[milosingh]

IMO Sennheiser produces the most natural/neutral sound, as it probably has in the past as well. Can't really say about the past, but if you look at their current line up:
 
HD800
More or less neutral with perhaps a touch less bass and a touch more treble.
 
HD800S
Refined HD 800
 
HD 700
One of the least neutral/natural of the Sennheisers but still measures at least as good or close to the best measuring AKG or Beyer phones.
 
HD 600
As flat as you'll get.
 
HD 650
HD 600 with a touch more bass and a touch less treble. Second in FR only to HD 650.
 
HD 598
More or less neutral with forward mids. Still more neutral than most.
 
When you keep the above in mind with the fact that they better warranty/service, are very comfortable, easily available, similar global pricing, it almost becomes a no brainer.
 
The only other company worth considering is perhaps Mr Speakers but outside USA they will probably end up very expensive. And of course Sennheiser has a wider and more diverse range and other factors mentioned above.
 
But unless you're deliberately looking for colored phones, I'd guess Sennheiser and Mr Speakers pretty much the best out there.

 

[GREQ]

  I got the driver out but it has a  membrane on it, I dont think it comes off. Any ideas?
 

If you're trying to access the driver itself, you simply push the white fabric disk out from the rear forwards, it should just pop out revealing the driver.
But the driver is actually PART of the entire 'basket' / frame.... I don't think you can remove it from the frame. 

 

[interface95]

For two weeks in a proud owner of a HD540 I and for 3 days now I also own a HD430.
I'm completely new into Sennheisers, mailny was in AKGs before, but its nice to get into something new.
I will probably post some experiences in some time, maybe a comparison.

 

[o0CosmoMemory0o]

HD540 white top cover can be removed from the driver frame by pushing it out from the back. But beware, the hair-thin pair of wires connecting the cable plug socket to the driver coil can sometimes be attached to a small amount of adhesive in the small gap between frame and cover, so when the cover is lifted, one or both wires may be severed as you slowly pull it away from the adhesive... rendering the driver unusable. Good luck rejoining them if this happens... Only try to remove this front cover as a very last resort or if your driver already has a fault. I wrecked a HD540 once because of wire attachment to adhesive that I didn't see until I started to lift the cover, by which time it was too late. Many HD540 driver frames, especially Reference II frames, probably won't have any adhesive in the gap but if you decide to chance pushing the top cover out on any, it's at your own risk. If there is any adhesive on the wire at all, it'll probably sever.
 
HD540, especially Reference II, is a superbly neutral and musical headphone with a very transparent and tonally faithful presentation, in my personal experience. Takes a dump on HD600/HD650 devices, which have altered frequencies/dynamics resulting in a thickened, coloured sound reproduction.

 

[luke99]

Greq and Cosmomemory, thanks for your help. I think I will not risk it. The cans only sometimes on very bassy tracks make a slight distortion sound. Its not worth risking it. They usually are perfect and I cant tell they have a slight issue. 

 

[luke99]

Hi Guys, upon closer inspection, it was evident there was no glue on the wires, so I chanced it. I gently pried the cover off, and found that the driver was in pristine condition. What had happened was that deteriorated felt from the cushions had got into the driver via a hole in the rear, kinda like a reflex port I guess. I gave it a blow out and tried the most bass heavy track I could find on max noise and no more vibration. Thanks for all the help, I wouldn't have chanced it without your assistance

 

[o0CosmoMemory0o]

I am glad that you were able to dismantle it successfully. Whilst they are a little light on the overall bass weight, I still consider the HD540, especially II, to be one of the best sounding headphones you can buy at any price and they compete well against devices many times the cost. They're certainly not perfect but once tweaked and driven well, they are quite a fantastic experience, even compared directly against AKG K1000.

 

[luke99]

Bass seems OK to me. I really want to compare it to an HD600 as this seems to be the reference can still. I am hoping to build a SuSy balanced Dynalo and make some balanced leads for it, but I have so many projects, its probably a year out. So far my Dynalo serves me fine, but I expect balanced will take it to another level.
As I intend to make my own cables, do you know if the aftermarket HD600 connectors you see on Ebay etc will work fine with the HD540? From what I understand it's slightly different.

 

[Grumpy Old Git]

Has anyone compared the 540 or 540ii to the HD-700? If so what are your conclusions with rock and pop in particular?

 

[dweeper]

I have not heard the hd700. But i am pretty much sure that they are not better than the hd540. From what i read about the hd700.

 

[GREQ]

  Has anyone compared the 540 or 540ii to the HD-700? If so what are your conclusions with rock and pop in particular?

I've never compared the two directly as I've never owned the HD-700, only auditioned it a number of times...
... but from memory I can confidently say the 540 has superior tonality. 
 
I found the 700 has some really strange issues particularly in the midrange that don't sound natural.
Can't comment on any particular genre, but 540 lacks bass extension. Any music with a beat feels thin and a bit distant like listening to music through a portable radio ... just no bass substance. 
Ok.. that's a huge exaggeration, but you get the idea. 
HD700 has a meatier bass, although I would still consider it a bass-light headphone. Not ideal for pop music which often has a thumping bass kick, or rock to enjoy bass lines.

 

[Grumpy Old Git]

  I have not heard the hd700. But i am pretty much sure that they are not better than the hd540. From what i read about the hd700.

 
 

  I've never compared the two directly as I've never owned the HD-700, only auditioned it a number of times...
... but from memory I can confidently say the 540 has superior tonality. 
 
I found the 700 has some really strange issues particularly in the midrange that don't sound natural.
Can't comment on any particular genre, but 540 lacks bass extension. Any music with a beat feels thin and a bit distant like listening to music through a portable radio ... just no bass substance. 
Ok.. that's a huge exaggeration, but you get the idea. 
HD700 has a meatier bass, although I would still consider it a bass-light headphone. Not ideal for pop music which often has a thumping bass kick, or rock to enjoy bass lines.

OK, thanks for your replies guys.

 

[WilliamLeonhart]

Is there any visual cue to tell the 300ohm version from the 600 ohm one? I borrowed one from a friend and oh my they sound like the dream headphone of mine. Neutral but still musical. Didn't think that was possible

 

[moriez]

Is there any visual cue to tell the 300ohm version from the 600 ohm one? I borrowed one from a friend and oh my they sound like the dream headphone of mine. Neutral but still musical. Didn't think that was possible

 
Not sure if it's in all instances but only 300 ohm models have it inscribed on the outside of the cup behind the headband. The other confirmation is after removing the earpads. A tiny nearly unreadable inscription on the outisde of the black grills.

 

[SteveHiFi]

You can measure the resistance using a multimeter, between the tip and the sleeve on the jack - yes it's not impedance exactly but it'll give you the answer.