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The Hype is Real - Page 5

post #61 of 70
4/24/10 at 2:10am
Congrats Bilavideo. I believe you'll find these suckers sound a lot better with a good source and amp (source being equally, if not more important).
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post #62 of 70
4/24/10 at 2:26am
Thread Starter 
A few additional points are worth mentioning:

1. While I wait for the return of my old amp, I'm stuck running these cans off a naked iPod (image censored by Comedy Central). Using the iPod's "bass boost" EQ setting, I'm able to get some bass to fill the vacuum left in the absence of an amp. This is not ideal but it will do for now. When running them off iTunes, I prefer the flat setting. It's a hint of the difference that comes with power.

2. Even without proper amping, it's already apparent that the bass response of the HD800 - even with both hands tied behind its back - is terrific. Even now, where the quantity delivered is a little light, the quality of that bass is exceptional. Bass lines off the HD800 are not just tighter; they're more defined. It's a lot more interesting than a sloppy bong, bong, bong.

3. These are the first headphones I've owned to take me back to the once-ubiquitous joys of vinyl. I remember, switching over from cassette to records, how much more sizzle there was on 45s and LPs. I can't say that CDs and MP3 have recaptured that sizzle - but the HD800 took me by surprise. I hadn't even been looking for it when my thoughts were pushed back three decades.
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post #63 of 70
4/24/10 at 2:28am
reading that was like a homework assignment.

good review though. and i'm thoroughly jealous.
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post #64 of 70
4/24/10 at 5:34pm
Thread Starter 
The amp is here! Thanks to Tonsosnot, who has the fastest mail delivery in America, the amp arrived in the morning mail. With the M^3 with STEPS, the HD800 fills out the bottom end to provide an amazingly balanced presentation.

One thing that got me, last night before the amp arrived, was the discovery that "flat" could be everything it's meant to be. With no amp yet, I was playing around with the EQ on iTunes - which apparently powers the phones better than my iPod. Playing with the EQ, I was surprised to discover that these phones sound better "flat" than EQ'd. When I tried to tweak the bass by creating various versions of the EQ Smile, I was surprised to discover that such tweakings didn't enhance the presentation; they simply got in the way.

I've never owned a headphone that sounded so good off of a "flat" response. It has always been preferable to add more meat to the bass or recess the mids a bit or play with the top of the HF. I've never had cans that simply cried out to be left alone so they could do their job. That, in my opinion, is about as impressive a statement as any.

With the M^3, the bass is full. It also has a variable bass boost, which I can employ on tinnier tracks. So far, though, I've found the bass to be more than ample. If I want to go for big and boomy, I can dial it in but most of the time, there's not much need to press the bass. It's there. These HD800s redefine "balance" by taking us there. I'm impressed.
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post #65 of 70
4/24/10 at 6:07pm
to the OP forget all these clowns with the k701/2 comparrisons...the HD800 is the best headphone ever made...enjoy them because unless sennheiser comes out with the hd900 your not going to hear anything better....
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post #66 of 70
4/25/10 at 5:12am
Thanks for sharing!
Great to hear that you enjoy the HD800 - even without proper amplification.
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post #67 of 70
4/25/10 at 5:33am
And you don't find yourself asking "Could this be more fun listenong to with a Grado"? At least sometimes?

Or just forget i asked and go on enjoying.
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post #68 of 70
4/25/10 at 11:30am
i tried them too,and with an mp3 player.
i was BLOWN AWAY.
they are incredible.
i'd say they are on the same level as the K1000,but they do sound different and less "speaker like" then the K1000.
they have more of an intimate kind of sound,but they sound amazingly airy and with incredible bass,which sounds pretty impossible to acomplish...
they have amazing clarity,it's scary...
there is no comparison to the K701 at all....
they have some defects,but i'm not sure if it's not the mp3's fault,maybe with a real amp and real DAC this would be fixed,but sometimes they sound kinda weird with rock music mainly,and the soundstage sounds too big for it.
but with well recorder rock music like radiohead's in rainbows,oh my god!!
i'd say that in general they are not very good with not so well recorded music,but maybe it's a good thing,because it means they are very reaviling.
if i could have two phones i'd get the K1000 for ultimate realism and speaker like sound,and the HD800 for intimacy and clarity.

mind you i tried them not long,and i don't know how to use audiophile terms,or even to listen to music like an audiophile.
i just love music as much as possible and this is what i heard,so take it with a grain of salt.
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post #69 of 70
4/25/10 at 2:13pm
Thread Starter 
Quote:
Originally Posted by Amarphael View Post
And you don't find yourself asking "Could this be more fun listenong to with a Grado"? At least sometimes?

Or just forget i asked and go on enjoying.
Ironically, the HD800 are closer to my Grados than either the HD600 or HD650, just as the GS-1000 is closer to the Senns than any previous Grado. As one reviewer put it, the higher you go, the more the top cans sound alike.

I used to think that the more of an audiophile I became, the more intolerant I'd become. Instead, I find myself loving a wide variety of presentations. I traveled a lot as a child, which left me feeling "neither here nor there." Wherever I was, there was no single place I could call home. I feel something like that with headphones. A friend of mine owns the HD800, the T1, and RS1 but speaks fondly of the K701s. Audiophiles are audiofools, shifting back and forth from can to can, but there's a reason for it. When I put on a pair of cans, I'm that Spanish guy in the liquor ads staring into the camera and saying, "Stay thirsty, my friends."

That said, I think I'll have these for the foreseeable future. I'm really taken with the whole presentation. When my wallet heals, I may spring for a PS-1000 - or a used RS-1. But if I did that, I'd be giving up my resolution to avoid collecting. There's got to be a support group for this addiction. Unfortunately, the present one is just a marketplace full of addicts looking for their next fix. In the meantime, I celebrate the 800, which is the first headphone I've found that sounds this good EQ'd flat.
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post #70 of 70
4/26/10 at 5:46am
Quote:
Originally Posted by pearljam5000 View Post
but with well recorder rock music like radiohead's in rainbows,oh my god!!
i'd say that in general they are not very good with not so well recorded music,but maybe it's a good thing,because it means they are very reaviling.
You're right. That album sounds stunning from the 800s. I'm a big rock fan and I think the 800s are good for that too. I think people who feel otherwise just don't have the right setup behind the Senns, or just have specific personal preferences (ie. up-front sound, heavy bass, boosted guitar-centric frequencies etc) that the 800s won't satisfy.
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