[flaxton]

My left ear is a bit weaker than my right. The soundstage on my headphones is not quite in the centre. Any ideas how I can remedy this. Thanks.

 

[sennsay]

Well, if it's actually your ears themselves that's out of balance, you could go the route of the Schiit Loki so that you can adjust a frequency imbalance, or use an amplifier that has a balance control. Or, have your ears professionally checked - if you haven't already, you haven't mentioned so. The headphones themselves should not have a noticeable imbalance unless there's a fault with one driver. You do say that your left ear is only a bit weaker, so either of the two options I mentioned should take care of the problem. Have you tried either of these?

 

[flaxton]

Thanks for the reply. An app on my iPad measures hearing. Left ear was age 57 left ear 55. So I am assuming the left is not as good.

 

[sennsay]

Actually, that's not a lot of difference, it'll be around the midrange/upper mids that will show up most with an imbalance. I too have differences between either ear, though I still have a central soundstage, however, sometimes I need to pinch my nose and clear my ears to open up the earways to balance everything up.

 

[flaxton]

Thanks. Perhaps I am being over analiictic. Will try the nose pinch.

 

[salaca]

If you haven't yet, try your HD540 Reference with OTL amps. A match made in heaven. A friend of mine made this for me, and I can't be happier with them.

 

[sennsay]

Actually, I have, a Schiit Valhalla MkII and after adding the new 'wang' pads ... eventually, after using other high class pads for only a short time - they were truly awful! ... I just wasn't connecting to the music the way I would have preferred, so I sold the V II and bought a new Schiit Modi Multibit instead, which, with the Magni 3 completely out performed the Valhala II. I'm picking your homebuilt OTL amp might be something else again ... and I love the Schiit gear! The V II was not for me though. Glad you've found a great match for your Refs.

 

[salaca]

Actually, I have, a Schiit Valhalla MkII and after adding the new 'wang' pads ... eventually, after using other high class pads for only a short time - they were truly awful! ... I just wasn't connecting to the music the way I would have preferred, so I sold the V II and bought a new Schiit Modi Multibit instead, which, with the Magni 3 completely out performed the Valhala II. I'm picking your homebuilt OTL amp might be something else again ... and I love the Schiit gear! The V II was not for me though. Glad you've found a great match for your Refs.

Yeah, this one is special. I started with an experimental piece I bought for peanuts, and it was musical as hell. A friend of mine listened to it, and decided to build a replica with slight changes to the circuit and with better components, and that was truely amazing, so I asked him to make one for me. It took some time to track down the components (e.g.: gold ROE capacitors, same Viablue cable I use with my cans in the signal path, etc), but it's ready, and I have been running it for the last three-four days now. It is still a bit raw, but is getting more and more refined as we speak. No circuit board, just old-school hook-up wiring, nice and clean. I'm using a NOS Mullard from the late fifties and a military Tunsgram, but will try the Russian tubes when I get them back from my friend. So far I couldn't confuse it with anything I threw at it. Tonight it was Vivaldi cello sonatas with Roel Dieltens, an Ariana Savall album and some old Radiohead tracks for a nighcap. Can't complain, can't complain....

 

[sennsay]

Yeah, this one is special. I started with an experimental piece I bought for peanuts, and it was musical as hell. A friend of mine listened to it, and decided to build a replica with slight changes to the circuit and with better components, and that was truely amazing, so I asked him to make one for me. It took some time to track down the components (e.g.: gold ROE capacitors, same Viablue cable I use with my cans in the signal path, etc), but it's ready, and I have been running it for the last three-four days now. It is still a bit raw, but is getting more and more refined as we speak. No circuit board, just old-school hook-up wiring, nice and clean. I'm using a NOS Mullard from the late fifties and a military Tunsgram, but will try the Russian tubes when I get them back from my friend. So far I couldn't confuse it with anything I threw at it. Tonight it was Vivaldi cello sonatas with Roel Dieltens, an Ariana Savall album and some old Radiohead tracks for a nighcap. Can't complain, can't complain....

Pretty nice work there! I too used proper h/ph cable when I restored my Pioneer SA-5300 amplifier, in my case I used Mogami #2893 from the output stage to the h/p jack. I use the Mogami with all of my headphones.

 

[ProLoL]

Just got a HD540 ref 1 600 ohm to be joined with my beloved HD250. It's crazy good!

 

[salaca]

I have the same couple of cans, and I just made up my mind about selling the HD250s (Linear II). Even if I try and provide it with the same amount of TLC (pads, cable, amp, tube-rolling), they simply do not come close to the open, airy and tonally spot-on sound of the HD540s. Is it just me, or do you hear similar differences?

 

[ProLoL]

I have the same couple of cans, and I just made up my mind about selling the HD250s (Linear II). Even if I try and provide it with the same amount of TLC (pads, cable, amp, tube-rolling), they simply do not come close to the open, airy and tonally spot-on sound of the HD540s. Is it just me, or do you hear similar differences?

The Linear 2 is a toy compared to the linear 1. I had a brand new linear 2, it just couldn't stand a chance vs linear 1.

 

[lantian]

The Linear 2 is a toy compared to the linear 1. I had a brand new linear 2, it just couldn't stand a chance vs linear 1.

Agree, the same goes for hd 540 refrence 2 and hd 540 reference gold 300ohm. They are not even close to the 600ohm line. Completly different product. Even the 600 reference 1 is far above the 300ohm golds.
Sennheiser really screwed a lot of people wirh theyr refrence 2, linear 2 and rg 300ohm line. They should have been named something else.
.edit cause of spelling

 

[dakanao]

Agree, the same goea for hd 540 refrence 2 and hd 540 reference gold 300ohm. They are not even close to thw 600ohm line. Completly different product. Even the 600 reference 1 is far above the 30pohm golds.
Sennheoser really screwed a lot of people wirh theyr refrence 2 linear 2 and rg 300ohm line. They should have been named something else.

Oh, so that's why my impressions of the HD 540 were underwhelming, they both (regular and Gold) were the 300 ohm version!

 

[dakanao]

Oh btw, the only thing that underwhelmed me was the bass (both extension and midbass impact) with the 300 ohm version