January acquisitions

slapo

It's... alive!
View attachment 126655

To replace the Technics which crapped out the other day.

:roflmao:
Did you get them on the sale Sennheiser had recently?
I grabbed my second pair (let's call it a backup) a couple of days ago and they arrived yesterday.
Still like them a whole bunch.
Curiously, the new pair uses the headband the HD650 used to come with. Not that I'm complaining. :)
 

Dr Watson

James
Did you get them on the sale Sennheiser had recently?
I grabbed my second pair (let's call it a backup) a couple of days ago and they arrived yesterday.
Still like them a whole bunch.
Curiously, the new pair uses the headband the HD650 used to come with. Not that I'm complaining. :)
I did indeed, 48 hours from Germany... Not bad!

Made in Ireland, which is kind of cool these days. I much prefer the current black design rather than the old blue speckle... I had a pair years ago but sold them in favour of Grado RS-1's I imported from the US (was more of a metalhead at the time which the Grado's were great for.) I was prepared to need an amp, been looking at the old Lehmann but to my pleasant surprise they're fine as is.
 

slapo

It's... alive!
I did indeed, 48 hours from Germany... Not bad!

Made in Ireland, which is kind of cool these days. I much prefer the current black design rather than the old blue speckle... I had a pair years ago but sold them in favour of Grado RS-1's I imported from the US (was more of a metalhead at the time which the Grado's were great for.) I was prepared to need an amp, been looking at the old Lehmann but to my pleasant surprise they're fine as is.
Yeah, for £239, they're excellent, and that they're still made in Ireland is nice.
I do find the stock cable way too long for my use, but there's plenty of nice, reasonably inexpensive cables available. You can even get adapters for the Sennheiser connectors and turn them into wireless headphones. :D

I think the main reason why they're fine without an amp these days is that the built-in stuff just got much better over the years.

The only bummer is that the pads wear down quite quickly.
 

Dr Watson

James
Yeah, for £239, they're excellent, and that they're still made in Ireland is nice.
I do find the stock cable way too long for my use, but there's plenty of nice, reasonably inexpensive cables available. You can even get adapters for the Sennheiser connectors and turn them into wireless headphones. :D

I think the main reason why they're fine without an amp these days is that the built-in stuff just got much better over the years.

The only bummer is that the pads wear down quite quickly.
Completely agree, I remember the output on old Minidisc players 20 years ago etc was shocking, not to mention underpowered/buzzy outputs from laptops etc lol. The cable is my current issue, have any recommendations? I'm not a subscriber to audiophile cable theories so anything will do provided it's 1m or less.

Have you had a look on Ali Express for replacement and spare parts. The Beats I repaired after the puppy chewed the headband were pretty easy to replace parts.
I've not but pretty sure they are specific to that certain model, needs a whole new hinge assembly... Best bet would be waiting for another pair to come up with blown drivers or faulty bluetooth etc and switching them over but I think it's a design fault so they'll all do it sooner or later, I've never seen such an important part made out of such cheap thin plastic... Even on supermarket level stuff.
 

slapo

It's... alive!
The cable is my current issue, have any recommendations? I'm not a subscriber to audiophile cable theories so anything will do provided it's 1m or less.
I use this one:
https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/165617457794 (just a little microphonic, and the strain relief is oddly far from the chin, but it's a nicely supple cable otherwise)
and one that looks just like this one:
https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/163211699841 (I don't think I've ever actually used the microphone, but the cable itself it inobtrusive and I'm happy with it).

I agree that expensive cables are just snake oil, unless they are high impedance cables (which usually means they're bad, unless it's the intention) or use special materials that make them more durable.
The two listed are decent for the money.

There are also some you can buy from e.g. AliExpress and eBay which look a lot like braided IEM cables(e.g. https://www.aliexpress.com/item/1005004022321921.html), or get adapters like these: https://www.aliexpress.com/item/4000240601042.html to be able to use actual IEM cables.
 
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