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Brand Spotlight: Massdrop x Sennheiser
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Drop+Audiophile
DamienR
167
Dec 8, 2018
Could you concider doing drop/s for Stock parts e.g headband (Because some of us noobs bend & break them to loosent he clamp resulting in broken headbands or headbands that don't seal causing 1 driver to be louder than the other). Foam Tonal Pads (Because the get cut, modded or disintegrate over time). Stock Ear Pads (Because they well.... dont last long, interchangeable & handy to have a spare pair or replace an old pair)
To summarize:
•Headband
•Tonal Filters (foam)
•Ear Pads
I'm sure that some of us need/want grills & drivers but thats up to you guys as they end up being less needed than these things.
PaulCoddington
5
Jan 30, 2019
DamienRParts are very important and suffer from several problems which would be good to solve.
- Spare plastic parts for HD6XX will not be color matched, they will be titanium gray.
- Parts are very expensive (replacement ear pads for HD 6XX are US$50, here in NZ they are sold for $80). A set of headband and ear pads, plus an original long cable for HD 6XX (the short one with small plug is a mistake for domestic gear as headphone amps of sufficient power have 1/4" sockets and portables cannot drive them without severe compression and FR anomalies) adds up to 50% of buying a second set. A replacement headphone band in the event it cracks is even more expensive.
- By the time headphones need new pads, it is sometimes the case they are discontinued and out of stock, so perfectly functional headphones can no longer be used.
When it came time to replace pads on my HD 540 Reference Gold, the design had changed for the 540 series to thinner velour pads, so the official brand replacement sat the drivers closer to the ear in a smaller chamber, such that the tuning and timbre changed completely and my ears touched the inner surface of the cups - I wasted money on expensive parts that spoiled very expensive headphones that could not otherwise be used because the original pads had disintegrated (pre-Internet, there were very limited options).
This week, I asked Sennheiser about new pads (ear and headband) for HD 598 - no luck, discontinued, out of stock everywhere I look. Amazon has some ear pads in the wrong color (black) for the price of a new pair of HD 598 SR. There are third party options which are cheaper, but they will not look the same (brown velour for the headband) and I have no idea if they will sound the same (at least they are cheap - the HD 598 were exposed to smoke in a house fire, and may have had their life shortened, given smoke is acidic, so spending lots of money on them is not a good idea).
So, it raises the question, should one buy spares at the beginning before they are needed in case they are no longer available when the time comes? But if you do that, will the spare pads keep in the cupboard for 5-10 years, or will the foam decay? Given the prices, perhaps it makes more sense to buy a spare set of HD 6XX rather than spare pads? Yet it grates to treat working tech as disposable, as it is a waste of money and natural resources.
No easy answers to these problems.
Perhaps one should just be grateful the HD 6XX is cheap, and it will be less painful to let it go down the track when pads are no longer available, while hoping that 5-10 years from now there will be something better or equivalent (say a Massdrop HD 66X/7XX/8XX).
(Edited)
PaulCoddington
5
Jan 30, 2019
PaulCoddingtonCome to think of it, a Massdrop HD 598 equivalent would be something worthwhile - they have a very pleasing warm sweet lush musical sound, a wide soundstage, but (unlike 600 series) are so casually/easily able to be fitted and removed, so insanely comfortable, they are really good to wear in bed.
It's probably physically impossible, but one could dream of a headphone that had the clarity and reference sound of the 600 series with the style and comfort of the 598.
Asrei
126
May 14, 2019
PaulCoddingtonThat's how I felt about the HD 700's headband I forget I'm wearing them sometimes. I actually fell asleep with them on during an international flight. They are not tight at all but they don't budge either.
Evshrug
3772
Community
Jun 3, 2019
PaulCoddingtonThe PC37X sound almost identical to the HD 599, except I actually find the PC37X to sound a tad sweeter.
Of course, the PC37X has a big microphone you can’t remove, so you would look a little odd out in public. However, it’s fine at home, actually I have no complaints about wearing them in bed with the mic flipped up, and it really is a great mic for phone/conference calls and streaming.
Also, HD 599 pads are brown and should be cross-compatible with the HD 598 (and PC37X, HD 579, HD 559, HD 558, etc), so you should be able to at least replace the part that gets the most wear. I’ve never owned the older HD 598 myself... didn’t that have an eggy-beige-Champagne-cream colored headband padding? I think the contrast of the HD 599’s chocolate dark-brown looks better, and my balding head certainly is a fan of the Velour material.
themuna
142
Aug 11, 2019
AsreiThe HD700 is insanely comfortable. Most comfortable headphone I've ever put on.
DamienR
167
Aug 11, 2019
themunaWeird you say that i've seen a lot of people lately say the same thing, "Even more so than the Hd800/s". Which is hard to see when the HD800/s is sitting right, but the HD800 headband is poorly (Cheaply) designed & has issues so... yeah I guess that's where they are coming from because the HD700 doesnt look the same, it looks better!
Asrei
126
Aug 11, 2019
themunaThey’ve been my endgame headphone for some years now. I love my HD-700. Regardless of what others say about them. Their spatial accuracy makes them incredible for gaming too. Believe me when I say the clarity is on a level no gaming headphone can dream of touching.
Edit: They are the most Amp picky headphone I’ve ever owned as well. The effects different amps have on them is insane.
(Edited)
Evshrug
3772
Community
Aug 12, 2019
DamienROf course some of it is subjective. Objectively, the HD 700 is lighter (but the HD 800 is lighter than many full-size headphones, and some smaller than it).
Subjectively, some people prefer how the smaller diameter earcups sit on their jawline and head, but both have very deep earcups (I don’t know if there’s a difference in depth... both are deep enough for my ears) and fairly thin pads. I personally don’t find the headband as comfortable as the HD 800, because the HD 700 creates a hot spot at the peak of my crown... but others will prefer the HD 700 headband’s more plush padding.
HD 700 driver’s 150 Ω impedance requires less amp power headroom (volume will be pretty close actually), but also less forgiving in some ways (forgive me, it’s stupid early in the morning, I can’t think of how to succinctly summarize this), so it still rewards a quality amp.
themuna
142
Aug 12, 2019
DamienRYeah, the headband and pads along with the size/weight are all just perfect. I prefer the looks of the 800/800s actually but the 700 just feels so nice. I'd sell mine to get the 800 eventually just for the experience but for now I'm happy with the 700. And the 700 complements the Elex really well. They present sound in completely different ways. Although it would also be a good complement to the 650/6XX
themuna
142
Aug 12, 2019
AsreiYeah I've tried them for gaming and had some fun. The sound is so wide and enjoyable on them. Absolutely fantastic headphones for me.
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