HD800 Impressions

[aerius]

Final notes, since I have to return the HD800 to its owner today.

The vinyl experience was mixed, on a good relatively neutral setup the HD800 disappoints, it sounds much like it does on my EAR Acute with some small variations in soundstaging & detail retrieval abilities. Bit more emotional involving, but not by much. The frequency balance, bass dynamics, and so forth are also fairly close. It's nice I guess, but I sure as hell wouldn't pay $10k+ for what is in my opinion a small marginal improvement in fun & goodness.

But there was one setup where it kicked ass, and that's with a vintage Garrard 401 turntable and Ortofon SPU cartridge with some big curvy shiny chrome tonearm. This setup has the biggest, fattest, most dynamic bass I've ever heard, anywhere, and the HD800 finally comes alive & boogies on this rig. The Senn is finally fun & involving, it can now rock out and make me feel the Blues. I finally had a shit-eating grin. But it does come at a price, this setup is not as detailed & resolving as a modern vinyl rig, and it's not going to have the massive endless soundstage with precision imaging that a good modern setup does. A local audio dealer once described it as follows, "the Nottingham (Dais) is like an F1 car, it's super sharp & fast and absolutely precise. The Garrard is like cruisin' down the street in a '57 Chevy, it's not going to touch the F1 car in performance but it's a hell of a lot more fun & stylish. It's just damn cool & fun".

So yeah, I finally know what it takes to make an HD800 work for me, so in a sense, mission accomplished.

[Hopstretch]

With about 150 hours of use to date, either my HD800s have burned in considerably or my ears have adjusted to them considerably. While they still spotlight bad recordings quite brightly (ho ho), I don't find myself wincing nearly as much on the vocal sibilants and cymbals that initially made such a splash. (ha ha)

My pair still ping annoyingly, but I keep putting off actually sending them in for service. The thought of being without them for an extended period scares me sennsless. (hee hee)

[boomana]

Well, there's no going back. I bought a pair of used HD650s for a friend and, while they were passing through, took the chance to spend the afternoon listening to them side by side with the HD800s in my system. The 800s simply pissed all over them.

Despite having lived very happily with both 6X0 series Senns in the past for extended periods -- they now seem uncomfortable, lethargic and muffled to me by comparison. Off you go!

Before I even knew headphone forums existed, I was loving my 580s and microamp. At my first meet, I heard the 650s for the first time, and that was it for me, or so I thought. I eventually settled on the 600s, but the 800s do everything they do better, even with a laptop and pico. Properly matched, I still think the 650s are some of the most amazing headphones around, but I'd like to hear the 800s again when folks have found what rigs really work best. Despite the love/hate reactions people seem to have over these headphones, I do think Sennheiser got it right.

[Headphone Dreamer LD]

boomana?

I agree with you on the Sennheiser getting it right even though I hav'nt listened to the HD 800's I am still buying then ''with a deposit placed''

I never listened to my HD600's or 650's but read reviews about them before hand and just went for it, would never part with them.

It's subjective from one person to the next ''with slight hearing differences''

Then apart from that is matching them with the right Heaphone amp, that not only suites the Headphones, but each person.

The headphone amp market knows that there are slight differences and cater for this, in the hope of getting their market share, especially for different designs(valve amps with their unique character,) ect....

That's why forum sites ''HEAD CASE'' are so important, with the members who have a great deal of knowledge experiences, of which comes at great expence.....Each reply is so important, as people (members or guest's to this site,) read very carfully in most cases.

I have learned many things since joining this site and have found out about a number of product's of which I never knew about before joining.

I enjoy reading what others share with each other and weigh up the pro's and not so very carefully.........I appreciate all that I read hear and thank you to everyone.

[Headphone Dreamer LD]

I finally have them.

I received / was woken up with ''THE'' phone call from the retailer at around 09:30, to let me know that the headphones had arrived, then went back to sleep again until around 10:30, when the post arrived.

I then gradually came around, pulled myself together, got dressed and went straight(oh no road works) had to take the long route.

Parked in their rear car park, John & Mohammed were itching to see the goods. opened the box and was impressed straight away with the immaculate build quality, the ear pads soo soft.

I explained after about ten minutes that I had to go, as I am also waiting for a large rug to be delivered...so I better go.

Got in, turned on my system and let it warm up(not really ha! ha!) 2mins on, plugged the headphone jack(very high quality gold on the jack I must say.) the first thing that impressed me about HD800's when placing them on my head and ears was the comfort, then with the sound, and of course not forgetting that I don't have a dedicated headphone amp yet.

