Sennheiser HD 800 Redux

[tin ear]

great article from tyll as usual. i got to compare the hd800s and hd800. i prefer the hd800s.

[gepardcv]

I tried a modded HD800 at the last Bay Area meet, and didn't care for it. It did reduce treble harshness considerably, but at the expense of a significantly reduced bass. Maybe it just wasn't a great mod, not sure. The 800S is intriguing.

[tin ear]

i'm familiar with the hd800 having heard it a number of times on different set-ups. i started my comparison with the hd800s and found it pleasant enough. it's still a bright sounding headphone tho. it also had ample bass. other than that, it didn't seem to differ too much from the hd800 from memory. that was until i switched to the hd800 and the differences between the two were more than subtle to my ears. the hd800 was even brighter and the bass was dialled down quite a bit. i didn't listen to it for long - it was just too fatiguing for me. so the new iteration's shift in tonal balance is welcome. that said, the hd800s seems to have lost some extension and air in the treble region compared to the hd800. whether that translates to a loss of ultimate resolution i don't know, but there did seem to be something missing and i don't think it was just glare.

Edited March 9, 2016 by tin ear

[Dusty Chalk]

On 3/2/2016 at 1:04 PM, TMoney said:

Now this is interesting:

Why does he say 800S twice in the "spoiler"?  I assume one is a typo, but ...I confused.

[TMoney]

9 hours ago, Dusty Chalk said:

Why does he say 800S twice in the "spoiler"?  I assume one is a typo, but ...I confused.

Check out his full review that I linked above and it'll make sense. It is well written and absolutely worth a read. 

[robm321]

From the video, he basically says the modded HD800 is better than HD800S, IF you EQ extra bass in since it is lacking. If you don't want to mod, the HD800S is the way to go, but has bass distortion which warms it up. Whereas, the HD800 with EQ'd bass has more clarity or something like that.

Edited March 9, 2016 by robm321

[Dusty Chalk]

2 hours ago, TMoney said:

Check out his full review that I linked above and it'll make sense. It is well written and absolutely worth a read. 

Yeah, I think I got which is which just from this thread, but will read the full review.  The psychology of acoustics fascinates me, anyway.

[HeadphoneAddict]

If you guys haven't noticed, I stopped getting into these discussions a while ago, because they often become too heated and opinionated.

Since I picked up my HD800 in person at CanJam 2009 I have been happy with them, as long as I use them with the proper DAC/amp combo to compliment them.  Usually it's my PS Audio PWD Mk2 and Eddie Current ZDT amp, or PWD Mk2 with EF-6 amp when I want a little punchier sound.  I use a Moon Audio Black Dragon 4-pin XLR balanced cable.  

The sound, imaging, and speed is very similar to my HE60 Baby Orpheus, but with better impact (although the HE60 sound is more etherial and ghostly, as if coming from everywhere).  I'll take my HD800 over any Audeze I've tried, because the headphones disappear while the Audeze keep reminding me that I'm listening to a headphone.

Don't shoot the messenger, but my favorite portable amp with the stock HD800 is the RSA F-35 Lightning, which gives them wonderful warmth and bass punch with no edge to the treble, offering a synergy that only a few of my desktop amps have offered with them.  I'm mostly talking about frequency response correction here, in the pairing of HD800 and F-35.

[wink]

Heated is good.    

 

It shows a passion for what is being discussed.....     

[luvdunhill]

Looking to buy a used pair. If you have any leads, please let me know!

[Bjorn]

Man, these new ones sound really good. Treble is much better, coherent and refined. The warmed-up bass is a welcome addition, I can't say I found it distorted sounding compared to the 800. It still can't hit the lowest notes though but hey... science I guess.

It's still an HD 800, but in a good way.. without the most troublesome flaws. The precision with which they image the details and the acoustics of the recording through the soundstage is really something to behold, Sennheiser did a phenomenal job there and there is no headphone that can match it. And now, you can focus on that spectacular trait without having to deal with piercing treble and anemic bass notes. 

*Checks wallet* 

*Bites lip*... 

Nah, some other time. 

[tin ear]

it's an easier listen than the original but i still can't get excited about it. there are other headphones that i'd rather spend time with.

[Leonardo Drummond]

Does anyone know of any sub-$1000 amp that's decidedly musical and works well with the HD800? With the GS-X they sound too sterile for me on most cases, so I'm starting to contemplate the possibility of adding another amp to the system specifically for the Senns in order to get them on a bit of a middle ground.

