HD800? Another rumor?

[The Monkey]

Where do we get stock HD800 cables?

[guzziguy]

HeadRoom sells a balance cable. I don't know the price.

Another approach is to balance the cable you have and buy/build an XLR -> SE adapter. I don't have a balanced system and use such an adapter to listen to the balanced HP-2 that I bought from JP#s.

[The Monkey]

Thanks Ken. Email sent to HR. I would prefer to avoid the adapter since my main rig will be single-ended and the less fuss the better then. But it would be nice to have a separate balanced cable in-house provided that it wouldn't break the bank.

[guzziguy]

You're welcome Dinny. Though I doubt that a new HR cable will be anywhere near as affordable as a retermination/adapter combo.

[Elephas]

I guess this is the official HD800 thread?

I'm listening to the HD800 right now!

No, no Rihanna yet, but I played a few Leona Lewis - Spirit (Deluxe Edition) already. I'm saving Rihanna for later when I'm ready to do some butt clenching exercises. I also played some Opus3, FIM Super Sound, Jennifer Warnes, Inger Marie Gundersen and a few other "audiophile cred" tracks.

My out of the box impression: It's quite good. It is brighter, clearer and more detailed than the HD650 or HD600. Definitely no veil. I already prefer it over the HD6x0 or K701. It has refinement, good details, accurate tonality and a spacious soundstage.

I don't think it is better than most of my electrostats, and probably also not better than the R10, Qualia or several other dynamics. Based on my high expectations, I'm somewhat disappointed. But a lot more listening is needed.

[Dusty Chalk]

What amp are you using? That's a big deal with the HD800's.

[Elephas]

Zana Deux and Lehmann Black Cube Linear

[Torpedo]

I guess this is the official HD800 thread?

I'm listening to the HD800 right now!

No, no Rihanna yet, but I played a few Leona Lewis - Spirit (Deluxe Edition) already. I'm saving Rihanna for later when I'm ready to do some butt clenching exercises. I also played some Opus3, FIM Super Sound, Jennifer Warnes, Inger Marie Gundersen and a few other "audiophile cred" tracks.

My out of the box impression: It's quite good. It is brighter, clearer and more detailed than the HD650 or HD600. Definitely no veil. I already prefer it over the HD6x0 or K701. It has refinement, good details, accurate tonality and a spacious soundstage.

I don't think it is better than most of my electrostats, and probably also not better than the R10, Qualia or several other dynamics. Based on my high expectations, I'm somewhat disappointed. But a lot more listening is needed.

About the same here. Right out of the box I found bass very lean and treble in the piercing side of things. Not as much as D5000 or most Grados, though not for the treble quantity but the location of the non linearities. The treble can be shaped by positioning around the ears. Those cups are huge and allow quite some room to find a better response. I wonder how they handled that when measuring them at Headroom.

After a few hours, about 6-8, bass started to come out and now is quite leveled with the midrange, but the treble still isn't "there" to be convincing. For the reports here and on Head-fi, I suppose the treble will become righter, though I have some reservations, part of what I'm hearing recalls the type of sound I've heard from some ring radiator tweeters which aren't specially of my liking.

This using the Bidat/Lavry DA11 as sources and the B22 amplifying.

At this point IMO they're very good dynamic cans, probably the best in current production that I've managed to try or own, but still not good enough to claim for the SOTA status which belongs to discontinued phones. We'll see, burn-in may change a few things, and possibly a tube amp which allows tube matching to fine tune tonal balance can make them sing. Neutral amps like B22 or the Gilmore Reference show very clearly their flaws. However it's very understandable that people being not extensively exposed to "great" cans find them extraordinary, for the most part they are compared to the current offer. I for one wouldn't sell the R10 or PS1 to keep the HD800, but I could sell a lot of midrange phones like the K701, HD600, Ultrasones, D5000, DX1000, even the HP-2 or L3000 if needed.

Edited June 29, 2009 by Torpedo

[Dusty Chalk]

I'm curious what "easy to drive" means? I keep looking at Headroom's Impedance vs. Frequency graph and seeing that 600+ ohm peak at ~100Hz.

