Wow! Sennheiser HD 540 Reference are so good.

[cagix]

Iam in love with a 26 and gsx mini like combo. Yes reminds me ibasso dc elite but is like hyperpowered on steroids i have more comparing from past.

I can say its strange to me in some sound terms. I doit some listening A, b with dc elite timsok ts 316, aful cantor. Versus gustard a 26 and gsx mini with abyss diana dz, sennheiser hd 600. First thing there are some ways where pairing is close and some where isnt. Gustard a 26 have same control in sound like dc elite same colour in sound. Whyle both aful cantor and abyss diana dz are step up from lesser iems and headphones, diana dz on gustard a 26 with gsx mini is strongest and is best headphone i have ever heard better than hd 800 and utopia. Back to dc elite it is like someone realy want mimicking gustard with gsx mini it is smaller less dimensional sound i think lack depth and way way more weaker in amp section. With iems is good but gsx mini with gustard a 26 is minimal class above. I have listen even chord qutest but gustard a 26 declased it. Iam strugling to see what and what more you must pay for go even close to gustard a 26 with gsx mini it is uber good combo. Theres more left, right touch more precision bass is harder more separation sound is way more biger and open. A, b realy show diferences still dc elite is closest to a26 for me at the moment but diference isnt small at all and gsx mini is big helper.

I dont know other preferences but for me very, very hard to see combo on a 26 with head amp gsx mini level. Babetak has even pc program that simulated what chord m scaler doit only it is in your pc counting like. Together his set is outstanding to me.

 

[myusernameislove]

Sorry fellow czech. I do not know how GSX mini sounds like, but my aune sounds well too .

I like traits of A26 on paper. Singxer also. But what attracts me to warmer sounding uDac (warmth was confirmed) is incredible USB implementation, price, size (I know big means better, but if it works in such small size, I am here for it) and that it lacks preamp which I have in Aune and do not need second one.

Aune's amp's preamp section and also class A power section has some warmth to it too, so I am torn appart whether I should add more warmth through uDac or add pristinity via A26 that has features and size that I do not need. So I lean towards trying Singxter or uDac bit more then A26 even though I know that from purely acoustic traits that I imagine those dacs have I would prefer to choose one in this order: X30 - A26 - uDac / Singxter.

HD540 does sound great from neutral(not warm) amps too. But it needs that power that class A amp provides and that comes with warmth. I am happy with Aune S17 Pro Evo. I may rush into buying uDac and then sell it fresh on secondary market if I do not like it. It is worthy contender for me currently.

Aune amp adds density (body, weight) to HD540's thinness. Harmony uDac is said to add density too. A26 on the other hand adds airyness, not body weight. 2 completely different approaches, but specifically with HD540 both may actually work ok.

HD540 is still and will be as far as I can tell my mainly driver. If I ever buy another headphone I do not mean to replace HD540. Why? Because genres I listen to sound fantastic on HD540. That is why I do not need to worry about too much of density from both dac and amp. Abyss headphoness sound dense already, so you benefit from A26 tremendously. See?

 

[Emilar]

My HD540 Ref.II sounds beautiful on R2R DACs and literally stunning if a tube buffer is in between.

There seems to be more Ref.1 than Ref.2 models around here.

In a nutshell what's the sonic difference between the two?

I know this question has probably been answered in one of the 4600 posts, but I don't have time to go digging.

Klaus

 

[sennsay]

My HD540 Ref.II sounds beautiful on R2R DACs and literally stunning if a tube buffer is in between.

There seems to be more Ref.1 than Ref.2 models around here.

In a nutshell what's the sonic difference between the two?

I know this question has probably been answered in one of the 4600 posts, but I don't have time to go digging.

Klaus

My experience of the short time I lived with a Ref II, a couple of weeks, it had a noticeable bright peak in the upper mid/lower treble region, compared to my Ref1's (600 ohm) with Mogami cable, which are much smoother and do not have that peak at all .... as I have them! Currently, mine are not like the stock version, which has a highlighted/exposed area where any form of compressed and hot music will be shared with the listener quite readily, I know, I listened to them for many years like that ... and thoroughly enjoyed myself regardless because of their sheer musicality. My second stock pair of Ref 1's is just like that, where vocals and any instruments in that frequency band are pushed forward and a little harder in tone. I still hear a little grain occasionally, in which I find it can be a little fatiguing in comparison to my smoother No1 Refs.
When I moved my Mogami cable to the Ref II's, the exposed part of the frequency band was lessened in intensity as a peak, as such flattening the intensity of it, but the cable just showed that these cans were more brightly lit in that area and quite listenable all the same. From memory only, I don't recall them having that graininess with the upper mid/lower treble exposure as the stock HD540 Ref 1's do. I found them to be easily noted as from the same family signature sound and just as alive and communicative as the Ref 1's, only with that lit up area mentioned. I decided that I was quite happy living without them as that lit up area was always there and apparently a feature of that model, not so with my Ref 1's.

Addendum: I took my HD430's for a spin last night running them from the AccuClone 1 (with LT1028's), via the silver Slinkylinks from the MusicStreamer II+ USB DAC and iMac. I was watching the new Reacher series on Prime and the sound quality and clarity was outstanding, open and spacious. Great combo.

 

[Emilar]

Thanks that helps allot.
I might fiddle with EQ settings to see if I can spot the problem. In my age it might just what the doctor prescribed

 

[myusernameislove]

look what is on ebay right now

ps
https://www.head-fi.org/threads/sennheiser-hd-1000-value.239543/#post-2986161
https://www.reddit.com/r/headphones/comments/188uplq/comment/kbnqyjh/

 

[Backsplash7]

look what is on ebay right now

ps
https://www.head-fi.org/threads/sennheiser-hd-1000-value.239543/#post-2986161
https://www.reddit.com/r/headphones/comments/188uplq/comment/kbnqyjh/

These are based on the HD435, which I own. From what I recall about the HD1000, the drivers are the same, except for being 100ohms (I think) instead of 30ohms. And the purpose of these was simply to have something that looked nice, for one of sennheisers anniversaries. I think it might've been the same anniversary that saw the launch of the HD580 Jubilee.

Let me tell you, the HD435 are just cheap old on-ears. They're pretty clear sounding, for their price range, but they dont have any bass, and no audiophile/hifi...ness... about them.
If you're after a gold and leather headphone that will purely serve the function of an ornament in your wood-panneled library/man cave, then sure, maybe get a pair if you find them cheap. But don't get it for performance.
If you want something small, similarly shaped, similarly aged and still an on-ear headphone, you can grab a cheap pair of HD480 (of which there are like a dozen different versions) any of which will be better for you. But. Even saying this, seeing the prices of 480's going up lately, I'd say there are much better things you could pick up used, for the same price or less.
A humble HD520 I, will easily outperform a 480, and nobody wants a 520. It'll also run rings around a 435 variant, and for thousands of euros less.

Edit: When I said that nobody wants the HD520, its because nobody knows about it. Just incase it came across as "Nobody wants this because its awful". I wouldn't have gotten the HD540 II, if I hadn't first liked the HD520

 

[Backsplash7]

This might not let me post this with the new double post rule, but does any anybody happen to know where I could get some acoustically transparent silk? Similar to the stuff that is used in the newer HD600/660 series baffles? I'm thinking about trying to mod something from the 500 series