[o0CosmoMemory0o]

 

 
HD540 Reference II
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

 

 
HD560 Ovation II
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

Ref II pad pair cleaned with fresh foam tucked in
 

A Ref II pad pair with fresh foam sewn in
 

Sewn clean Ref II pad pair

 

[custino]

very nice work and idea. I will do same. sewing and foam. what sort of foam did you put into pad ?

 

[Noodlz]

so i finally managed to get a pair of the 540 Ref II's off of ebay stateside (2 days via USPS~ yes! =). And wow these do indeed sound AMAZING. Now i've got a question in terms of cables. I'm planning to make my whole setup fully balanced, so i'll need to make / buy balanced cables for these at some point.
 
I read a couple pages back that HD600/650 cables work but sometimes certain company's versions may not fit well. (Cardas being one of them?) Do you guys have any recommendations on which cables/company i should get a balanced cables from?
 
In the case that i decide to get them custom made instead, if i make them using plugs for the HD 540 Ref II, will they also fit HD600 / 650s? (seeing that vice versa is not necessarily true). Any recommendations would be great! Thanks =)

 

[o0CosmoMemory0o]

Glad to read that you finally have a chance to listen to this headphone.
 
I use a single-ended oxygen-free copper cable with mine and I don't feel that it holds the design back in any way. That's just me though.
 
Balanced connnectivity uses phase and inverse phase lines to cancel out interference common to both, thus reducing noise and possible EMI. For a headphone, the cable length is actually quite short compared to what lengths may be used for speakers. Balanced configuration is only of any significant benefit when the interconnect lengths are large. I think the headphone cable I use is 3m in length, not really long enough to require balanced transmission. You'd probably need cable lengths much over 5m to probably be able to hear any difference. You'd need a lot of cable area in order to pick up enough EMI to diminish the audio signal audibly. Also, altering cable material and length from the original choice risks also drastically altering the cable capacitance, which itself could affect how the signal propagates through it. I predict that different cable materials could subtly alter the tonality that the drivers present to your ears.
 
Alternatively, you may experience an improvement in performance. I'm not confident that you will though.
 
 
HD600 and HD650 cables use plugs that are thicker than those used on the HD540II. This will likely lead to a less secure fit, unless you sand down the thicker part of the plugs to allow them to be pushed further into the capsule sockets.

 

[Bostonears]

Cardas plugs for Sennheiser won't fit at all into the HD540 without modification to the plastic on the plugs. However, it's easy enough to do the mod with a Dremel tool.

 

[2leftears]

Glad to read that you finally have a chance to listen to this headphone.

I use a single-ended oxygen-free copper cable with mine and I don't feel that it holds the design back in any way. That's just me though.

Balanced connnectivity uses phase and inverse phase lines to cancel out interference common to both, thus reducing noise and possible EMI. For a headphone, the cable length is actually quite short compared to what lengths may be used for speakers. Balanced configuration is only of any significant benefit when the interconnect lengths are large. I think the headphone cable I use is 3m in length, not really long enough to require balanced transmission. You'd probably need cable lengths much over 5m to probably be able to hear any difference. You'd need a lot of cable area in order to pick up enough EMI to diminish the audio signal audibly. Also, altering cable material and length from the original choice risks also drastically altering the cable capacitance, which itself could affect how the signal propagates through it. I predict that different cable materials could subtly alter the tonality that the drivers present to your ears.

Alternatively, you may experience an improvement in performance. I'm not confident that you will though.

Agreed. however, phase and inverse phase lines are not really the characteristic feature of a balanced setup. Crucial for a balanced setup is that both wires (phase & inverse phase, or signal & common/ground) terminate in the same impedance so that noise picked up in the cable cancels out. An unbalanced setup is usually characterized by the "phase" having a high input & output impedance, whereas the "common" has a low(-ish) impedance to the true ground. Hence that poor setup doesn't aid noise rejection at all.

Balanced interconnects have definite advantages as interconnects are usually terminated into reasonably high impedances, certainly at the receiving end (100 kOhm or so). Thus having the cable terminate into the same high impedance for both signal and ground is a very good idea. Hence improved noise rejection on balanced interconnect setups are measurable and (possibly) audible. Headphone cables however are usually automatically balanced at the headphone end anyway (both the signal and ground wires terminate in the same impedance (i.e. the headphone's voice coil). At the headphone amp end of the cable a balanced setup would only give a (very) marginally improved channel separation compared to an unbalanced amp which had a less-than-ideal ground topology. Most good quality headphone amps (either balanced or not) have a fairly low output impedance, so the 5 Ohm output impedance or so of the signal vs. the near zero output impedance of the ground on an unbalanced amp should not really give any noise pickup issues with the short length of headphone cable involved.

Where it *might* make a difference is when you are using very sensitive low impedance headphones (say 8Ohm, 110dB) with a very long headphone cable and an unbalanced headphone amp with a higher output impedance of e.g. 120 Ohm. There a balanced setup might be useful. But that is irrelevant for the HD540 with its relatively high impedance, and low sensitivity (to modern standards anyway).

 

[Bostonears]

  Hi all, first post here so bear with me. I've rediscovered my old HD540s (I guess their ref 1 as I bought them about 1982). Joy. However the earpads have disintegrated... scanning a few posts and contacting some suppliers I get that:
 
1) The HD540 pads and HD250 equivalents are no longer available.
2) That some alternatives can be used...so
 
Can I get the latest/definitive answer on replacement pads. Can HD560 or HD430 pads be used if modded etc. What options are there for replacements ? I'm in the UK.