Their measurements don't have that same peak -- it only goes up to 310 on theirs. I just wrote John Atkinson and pointed it out and asked him to conjecture as to why the measurements would be different. I'd ask Tyll the same thing -- Tyll? Edited June 29, 2009 by Dusty Chalk

[Elephas]

I just finished running 30 minutes of the Isotek Burn-in CD. I've found it to be useful in the past, but it can be hit or miss and results vary.

Yeah, treble is quite bright and bass impact and quantity is low. It's very unlike the HD650. It actually reminds me a bit of the W5000, but tonality, or coloration, is different of course. I consider the HD800 to be more neutral and less colored.

It also reminds me of, dare I say it, the K701. Yes, I said it.

It's like an improved supercharged K701, with more refinement, more details, faster speed, better imaging, better liquidity, basically better everything than the K701.

Poor, maligned and misunderstood K701...

[Elephas]

Er, before I get squashed by the combined forces of K701 dislikers and HD800 likers, let me say that I think more highly of the K701 than seemingly most people.

Rihanna on the HD800 is sounding as good as ever!

[Torpedo]

I just finished running 30 minutes of the Isotek Burn-in CD. I've found it to be useful in the past, but it can be hit or miss and results vary.

Yeah, treble is quite bright and bass impact and quantity is low. It's very unlike the HD650. It actually reminds me a bit of the W5000, but tonality, or coloration, is different of course. I consider the HD800 to be more neutral and less colored.

It also reminds me of, dare I say it, the K701. Yes, I said it.

It's like an improved supercharged K701, with more refinement, more details, faster speed, better imaging, better liquidity, basically better everything than the K701.

Poor, maligned and misunderstood K701...

You don't need much to improve the K701 so it's not precisely a compliment hahaha. However saying it's a beefed up, speedier version of the HD600 is quite an achievement. It might be that if burn-in polishes the treble response a bit. We'll see.

Would anyone having them for more time please comment about expectable changes with burn-in? I fear the HD800 behaving as other Senns and not changing that much with use.

[Dusty Chalk]

I liked the K701 when I heard it, it didn't seem to do anything wrong, but it didn't seem to do anything that any of my other headphones did, neither, plus it wasn't a sound I "go after" (L3000/VTG/PS-1/etc.).

Also, way too white.

[Hopstretch]

I certainly find the treble less troublesome now than I initially did. Whether the phones burned in or my head did is open to question.

[Torpedo]

I certainly find the treble less troublesome now than I initially did. Whether the phones burned in or my head did is open to question.

Time to listen and compare to your previous phones

[Dusty Chalk]

You should have bought two pair and left one in the box.

[Hopstretch]

Time to listen and compare to your previous phones

HD800 versus HF1/2 isn't a particularly useful comparison as the basic character is so different.

[Torpedo]

HD800 versus HF1/2 isn't a particularly useful comparison as the basic character is so different.

I see... well, wash your brain and listen again to material which sounded bright in the beginning

[deepak]

About the same here. Right out of the box I found bass very lean and treble in the piercing side of things. Not as much as D5000 or most Grados, though not for the treble quantity but the location of the non linearities. The treble can be shaped by positioning around the ears. Those cups are huge and allow quite some room to find a better response. I wonder how they handled that when measuring them at Headroom.

After a few hours, about 6-8, bass started to come out and now is quite leveled with the midrange, but the treble still isn't "there" to be convincing. For the reports here and on Head-fi, I suppose the treble will become righter, though I have some reservations, part of what I'm hearing recalls the type of sound I've heard from some ring radiator tweeters which aren't specially of my liking.

This using the Bidat/Lavry DA11 as sources and the B22 amplifying.

