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Author Topic: HD518 Measurements and stuff  (Read 9635 times)

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Skyline

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Re: HD518 Measurements and stuff
« Reply #20 on: February 12, 2014, 01:56:01 PM »
Quote from: ultrabike on February 12, 2014, 05:52:27 AM
I think my HD600s fit me a little tighter and better than my HD558s, and that might account for some of the perception differences w most of the music I have. Perhaps that's why I felt they were "cleaner" in the bass area, even though the measurements do seem to indicate lower distortion all the way to the upper bass (hearable or not).

Other than that, higher impedance is actually one of the main reasons I finally decided to get my HD600s: Flexibility to check out other amps out there.

As far as there being other better dynamics (orthos or stats), that IMO is a question of priorities, personal preferences, and chaotic mood swings. Most of the time though I do seem to gravitate more towards the signature of the Senns than most other cans (including Stax and Audeze). No immediate plans to sell either of my HD558s or HD600s.

The only Senn's I've ever heard are the HD25s.  A pretty egregious sin in the world of audiophiles, I know...
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Original_Ken

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Re: HD518 Measurements and stuff
« Reply #21 on: February 13, 2014, 08:10:53 AM »
I owned these for a month, and I concur with everything that ultrabike has said above.  IMHO, they have a more realistic upper bass/lower mid presentation than many other headphones.

He did omit that they have excellent soundstage and imaging, especially for the price, probably due to the angled driver mounting.

To elaborate on one issue mentioned by ultrabike, the way to go is to get 558 pads and use them on the 518s.

These are very highly rated by Headroom, btw.

IMHO, best full size headphones under $100, except that I have not heard all of them, of course.
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Armaegis

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Re: HD518 Measurements and stuff
« Reply #22 on: February 13, 2014, 08:15:10 AM »
How are the pads different? I thought all the pads in the HD5xx/6xx series were the same.
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Do you think there may be an acoustic leak from the jack hole? ~Tyll Hertsens

Not sure if I like stuffing one hole or both holes. Tending toward one hole since both holes seems kinda ghey ~Purrin

Original_Ken

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Re: HD518 Measurements and stuff
« Reply #23 on: February 13, 2014, 08:24:41 AM »
Quote from: Armaegis on February 13, 2014, 08:15:10 AM
How are the pads different? I thought all the pads in the HD5xx/6xx series were the same.
The HD558 are a nice velour, while the HD518 are a cheaper, slightly scratchy synthetic pseudo-velour-like fabric.
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ultrabike

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Re: HD518 Measurements and stuff
« Reply #24 on: February 13, 2014, 08:41:30 AM »
Yes, at least the stock pads of the HD518 I had w me seemed to have that synthetic pseudo-velour foam-like feel to them. The HD518s pads were sort of straight angled and squareish around the edges, while the HD558 seems more rounded donut like.

Also, the HD600s and HD558s seem to have different pads:

1) The HD600 pads have full solid plastic backing. The HD558 have solid plastic backing edges and leatherette material towards the center.

2) The velour pads are denser on the HD600s vs the HD558s.

3) The HD600 pads seem to be a little more "hollow" towards the center. The HD558 pads are more uniform.

Both the HD558s and HD518s have angled drivers. The HD600s are straight shooters.
« Last Edit: February 13, 2014, 08:47:37 AM by ultrabike »
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Original_Ken

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Re: HD518 Measurements and stuff
« Reply #25 on: February 13, 2014, 06:24:53 PM »
Yes, the one unfortunate aspect of Senn is that they have the marketing paradigm of many models in every possible price range.  They then produce artificial feature tiers.  Some of these are related to materials which ultimately aren't that far apart in basic cost.

In fact, (read carefully), take all of Senn's full size headphones that retail for $100 or more, and add up the total worldwide sales quantity of all of them.  If they manufactured the HD800 in that same quantity (as the total sales of all their models), I am willing to bet that they could sell the HD800 for a profit at $199...
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anetode

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Re: HD518 Measurements and stuff
« Reply #26 on: February 13, 2014, 07:45:38 PM »
Quote from: ultrabike on February 07, 2014, 10:01:07 AM


HD600 (blue) vs HD518 (red)


Angled drivers would cause a lift in that exact non-overlapping frequency range. That's why I'm not a huge fan of the Stax Sigmas - they're all midrange. Also, am I right in thinking that the 518's cups are a little more closed than the rest of the 5x8 series?
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Armaegis

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Re: HD518 Measurements and stuff
« Reply #27 on: February 13, 2014, 08:51:37 PM »
Can the HD6xx pads mount into the HD5xx frames? I think I have an extra HD600 set of pads somewhere.
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Do you think there may be an acoustic leak from the jack hole? ~Tyll Hertsens

Not sure if I like stuffing one hole or both holes. Tending toward one hole since both holes seems kinda ghey ~Purrin

ultrabike

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Re: HD518 Measurements and stuff
« Reply #28 on: February 13, 2014, 09:57:58 PM »
Quote from: anetode on February 13, 2014, 07:45:38 PM
Angled drivers would cause a lift in that exact non-overlapping frequency range. That's why I'm not a huge fan of the Stax Sigmas - they're all midrange. Also, am I right in thinking that the 518's cups are a little more closed than the rest of the 5x8 series?

Yes, the HD518 are more closed than the rest of the 5x8 series, and that indeed may be a contributing factor for the lift as well.

Quote from: Armaegis on February 13, 2014, 08:51:37 PM
Can the HD6xx pads mount into the HD5xx frames? I think I have an extra HD600 set of pads somewhere.

No worries, I'll try that tonite... (EDIT: HD558s, since currently I don't have the HD518s w me anymore)
« Last Edit: February 14, 2014, 12:37:31 AM by ultrabike »
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donunus

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Re: HD518 Measurements and stuff
« Reply #29 on: February 14, 2014, 12:04:15 AM »
Can you try measuring the 518 using the 558s velour pads? That would be very interesting.
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