Distortion on Sennheiser HD265 headphones

Archived from groups: rec.audio.pro (More info?)

I finally had my first serious recording gig today, and almost
immediately discovered that all four pairs of my Sennheiser HD265 phones
distort at medium-loud volume, whether they are driven by my HUI's
internal headphone amp or by the Furman HDS6 system I have. The same
amps can drive my high-impedance AKG K240M without trouble, as well as
my cheapo consumer JVC pair. According to the Rane web site, the HD265s
are just 150 ohms.

What could be causing the problem and what can I do about it? I'm
assuming it's something impedance related, but that's about as far as my
meager hardware knowledge takes me. I really love the isolation of the
Sennheisers and would hate to replace them.

--
Jay Levitt |
Wellesley, MA | Hi!
Faster: jay at jay dot eff-em | Where are we going?
http://www.jay.fm | Why am I in this handbasket?

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In article <1glud2i.1g62r94rxvz6cN%walkinay@thegrid.net>,
walkinay@thegrid.net says...
> You headphone amp must deliver more current into the lower impedance
> phones..

It does look like that.. the Furman HR6 stations deliver up to 200mW
into 600 ohms, but 400mW into 100 ohms. (The Sennys are 150 ohms.)

> Your headphone amp is probably clipping into them. The AKG's
> higher impedance means your amp develops less power into them, resulting
> is less distortion and lower volume, too.

Well, the AKGs certainly have less volume from that amp than the
Sennheisers, but they are able to develop far more volume overall
without clipping...

> Look for a headphone amp that
> will drive the Senns to their full potential and see if the phones go
> loud enough for you.

I'll bring a pair to school and try them out on various consoles we have
there. According to the specs on the Rane page, the HD265 phones can
handle a max of 190mW, and have a max output of 117 SPLs, so presumably
the phones themselves are loud enough. By comparison, the AKG 240s show
a max power of 80 mW, and max SPL of 107.

Very odd indeed - I've heard only good reviews of the Furman HDS6/HR6
system; I wouldn't expect it to clip with the volume knob at 12
o'clock...

--
Jay Levitt |
Wellesley, MA | Hi!
Faster: jay at jay dot eff-em | Where are we going?
http://www.jay.fm | Why am I in this handbasket?

Archived from groups: rec.audio.pro (More info?)

In article <znr1098104270k@trad>, mrivers@d-and-d.com says...
> You can get a power amplifier to drive your headphones. The headphone
> amplifiers that you have just aren't cutting it for "medium-loud"
> levels. But you then run the risk of blowing the headphones.

That's not a workable solution, though - the Furman system has the amps
at each mic stand to provide individual cue mixes. If I'm replacing the
headphone amp, it needs to be with another multi-cue system. But again,
I'm surprised, because I thought the Furman was supposed to be decent.

> Take your pick - power up and be carefule, blow your headphones, or
> blow your ears. I'd recommend monitoring at the level that the monitor
> system is comfortable, but then I'm not the one in the corner pounding
> the drums as hard as I can.

When I said "medium loud", I wasn't understating. We're tracking a
cappella here, not alt-rock. You can't turn the phones loud enough to
hear over your own singing without distortion. For reference, I usually
monitor the mains at around 70-75 dB SPL, because 85 hurts my ears. So
this isn't a "mine doesn't go to 11" problem. Something's wrong.

--
Jay Levitt |
Wellesley, MA | Hi!
Faster: jay at jay dot eff-em | Where are we going?
http://www.jay.fm | Why am I in this handbasket?

Archived from groups: rec.audio.pro (More info?)

Jay Levitt wrote:

> We're tracking a
> cappella here, not alt-rock. You can't turn the phones loud enough to
> hear over your own singing without distortion. For reference, I usually
> monitor the mains at around 70-75 dB SPL, because 85 hurts my ears. So
> this isn't a "mine doesn't go to 11" problem. Something's wrong.

Are you overdubbing to previously sung tracks? Because if not, a great
way to track a capella is without phones at all. Just stand so y'all can
hear each other and then sing together.

--
ha

Archived from groups: rec.audio.pro (More info?)

In article <MPG.1bdde32f8a0fb8f3989834@news-east.giganews.com> jay+news@jay.fm writes:

> When I said "medium loud", I wasn't understating. We're tracking a
> cappella here, not alt-rock. You can't turn the phones loud enough to
> hear over your own singing without distortion. For reference, I usually
> monitor the mains at around 70-75 dB SPL, because 85 hurts my ears. So
> this isn't a "mine doesn't go to 11" problem. Something's wrong.

Shorted cable perhaps? Not a dead short, a strand or two? Defective lot
of phones? (it happens)

If you can find headphones that work, it sure seems like an easier solution
than redesigning or replacing the cue system with the built-in amplifier
which works under other conditions.

[later] Ah, I see you found that the phones were a dud. Good deal.




--
I'm really Mike Rivers - (mrivers@d-and-d.com)
However, until the spam goes away or Hell freezes over,
lots of IP addresses are blocked from this system. If
you e-mail me and it bounces, use your secret decoder ring
and reach me here: double-m-eleven-double-zero at yahoo

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"Jay Levitt" <jay+news@jay.fm> wrote in message
news:MPG.1bddc111c05a336e989833@news-east.giganews.com...
> Very odd indeed - I've heard only good reviews of the Furman HDS6/HR6
> system; I wouldn't expect it to clip with the volume knob at 12
> o'clock...

Regardless of input level?
Just set the control knob to where you expect it to clip, and adjust the
source level until the amp clips. The amp works as you expect :-)

TonyP.