Did HD800 fail? Poll: HD650 or HD800(vote only if you have listened to both) - Page 2

unfortunately for your wallet, i think you will soon buy a lcd-2....

HD800 has bigger soundstage and clarity.  It also has good instrument separation.  HD650 sounds muddy, slow and veiled in comparison.  

Technically the HD 800 wins, but it has a critical flaw that makes it unlistenable in the long term for me. I´m talking about the infamous treble spike (world of painful sssssssssibilance). Unfortunately almost every dynamic headphone, in my experience, suffers from this in one way or another. The HD 650 is one of the very few that doesn´t, so it gets my vote. 

Quote:Originally Posted by pp312 


"Thanks, Finnegans. I much prefer this kind of explanatory post to the "800 blows 650 out of the water" variety. To me that means absolutely nothing.   In fact you've pretty much defined my reasons for sticking with the 650. I was slightly tempted by the 800 , then even more by the LCD-2 , but in the end I decided the 650 was ideal for my purposes (not to mention the sweet spot for diminishing returns). I have a mixed bag of recordings, some from the 60 s and even 50 s, lots of MP3 s (not all 320 , I confess)...just a very mixed bag, and I need a phone that won't emphasise the quality differences, will help the worst sound good but still bring out the virtues of the best, and in my best judgement that's the 650. I don't want a phone that sounds brilliant on demonstration material but emphasises every fault in less than wonderful records--and when I say less than wonderful I'm not just talking about archival material as many new recordings are far from ideal. I want a balanced, forgiving, sweet sounding phone, and if it doesn't have the laser-like clarity or holographic imaging of flagship phones I'm prepared to make that sacrifice. Neither do I want two headphones, as I simply don't believe in that particular approach (and I can't afford it anyway). So I'm kind of grateful that the 650 exists, as it fits my needs exactly, and I never feel when using it that I'm really missing anything. Thank you, Sennheiser."


To me people who make an evaluation of a headphone they don't have any experience with is much more meaningless than someone telling me one headphone "blows another headphone out of the water". If you don't have experience with a headphone, your evaluation of it is useless.

To me the HD650 and HD800 are more different than similar. I'd say the HD600 shares more in common with the HD800. Either way the HD800 is a substantial improvement over either of them.

The HD800 is more refined up and down the spectrum. More extended than the HD650 with much more bass control.

I don't feel the issue is necessarily if the HD800 is worth the premium over the other Senns, but, to me at least, can I go back to the others after listening to the HD800? That answer is no. So, I feel the HD800 is worth the price.

Completely different headphones, one of the few things they have in common is that they're both Sennheiser.

Aside from different sound signatures, they're too different in price to let HD800 blow the 650's away.

I have the 650's and listened to the HD800's 2 times at a meet and I can appreciate both for what they do. But if I'd ever buy a HD800, it's definitely not autimatically said that I'd sell my 650's.

Quote:

Originally Posted by baka1969 

Quote:Originally Posted by pp312 


"Thanks, Finnegans. I much prefer this kind of explanatory post to the "800 blows 650 out of the water" variety. To me that means absolutely nothing.   In fact you've pretty much defined my reasons for sticking with the 650. I was slightly tempted by the 800 , then even more by the LCD-2 , but in the end I decided the 650 was ideal for my purposes (not to mention the sweet spot for diminishing returns). I have a mixed bag of recordings, some from the 60 s and even 50 s, lots of MP3 s (not all 320 , I confess)...just a very mixed bag, and I need a phone that won't emphasise the quality differences, will help the worst sound good but still bring out the virtues of the best, and in my best judgement that's the 650. I don't want a phone that sounds brilliant on demonstration material but emphasises every fault in less than wonderful records--and when I say less than wonderful I'm not just talking about archival material as many new recordings are far from ideal. I want a balanced, forgiving, sweet sounding phone, and if it doesn't have the laser-like clarity or holographic imaging of flagship phones I'm prepared to make that sacrifice. Neither do I want two headphones, as I simply don't believe in that particular approach (and I can't afford it anyway). So I'm kind of grateful that the 650 exists, as it fits my needs exactly, and I never feel when using it that I'm really missing anything. Thank you, Sennheiser."


