Elephas

Looks good, nice work. Sometimes it's easier to just buy a replacement earpad. Other times they're difficult to find or are very expensive, especially if the headphone has been discontinued.

I bought an R10 headband assembly from Audio Cubes once. It was the entire top metal leather-wrapped part, including the elastic headband and down to the two "C" forks that attach to the earcups on either side. The R10, and probably the CD3000, earcups attach to the "C" forks with two screws on each side. They're very easy to remove and reinstall.

Pfft, installing the O2mk1 earpads are a piece of cake. Spritzer scared me with all those ominous warnings but I did it and it was super easy, probably because I'm super cool. He and the other DIY experts warn a lot about opening up large tube amps and sticking metal screwdrivers and and my face inside when I have zero knowledge of electronics whatsoever. I don't believe them anymore, if I can install an O2mk1 earpad so easily when it's said to be so difficult, I can probably build a Blue Hawaii.

Ironbut has a reel-to-reel source. -> I hate him. Ironbut fixes Single Power amps. -> I love him.

Whoa, my impressions of the HD800 are completely different from TheSloth's. But I'm sure that we Team Animal Membernames will stick together anyway. I think that the HD800 is much better than the HD650 or HD600. As good as the HD6x0 are, and they have their strengths such as a nice smooth non-fatiguing sound, I wouldn't compare them with the R10, Qualia or electrostats. The HD800's soundstage, imaging and separation is quite special. It presents a very large, deep, layered, and clear soundstage that seems to be "in front of you." Separation is superb, I think maybe the best I've ever heard. Yes, better than the Qualia, R10, O2mk1, or HE90. Each sound image is very clear and distinct on the very coherent soundstage. One of songs in Utada - This Is The One, "Dirty Desire" is a fun and sexy song. There are some nice mixing and mastering effects. The lead vocals are mixed, sometimes coming from in far front, sometimes from the front and other times from the sides. With the HD800 the locations of the vocals are pinpoint and nicely separated. There's a clear space where they're coming from. I tried the O2mk1, HE90 and Qualia and they can't match the HD800 in this aspect with this song. (Hey darkless, don't worry, your former Qualia 010 competes quite comfortably against the HD800. The Qualia concedes nothing to any headphone, it's ready to do full battle.)

I brought out the O2mk2 today for comparison with the HD800. Some thoughts, Ah, very nice. There's the smoothness and liquidity. Yes, that's refinement, ah, very nice. Wow, there's this bass in this song? Hey, this is much more satisfying bass, I didn't know how much I was missing. Gah, the HD800 can really seem to lack bass impact, relatively speaking. I need a better amp for it. But what's this dark sound? It's too dark, and treble clarity and extension is lacking. And congested. Worst thing is the small soundstage. Where's the soundstage? Everything is stuffed into a tiny cube inside my head. Where's the air, the layers, the separation?

Koss Plugs!? C'mon, that's totally an exaggeration! Only on Head-Case. Actually, I haven't tried them so I can't comment. I say Rihanna, Leona Lewis, Alicia Keys, Natalie Imbruglia, Lene Marlin, Taylor Swift, Dido, Ingrid Michaelson, Tiffany, Sarah Brightman, Misia, Ayumi, Utada et al sound perfectly good with the HD800 in my system. People have said that Audio-Technica headphones sound best with music from Japan, so I checked my library and found Nena - "99 Luftballons." Yes, I can confirm that the HD800 has special synergy with this track. "Let Me Be Your Pirate" was just as good, though it's in English. (OK, it appears that this will be my last post about anything audio-related, no one will ever take me seriously ever again, if they ever did. Thanks to everyone, good-bye. *sniff* *cry*)

DSP/DEQ, the horror. I'm just kidding. I don't have anything against it, though I don't use it. Anyway, I forgot to say, the HD800 is my third favorite dynamic headphone!

