wtb: HD600 w/ black screen drivers

I am looking for an early production pair of HD600s (or HD580) with the black/silk screen drivers. they came in the gray box seen below and are distinguished by having a black screen when viewed from the outside, as opposed to the modern silver one. they date to the late 90s/early 2000s

I think I'm done with headphones made in the current century

please let me know if you have a pair for sale, I'll pay top dollar

 

Just curious, why black screens? Have you compared them before?

 

not directly, no. I am turning into one of those ORFAS audiophools from hong kong who believes everything older=betterer. my experiences with speakers, amps, DACs, turntables, tonearms, phono cartridges, tubes, cables and even recordings led me here.

it dawned on me just recently to apply this to headphones as well. I am after a je ne sais quoi, but I don't think any modern headphone has it. they are all boring. after trying the beyer DT48 from the 1970s, I put my JAR600s back on my head and this was my reaction:



I sold the JAR600s (best modern headphone I have heard by a long shot) and purchased a bunch of vintage phones, most of which have yet to arrive due to the worldwide postal slowdown. I have 5 pairs of DT48s from different eras, Sennheiser HD540 I, Sennheiser HD250 Linear I and DT880s from 1985 coming. maybe I'll strike gold with one of these, but I want a HD600/580 with the black screens for when the judgement day comes. and maybe a Grado HP-1 and ATH-AD2K too. I know there are people who feel the earlier production HD600s sound more romantic, and I would like that. my guess is that they are more resolving of subtle nuances too, when compared to the current production ones. my current chain is really neutral and I need laid-back phones to complement the DT48.

 

I am not there yet but every time I put on my head something decent made in 80-90 I experience a bit of a shock.
How little progress has been made. It started with AKG K240DF, which I "found" 30 years after buying them, and recently Sennheiser HD560 Ovation which I borrowed from my friend, made a decent balanced cable with Furutech connectors and Canare quad, to connect to BHA-1.
I can compare them directly with HD800S and yes, this is better, and that is better on 800S but do I really like it better?
Then I applied the @sorrodje EQ settings for HD800, and those things are so close.

I love HD800S and HEKv2 but if I was buying from scratch today I would be very happy with K240DF and HD560, and thousands of $ saved.

 

thanks for sharing, I will have to research how HD560 compares to HD540, if it is worthwhile to own both

I also got K240DF, I find it bass-lite and not so natural in the mids as sennheisers, but the elastics are shot so maybe that is why

 

The reason I asked about your preference for black screens is because I own black screen 580 and 600 and don't necessarily think the black screens are unequivocally better after transplanting the drivers into a silver-screen 6xx housing.

The stock black screen 600 (mine falls into the category of 'mid' in your photo) is the most dynamically veiled of any Senn I've heard, though yes I would say it has a 'lusher' 'softer' response and can hit a near-perfect FR target with mods. Trade-offs. Black screen 580 (mine looks like the oldest in your photo) with the OG drivers has a mad 3k push - more forward in the upper mids than even JAR600. I would say the oldest drivers might be better with bass distortion, but that's independent of the screens.

I'm not trying to dissuade you by any means, feel free to explore. I've just never quite understood the black screen chase, and I personally wouldn't shell out extra for a black screen Senn. Some different mods can probably make a bigger difference in terms of achieving your target sonic aesthetic. Just something to consider.

 

thanks for advice, I do appreciate it, but I had people telling me the DT48 sound hollow/tinny like an AM radio and the worst thing they've ever heard. I think it's the best headphone I've ever heard in many ways. so obviously I am looking for something others are not. I have to try it for myself and figure it out

I am not sure if there are any mods which will make modern drivers any more noble or revealing of subtle details in old sound recordings. most seem concerned with other technicalities or shifting FR, I don't really care about that so much

 

a quick bumperoo to this thread, i am still looking for a silk screen HD580, HD600 or HD650, if anyone has a pair lying around they want to sell

 

I got a pair of HD250 Linear and HD540 Reference which has scratched my vintage sennheiser itch

@shotgunshane pls close at your convenience