Rabbit
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Post by Rabbit on May 4, 2015 9:56:08 GMT
I decided to start to unpack after being here nearly a year now. So I went into the garage and opened a box and staring me in the face was a Senn hd250II. I'd forgotten all about these headphones, so I thought, I'll take them in and give them a go with my hi res files from the Micro.
Very very light and plastic type of headphone; even down to the pads which are pleathour or maybe more plastic than leather. This headphone has never been used and consists of different new modules put together to make a new headphone. I had loads of spares at work so I put a 250 together then and forgot all about it actually. Used them along with dt150 to work with because they are so light and comfortable.
So these have never been used and look absolutely brand new, assembled by yours truly about five or six years ago. They were stashed as spares.
I've completely forgotten how good these headphones were. They isolate well, are really comfortable and have a good, robust sound. It's a great pity that Sennheiser gave up on these because we always assume that the next generation of headphone must be better by default, but these are really well balanced for a closed headphone with a nice sense of weight and no stinging treble. The only minus I tnink is a raise in FR perhaps in lower treble which can make them quite 'clattery' on some recordings.
So they're going on to my headphone rack to be used properly. Too good to waste.
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Post by navermyr on May 6, 2015 13:32:41 GMT
Also got a pair and they sound very open for a closed headphone.
The old pads were a bit flat so I bought new ones, only to discover that bass level decreased.
Anyone else notice this?
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solderdude
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Post by solderdude on May 6, 2015 14:20:15 GMT
Hi Navermyr, Welcome to the forum. Yes, when you have newer pads the driver is further away from the ear. When you press the cups against the ear this become obvious. This is also shown in my HD650 measurements HERE (scroll down to the HD650 section) Also it is possible that newer and less compliant pads may break the seal a bit also reducing bass. Another reason may be the usage of non-original pads. This too can cause a decrease or increase in bass or other frequencies.
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Post by navermyr on May 7, 2015 10:47:32 GMT
Hi, Thanks for the reply and link, very thorough and informative.
So with fresh pads you get the response Sennheiser intended. Would be interesting to see a frequency graph of this.
I prefer slightly more bass, so I guess I could put some books on the pads for a few days. But would they stay in shape?
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Rabbit
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Post by Rabbit on May 7, 2015 11:41:14 GMT
Hi Navermyr.
Mine is completely new, including pads. It was made up from all of the parts which I had ready to assemble a few actually, at work. I never noticed the bass being too low. I'll have a listen again for it.
From a few years back, I do remember that some of them seemed to show more bass than others. This was looked into and I think it was found that Sennheiser had made some slight changes to the newer ones (which mine is - or at least the parts are).
With the pads ... The new ones are quite hard and therefore might not seal as well as old ones on your head. Just press lightly to see if this helps. Also lift any hair around your ears. The hair can make a 'partial' seal which lightens it a bit.
The same happens with the K550 because the cups are so big. They do go down pretty deep.
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oldson
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Post by oldson on Feb 9, 2017 18:59:04 GMT
is it still possible to get parts for these?
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jello
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Post by jello on Feb 9, 2017 19:59:46 GMT
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Rabbit
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Post by Rabbit on Feb 9, 2017 20:22:29 GMT
Not sure you can Simon. They were difficult when production stopped so now, I think you'd be lucky to find anyone holding on to spares.
They're a good listen, as long as you can get a good seal, when the deep bass then magically appears. Very comfortable and amazingly open sounding, although they're closed!!
Regarded as a great, modular headphone in its time. Every part comes apart. In fact, mine is a collection of parts put together.
The cable is a standard hd600/650 cable but the pads might well be a different story I think.
Mine is a collection of their last parts!!
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Post by daysikia92 on Apr 11, 2017 4:20:13 GMT
Sounds great.
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solderdude
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Post by solderdude on Jul 12, 2017 18:55:45 GMT
Rabbit's HD250-II is measured and have my evaluation and test results posted here: diyaudioheaven.wordpress.com/headphones/measurements/brands-s-se/hd250-linear-ii/I had one a long time ago but sold it when I bought my HD650 as I did not use it any more. It replaced the DT990 which had developped an intermittend driver. I probably bought it as I had gotten used to big bass and overblown treble. Hearing it now again I understand why I bought it coming from a DT990 I had become immune to treble peaks and seem to have preferred such peaks (DT990 !) The bass is still impressive to me... the mids are excellent... the treble is way too much for me now. I can't believe a did not find it too much back then. It shows how the brain can adapt to what it is being fed. Still a great headphone... need to try to tame that treble when I have some time. For now that will have to wait a while though.
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Rabbit
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Post by Rabbit on Jul 13, 2017 6:00:37 GMT
In the end, the top end wore me down!! Coming from a dt990, it seems ok and it just seems to sound very open but going to Senns after it makes them seem like someone has shut the door.
I've even seen these in the past used as monitors!!!
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solderdude
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Post by solderdude on Oct 1, 2017 18:57:47 GMT
I have modified Rabbit's HD250-II What I did was replace the pads for Superlux verlourspads and add 4 plies of toiletpaper to tame the grating treble. result: Now its a laidback headphone with a deep and nice bass. The 'gap' between the bass and mids is smaller and not annoying. Stereo image is still very wide. Not HD800 wide but still much wider than say HD600. Distortion is very low and there is no ringing. Comfort is great... lightweight, cable is low in microphonis. The clamping force slightly higher than desirable but is essential for the bass. During the day I encountered a snag as I noticed one driver distorted sometimes. Sounded like a rattle. Tapping on the headphone made it disappear till you ran up the power again and it would return. Searching for an hour it seemed to be the driver (hoped something else was rattling) At one point it became so bad it was totally unlistenable. After squirting compressed air in the rear of the driver (voicecoil) it disappeared. Probably something gets inbetween the voicecoil and the airgap of the magnet. It's gone now but fear it might return one day. A shame really because modified it sounds really nice !
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