Yes, it does, and I do think the HD800 is very transparent. I use a large variety of recordings, as well as at least two sources, so it is less of a dominating factor. Yes, I listened to Rihanna - Umbrella with the HD800 (please don't hurt me). But I also use a lot of the 'audiophile' type recordings that I mentioned before: Stockfisch Records, Tacet, Opus3, Master Music, First Impression Music (their K2 HD Sampler), SACD, xrcd. For example, Female Audiophile 2 SACD version by Master Music in HK is one of my favorites.

I like Shpongle too. I'll check out the others. I think the W5000 is one of those headphones that can sound great with some tracks and horrible with others. It really needs a good source. I also consider it colored and when it works, with female vocals for example, it really works very well. The W11JPN is not really similar to the W5000, it's more like the L3000. More closed-in, less air, smaller soundstage. But it also has a great midrange and it has loads of great coloration, or soul. I could easily cry when listening to sentimental jazz vocals. If only the HD800 could get a little bit of that coloration injected. I got Utada Hikaru's latest English language album, This Is The One, and I'm really enjoying it with the HD800 and Qualia. I've confirmed that in my system at least, the Qualia has a larger soundstage than the HD800. Yes, the HD800's soundstage is deep and large, but the Qualia's is humongous. It's one of the reasons I like it so much with electronica music. I've rated the remix versions of "Come Back To Me" five stars with the HD800. With the Qualia they should be a six.

The HD800 is a great tool to dissect all the layers and parts of a recording. I like downtempo electronica, or chill out music, and the HD800 brings out all the sound effects, "ear candy" and multilayers of the music. I'm still amazed by the sense of soundstage depth. Wait, what's this listening to an HD800? Aren't you supposed to be working on an intermediate electrostatic amp for intermediate DIYers? 4 1/2 month wait? That's nothing! OK, I'm talking about some amps, not headphones. You can prepare for the HD800 by checking your system and making sure you've got plenty of good recordings ready. The usual 'audiophile' stuff will do nicely, Opus3, Stockfisch, Tacet, MFSL, FIM, Chesky, etc. I also recommend Rihanna - Umbrella (Remixes).

My purpose and goal when listening to music is the enjoyment of music. It sounds simple, but it isn't. Some people might say that they want to hear the source (the recording), exactly as it was intended. Or the way the artist or recording engineer intended. Warts and all. Or as close to a live performance as possible. A bad recording should sound bad. Maybe a highly resolving, transparent and neutral headphone such as the HD800 is the type that comes closest to this "truth." I'm not the "truth-seeking" type of listener. I want the illusion and the experience to be enjoyable; that's the goal. I'm happier if the recording engineer's tricks are successful and my ears and brain are deceived into thinking that they're immersed in the soundstage and the singer is right in front of me. When everything clicks into place, when the music, the recording, the gear, the headphone and myself all work together and the illusion is successful, the headphones disappear and it's just me and the music and a state of zen-like bliss. Headphones that I consider neutral-sounding include the HD800, HP-2, K1000, K701, SR-Omega and 4070. Of these, the 4070 has probably produced the most bad listening experiences for me, meaning that the illusion and the enjoyment wasn't successful. I feel like I'm listening to a feed, monitoring the sound like a machine without feeling an emotional connection to the music. I'm sometimes hesitant to talk about the emotional aspect because of variability among us, plus the large variety of music we listen to. But it seems that for me, the HD800 is a headphone that excels in practically every area except for that one. Qualities such as bass impact, imaging, soundstage size and treble extension can be compared, and one or another headphone can be deemed superior. Some qualities like details, PRaT or bass textures might be more difficult to compare. All these are objective qualities and one person's assessments should be close enough to another's. But emotional response to music is much more difficult to compare.

The thing with our emotional response to music is that it's variable. This is one of the subjective aspects of the hobby that can be very different from person to person, and therefore subject to a lot of confusion. Even when it is only one person, me for example, I know that I'm variable from day to day and my listening is subject to mood, time of day, type of music, happy or sad, sleepy, tired, did I just drink a beer, etc. That's why I think reaching even a preliminary understanding of a headphone's qualities and capabilities requires a lot of time and experimentation, with a variety of gear, a variety of music, and enough time to make sure the listener's variables are all accounted for.

