[quimbo]

Been listening to the HD540s the past few days, while the bass was tighter with the new pads, I realized the highs sounded muted. Since the replacement pads have a 'pad' that goes over the speaker I removed the standalone foam and the highs are back without very much loss in the bass. The pads they replaced had no such backing, they were like a donut. Going to try the same with the 250s later tonight

 

[seanc6441]

Awesome you guys are enjoying the 250.


Small bit of news for you.

Sennheiser has given the pro community a gift.

HD 300 . Based on the HD 250 Linear. Awesome!

I've started a thread here for 540 and 250 fans
https://www.head-fi.org/threads/sen...ressions-thread-hd-250-linear-revival.877568/

Without being too much of a mood killer here I’m not a fan of the ‘bulky’ look to many modern headphones.

I would be extremely happy to see the 250 linear ‘revival’ in a 250 linear looking design with some updated matierials and aesthetics.

But this ATH M50x vibe is really not my thing. I don’t see the need for bulky plastic hinges and heavy headbands over headstraps and more stripped back designs using stronger matierial than the original.

I guess this plastic is super cheap so they can just make it bulky and add strength that way rather than make a slicker design with higher quality matierials or ingenuity.

Sorry for the rant! lol

 

[jon parker]

I got round to trying the velour pads on my HD 250 and . . . Dreadful Just makes them sound ordinary with no particular character or anything that makes them recognizable as a great headphone
Went back and put on the ones they came with:

https://www.ebay.de/itm/2-Ohrpolster-passend-an-Sennheiser-HD-250-linear-u-HD-250-Linear-II-HD250-II/142322218532?_trkparms=aid=111001&algo=REC.SEED&ao=1&asc=20160727114228&meid=49fe7242e183410c91dc9b6b1ed6bd5d&pid=100290&rk=1&rkt=4&sd=142322218532&itm=142322218532&_trksid=p2060778.c100290.m3507

These bring back a warm rich deep bass and more detailed highs. It could be too much i think with the wrong amp..?
Not sure but what is interesting having taken the pads off is:

a, they have the white donut ring on the driver
b, the pads themselves have a thin cloth on the back off them and
c, the foam tucked (inside inbetween that cloth and the plastic ring) is really thick

So it seems there is a lot of foam inbetween the driver and ones ear. Im surprised at the level of detail and clarity but then again Im no foam engineer!
Makes me wonder what the naked driver sounds like
Its weird how much difference this particular type of material pad makes in that velours work magically for my 540's ?
I can see someone might sell their 250 not realizing how good it actually cane be
Reminds me once again how you really don't your headphone until you try with different pads / foams / amps etc etc

 

[sennsay]

Awesome you guys are enjoying the 250.


Small bit of news for you.

Sennheiser has given the pro community a gift.

HD 300 . Based on the HD 250 Linear. Awesome!

I've started a thread here for 540 and 250 fans
https://www.head-fi.org/threads/sen...ressions-thread-hd-250-linear-revival.877568/

Aww, they already look so comfy I'll have mine with detachable cable thanks, don't need the rest.

 

[sennsay]

Without being too much of a mood killer here I’m not a fan of the ‘bulky’ look to many modern headphones.

I would be extremely happy to see the 250 linear ‘revival’ in a 250 linear looking design with some updated matierials and aesthetics.

But this ATH M50x vibe is really not my thing. I don’t see the need for bulky plastic hinges and heavy headbands over headstraps and more stripped back designs using stronger matierial than the original.

I guess this plastic is super cheap so they can just make it bulky and add strength that way rather than make a slicker design with higher quality matierials or ingenuity.

Sorry for the rant! lol

Agreed, the headband looks very bulky, pads look comfy

 

[sennsay]

I got round to trying the velour pads on my HD 250 and . . . Dreadful Just makes them sound ordinary with no particular character or anything that makes them recognizable as a great headphone
Went back and put on the ones they came with:

https://www.ebay.de/itm/2-Ohrpolster-passend-an-Sennheiser-HD-250-linear-u-HD-250-Linear-II-HD250-II/142322218532?_trkparms=aid=111001&algo=REC.SEED&ao=1&asc=20160727114228&meid=49fe7242e183410c91dc9b6b1ed6bd5d&pid=100290&rk=1&rkt=4&sd=142322218532&itm=142322218532&_trksid=p2060778.c100290.m3507

These bring back a warm rich deep bass and more detailed highs. It could be too much i think with the wrong amp..?
Not sure but what is interesting having taken the pads off is:

a, they have the white donut ring on the driver
b, the pads themselves have a thin cloth on the back off them and
c, the foam tucked (inside inbetween that cloth and the plastic ring) is really thick