At this point IMO they're very good dynamic cans, probably the best in current production that I've managed to try or own, but still not good enough to claim for the SOTA status which belongs to discontinued phones. We'll see, burn-in may change a few things, and possibly a tube amp which allows tube matching to fine tune tonal balance can make them sing. Neutral amps like B22 or the Gilmore Reference show very clearly their flaws. However it's very understandable that people being not extensively exposed to "great" cans find them extraordinary, for the most part they are compared to the current offer. I for one wouldn't sell the R10 or PS1 to keep the HD800, but I could sell a lot of midrange phones like the K701, HD600, Ultrasones, D5000, DX1000, even the HP-2 or L3000 if needed.

Antonio is the treble still piercing with the Bidat?

[Hopstretch]

I see... well, wash your brain and listen again to material which sounded bright in the beginning

Just for you, I shall sluice it out with fine ale.

[Torpedo]

Antonio is the treble still piercing with the Bidat?

Yes, the DA11 and the Bidat using phones have similar tonal balances when using the CDP-X707SE as a transport. When the Bidat is fed from the CEC, there are some more notable differences, but not in tonal balance, are more in coherence, flow and other areas. However I haven't tried the CEC-Bidat combo using the HD800 yet, though I don't expect great improvements, using the O2 things remain as stated.

Hops, feel free to use as fine ale as needed to reset your perception, but don't make the listening tests during the process, which is commonly considered to make everything sounding gorgeous

[Elephas]

I liked the K701 when I heard it, it didn't seem to do anything wrong, but it didn't seem to do anything that any of my other headphones did, neither, plus it wasn't a sound I "go after" (L3000/VTG/PS-1/etc.).

Oh, wow, the L3000 and PS-1 are very unlike the K701. I really like the L3000's bass and I think it's probably the best quality bass of all headphones I've heard.

The PS-1 on the other hand, I think its bass isn't quite as good as the L3000's but the quantity is massive. Each use requires a lot of acclimatization time.

Yay, I really like the HD800! It passed the Rihanna test quite easily with very high scores. Yeah, of course better recordings sound better. I can't help it, I have bad taste in music. I thought it would get better as I got older, but it isn't.

The HD800 is one of my top 10 favorite headphones!

[Beefy]

HD800 versus HF1/2 isn't a particularly useful comparison as the basic character is so different.

Buy a second set of HD800 to compare to then

[Dusty Chalk]

I can't help it, I have bad taste in music. I thought it would get better as I got older, but it isn't.

You have the best taste in music -- your own.

[Torpedo]

Oh, wow, the L3000 and PS-1 are very unlike the K701. I really like the L3000's bass and I think it's probably the best quality bass of all headphones I've heard.

The PS-1 on the other hand, I think its bass isn't quite as good as the L3000's but the quantity is massive. Each use requires a lot of acclimatization time.

Yay, I really like the HD800! It passed the Rihanna test quite easily with very high scores. Yeah, of course better recordings sound better. I can't help it, I have bad taste in music. I thought it would get better as I got older, but it isn't.

The HD800 is one of my top 10 favorite headphones!

Elephas, what amps did you use with the PS-1? I ask this because IMO the PS-1 are quite resolving, and their bass is very sensitive to the amps used. It can vary from "massive" using the Rudistor, to very good but excessive on the Gilmore, or excellent but enhanced using the B22. Using the best matching amp to the L3000 and the PS-1, both are bassy cans, but for texture, slam and sheer quality, I'd say the PS-1's is better. The L3000 show some colorations which I guess are due to their closed nature. Other than that, it's overwhelming bass

I think that the best bass overall (summing up texture, timbre, balance, slam, decay...) I've heard from cans is the Fostex T30's when fed tons of power with the B22 and properly damped. Second to that, probably the O2 mk1's. Picking apart limited bass features, then other cans qualify for the best. The DX-1000 have their own merits too hehehe.

Going back on topic, I've repeated listening to the very same tracks that yesterday sounded sibilant and bright. These HD800 are changing for the better. The cymbals attacks that yesterday were undefined, etched and kind of "generic" are now more nuanced and less aggressive. Some sung consonants that were ear piercing sound now more natural, though still a bit etched.

I don't think it's the frequency response changing, as much as the drivers now are closer to achieve their response speed over the whole frequency range. Looks like even bad recordings will be listenable. Yesterday I didn't think so at all. Encouraging evolution