There shouldn't be any noise when you move your head, except maybe for the SR-007's squeal. It could be something loose in the rotating housing mechanism. Also check the round metal wire inside the earpad. I have the MJ Thriller SACD too. It's the one SACD I have that's not a hybrid, it's SACD only, so no ripping into the computer. It sounds great, better than the same tracks I downloaded. The sound effects in Track 4, "Thriller" are positively binaural-like and very realistic-seeming.

I've been listening to the HD800 pretty much exclusively since I got them, about three weeks ago. I went through a few 6SL7 in the Zana Deux. Sylvania VT229 and 6SL7WGT both seemed a bit too lean and thin, as well as Raytheon VT229. I liked the Mullard CV569, Tung-Sol VT229 and 6SU7GTY. I received an HF2 a few days ago and compared it with the HD800 for a while. The HF2 seemed to be another typical Grado, "fun" sounding but lacking refinement and clarity and exhibiting some tendency towards harshness. I don't really like it. I used to be able to enjoy Grados before, for short listening sessions, but it seems that for now the HD800 has ruined that for me. I took out the PS1 and HP2 for quick listens, and they confirmed the same thing. The HD800's clarity, details and soundstage especially made very large contrasts with the Grados. Maybe the ZD isn't well-suited to the Grados, but then it might not be for the HD800 either. I'm disappointed with the Grados. I also took out the L3000 and R10 for quick comparisons. The L3000 was also particularly disappointing, being relatively muddy, compressed and lacking clarity. I hated it. Yes, it was bad. I was thinking what the hell kind of sound was this?! Why did I want to keep it? The R10 was much better, and the switch from the HD800 was less of a shock. However, it lacked bass impact and seemed quite colored. Actually, every headphone seemed colored after switching from the HD800. At least the R10 compared favorably in terms of clarity, details, soundstage and especially, its superb midrange. I think most experienced people understand this phenomenon, of being accustomed to one headphone for some time and thereby experiencing a shock when switching to another. The other headphone just seems so alien, and unlistenable, even. I thought that I was quite used to the recalibration after switching, but it seems that the HD800 is making a surprisingly large and solid impression of itself. I guess it's obvious I like the HD800 very much and it's definitely one of my favorites. But there are times when it seems bland and tasteless, similar to the way the K701's tonality makes me feel. It's a kind of lack of emotional response to the music on my part, not really any single quality I can point to about the HD800. A bit lack of soul, for the lack of a better word. Sometimes, I'm just not as emotionally invested in the listening experience as I know I can be with some other headphones. Maybe it's an amp or source issue. I think the ZD drives the HD800 better than my little Lehmann BCL, plus the Corda Symphony and Graham Slee Solo that I've compared briefly. In the months to come I hope to benefit from others' experience amping the HD800.

I have six Living Stereo SACD, they all sound quite good. Scheherazade, Reiner, Chicago Symphony Mahler Symphony No. 4, Reiner, Chicago Symphony Saint-Saens Symphony No.3, Charles Munch & Boston Symphony Dvorak & Walton Cello Concertos, Piatigorsky, Charles Munch & Boston Symphony Tchaikovsky Pathetique, Monteux, Boston Symphony Rhapsodies, Stokowski

Yes, I also have an Aristaeus, it's better with the HE90 or SR-Omega than the O2mk1 or O2mk2. If my ES-1 isn't a good amp, and I'm open to the possibility, then the Aristaeus isn't one either. Wasn't there some ES-1 and ES-2 amps at CanJam 2009? And a BHSE? Along with lots of HD800 with many dynamic amps. True, it was meet conditions, but I would expect people there to be able to at least make a simple assessment of the amps, as well as the HD800 versus many electrostats.

