General Headphone Advice

@zfisch
The right pads make a big difference. I pretty much followed the advice from myusernameislove on HF (+++ with pads 2, see the link at the end of my post).

I used some velour pads which I brought down to 6 mm and stitched again. They were inserted in the rim of the pleather pads which themselves don‘t have the clamp ring to fit the HD540.
This gives more space for the ears and a good tonal balance.

Also there might be small diferences with the 300 Ohm version. It is often said the 600 Ohm version is a bit better, the gold 600 Ohm being the best.

I still did not get a chance to hear the gungir multibit (only owned the modi multibit for a while) but I am pretty sure I would like the last edition from what I get from interpolating impressions.

Here the link about the pad options ( go to the post which says PADS PADS PADS):
https://www.head-fi.org/threads/wow-sennheiser-hd-540-reference-are-so-good.670255/page-164

Listening to some classical piano right now (Arturo Benedetti Michelangeli) and once again they are doing a great job!

 

Yeah the HD540 is good! A couple of years ago I bought a pair of HD540 Reference Gold's for about $30-40. The Gold had matched drivers, better cable, snazzy wooden box and gold accents. It was at a time of rapid fire buy and sell, so it went to a new ower who won't ever part with it. The more I thought about it the more I realised that the context of the likes of the HD540 probably gave rise to the Sennheiser veil sentiment.

So after realising the wrongs or my ways I placed a wanted ad on a local forum. Promptly got a PM from a friend who said he had been gifted a pair which he is not using and will gladly pass it on. Turned out to be another 540 Ref Gold in fair condition but with a botched HD800 cable and tatty earpads. I kept on searching and found another in NOS condition.

These two are now permanent fixtures in my collection. The sound has a lighter balance than most modern headphones but it offers incredible insight into the music with delicate tonal and dynamic gradations. Comfort is tops and I often find myself grabbing these over the others in my collection for a long listening session.