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Sennheiser HD800 Queries

post #1 of 31
10/21/12 at 11:01pm
Thread Starter 

Hi all!

 

Everyone's familiar with the HD800 so I don't need to give it an intro.

 

I want to upgrade from the K701's - I made a thread about it a fair while ago and it was an argument between the K1000 and the HD800. In the end I had a bad experience with the K1000 seller and kind of fizzled off the idea of buying anything for a while (No, didn't end up purchasing the K1000's after all the fuss, and it wasn't a seller here, it was a fleabay'er)

 

Anyway, I'm buying the HD800s and need some help with the following:

 

1. The cables to the earspeakers APPEAR to be detachable, but I can't find any info even on the Sennheiser website if they are or are not? Are they? 

2. Do these need a re-cable? If so, copper or silver? Which is better, which is best?

 

 

I'm asking because I can buy the HD800's relatively cheap and I want to buy the cable seperate, but obviously I cant (or won't) if the cable needs to be soldered to the can's.. obviously I'll have to hand them over to a professional for that - I know when I'm out of my depth, particularly on such an expensive set of cans :p

 

biggrin.gif

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post #2 of 31
10/21/12 at 11:26pm
The cables are detachable...

I've never used a copper cable before so I can't say anything about that but, to my ears, the moon audio silver dragon cable did make a some improvements on my westone UM3X.

From what people say from the Internet, the copper cable has a slower and warmer sound while the silver cable is faster and more energetic.
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post #3 of 31
10/21/12 at 11:28pm
Thread Starter 

Oh, nice! Thanks a lot Golila! 

 

I think if thats the case, silver is definitely the option I'll go for, but since they're detachable at some point I'll likely buy one of each just to see the difference. 

 

Regarding the moon audio cables, whats the difference between their 'Blue', 'Black' and 'Silver' cable colours? 

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post #4 of 31
10/21/12 at 11:28pm

Hi Blaze,

 

Yes, the cables are detachable. The connectors are Sennheiser proprietary

 

I used to own the HD800 and found the cable to be of excellent quality. I did find the cans to match best with tube amplifiers though..

 

edit: oops too slow

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post #5 of 31
10/21/12 at 11:32pm

i am using my HD800 with bluedragon  ( copper)

it does give improvement.

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post #6 of 31
10/21/12 at 11:34pm
Thread Starter 

Hmmm, I don't own a Tube amp at the moment - only have solid state.

 

Eventually I'll get the 'whole package' but yeah, as it stands I have no tube :(

 

What was the improvement like with the blue dragon? Was it warmer/smoother?


Edited by Blaze182 - 10/21/12 at 11:36pm
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post #7 of 31
10/21/12 at 11:37pm
I'm not sure if there is anything wrong with the cables of the HD 800 your going to buy, but if there isn't anything wrong, you might want to try it with the original cables first sine those cables already have really good quality.

I don't know anything about the differences between the two cables because I've never tried them on a HD800. The descriptions says that the blue is copper and the black (silver dragon) is silver.
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post #8 of 31
10/21/12 at 11:57pm
Thread Starter 

Nah they're brand new, I'd expect them to be perfect, haha. 

 

I'll definitely try them out with the stock. Just after reading a lot, it seems most people re-cable them - I don't know if that was personal preference or if the stock cable has an issue. 

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post #9 of 31
10/22/12 at 12:26am

What amp will you be plugging the HD800 into? What are your upstream components? The HD800 isn't difficult to drive but it is incredibly brutal to inadequate gear. The stock cable is excellent imo. Get your chain sorted first, then cable if you must.

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post #10 of 31
10/22/12 at 12:28am

the stock cable is perfectly fine.

Personally I would only recable if it's too long for your liking.

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post #11 of 31
10/22/12 at 12:46am
Thread Starter 

It'll be either a Yamaha V371, Fiio 'Alpen' or Asus Essence ST

 

Yamaha for gaming/movies; Alpen is more the team-mate for my ipod when I'm on the go interstate or international; and then the Xonar Essence is my desktop card. 

 

I was looking into a Burson HA160 but never ended up buying it. 

 

10ft is actually an ideal cable length for me :)


Edited by Blaze182 - 10/22/12 at 1:02am
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post #12 of 31
10/22/12 at 8:30pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by Blaze182 View Post

Yamaha for gaming/movies; Alpen is more the team-mate for my ipod when I'm on the go interstate or international; and then the Xonar Essence is my desktop card. 

 

 

I'm not a HD800 pro or anything, but I know that driving an HD800 doesn't take a decent amp, it takes at least a good amp.(Pairing)  I tried the Schiit Lyr and the HD800 in a local headphone store and seriously, It barely sounded like a 1000$ headphone to me. The Lyr is seriously quite a good amp, but it's just not enough for the HD800. On the other hand, trying the HD800 with my friend's Wooaudio WA22  made the headphones sound like completely different headphones. 

Just wanna warn you that you would probably not be so satisfied with the HD800 if you pair it with the E17, it just won't sound like a thousand dollar gear.

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post #13 of 31
10/22/12 at 9:20pm
Thread Starter 

Maybe I should look into an Amp instead?

 

Preferably a tube at this level, with some flexibility in terms of inputs? If I go to a store I might be able to get a deal on the two... I did look at the Lyr at one stage but they were a PITA to get hold of at the time haha. 

 

Maybe I should just shut up and buy a WA amp ??

 

Perhaps a DA160 or a WDS-1 (Would be great if the WPT-1 had a USB input..) paired with a WA22...


Edited by Blaze182 - 10/22/12 at 9:54pm
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post #14 of 31
10/22/12 at 11:51pm

WOW.... Sorry, but i'm not so much into high end audio yet, so I can't help with with all these problems, especially the 1000$+ DACs. I'm not sure if your one of those guys who just have tons of money and want to go straight into high end audio and get everything that you might need, or do you just want to get everything right the first time and stay with it for a couple of years.

 

One thing I know I can do is question the genres of music you listen to, if your more into Jazz or Classical or just any more instrumental based music and you prefer a relatively slower and warmer sound signature, then I don't think this setup would disappoint you, but if you listen to POP/ROCK/DUBSTEP/TRANCE just any really faster or more "bassy" that requires exciting "thumps" then you might want to consider other headphones. 

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post #15 of 31
10/23/12 at 12:48am
Thread Starter 
Quote:
Originally Posted by Golila3 View Post

WOW.... Sorry, but i'm not so much into high end audio yet, so I can't help with with all these problems, especially the 1000$+ DACs. I'm not sure if your one of those guys who just have tons of money and want to go straight into high end audio and get everything that you might need, or do you just want to get everything right the first time and stay with it for a couple of years.

 

One thing I know I can do is question the genres of music you listen to, if your more into Jazz or Classical or just any more instrumental based music and you prefer a relatively slower and warmer sound signature, then I don't think this setup would disappoint you, but if you listen to POP/ROCK/DUBSTEP/TRANCE just any really faster or more "bassy" that requires exciting "thumps" then you might want to consider other headphones. 

Hmm, I'd like to sound sophisticated and say classical - which I do listen to 'epic' music, such as O fortuna.. basically anything from the London Philharmonic Orchestra. 

 

That said the bulk of my listening is more modern music, RnB, dance, rock, I can do trance from time to time but my main focus is on RnB dance n rock.

 

I don't have 'tons' of money, haha, I wish! I'd just rather purchase right the first time round and have flexibility and quality in a system. Spending $600-800 to me on a Mid/high level dac when a top model can be had at ~$1,200 seems rather nutty, likewise with a 'good' amp costing in similar regions. 

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