So it seems there is a lot of foam inbetween the driver and ones ear. Im surprised at the level of detail and clarity but then again Im no foam engineer!
Makes me wonder what the naked driver sounds like
Its weird how much difference this particular type of material pad makes in that velours work magically for my 540's ?
I can see someone might sell their 250 not realizing how good it actually cane be
Reminds me once again how you really don't your headphone until you try with different pads / foams / amps etc etc

Yes indeed, even in my short experience with the Linear I, it takes little to really alter the sound of these things. F'rinstance, this morning I warmed up the Magni 3 and this time went direct to it from the analogue DAC out of the QP1R, HD6xx cables on board, just as I was using them last night and I am delighted with the intimate aliveness that reminds me so much of the Ref1s as I use them. The bass was not especially impactful or as alive as the rest of the range, but tuneful enough and doesn't reach anywhere near as deep and full as the Ref1s do. Anyhoo, it still sounded remarkably alive and present! The midrange and treble are terrific, as solid and intimately here as the Ref 1s, just a little more forward and just as full of life and tuneful bounce and toe-tapping goodness. Mmm mm.
I decided to hear what the Mogami cable sounded like with this simpler set-up. Oh dear! Bass is now too full and bloomy, the sheer presence in the mids and treble smoothed off. NOT what I would have expected! They lasted 10 seconds and I went back to the HD6xx cable, phew. What the? This is nothing like the results I get with the Ref1s, so I have a new learning curve here.
Now, those pads you've got there, Mr Parker, they do look like some others that are much cheaper, so I'm tossing up here, from Germany they are a lot more exy, probably three times the price when shipping is taken into account. There's no 'translate' button on eBay, so I don't know whether they are genuine Senn pads or not. They're obviously good ones, cos you luv 'em These ones I'm looking at, almost identical: https://www.ebay.com.au/itm/New-Rep...e=STRK:MEBIDX:IT&_trksid=p2055119.m1438.l2649.
I believe the thicker foam over the drivers might richen the bass somewhat, it's happened with other drivers ........ ooh, I do happen to have a pair of thicker foams that came with my Ref's pleather pads, I could try them. Currently I'm using the much thinner ones that came with the DT880 velour pads. I'm kind of amazed that those pads actually perform rather well here, after my dislike of them in general with the Ref1s. The Linear are really rather comfy, I had no problem wearing them literally for hours last night. I'm told by my tech buddy who sold me the Linear capsules that the felt rings are essential to get the right bass balance in them - even if some folks do take them out.

 

[sennsay]

PS, anyone seen where I can get another set or two of the plastic rings for the Senn pads? I presume Sennheiser themselves will have them, but eBay? I haven't found any yet.

 

[quimbo]

I can see someone might sell their 250 not realizing how good it actually cane be
Reminds me once again how you really don't your headphone until you try with different pads / foams / amps etc etc

I was ready to sell my 250s a few days/weeks back. Changing out the pads, removing the foam and also obtaining a tube amplifier (Lyr 3) and rolling 4 different tubes so far, 2 more are on their way, I will be keeping the 250s. I listen to a lot of user listener taped live music so the sound can vary depending on the recording, source, etc The Loki can really fine tune to address whatever is missing and/or whatever is too much on a specific recording.

Listening to Bill Frisell right now - https://artist-stores.com/collections/bill-frisell/products/bill-frisell-bochum-germany-05-22-04 - I try to purchase one flac show every month from here, so far have the first for shows. Most of my live music is free from bit torrent sites.

 

[sennsay]

I got round to trying the velour pads on my HD 250 and . . . Dreadful Just makes them sound ordinary with no particular character or anything that makes them recognizable as a great headphone
Went back and put on the ones they came with:

https://www.ebay.de/itm/2-Ohrpolster-passend-an-Sennheiser-HD-250-linear-u-HD-250-Linear-II-HD250-II/142322218532?_trkparms=aid=111001&algo=REC.SEED&ao=1&asc=20160727114228&meid=49fe7242e183410c91dc9b6b1ed6bd5d&pid=100290&rk=1&rkt=4&sd=142322218532&itm=142322218532&_trksid=p2060778.c100290.m3507

These bring back a warm rich deep bass and more detailed highs. It could be too much i think with the wrong amp..?
Not sure but what is interesting having taken the pads off is:

a, they have the white donut ring on the driver
b, the pads themselves have a thin cloth on the back off them and
c, the foam tucked (inside inbetween that cloth and the plastic ring) is really thick