The sound is best on medium setting and not loud, it's as though a thin veil had been lifted, neutral sounding(the headphones let the music do the work without adding their own design character influence in anyway.) yes they do you may say! but with this very clever design ''all things considered'' doesn't detract from, or add anything other than doing the job properly with music.

The soundstage is fuller,richer,more spatial and expansive, hearing slight symbals(high frequencies clearer than before.)

I thought whilst listening ''what about when I connect this to a dedicated headphone amp'' and got excited with this prospect.

The build quality cannot be faulted at all, with full instruction brochure which comes with this, explaining about the hard work that went into searching for the best materials, how to take care of them and the importance of a headphone amp.

I only had about 1 1/2 hrs listening so will look forward to longer tests with high quality classical music recordings and SACD playback when I get all things set up correctly.

These babies are truly built to last, and no doubt cable manufactuers will produce after market cables for them in time, although the cable supplied is well above average....time will tell on how long the cable will last(just an observation that's all.)

I am happy with this purchase.

[pearljam5000]

Congrats Headphone Dreamer LD !!!

What other phones have your tried?

[Headphone Dreamer LD]

Hi pearljam5000,

Good to hear from you and thank you.

Apart from the odd cheap pair years'' and I mean! years ago it's has been Sennheisers ever since HD600's and 650's, of which the 650's will receive the upgraded ''Kimber Kable'' Wednesday-12th August, so shall look forward to hearing any differences when I get the time to listen to them at length.

I would like to try the AKG 701's with upgraded cables, have come close to owning these and yet so far.....

Honest Regards

[pearljam5000]

Thanks for the kind words headphone-dreamer-ld.

[pearljam5000]

In any case ,why are there so little HD800 impressions in this thread?

[Pars]

In any case ,why are there so little HD800 impressions in this thread?

• Because this isn't head-fi, and
  
• see post #1 regarding the original HD800 thread.
  

[GuyDebord]

A revised version of something I wrote on them in another place....

I sold my HD800's to a friend, after having them for almost a month. At the beginning, I remember being very excited about them, after so much hype in this forum and magazines all over the world, claims of superiority against the K1000's the O2's, the R10's, Q010's.... I kept thinking this are going to be simply amazing, I want to fall in love with them, I want to like them. What follows are a series of chronological impressions about them until the catharsis.

Sources used:

HEAD AMPS: Lehmann BCL, Graham Slee Solo Srg, SPL Phonitor, 2 costume tube amps and the Leben CS300x (all amps were tested with the Wireworld Silver Eclipse 5.2 RCA's and Acoustic Zen Silver Reference II XLR's)

ANALOGUE: Clearaudio Ambient CMB, Satisfy Carbon & Lyra Helikon SL, ASR Basis Exclusive phono pre -> Acoustic Zen Silver Reference II XLR’s

DIGITAL: Slim Devices Transporter -> Siltech Golden Ridge AES/EBU -> Lyngdorf DPA-1 ; MacBook Pro optical -> Benchmark DAC1 Audiocom Level 2 mod

AC: PS Audio Power Plant Premier, PS Audio Statement(PPP), ASR Magic Cord(ASR), Siltech SPX30 MKII's for the Lyngdorf, Halcro & Transporter

The first impression, the looks.

The box opening ceremony was exciting until I held them in my hands... I had just spent €1000, The built was impressive, in this regard they would make Germany proud, however I expected a bit more quality in the materials, especially in regards to the silver painted plastic and the velour like earcups. Now, as a professional designer, I can say that these are mechanically very well designed and executed, but the aesthetic side of it is bad, the fake space cadet / futuristic look is simply not coherent and very exaggerated to the level of grotesque, It is the perfect example of an over-designed object. I remember writing once that they looked like a power ranger headset from toys r us. But hey, looks dont matter if the sound is good, right? so I tried to forget about their ugliness and continued with what I bought them for, to reproduce music...

The first play

I connected them to my Lehmann BCL, I decided to use this amp first as there were many people in the industry claiming that Sennheiser used this amp to voice the HD800's. The Lehmann BCL is famous for its accuracy, neutrality and truthfulness to the source, I was expecting the HD800's to be on the warm side, since most of the analytical cans I had owned had never paired well with the Lehmann.

The first track I played was "trying time" from the album "Duplex Ride" by Sidsel Endresen and Bugge Wesseltoft, the track demonstrates female voice, rhythmic bass and spatial instrumental detail, and so I expected to be moved by emotions, everytime I play this track with the 007A's I cant help to move and twist, Im obliged to close my eyes and just listen, but with the hd800's, I was obliged to open my eyes wide, it was as if music was being played in a white shiny metal laboratory for its analysis, where it was being dissected and inspected for imperfections and spectral colorations, sucking the soul of a musical performance for the sake of perfection.