 

 
The HD430 pads will work, and is actually the "official" replacement pads for HD540 declared by sennheiser after the discontinuity of the original ones. Those on HD560 wouldn't fit.

 

  I have kept a few pairs of attachment rings for anyone who wishes to modify HD560 pads to use with the HD540.
 
If you want my honest opinion about using HD250 or HD430 pads with the HD540 headphone, don't use them... Both of these earpad types are designed for use with a closed capsule design and really butcher the HD540 performance, to my ears. If you dissect both of these pad types, you will see that they have thick fabric layers to make them acoustically inert by providing high damping of any sound, to prevent any sound leakage. This confines the dispersion sphere of sound to each ear, greatly reducing the stereo image size.
 
For best results, use the original pad or a HD540II velvet pad, gut the old foam out carefully, clean the skin thoroughly, put in a new doughnut shaped foam then stitch up. Gives the best result at the lowest price, I think.

 
I've tried a variety of replacement earpads on the HD540 II (including JMoney leather pads!). IMO the best sounding new pads are the HD560 pads, which can indeed be used on the HD540 if you remove the plastic rings from the back of the HD560 pads and transplant in rings from an existing set of HD540 pads. In this old thread, post #8 shows HD540 and HD560 pads side-by-side, and post #13 shows an HD540 ring transplanted into an HD560 pad, which requires minor modification to cut away some of the flexible plastic on the back of the HD560 pads.
 
Sennheiser declares the HD430 pads as official replacements for HD540 simply because they're the only ones still available that fit right out of the package, not because they're the ones that sound the best (or even sound most like the original HD540 pads).

 

[Ashback]

Hello HD540 Friends.  Here's a question for you.  I love using my HD540 Ref Gold (300 ohm).  They are old now, like me, but I get lost when I put them on, emerging at least a stolen hour later after being in the music without let or hindrance.  One joy at least of living alone and being single, maybe.  Anyhow, feeling the need to preserve these beautiful relics of more than 20 years, what might anyone suggest as something I could try, without breaking the bank, and more importantly, not being terribly disappointed.  Suggestions on a post card please, to this thread....  

 

[padam]

The HD600 comes to mind. But it is not quite the same thing.
 
Personally, I wouldn't worry too much about using the HD540s.
Apart from the earpad they will probably outlast their user (you can try and hunt down a set of HD250 earpads if you intend to keep the originals, there are some stock left here and there)

 

[o0CosmoMemory0o]

I have some HD540 Reference II headphones left if anyone would like to acquire a great sounding one. All clean and ready to use.

 

[2leftears]

  Hello HD540 Friends.  Here's a question for you.  I love using my HD540 Ref Gold (300 ohm).  They are old now, like me, but I get lost when I put them on, emerging at least a stolen hour later after being in the music without let or hindrance.  One joy at least of living alone and being single, maybe.  Anyhow, feeling the need to preserve these beautiful relics of more than 20 years, what might anyone suggest as something I could try, without breaking the bank, and more importantly, not being terribly disappointed.  Suggestions on a post card please, to this thread....

 
I don't think you will find anything similar to the HD540 that won't break the bank.  The nearest equivalent I can think of would be the HD800, but that one is expensive and some have expressed reservations about phase behaviour (see o0CosmoMemory0o's comments peppered throughout this thread).  I am on the fence as to which one I prefer, it depends on the recording I am listening to.
 
However, if you can source a new or reconditioned pair of pads for your HD540, I would have no reservations continuing to use it if I were you.  Provided you keep the volume at reasonable levels and your amp(s) have no mishaps, the drivers should last pretty much forever.  Avoid cleaning the exterior with solvent based products if you want to keep them looking new (isopropyl alcohol and naphtha based liquids will slowly dissolve the paint).
 
In short, relax and enjoy your HD540 !

 

[amigomatt]

Hey headmaniacs, I just pulled the trigger on these.  Did I get a good deal and does anyone know if these are the 300ohm or 600ohm version?
 
http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/271930066187

 

[o0CosmoMemory0o]

I would also compare the HD540II (and some Ref mk1) directly against the HD800. Both have a well-balanced neutral sound. HD800 wins in bass weight/impact, stereo image size and microdetails whilst HD540 wins in phase response/focus/musicality, physical weight, materials and comfort, in my personal opinion. There are a lot of sonic similarities between the two models but I conclude that HD800 has better drivers whilst HD540 has better calibration. I feel the K1000 improves on both of these models and is the standard by which I would judge any speaker system.

 

[coolcat37]

Avoid cleaning the exterior with solvent based products if you want to keep them looking new (isopropyl alcohol and naphtha based liquids will slowly dissolve the paint).

So dishwashing liquid should be okay?

 

[o0CosmoMemory0o]

There is no need to use any cleaning liquids. Just wipe parts carefully with a slightly damp anti-bacterial cloth to remove dirt/soiling. This worked well for all of the many HD540s that I've cleaned up. If you can isolate plastic parts (remove them from the driver capsule), you can wash those parts in clean warm water then dry softly with a non-abrasive cloth or allow to air dry. Washing up liquids contain weak organic acids so may harm the paint finish, therefore it would probably not be a sensible idea to do this.