All right, here's what we can do, we = the other SP ES-1 owners reading this. How about we all send our amps to KG? We cover our own two-way shipping charges of course, and parts costs, maybe include a bottle of Scotch too. He'll work on the amps like crazy while drinking the Scotch and fix them all up for us, better than new. I don't have a lot of experience with amps, and I don't know anything about electronics. I can make some comparisons with my other amps, though, an Aristaeus and Zana Deux. The ES-1 as it is now sounds excellent to me and I prefer it over the Aristaeus, except when using the HE90 where I like both amps. I prefer several electrostats driven by the ES-1 over almost all dynamics driven by the Zana Deux. I'm sure many people have heard the ZD and know how well it does driving Grados, AT's, K701, HD650 or HD800. I have a lot of tubes for all three amps, and admittedly the most effort has gone to the ES-1 tubes, but I don't think the other two amps are complaining. So if my ES-1 is somehow not a good amp, I'm curious what a good one sounds like. I do have a BHSE on order, so maybe I'll find out soon. If the ES-1 wasn't designed properly or there are other issues such as reliability, I appreciate all the efforts to find out and fix it. If it can be improved, I'll be very happy and maybe will also be able to happily sell off a lot of gear.

Both are good. In my system, the O2 is smoother and more refined, while the HD800 has a larger headstage/soundstage and has a bit brighter sound, which to me sounds more neutral and natural. Both have excellent details, among the best I've heard. I would guess the O2 might have a slight edge, but it's really very close and difficult to assess and may be reversed in other systems. I really like the HD800's soundstaging. It's very coherent and everything is nicely layered and well-spaced in good proportions. The O2 has a small headstage/soundstage and all the sound images are smaller. But those images are superbly detailed and precise, you can almost imagine that you "see" the definition along the edges of each note. An O2 + KGSS or an HD800 + Zana Deux are roughly in the same price range. I would probably pick the HD800 system. Some other dynamic amps, including balanced, could be options. But if given the choice between an O2 + Single Power ES-1 or the HD800 + ZD, I would probably pick the O2 system. A better, balanced amp for the HD800 might shift the equation back, but that's outside the range of my experience.

Um, yay? That's great news!? I probably didn't do a good job questioning the Senn people. I'm just a small timid super cool baby elephant after all. Imagining what some of you might say or ask them was quite entertaining.

My understanding of what they explained about the headphone driver is that the designer basically has to pick a volume level sweet spot for the headphone. It's impossible for the driver to perform well at all volumes, from barely audible to causing enough pain to make the ears bleed (is this the infamous Ray Samuels-type volume level? ). If there's a range where a driver does best, I would think that maybe some headphones have a larger range than others. Maybe one day we'll be able to order our own customized headphones. Not the useless Beyer manufakur options, I'm thinking customized drivers for one specific listening volume. It would only perform at one volume level, but it would sound perfect. You'll need separate headphones for different volume levels, and change headphones when you want to go higher or lower.

