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terryw View Drop Down
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote terryw Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 27 Jun 2020 at 11:27pm
Thank you Ash for the example link. Is it reasonable easy to do the work on headphones?
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (1) Thanks(1)   Quote Ash Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 28 Jun 2020 at 12:44am
I am familiar with headphones like this so I have an advantage there. It isn't difficult to dismantle and clean. If I didn't currently have money tied up in other things, I would be willing to buy it myself, clean it up and sell it on. Not sure whether official spares for it are still in stock. They may be discontinued by now.
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (1) Thanks(1)   Quote fluddite Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 28 Jun 2020 at 1:16am
Originally posted by terryw terryw wrote:

Thank you Ash for the example link. Is it reasonable easy to do the work on headphones?

Hi Terry

I found this overview/review very helpful re Sennheisers of the kind mentioned by Ash - there are also useful videos and links (including re spares etc.) embedded:


As far as headphone amps go, you can hardly go wrong with Graham's products - I was lucky enough to buy a much-loved s/h Solo Ultra Linear DE from a fellow member a few weeks back, and it's transformed my listening (previously 95% via speakers) to the extent that I've already ordered two new sets of headphones to join my Sony MDR-MA900s. One's already arrived (Yamaha HPH-MT5 - very much a studio monitor type, but the Solo ULDE seems to like it), the other (Beyerdynamic DT990) is due shortly. I'm also thinking of another pair of Sennheisers (I've got a battered-but-still-functioning pair of HD520s from way back), but can't decide between the HD600s - much favoured by John C of this parish - and the HD660s. Given the price of both and the current impossibility of auditioning them at my local dealers, I might hold off for a while - or possibly take Ash's advice and rummage around on eBay. At any rate, you can take it as read that a GS headphone amp will provide a clarity, precision and fleetness of foot that you won't get through ordinary headphone outputs.... Wink

As you mentioned that you might need closed-back headphones (the Sennheisers are at least semi-open) for reasons of domestic harmony, you might well want to try the Yamahas I mentioned above - they've done fine for me so far (early days of running in), they seem well made, and they're the right side of a hundred quid new....
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (1) Thanks(1)   Quote Ash Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 28 Jun 2020 at 6:56am
The HD560 Ovation II is a well respected vintage headphone in audiophile circles that care about attention to detail and audio fidelity. There has been praise for HD 580/600/650 for many years but a big proportion of it is storytelling, especially from the "gurus" that love the sound of their own voice. Those models are okay but they are coloured and lack resolution. Options like the HD560II are a better choice and it will maintain its sale value if you look after it. HD560II is a great pairing for Bitzie or Solo. It is more resolving with more realistic tonality and a flat frequency response. It gives the attentive listener something important to carry forward: Perspective. To see that much of hifi review is creative writing and anecdotal babble often geared for the sole purpose to sell products. Who cares. I just want something that does what it is  marketed for. HD560 is fully open, not semi-open. I say this because sound can radiate from the back of the enclosures and can also pass through the velour earpads. If you need a closed-back headphone, this is not the headphone for you.

Time for my mini-anecdote. Don't worry, I'll keep it brief. A few years ago, I sold a refurbished HD560II to a man in Finland. Shortly after receiving it, he purchased the second one I was selling, so he and his wife could listen to music together. He was very pleased with how much he could enjoy music with them.
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (1) Thanks(1)   Quote Ash Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 28 Jun 2020 at 10:50am
Seems time hasn't been kind to the vintage Sennheisers. HD250 mk1 and mk2 are not easy to find and typically are sold for high prices. HD540 mk1 models aren't all consistently good so mk2 is the safer choice, but not easy/cheap to find in good condition and will probably need to refoam with thicker foam rings to maximise performance. HD560 official velour earpads are no longer stocked on the official site/s so unless you can source or DIY a suitable alternative pair of earpads for the 560, that is also ruled out. Just three of the old, good, affordable headphone designs that have been forced into unnecessary obsolescence due to the lack of availability of spare parts. RIP

As I say, buy great condition second-hand on Ebay for a good saving off the new price. Be prepared to buy and sell your way through a few headphones before you find something really good.
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote fluddite Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 28 Jun 2020 at 12:47pm
Originally posted by Ash Ash wrote:

The HD560 Ovation II is a well respected vintage headphone in audiophile circles that care about attention to detail and audio fidelity. There has been praise for HD 580/600/650 for many years but a big proportion of it is storytelling, especially from the "gurus" that love the sound of their own voice. Those models are okay but they are coloured and lack resolution. 

I stand corrected! Embarrassed And will now be rummaging around eBay for a decent pair of HD560s....

Ash - is there much difference between the Ovation I and Ovation II iterations?

Frank
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote Ash Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 28 Jun 2020 at 3:25pm
I never got around to trying the mk1 of the Ovation but the mk2 was very good once new velvet pads are on it. If the earpads are too flat, the drivers sit closer to the ears and stereo imaging will be detrimentally affected. Same with the HD540II; earpad thickness is paramount to achieving an optimal fit and sound. If a 540II is going really cheap, buy one and try and DIY the velvet pads with foam rings cut with cookie cutters and scalpel.
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