Sennheiser HD 800 Redux

[K3cT]

It is not so much that they are discontinued, as that they were not recontinued. The idea is the come up with a design that I like, make a small run, sell them, and move on to something else. There are so many circuits to explore that doing the same thing over and over is just not that interesting. For what it's worth, I just ordered a run of transformers from Cinemag that should be here some time in late January. Hopefully completed amps will follow not too long after that.

 

You tease. 

[Riotvan]

Well i'm glad i gave these another shot. Really enjoying these and don't really see the need to mod them though i have to sort me a balanced cable. How much harder are those pin's to solder compared to the hifiman's? I know i can reterminate the stock cable but i want to leave that one untouched.

[postjack]

well my shiny new HD800s are waiting for me to go home and listen to them. i've already cut up all my socks into tiny slivers to test them all for mod worthiness.

[dcpoor]

Well i'm glad i gave these another shot. Really enjoying these and don't really see the need to mod them though i have to sort me a balanced cable. How much harder are those pin's to solder compared to the hifiman's? I know i can reterminate the stock cable but i want to leave that one untouched.

 

I'm a soldering noob and would like to know as well. I need to order some cheap mogami cable or something and some connectors to make a balanced cable. Any preferred vendor/model for the hd800 connector also?

[nikongod]

Just cut the 1/4" plug off and solder a 4pinXLR on the stock cable. 

[nnotis]

Has any one heard this HD800 "ultra" mod?

 

http://www.stefanaudioart.com/shop/stefan-audioart-hd800-ultra-mod/

 

I just emailed them and asked them to send a loaner to Tyll for measurements.  If they're really confident in what they're doing, they should be thrilled to have the evidence documented for all to see.

[postjack]

isn't stefan the home of the original overpriced HD580/6XX headphone replacement cable?

[nnotis]

Well, it didn't take long to get shot down.  Here's the first part of his rather lengthy reply:

 

"Hello Nick,

 

Thank you for your email.

 

We do all our testing with our ears. 

 

I've been in this business for over 30 years and with all due respect to Tyll there is no instrument I'm aware of that can measure how good a certain headphone or component will sound.

 

Measurements do not and can not reveal the quality of the performance of a headphone/component and what the final outcome of the music sound like.

 

All that is necessary is to setup a headphone system with properly designed cables and vibration control and you will hear how a headphone or component truely sounds.

 

I've been educating users for over 10 years on how to for a lack of a better term "triple" the performance of their systems(s) via two extremely important variables in an audio/video system - properly designed cables and vibration control."

[spritzer]

Ahh the defense of the snake oil peddlers, measurements can not capture the true glory of my cluster fuck.  They simply have transcended the laws of nature at this point...

[Riotvan]

So he has been off his meds for atleast 10 years?

Just cut the 1/4" plug off and solder a 4pinXLR on the stock cable.

Not cutting up the original one for resale value if i ever decide to get rid of these cans.

[Grand Enigma]

I'll randomly cut holes and claim I did things to your headphones. You will never open to verify anyway, so I will hide behind my veil of propriety.

I'll do it all for only $300. And you will swear they sound better.

[Grand Enigma]

Cheaper to buy a stock replacement cable then one of the stupid audiophile ones, unless you are confident in your own DIY skills.

[complin]

What a load of bollocks 

Obviously Sennheiser do it all with their ears too no measurement eh!

 

Quote from Web Site

"Every headphone mod we’ve come across on the market has been created by DIY individuals who operate on misguided notions. Their approach to adding materials to a headphone comes from their lack of knowledge of headphone design and the result yields degradation in the performance of the headphone which can be easily heard in a headphone system setup with properly designed cables and vibration control.

Key original internal and external parts of the HD800 headphones inhibit, distort and close-in the sound. The HD800 Ultra-mod is a proprietary process which entails removing specific parts from the stock HD800′s internal and external assembly, treating and remounting the drivers for optimal vibration control and replacing the driver mounting configuration with a Stefan AudioArt proprietary system."

 

So sennheiser haven't looked at and measured vibrations in the headphone? Today this stuff is designed and measured using sophisticated computer analysis so does SAA know if they really have eliminated or set up vibrations at other frequencies?  

 

 

Well, it didn't take long to get shot down.  Here's the first part of his rather lengthy reply:

 

"Hello Nick,

 

Thank you for your email.

 

We do all our testing with our ears. 