There should be a rule, those who post photos that include beverages should offer to send some to the next five to ten people who post! Gah, that EAR amp is huge. For some reason I imagined it as small, around the size of a Corda Prehead. They've been doing fine with the ES-1 and Aristaeus, but I'm very curious how the O2's will sound with a BHSE. I'm almost hoping the BHSE will be bad somehow, so I can sell the amp and put the funds toward an HD800 amp. That's probably just wishful thinking. The Zana Deux seems to do OK with the HD800, but I'm a bit disappointed with it in comparison to my Lehmann BCL. I also brought it in to a local audio shop to compare with their Corda Symphony, Lehmann and Graham Slee Solo demo amps, using two pairs of HD800 and their sources, an MBL 1411? or was it 1141? CD player and Esoteric X-05. I dislike the term "being blown away," but I admit that I was hoping that the ZD would do just that to the Symphony and Solo (well, OK, if you delete the word "away" I do like the term). I did think the ZD was smoother and more refined, but the SS amps held their own reasonably well. Other people liked the ZD a lot and their least favorite was the Lehmann. I just thought that given the ZD's large size and heat output that I have to put up with, it should've crushed those puny SS amps!!! Sennheiser was doing an HD800 event there for some media people. That's why there was two HD800 there, one was a loaner from Senn and the other the shop's unit. I talked with a few Senn people for a while; actually, they talked and I asked questions as fast as I could think of them. No, they didn't reveal any really interesting info, such as a new electrostatic headphone. They said that another color, probably black, is likely and acknowledged the HD800 silver text on the charts. Based on the pricing gap between the HD800 and HD650 there's room for an HD700. It seems that they're serious about the consumer audiophile market. I didn't understand all of it, but they explained a bit about tradeoffs and compromises in headphone drivers, and how the mass of the driver and frequency response is related to SPL. It seems that there's a volume sweet spot of sorts for every driver where we hear it as closest to flat, and when the volume becomes higher and higher there's more and more distortion. The required movement of the mass of a dynamic driver is a disadvantage versus the lack of mass of an electrostatic. Apparently the technology behind the large size ring driver was complicated. If the driver is designed to perform its best at a loud volume, then it probably won't sound as good at ultra-low or low volume. I think this was why they said the HD800 is designed for moderate listening levels. A Senn amp is being worked on, but costs might be an issue. We discussed a bit about China-based manufacturing, and when I asked about possible competitors they said that it's impossible to reverse engineer a driver. You can cut it up, look inside and make one that looks the same, but you won't be able to replicate it exactly with the exact design and specifications. I guess this makes headphone manufacturers a bit safer from competition. In the Asia region at least, Audio-Technica is a big competitor.

The two dynamics that I prefer over the HD800 at this point are the two Sonys, R10 and Qualia 010. These two were my two favorite dynamics, and it seems that they still are. I spent some time comparing the HD800 with the Qualia today. The Qualia's details, speed, clarity, separation and imaging are superb. I think that it ranks in the top tier of headphones I've heard in those categories. I would have a difficult time ranking the Qualia, HD800 and K1000 in these areas, and that's without bringing in any electrostatics. Let's just say that I have no complaints in these areas. The Qualia's soundstage is immense, larger than the HD800's. I've read about some people reporting a cavernous type sound and I can understand why. I think I'm getting a good fit, though, and after some time for acclimatization, it sounds natural to me. However, I think the HD800 beats the Qualia in layering and depth. The HD800's headstage is very comfortable, with everything nicely spaced out. The Qualia's bass is also a bit stronger than the HD800's. The Qualia's bass quantity seems about right to me, not too much and not too little. Amplification and other factors probably play a role, of course. If the HD800 has any weakness, I think bass would be a good candidate.

They came with some cables and I thought they were useful for putting headphones in so I got some extra. You didn't refer to me by my full correct title which is "Super Cool Baby Elephant" but I'll forgive you this one time, since I'm so super cool. YGPM. I don't have an Ultrasone Edition 7 or 9. I've never heard them but I'm not very interested in Ultrasone headphones. -- For anyone who hasn't heard some of the discontinued headphones and might be wondering if its worth the effort to try them, I say forget about them and just go for the HD800. I think it's a relative bargain, despite the high retail price. Please make sure you've got a good source, it's quite sensitive and transparent to upstream components.

I think it's likely that K1000 users will like the HD800. The K1000 has a little bit of natural crossfeed, but I don't think it's really enough to make a difference. Its drivers are still too close to each ear and not much leakage reaches the other ear. Maybe if there were two drivers per side, one behind the other, with the second one duplicating the sound from the other side but at a lower volume level, it would replicate the natural crossfeed of speakers better. For a regular headphone, I think the HD800 does an excellent job of reducing the inside-the-head sensation. I really like it. I tend to prefer larger and more expansive soundstages and larger sized headstages. If the O2 had a little bit brighter tonality, a bit more treble sparkle and a larger headstage/soundstage, it would probably be my favorite for sure. But I've only had the HD800 for one week and it's making a very convincing case. I'm definitely interested in finding a better dynamic amp now. I wish I had a WA5...