By now many of you might be thinking that simply the HD800's needed many hours of burn in right? Well thats what I also thought, and so I played them continuously for a week and a half, before I made any other observations.

After the burn (250+, I sold them with around 500hrs)

After little success with the Lehmann BCL, I tried the HD800's with a graham slee solo srg, spl phonitor, 2 costume tube amps and the Leben CS300x, none of this combinations made me feel excited about the HD800's. Actually, after the burn, the Lehmann did pretty well, especially against the Solo... The best combination was with the Phonitor, but not good enough to win me over. Every time I listened to them is as if the sounds were fabricated, artificially rendered into extreme detail but non-involving, plus that grainess, I always know they are on my head, my brain works to hard to distinguish the detail and I can never forget about them. They are always there, and that bothered me.

IMO the HD800's simply were not at the level of the K1000 and O2's. Dont get me wrong, The HD800's are very good HP's, no question, they certainly leave the hd6xx's in the dust, but they have calculative, clinical and sterile soul which I have never related to music. HD800 defenders, please dont give me the "neutrality" defense, laboratory measured neutrality is very different than neutrality in a real musical performance... I care for the later.

This headphones are an excellent example of the difference between hifi'ity and musicality, the hd800 try on precision makes them measurement instruments rather than musical instruments, for some this might be the goal, for me, I just want the headphones to disappear as much as they can and until now the 007's are the best I know that can achieve this.

A final note

Again, and to be clear, I think this headphones are very good, among the top in current production dynamic HP's, but by no means I consider them among the very best, in this regard, I wouldnt choose them over the K1000's, O2's, HE90's, 4070's, HE60's, R10's, L3000's....and among the dynamics in current production, well, I still prefer some a bit more, but we need these companies to step up, isnt technology supposed to get better with time? Only STAX has managed to advance in this logic (and even some might refute this, O2mk1 vs O2mk2), what about the rest?

[Deadneddz]

I understand that this is your take on the HD800, but I would not stubbornly jump to conclusion that the HD800s are "calculative, clinical and sterile." It seems to me that your listening experience with the HD800s is limited to only your associated equipment. I have not heard the HD800s with any of the associated equipment you listed, but I have heard them from amps such as the Luxman P-1, SDS-XLR, BUDA, DNA Sonett, Audio gd Phoenix, Balancing act, Zana Deux, ect...with several different setups/sources both balanced and single ended.

What I did notice in my sampling was that the HD800s sounded different in almost every setup. While some were not particularly great, some setups had the most dynamic sound i've ever heard. Some people who don't know better might take your write up and conclude that the HD800s are exactly how you describe them to be without ever trying out different setups themselves. Also have you actually listened to any of the other phones you listed besides the ones you own(k1000, 4070, O2)?

[Currawong]

I like the results of my 24 AWG OCCC DIY cable on mine, it takes some harshness out and brings out the bass a little more. I don't think that, otherwise, my rig is harsh, as it certainly isn't with any Stax.

They are not fun to listen with after listening for an hour with L3000s, which I think are crap, more so now because afterwards they make other headphones sound awful.

They are definitely not headphones for people who like a warm, soothing sound. I didn't like the pair of (apparently) bass heavy R10s I tried in comparison to them, so it comes down to one's tastes more than just technical proficiency.

[jantze]

Does anyone have any Buffalo32S & balanced β22 experience/impressions?

Since my soon-to-be-ready balanced rig is just around the corner, I would like to hear some impressions with this combo. I was also thinking about ordering a balanced APS V3 cable for my HD 800, but I'm not sure about that anymore. Does anyone have any experience with APS V3 & HD 800? Any improvement with that cable?

[nor_spoon]

Hi Deadneddz.

It would be interesting to know your opinion on the HD800/Zana Deux combination.

[Headphone Dreamer LD]

I understand that this is your take on the HD800, but I would not stubbornly jump to conclusion that the HD800s are "calculative, clinical and sterile." It seems to me that your listening experience with the HD800s is limited to only your associated equipment. I have not heard the HD800s with any of the associated equipment you listed, but I have heard them from amps such as the Luxman P-1, SDS-XLR, BUDA, DNA Sonett, Audio gd Phoenix, Balancing act, Zana Deux, ect...with several different setups/sources both balanced and single ended.

