[syberbd]

i've heard hifiman headphones and I feel they pair better with more amps than the sennheiser headphones do.  Sennheiser headphones can sound very good with the right dac/amp combo.  If you don't have the synergy they won't reach their potential.   A bigger soundstage doesn't guarantee a better sound as HD-700s provide but the sound isn't quite there.  HD-800s provide great imaging and a huge soundstage but the sound has phasing issues and treble harshness.  To respond to such complaints, Sennheiser came out with their HD-800S newly released model to provide a smoother treble extension, but at the cost of some clarity/transparency.  Hifiman headphones have a warmer sound than sennheisers generally, which is why I believe many like to use solid state amplifiers that provide a tube-like analog sound or a good quality tube headphone amplifier.  
 
For me, I enjoyed the HD-540 Gold II earpads the most on my HD-540 headphones but you can't get them anymore so you must make due with whatever you can.  Really just preference in the end for most I'd say.  

 

[Grumpy Old Git]

  i've heard hifiman headphones and I feel they pair better with more amps than the sennheiser headphones do.  Sennheiser headphones can sound very good with the right dac/amp combo.  If you don't have the synergy they won't reach their potential.   A bigger soundstage doesn't guarantee a better sound as HD-700s provide but the sound isn't quite there.  HD-800s provide great imaging and a huge soundstage but the sound has phasing issues and treble harshness.  To respond to such complaints, Sennheiser came out with their HD-800S newly released model to provide a smoother treble extension, but at the cost of some clarity/transparency.  Hifiman headphones have a warmer sound than sennheisers generally, which is why I believe many like to use solid state amplifiers that provide a tube-like analog sound or a good quality tube headphone amplifier.  
 
For me, I enjoyed the HD-540 Gold II earpads the most on my HD-540 headphones but you can't get them anymore so you must make due with whatever you can.  Really just preference in the end for most I'd say.  

The HD-540's really do sound nice through the Beresford Caiman MK2 and Capella, you won't get trouser flapping gut wrenching bass (name a set of cans that do give this effect) but the bass is certainly not weak with this combo.
All the Hifiman can's I've owned produce that nice warm sound you mention, but for me the 540's are more analytical and linear whilst remaining enjoyable to listen to.

 

[432789]

I got a hd530 a few weeks ago, from "ebay-kleinanziegen.de" together with AKG K240 sextett LP for 50 euros, I'm listening to music from tidal hifi app on my MacBook Pro, which is processed by a Yulong D100 DAC and amplified by a little dot 1 (which has 6 tubes, not many people have heard of this amp) and 02 amp. I use Boom 2 app to tweak eq settings, mostly to boost the 125hz bass region and the the 16khz treble region, and a bit of the lower mids, then I bring the whole boosted frequency spectrum down with the slider on the side of the app so that the highest point is still below 0 db to avoid clipping/distortion. I have also removed the foam filter which is in the cups, the highs were more clearer and magical to me this way... After all the tweaks I must say this are the closest I have heard to a live performance, (shocking realism and power, clear, engaging, musical and emotional), I can't help but sing along and play imaginary guitar riffs, I must... (and sometimes dance), I must say the eq tweaks made a huge influence in making this headphones produce the sound i have been longing for, although source, DAC, amp and high volume have played a part. I am very grateful for this little Personal concert device!

 

[o0CosmoMemory0o]

All of my HD540 headphones and parts are now sold. However, I still have some foam squares left to cut to produce suitable earpad foam for others wanting to re-foam their earpads. Takes me a little while to cut them by hand but it is fairly straightforward to do. Would request a little money for my time and the postage cost if anyone wishes to have a pair of replacement foams.

 

[BEYER]

....how can I take apart earpads pf my hd-560? Simply pull them? 

 

[o0CosmoMemory0o]

Pull them carefully and spread the pulling force around the ring to avoid tearing or deforming it.

 

[BEYER]

  Pull them carefully and spread the pulling force around the ring to avoid tearing or deforming it.

Thank u! Was so simple....
I forgot, how to remove earcups from headband?

 

[GREQ]

 

  I heard one of those Telefunkens once... unfortunately cant remember which model, but they had the loudest bass I've heard from any vintage headphone.
Must have been a lower-end model because the resolution was seriously bad.... like no-brand 8-ohm paper-cone-headphone bad. 

 
Which model? Telefunken went downhill after 1980's
 
TH600 is a little bass shy,
clarity,resolution are the highest I've heard so far,it sounds like the singer is in front of you

 
So it's kinda of a '2 year old necro-response', but I felt like I had to clear things up.
Finally managed to get my hands on a Telefunken TH600 without breaking the bank.
 

So I've been able to compare these two headphones side by side:

HD540 and TH600.

 
First thing I noticed was that the frequency response was totally off.
This is my EQ setting to get the TH600 to reach something close to neutral (I didn't spend too long on this, but it's getting there)
(Using Hifiman HE-500 as my personal standard of 'close to neutral')

Clearly, there are some severe problems with the entire frequency response. 
 
Here is my EQ setting for the HD540

I'm mostly compensating for some typical sennheiser bass roll-off and a few spikes in the treble which I don't agree with.
Otherwise, it's almost perfect, but too hot in the treble for my liking.
 
HD540 has a soundstage that rivals most high-end headphones.
The sound is fairly flat sounding like most headphones but has significant height and plenty of width.
 
TH600 has a very confused soundstage. 
You've got these angled drivers at about 45 degrees but in these closed boxes. 
So positional cues are somewhat decent, but imagine that all squashed into a small guest bathroom or closet. 
 