To me people who make an evaluation of a headphone they don't have any experience with is much more meaningless than someone telling me one headphone "blows another headphone out of the water". If you don't have experience with a headphone, your evaluation of it is useless.

First of all, there's more than a touch of deliberate stirring in this post. Baka1969 and I tend to disagree on everything, and clearly he intends to keep up the tradition even where there are no grounds for disagreement.

I was not commenting specifically on the 800. I was certainly not "evaluating" it. I was making general remarks about the kind of phone I don't want for the reasons stated. As it happens, all the descriptions of the 800's sound would seem to confirm that this is indeed the kind of sound I don't need, but the same could be said of any Grado, the AKG K702, Beyer DT880 and a dozen other phones. So to suggest that I was "evaluating" the 800 is ridiculous. Come right, Baka1969. You're looking for ways to criticise my posts and coming up with absurdities.    

I've got them both too and they are quite different. I'd say the HD800 bests the HD650 90% of the time. That 10% is the treble difference. I will not sell my HD650 as it's a great headphone.

Don't get your feathers ruffled up! People can read and make their own conclusions :)

Quote:

Originally Posted by castlevania32 

unfortunately for your wallet, i think you will soon buy a lcd-2....

If this is addressed to me, I know what you mean, as the descriptions of the LCD-2 originally had me drooling and reaching for my wallet. However, I paused and took a long look at a few things, specifically the price, build quality, weight, and above all the fact that I'm 64 and have tinnitus. Would it be worth a $1200 investment inh phones I would have a lot of difficulty returning if I disliked them, or found them uncomfortable, or if something came apart (I'm in Oz)? I decided no, and unless I find a used pair for around $600, Audeze are not in my future unfortunately.

Of course, if I was to hear them all that may change, so I'd best stay away from meets.

I'll just have to make you listen to them then!

Quote:Originally Posted by pp312 


"First of all, there's more than a touch of deliberate stirring in this post. Baka1969 and I tend to disagree on everything, and clearly he intends to keep up the tradition even where there are no grounds for disagreement.
I was not commenting specifically on the 800. I was certainly not "evaluating" it. I was making general remarks about the kind of phone I don't want for the reasons stated. As it happens, all the descriptions of the 800's sound would seem to confirm that this is indeed the kind of sound I don't need, but the same could be said of any Grado, the AKG K702, Beyer DT880 and a dozen other phones. So to suggest that I was "evaluating" the 800 is ridiculous. Come right, Baka1969. You're looking for ways to criticise my posts and coming up with absurdities."


In your first two posts you're making statements and assumptions about the HD800. You even mentioned that if the HD800 was priced the same as the HD650 the two would be one alternative or the other. How can you say that without actually having heard both of them? Even within the limited nature of the poll and the small sample size 2/3 of the current vote favor the HD800. To me, and I've had both, the HD800 is superior. If we want to argue the merits of the HD800 vs the LCD2 (or other similarly prices can) then that's another issue of preference. But there is hardly any consensus that states the HD800 is any sort of failure.

I've heard hd800 a couple of times out of Lehmannaudio Black Cube Linear Headphone Amplifieran                eeeeetuttut 

and audionote tube cd player , marantz cd player. Wide soundstage, detailed but bright or rather overly emphasis on mid highs. Not as accurate , refined and smooth sounding as Stax Omega II

Not as tonally accurate as hd600. You may or may not get tired of its sound signature.

I always liked the 600's more than the 650's. But to me, the 800's are clearly superior to the 6XX's The soundstage, the clarity, the lack of veil or darkness, and the overall sound representation.

The HD600's were the one to beat in 2001 (competing against the RS-1's), but now, the 800's are a superior phone.

I was lucky enough to get my HD600's from a distributor straight from Germany, $210 shipped. I can't believe how much the 650's cost now. Too much....just like the RS-1's are ridiculously priced. They should be a $300 headphone. Paying for the mahogany and Grado name, which is not so hot anymore.