What I did notice in my sampling was that the HD800s sounded different in almost every setup. While some were not particularly great, some setups had the most dynamic sound i've ever heard. Some people who don't know better might take your write up and conclude that the HD800s are exactly how you describe them to be without ever trying out different setups themselves. Also have you actually listened to any of the other phones you listed besides the ones you own(k1000, 4070, O2)?

Your reply is diplomatic......and I personally like this approach.

I never even lisened to my HD800 before purchasing and have no problems at all, I look forward to matching them up with a suitable Amp as and when funds allow.

Heaphones are subjective from one person to another.......

[TC_Shadow]

I enjoyed my time with a borrowed HD800 driven by Corda Opera (on low gain and z). The bass is deep and articulate, the soundstage is stable, almost speaker like (reminds me of the HE60) and the highs are extended and very detailed. There is some sibilance when playing back female voice with lots of "s". I don't think HD800 is as emotionally engaging as HF-2 on jazz and vocal tracks. I think the greatest strength of HD800 is the boundary-less soundstage; the sound just seems to extend outward forever (much like the HE60).

I am still on the fence about getting the 800, since I either use my spkrs to listen to symphonic pieces or the HF2 for closely-miked jazz/pop stuff, leaving almost no room for the 800. I think between HD800 and HF2, HF2 is the warmer pair (I was quite surprised given my experience with HD650)

Opera drove the HD800 just fine, I liked my opera better than the Phonitor/Auditor when I had them side by side.

This post is stricly IMHO, and should be read/construed as such.

[atothex]

I wouldnt choose them over the K1000's, O2's, HE90's, 4070's, HE60's, R10's, L3000's....

You find HD800s to be clinical/inaccurate compared to these?

Well, anyways, I was just wondering the other day. All of my personal dream amps are American. Do people overseas have severely limited access to great American amps for auditioning? Do y'all actually have some secret stash of badass amps that we don't know about?

[Deadneddz]

Hi Deadneddz.

It would be interesting to know your opinion on the HD800/Zana Deux combination.

Uncle Eriks Zana Deux was one of the best i've heard the HD800 single ended. But I was not particularly impressed with the Marantz SA8001 CD/SACD player. The HD800s really benefit from having more power, and balanced is where I hear the most improvement. With the Zana Deux, the sound was good but the impact was not that great. These cans are highly sensitive to upstream components which may account for so many different impressions, and the 8001 was not the best i've heard with the HD800s.

I think the greatest strength of HD800 is the boundary-less soundstage; the sound just seems to extend outward forever (much like the HE60).

Imo a phone like the O2s are more boundless in a sense that they impose no certain size when playing a recording. The HD800s still suffer from imposing a rather large sound field on almost any recording. While this may be pleasing on large scale minimally milked recordings, they just don't shrink down the size for more intimate recordings when it calls for it. And this ultimarely kills dynamics. They are however better than the he90/hd6x0 series(less diffused) when it comes to compromising in soundstage size. I personally like them, and think that many have not found a suitable system match up for them yet.(being relatively new)

[Headphone Dreamer LD]

I think a LARGE number of people just don't want the hassle with shipping, customs, charges and so on, with importing US equipment to the UK or europe.

To be honest I can truly understand this, as this has personally cost me a great deal of money over the years.

For Example' I imported a brand new, boxed sealed (a rare find) Pioneer Elite CLD-97 Laserdisc PLayer from a seller in the US, which took about 18mths from discussions to the item being in my hands.

It cost me

[Spiug31]

Well, anyways, I was just wondering the other day. All of my personal dream amps are American. Do people overseas have severely limited access to great American amps for auditioning? Do y'all actually have some secret stash of badass amps that we don't know about?

retail prices over here tend to be higher (often a direct $ to

[Headphone Dreamer LD]

Ditto........

I agree with you on the charges front.....BOY'' DO WE GET SLAMMED OVER HERE........IN BLIGHTY:D

[atothex]

Sucks... Yeah I guess ordering stuff from Eddie Current or Headamp aint exactly the same as Audio-gd. I'd probably be a lot more tempted to DIY if I lived in Europe.

[jantze]

I've been buying a lot of stuff from the states, but I usually ask politely to lower the price value of the parcel, so that I can avoid the customs fees and taxes (customs fee is 3-5% + VAT 22%). Works perfectly with small companys like Woo Audio, but no luck with Mouser and such.

If I buy something really expensive, I purposely ask to put a lower price, but still enough to pay some customs fees. You just can't explain a 30kg (66 pounds) package with a $20 value.

[Headphone Dreamer LD]

When I eventually import the HLD X0 (approx 40 Kilo) player from Japan I know what to expect......Damn Them!!!!