 

I've been in this business for over 30 years and with all due respect to Tyll there is no instrument I'm aware of that can measure how good a certain headphone or component will sound.

 

Measurements do not and can not reveal the quality of the performance of a headphone/component and what the final outcome of the music sound like.

 

All that is necessary is to setup a headphone system with properly designed cables and vibration control and you will hear how a headphone or component truely sounds.

 

I've been educating users for over 10 years on how to for a lack of a better term "triple" the performance of their systems(s) via two extremely important variables in an audio/video system - properly designed cables and vibration control."

 

Edited January 4, 2014 by complin

[nnotis]

I may decide to press the issue further.  If these mods do nothing but reduce distortion as claimed, there's no way they could measure any worse.  And even if the measurements don't pick up a difference, Tyll listens a lot too.  And I doubt there's anyone who's heard more attempts to mod the HD800s.

[tkam]

They'll never send a pair on their own, someone would have to buy it and send it to Tyll.  As per a few posts above distortion is fairly easy to measure and if their magic process actually helps with that it'd be measurable.  Typical snake oil cable company bullshit.

 

Speaking of cables, holy hell are their cables expensive the "starting" price for each one is for the 4 ft cable.  Who the hell only needs a 4 ft headphone cable?  Fuckers.

[Grand Enigma]

You don't use 800s while running with a iPod strapped to your arm?

[Grand Enigma]

Ask them for the pedigree of their audio engineers, industrial engineers, and R&D teams.

... Grado is one that could benefit from this. They are definitely ears and not science.

[Dusty Chalk]

Wow, that's a new one I hadn't heard yet, "...for lack of a better term, 'triple'..."

 

Yeah, my penis is for lack of a better term, "triple" the performance...

 

The T-rex's arms are, for lack of a better term, "triple" the performance...

 

I'm going to start using that in front of everything.

 

This music is, for lack of a better term, awesome.

 

This movie is, for lack of a better term, the best.

 

What you're really doing is undermining your own vocabulary.

[morphsci]

Wow, what a, for lack of a better term, douchebag!

[n3rdling]

Would you expect anything less from an audio cable company?  They're professional bullshitters and apparently this guy has over 3 decades of experience in this craft.

[justin]

I was told many years ago (dont know if its true) that at one point the Stefan Audio Art guy was making a living doing nothing but selling a HD600 cable 

[postjack]

I was told many years ago (dont know if its true) that at one point the Stefan Audio Art guy was making a living doing nothing but selling a HD600 cable 

 

years back i remember there were basically two popular options for hd6xx recables: the cardas cable and the stefan cable. and everyone regarded the stefan cable as the rolls royce of hd6xx cables. expensive, sure, but THE BEST.

 

then came along that twisty flesh colored cable by that other company and it was the best.

[Torpedo]

I was told many years ago (dont know if its true) that at one point the Stefan Audio Art guy was making a living doing nothing but selling a HD600 cable 

And this surprises you? We have guys selling coated opamps making that living to top gear cars

[nnotis]

Here's the response I sent to Stefan AudioArt James.  I tried to be nice, but I have yet to hear back from him.  Perhaps at some level, he knows that this mod is, for lack of a better term, not helpful.

 

"Thank you for the thorough reply James.

 

It looks like one of the primary benefits of this mod is a reduction in distortion, which is actually quite measurable.  But even if it didn't show up for some reason, Tyll has more experience listening to different HD800s than anyone else.  That includes just about every other mod of them.  If there's a change to the sound, he's more likely than anyone to hear it.

 

If you really are confident that the Ultra mod improves performance, why not send one to him for review?  The worst that could happen would be no measurable difference vs the stock HD800s.  But if the mod get's remotely close to "tripling" performance, then the improvement should be obvious when listening.  You'd then have quite a case to make against the value of measurements.

 

Please consider sending a loaner to Tyll for review.  Allowing this product to hold up to close scrutiny will open your business up to lot of new potential customers, myself included."

[nopants]

years back i remember there were basically two popular options for hd6xx recables: the cardas cable and the stefan cable. and everyone regarded the stefan cable as the rolls royce of hd6xx cables. expensive, sure, but THE BEST.

 

then came along that twisty flesh colored cable by that other company and it was the best.

 

twisted flesh cable, where do I sign up?

 

Doesn't that thing develop a patina because the tubing isn't airtight? I was pretty amused when I saw pictures.