[Alucard]

I have had a pair of these lying in the closet for some time but I've never tried them actually. I don't know very much about them except that they are from the 70s and many think they are quite good (on another forum someone said in 99 that he had heard hp's in the range of $8000 (!) and he thought the HP-1 was just as good

.
So I thought it might be fun to hear how they sound so I pulled them out today and made a short listen on various music...

I wouldn't say they are bad. But they are very muddy. I made some EQing in foobar and thought they sounded quite good. I switched over to my Portas. They sounded bright(!) in comparison even with the EQ on the HP-1.
I guess the technology has gone forward in 30 years.

Or do they sound worse 'cause of the age?
I thought I read somewhere that they where 150ohm. Do I have sufficient amplification using the headfive?

As of now I would rank my PortaPro's higher than these.
But you don't get listening fatigue at least.

 

[Alucard]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Alucard /img/forum/go_quote.gif I guess the technology has gone forward in 30 years.

How fun it'll be when they in the future think that the orpheus sounds like a pos.

"My $10 brain implant sounds 10 times better than this *LOL*. What a muddy mess, I can't believe how much this used to cost."

 

[facelvega]

welcome to one of head-fi's most rabid cults. Those Yamahas can sound fantastic, maybe not $8000 good but probably $300 competitive, but you're going to need to mod them to get them there. The key word is felt. Search Yamaha or Orthodynamic, or just look for threads started by wualta. cheers, FV

 

[jinp6301]

hey if you dont want them, i'll take them off your hands!

 

[facelvega]

Quote:

Originally Posted by jinp6301 /img/forum/go_quote.gif hey if you dont want them, i'll take them off your hands!

I'd love to read a comparison between a modded HP-1 and an SR-225.

 

[jmmtn4aj]

Pics? Maybe they need some burn in

 

[Kees]

This is weird. I have owned Yamaha HP-1s for at least ten years, and I don't remember them as muddy. On the contrary, they were very detailed.
On the other hand: I used them with a Yamaha CA810 amp, and they were known to be on the bright side of the spectrum, where youre Headfive is exactly the opposite. I think it is just a bad combination. I imagine any other Corda amp would be perfect for them.

 

[Alucard]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Kees /img/forum/go_quote.gif This is weird. I have owned Yamaha HP-1s for at least ten years, and I don't remember them as muddy. On the contrary, they were very detailed. On the other hand: I used them with a Yamaha CA810 amp, and they were known to be on the bright side of the spectrum, where youre Headfive is exactly the opposite. I think it is just a bad combination. I imagine any other Corda amp would be perfect for them.

I don't fell the headfive is THAT dark actually. It's about the same as my soundcard or pcdp, my grado's are still bright, almost to bright on certain songs actually. (Time to get some tubes soon

)

I just made some listening at a couple of songs from a B&W test cd ripped in flac. I played the same songs with all my cans.

If I turned up the volume the HP-1 didn't sound as dark anymore, but very soft and easy to listen to. With good recordings they sounded better than the ProtaPro, but I still feel that they sound a bit strange though, not on pair at all with my A900LTD which actually outperformed the RS2 on some songs (due to the added soundstage and deeper bass). The RS2 still wins for clarity though (but they are a bit to hot at high volumes, must get tubes soon

or maybe it'll get better with a better source than my crappy soundcard, Musiland MD10 is tempting while I wait for the MD30 to come out).

 

[Alucard]

Quote:

Originally Posted by jmmtn4aj /img/forum/go_quote.gif Pics? Maybe they need some burn in

Yea burn in, haha

(or do the drivers get stiffer with age?)

Sorry no pics, unless you wan't some taken with my eyetoy webcam.

[size=xx-small]400th post yay![/size]

 

[facelvega]

Alucard, in case you haven't spotted the key thread look here, especially in post number 6. Also take a look at this site for more general YH-1 rehabilitation information. The key thing is to dampen the back side of the driver, which is generally done by placing a thick disk of felt inside the housing.

 

[Alucard]

Yea I made a search and found both threads. Maybe I should try to dampen them.
We have a sony store where I live, maybe I should pay them a visit and ask if they have some replacement pads in stock to.

 

[cleophus]

I traded my HP-1's even up for some 580's.I liked the sound of
the yamahas but not the resonance that came through the
metal band,not comfortable for long listening periods either.

 

[joop nijenhuis]

Quote:

Originally Posted by facelvega /img/forum/go_quote.gif Alucard, in case you haven't spotted the key thread look here, especially in post number 6. Also take a look at this site for more general YH-1 rehabilitation information. The key thing is to dampen the back side of the driver, which is generally done by placing a thick disk of felt inside the housing.

No, that is not true with the HP-1. The coil is more controlled due to both magnets, one on each side. Dampen the back is only useful for asymmetric drive like a normal speaker, not for a symmetric drive like the HP-1. I do have drum sonds that deep that only the HP-1 will give it distortion free, the Senn's 580 and 600 do have more trouble with it. So there is nothing wrong with the HP-1, the thing what's wrong is your wrong impression how something sounds. The HP-1 is very natural, its one off the headphones I trust for recording. But it is very, very important that your power amp can handle the HP-1. The 10 Watts power rating is not noted down just for fun. Only an IC-amp like the 741 or 709 and its successors isn't enough. If power demanding sound is present than the HP-1 cannot breath and it will go into distortion or will give uneven sounds. So to correct this you place damping material in the back. The thing you need is a power headphone amp that can handle the headphone.

 

[Alucard]

Quote:

Originally Posted by joop nijenhuis /img/forum/go_quote.gif ...But it is very, very important that your power amp can handle the HP-1. The 10 Watts power rating is not noted down just for fun. Only an IC-amp like the 741 or 709 and its successors isn't enough. If power demanding sound is present than the HP-1 cannot breath and it will go into distortion or will give uneven sounds. So to correct this you place damping material in the back. The thing you need is a power headphone amp that can handle the headphone.

Hmm maybe that's the reason they sound so muffled, my H5 cannot drive them correctly. (?)

 

[swt61]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Alucard /img/forum/go_quote.gif Hmm maybe that's the reason they sound so muffled, my H5 cannot drive them correctly. (?)

I have a home for them.