Cylontymany
Super Member
I have the ole HD595 which I like but what about other Sennheisers?
I bought my Sennheiser HD40 with the yellow pads in 1981. I retired them when the pads disintegrated. I found replacement pads on Amazon and they are back in service. Sadly, the replacement pads are black. I think I paid $40 for them originally. Love 'em.
Not familiar with your headphones, but would the yellow pads for the HD 414 work? I think they are still available. You could always call Sennheiser and ask about them.
The HD-595 is still a great entry level audiophile headphone. It boasts a flat and neutral response, and will not color the sound in anyway. The biggest compliments from reviewers is its extreme comfort and natural sound. A big gripe is a lack of bass. The bass to some sounds tight and controlled, but to others it simply isn’t enough.I have the ole HD595 which I like but what about other Sennheisers?
Yes, the Massdrop HD-6xx is the best bang for the buck Sennheiser. You bring up a very good point that higher impedance phone needs a dedicated good headphone amplifier. Plug the HD-6xx into the headphone jack of a receiver, you destroy all its sound characteristics. The receiver jack has more than enough power to drive it, but the bass control, sound stage are all gone.The best bang for the buck Sennheiser headphones (and probably the best bang for the buck headphones period) are the Sennheiser HD6XX at Massdrop. $200 for near-TOTL headphones is an absolute steal.
I bought HD650s more than half a decade ago at close to $500 and I've owned an obscene number of headphones. The only headphones I've never sold are the HD650s.
They get better with every other upgrade. Get a better amp that synergizes with the HD650, they sound better. Get a better DAC, they sound better. I've had 4 figure headphones that didn't allow me to accurately distinguish between two DACs. With these, I can.
And the HD6XX are essentially the HD650 for half the price.
I also have Sennheiser G4ME Zero, G4ME One, and HD598s still (and I've owned a dozen of their other headphones). The HD650s shame all of them if you have a good amplifier and DAC. The others are kept specifically for gaming.
Yes, the Massdrop HD-6xx is the best bang for the buck Sennheiser. You bring up a very good point that higher impedance phone needs a dedicated good headphone amplifier. Plug the HD-6xx into the headphone jack of a receiver, you destroy all its sound characteristics. The receiver jack has more than enough power to drive it, but the bass control, sound stage are all gone.
It is not the "jack" per se. Most receiver do not have headphone amp circuit. They use a padding resistor of a few hundred ohms to tap the speaker output for the headphone jack. As a result, it gets very poor dynamic response. You need to do a comparison yourself to know the difference. It the receiver jack and a good quality headamp make no difference to you, then use whatever is the cheaper approach.What does a receiver jack have to do with "sound stage"? Let alone frequency response?
Anyway, back to "sound stage". How can a receiver possibly have anything to do with that?