Sennheiser HE90
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Orpheus System: HE90 headphone and HEV90 amplifier
The Orpheus system was Sennheiser attempt to show that they can make true audiophile headphone system that was able to compete, and beat, the best headphone that Stax was offering at the time. Sennheiser positioned this system as: "the ultimate in reference sound reproduction".
The key features of the system were: 1 µm diaphragm that was gold-plated using vapour technique, electrodes made from special glass, diffuse field equalized frequency range, HEV90 valve (vacuum tube) amplifier with all valve analogue signal path and on-board dedicated bitstream digital to analogue converter.
General Description of the Sound
Many believe HE90 is the all time king of headphones and the ultimate in sound reproduction. However there are a lot of people who disagree with this statement and feel that HE90 has many shortcomings such as defused soundstage, low bass impact, overly euphonic presentation, and ultimately is overpriced. General agreement though is that HE90 is one of the top echelon headphones and is one of the very best.
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Pricing & Other Data of Interest
Technical Specifications:
Specifications for the Sennheiser Orpheus HE-90 Headphones:
Frequency response: 7-100,000 Hz (-10 dB); 14-85,000 Hz (- 6 dB); 25-75,000 Hz (- 3 dB)
Frequency range: diffuse field equalized
Transducer principle: electrostatic
Ear coupling: circumaural
Contact pressure: 4.6 N
THD at SPL of 110 dB (94 dB) < 0.1 % (< 0.01 %)
Nominal sensitivity: (V = 100 V) ≥ 98 dB/1 kHz
Polarisation voltage: 500 V
Weight (without cable): 365 g
Connector: 5-pin HV plug
Connection cable: 3 m, 6-core; OFC copper cable with gold-plated contacts
Dimensions: 19 x 10 x 21.5 cm
Specifications for the Sennheiser Orpheus HEV-90 Amplifier
Frequency response: 10 - 20,000 Hz (- 0.25 dB)
THD (1 kHz) < 0.01 %
Unweighted S/N ratio ≥ 80 dB
Sensitivity/impedance: 10 kΩ
Talk-over muting: (1 kHz) ≥ 80 dB
Output voltage :400 Veff
Line inputs:
- (switchable) optical, digital (Toslink)
- co-axial, digital (RCA phono)(automatic recognition of incoming sampling frequency)
- co-axial, analogue(RCA phono)
Outputs for 2 HE 90 headphones
Weight approximately: 13 kg
Dimensions: 53 x 34 x 15.5 cm