So it seems there is a lot of foam inbetween the driver and ones ear. Im surprised at the level of detail and clarity but then again Im no foam engineer!
Makes me wonder what the naked driver sounds like
Its weird how much difference this particular type of material pad makes in that velours work magically for my 540's ?
I can see someone might sell their 250 not realizing how good it actually cane be
Reminds me once again how you really don't your headphone until you try with different pads / foams / amps etc etc

I did try mine without the foam covers yesterday and the soundstage shrank, the bass rolled off, yet articulation increased across the board. Still, not in perfect balance though and I suspected that my capsules had not been used for quite some time and needed loosening up (turns out from my tech buddy, that indeed they hadn't been used for a long time). They have freed up very nicely now and may do so some more yet. As I have them now, DT880 velour pads plus their foams and the Senn HD6xx cable, they are so alive, intimate and deliciously articulate, EVEN more so than the Ref1s (mainly because the Refs are less forward in the mids and treble as they are now), yet with no hardness or edge. Yum!

 

[sennsay]

After a good chat with my recording engineering Senn tech connection, following plenty of information regarding his long experience with Sennheiser (handy he speaks German!), he confirmed to me that the German made pads for the HD250s are the best out there - https://www.ebay.com.au/itm/142322218532 - which are the very ones that jon parker mentioned that he has on his HD250s earlier in this page, the 'Orhpolster' pads. They are twice the price of the Chinese versions, but I'll go with the good advice and bought a set this evening. Meantime, I'm still thankful my opinion of the DT880 velour pads has completely turned around, awful on the HD540s, remarkably good on the HD250s. I wore them for hours last night and into the morning and they were still comfortable when I went to bed
Listening to Ani DiFranco Live (Living In Clip) right now and I'm stunned at the effortless clarity of the vocals and flowing dynamics, they make many other headphones sound un-natural and at the moment that's just through the Corda 2Move while I'm at my laptop! I'm utterly fascinated with these things, it's as if I've never really heard the music properly before (the HD540s included here with the Linear 1s, though not in quite the same way). While the 2Move is known for it's linear response (or was in it's day), I've never heard it sound this alive before. The combo has transported me to the live event, complete with all the ambience, crowd noise, echos and delays and flowing dynamic expression. I don't know how much power the Corda 2Move actually has - it can only be a fraction of the Magni 3 - but it's controlling the HD250s amazingly well and I feel no need to run to the bigger amp and Mimby DAC in another room. Another German designed and made little miracle.

 

[jon parker]

PS, anyone seen where I can get another set or two of the plastic rings for the Senn pads? I presume Sennheiser themselves will have them, but eBay? I haven't found any yet.

You cant - The only pad that even has one of the plastic rings that is purchasable is the HD 560 velour pad and the pad is attached to it
If anyone knows someone who can do 3D printing I would be willing to butcher my pads to have some printed
Unfortunately the pads for the various 540's, 560 & 250 all seem to be slightly different in size
Hopefully I can get some at least scanned so we get some printed.

 

[Malfunkt]

You cant - The only pad that even has one of the plastic rings that is purchasable is the HD 560 velour pad and the pad is attached to it
If anyone knows someone who can do 3D printing I would be willing to butcher my pads to have some printed
Unfortunately the pads for the various 540's, 560 & 250 all seem to be slightly different in size
Hopefully I can get some at least scanned so we get some printed.

@sennsay @jon parker

This should help

https://www.thingiverse.com/thing:1735861

Courtesy of @MrTechAgent Much respect for his work, research and reviews.

 

[jon parker]

Nicely done Sir
there is a division of the company work for that has done some 3D printing - I'll look into it

BTW: Those are the pads that I am currently selling

 

[jon parker]

Looking at the image though it looks like a simple plastic ring. If memory serves there is a ridge around the edge which is what clicks into the capsule?

 

[sennsay]

@sennsay @jon parker

This should help

https://www.thingiverse.com/thing:1735861

Courtesy of @MrTechAgent Much respect for his work, research and reviews.

Thank you, that looks great! Someone had to do it. Nice looking pads on the cans too. Brainwavz?
Ah, I didn't look hard enough .... well I haven't been up long and had no coffee yet HM5 Hybrids. Brainwavz and I see they are oval not round, are there fitting problems, disregarding the rings for a moment? They look so comfy ..... mmm

BTW I just love dealing with efficient business folks, those German 'orhpolster' pads weren't even ordered two hours when they were packed and sent out the door and on their way to Australia! Nice!