than that. But, like I said, I couldn't hear anything of that nature on the Biret recording.

So, I'm going to duct tape Glenn Gould's ass to his chair, from now on.

 

[iamdone]

The reverse the channels just unplug the cable from the headphone and put the right plug in the left headphone driver and vise-versa for the left plug.

 

[Bill Ward]

Quote:

So, I'm going to duct tape Glenn Gould's ass to his chair, from now on.

I sympathize. All my Glenn Gould recordings have this weird humming sound. Drives me nuts.

BW

 

[Tyll Hertsens]

Kieth Jarret, and a number of Jazz keybaord player make vocal noises as they play that is distracting to me. I remember listening to a piano recording early in my headphone listening days where I kept hearing this "whooosh" noise. It took me months to finally figure out it was the damper pedal.

Yet another proof that the high-end of audio resolution is on headphones, NOT speakers.

 

[mikey]

Yet another proof that the high-end of audio resolution is on headphones, NOT speakers.


very true indeed. i cant hear gould 'other' bits of music on my spendors as clearly as i can on my senns and grados.