TH600 timbre is VERY plasticky. There are way too many sound reflections going on. 
You don't hear just the drivers, but you hear the plastic shoe-box enclosure they're housed in. It's horrible.

Most sounds are too soft. Too mushy. Not impactful or tight. 
Resolution is quite low. 
 
I would put these lower than ANY vintage planar I've ever owned/heard in pretty much all respects. 
I'm trying to think of a famous BAD headphone I can bracket this with, but it's difficult.
It has similar resolution to a Pioneer SE-450, but I'd pick the SE-450 over the TH-600 any day.
It's certainly among the worst headphones I've ever heard. 
I've heard worse, A LOT worse, but it's still pretty bad.
 
I would simply ignore the entire line of Telefunken headphones, as they will all suffer from near-identical acoustic problems as they're housed in near-identical cups.
 

 

[o0CosmoMemory0o]

Plump up a pair of velvet HD540II pads with suitable foam rings, use a HD250 copper cable, stretch the HD540 headband out so the clamping isn't too tight, put thin cloth or thin foam disc inside the earcups, use a HD540 driver pair that sounds as good as Reference II driver should (many hours of use is assumed and no faults assumed) and amplify them with a Graham Slee DAC/amp combo. This all being achieved will deliver a fantastic standard of musical playback.
 
HD800 is better although its rhythm/phasing is dull/uninterested so didn't prove its worth to me.
 
Unmodified AKG K1000 ("bass heavy"??) fully opened out and powered from GS Proprius speaker amps slayed every headphone I've ever heard. Absolute reference class; I would use this device for any professional application that permitted its open nature. Still in the process of DIY'ing speakers to sound better.

 

[dweeper]

@GREQ
 
From what i know you need a very High Quality amp&dac or TH600 will not sound good. The Resolution of TH600 is supposed to be very high.
You could try Telefunken Lower End model TH 30. It's not as revealing as TH600. I have had the TH30 tryed it out of my mp3 player sound was very smooth & grain free.

 

[GREQ]

I think it would take nothing short of a miracle to make these sound any good.
They're easy to drive, I didn't have to crank the volume past 9-10 o'clock on the O2 to get a good response.
I'm not saying my Objective stack is 'very high quality', but most on headfi will agree it's transparent, revealing, has enough grunt for pretty much most headphones and one of the best places to start, and for some the end of the search for 'high quality' audio.
 
But honestly it's just the FR is really messed up and the whole earcup enclosure ruins the sound. 
I'm pretty sure this turd can't be polished. 
 
I've put some REALLY difficult to drive orthos and electrets through my Objective stack which I know it's not driving properly and all of them sounded better than this joke. 

 

[o0CosmoMemory0o]

I appreciate blunt honesty like this.
 
It often is the enclosure that holds many headphone designs back, even if you apply complex EQ to them. The enclosure characteristics will remain; it will always be sound inside a box, just like with box speakers. Most of them sound quite mediocre too.
 
From listening to different headphone designs, I know what physical qualities to look for now and can usually judge if something is going to be a turd just by inspecting the design carefully.
 
I am actually of the opinion that if a headphone response is highly signatured (not true to the signal) then it's pretty mediocre; as useful as a bicycle wheel that is out of true...

 

[pkshan]

   
So it's kinda of a '2 year old necro-response', but I felt like I had to clear things up.
Finally managed to get my hands on a Telefunken TH600 without breaking the bank.
 

So I've been able to compare these two headphones side by side:

HD540 and TH600.

 
First thing I noticed was that the frequency response was totally off.
This is my EQ setting to get the TH600 to reach something close to neutral (I didn't spend too long on this, but it's getting there)
(Using Hifiman HE-500 as my personal standard of 'close to neutral')

Clearly, there are some severe problems with the entire frequency response. 
 
Here is my EQ setting for the HD540

I'm mostly compensating for some typical sennheiser bass roll-off and a few spikes in the treble which I don't agree with.
Otherwise, it's almost perfect, but too hot in the treble for my liking.
 
HD540 has a soundstage that rivals most high-end headphones.
The sound is fairly flat sounding like most headphones but has significant height and plenty of width.
 
TH600 has a very confused soundstage. 
You've got these angled drivers at about 45 degrees but in these closed boxes. 
So positional cues are somewhat decent, but imagine that all squashed into a small guest bathroom or closet. 
 
TH600 timbre is VERY plasticky. There are way too many sound reflections going on. 
You don't hear just the drivers, but you hear the plastic shoe-box enclosure they're housed in. It's horrible.

Most sounds are too soft. Too mushy. Not impactful or tight. 
Resolution is quite low. 
 
I would put these lower than ANY vintage planar I've ever owned/heard in pretty much all respects. 
I'm trying to think of a famous BAD headphone I can bracket this with, but it's difficult.
It has similar resolution to a Pioneer SE-450, but I'd pick the SE-450 over the TH-600 any day.
It's certainly among the worst headphones I've ever heard. 
I've heard worse, A LOT worse, but it's still pretty bad.
 
I would simply ignore the entire line of Telefunken headphones, as they will all suffer from near-identical acoustic problems as they're housed in near-identical cups.
 

 
 
TH600 is like Etymotic ER4,
if you do not seal it properly(100%sealed), it will sound like junk

 

[pkshan]

if you want a quick listen
 
try push the TH600 earcups
 

 

[pkshan]

I've recorded some Telefunken TL800 videos
https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCCOogF34wJcJZo1HWHtxqmw
 
 
A properly sealed TH600, the sound is almost as good(or bad?) as the TL800