I don't mind trading a bit of detail retrieval and soundstage for musicality, and I'm all for getting something used. Ideas?

Edited April 24, 2016 by Leonardo Drummond

[Dusty Chalk]

Earmax Pro

Wheatfield HA-2

AudioValve RKV

[Leonardo Drummond]

8 minutes ago, Dusty Chalk said:

Earmax Pro

Wheatfield HA-2

AudioValve RKV

Cheers, Peter! Much appreciated

[Dusty Chalk]

Not sure about current used prices, though.  They have all been sub US$1K used at one point or another.  Good luck!

[Leonardo Drummond]

7 minutes ago, Dusty Chalk said:

Not sure about current used prices, though.  They have all been sub US$1K used at one point or another.  Good luck!

Should be fine, I'll be in Spain in July and the idea would be to have it shipped there while I'm there, so I have plenty of time to wait for one of these to show up. The Earmax is already within my budget, though!

[mattyice]

Love/hate relationship with the hd800 for me. I've owned the 800 three times and also the 800 S. Each time I owned the 800,  I committed more to the chain and got closer and closer to what I was looking for. Recently I "reaquired" the 800 classic and had it with the setup:

*Regen Amber>Gumby>mjolnir 2 with NOS telefunken tubes (pre-amp)>Questyle cma800r x2 (dual mono)

This setup got me very close to the promised land with the hd800. In fact I was quite happy with the experience and was enjoying listening to music as much or more than I ever have. Then I found a simple tweak that took the hd800 over the top. An EQ plugin/calibration tool from Sonarworks.

http://sonarworks.com/2015/02/sonarworks-reference-3-headphone-calibration-plug/

There is a "profile" for many headphones including the 800. They have a few EQ profiles for the 800 but I've settled on "flat." There is also a profile based on the harmon curve. This may be the best $99 I've spent in this hobby. The 800 went from bashful bass to unashamed and has wonderful presence and texture. The treble peak is tamed and now I can enjoy the incredible extension without my ears bleeding. Mids are about the same with a touch of wetness to them. Couldn't be happier. 

[luvdunhill]

I like the Mjolnir 1 + HD800 - not sure if it's musical or sterile, it's just "right".

[mypasswordis]

Have you done any of the mods, or just kept it stock?

[Leonardo Drummond]

I actually had a Mjolnir 1 on loan once, but as I didn't have a balanced cable at that time I couldn't test it with the HD800, which was a real shame – but given that tonality-wise I find it somewhat similar to the GS-X, I think I'd find it a bit sterile. But many people think that the GS-X makes a great combo with the Senns, so maybe it's just me that want something that they're kind of not.

My HD800 has the old Anax mod, with the creatology foam. It helps, but doesn't solve the problem. I still have wet dreams from when I heard them through my friend's DNA Stratus...

[TMoney]

FWIW, at the last bay-area mini-meet we had a big shootout with 1k-2k tube amps. We had:

• My Crack 2
• The DNA Stratus
• The EC Zana Deux Super
• One of Mikhail's Singlepower OTL amps.
• ECP Torpedo III

My memory may be off, but I think the DNA Stratus came in dead last for everyone who did the test except the guy who owned it. I'm not sure its the amp I'd lust after to pair with the HD800s.

Edited May 18, 2016 by TMoney

[skullguise]

I used to own the DNA Stratus, and I'm inclined to agree.  It was good, even very good depending on the phones; but others I heard or had were better to my ears, some by a decent margin.

Today, I used my 800's (original, not new S version) with these in order of preference:

Micro-ZOTL 2 | ECP Black Diamond | ECP/Beezar Torpedo 3

There is a smaller difference in my preferences between the ECP amps, and they are all really good.  But most of the time it's with the Micro-ZOTL 2.

[mattyice]

8 hours ago, TMoney said:

FWIW, at the last bay-area mini-meet we had a big shootout with 1k-2k tube amps. We had:

• My Crack 2
• The DNA Stratus
• The EC Zana Deux Super
• One of Mikhail's Singlepower OTL amps.
• ECP Torpedo III

My memory may be off, but I think the DNA Stratus came in dead last for everyone who did the test except the guy who owned it. I'm not sure its the amp I'd lust after to pair with the HD800s.

So what were your results for the rest of the amps with the hd800? 

[TMoney]

Here is a link to the impressions from the meet over at Plankton-ville if you want to check out what we all thought.

http://www.superbestaudiofriends.org/index.php?threads/bay-area-3-26-sbaf-meet-impressions-thread.1698/

Edited May 19, 2016 by TMoney