[RedBull]

Just watched an awesome sci-fi movie titled "Europa Report". Forgot how great the movie experience can be using the HD800

+1 hd800 is my #1 choice for movie!!!
Oblivion sounds awesome too with it.

 Congrats..

  My hd800 is with serial number 21XXX ..hmm i did not notice any brightness in treble.

+1 no brightness at all, it's definitely below stax 2170, sa3000, grado sr60 and sometimes below hd650, only that hd650 vocal is more fuller and forward, while there's a distance between the singer and me with hd800 (bit further).

 

[drez]

I sometimes become frustrated at the english language.  "Not bright at all" or translates to something like "it's bright, but not enough to be adverse."  At least I sincerely hope this is what is being said.  If you have an unmodified HD800 that is not bright please send it to Tyll or Purrin for measurement.
 
If I were someone new to this hobby or had a poor comprehension of various idioms and turns of phrase in the English language, and I came to this thread I might read these white lies and not realise that although they point to a genuine statement of subjective opinion, I might think "Yep, I don't like bright headphones. but HD800's aren't bright so I'll buy them."
 
Don't get me wrong, I appreciate the hell out of the HD800's, but I appreciate them for what the are, fast, agile, mostly neutral, revealing, detailed, and maybe I even appreciate the brightness at times.  
 
We don't need to meander around with misleading flattery to express appreciation of a headphone.

 

[Sorrodje]

  I sometimes become frustrated at the english language.  "Not bright at all" or translates to something like "it's bright, but not enough to be adverse."  At least I sincerely hope this is what is being said.  If you have an unmodified HD800 that is not bright please send it to Tyll or Purrin for measurement.
 
If I were someone new to this hobby or had a poor comprehension of various idioms and turns of phrase in the English language, and I came to this thread I might read these white lies and not realise that although they point to a genuine statement of subjective opinion, I might think "Yep, I don't like bright headphones. but HD800's aren't bright so I'll buy them."
 
Don't get me wrong, I appreciate the hell out of the HD800's, but I appreciate them for what the are, fast, agile, mostly neutral, revealing, detailed, and maybe I even appreciate the brightness at times.  
 
We don't need to meander around with misleading flattery to express appreciation of a headphone.

 
 
+1 !
 
I really enjoy my HD800 but this headphone is definetely on the bright side of neutrality. That said, HD800 is IMO very different from other bright cans I tried. HD800 brings body and impact and bottom to its brightness. That makes hd800 an extraordinary headphone in my opinion. HD800 never sounded thin or light in my experience and HD800's bass and sub bass ( real bass not the fun mid bass like so many headphones) amaze me each time I use mine. With inappropriate source or amp the HD800 can sound harsh or sterile because decay is short and attacks are strong. Upstream gear has to bring smoothness and "meat" to the table in order to compliment HD800 strenghts. Then HD800 can sound at the same time slightly bright AND slightly warm AND well bodied. And then the audio experience become really impressive.

 

[AgentXXL]

I sometimes become frustrated at the english language.  "Not bright at all" or translates to something like "it's bright, but not enough to be adverse."  At least I sincerely hope this is what is being said.  If you have an unmodified HD800 that is not bright please send it to Tyll or Purrin for measurement.

If I were someone new to this hobby or had a poor comprehension of various idioms and turns of phrase in the English language, and I came to this thread I might read these white lies and not realise that although they point to a genuine statement of subjective opinion, I might think "Yep, I don't like bright headphones. but HD800's aren't bright so I'll buy them."

Don't get me wrong, I appreciate the hell out of the HD800's, but I appreciate them for what the are, fast, agile, mostly neutral, revealing, detailed, and maybe I even appreciate the brightness at times.  

We don't need to meander around with misleading flattery to express appreciation of a headphone.

I'm on the fence when it comes to comments like yours. I will 100% agree with the two sections I bolded. It's my opinion and understand from everything I've read (subjective or otherwise) that the HD800s are a bright headphone. That said, there are others out there like myself that just don't hear it, plain and simple, even with the dreaded 6KHz peak (that doesn't always appear in measurements). It's likely due to the fact that our hearing (mine for sure) is fubar or the fact that we all have different ears and brains.

I work in healthcare and have had the opportunity to have my hearing and that of co-workers tested by an audiologist numerous times after having repaired their equipment (calibrated using NIST reference standards). We all have different audiometric curves and hence we all hear things differently.

That said, I can't and won't dismiss the comments of the majority of the forum readers in declaring the HD800 a bright headphone. I'm just lucky enough not to be affected by it and I get to enjoy my pair as much or maybe more than others. Just because we don't hear the brightness doesn't mean our comments or opinions shouldn't be expressed.

Dale

 

[rawrster]

There is a slight tilt towards the bright side of neutrality (compared to something like a LCD2/3) but I wouldn't say it's as bad as it may be perceived. Something like a Grado (in production and not something like the HP1000) I would consider very bright but the HD800  isn't too bad. A bit of gear matching and it's fine for me. 

 

[magiccabbage]

I'm on the fence when it comes to comments like yours. I will 100% agree with the two sections I bolded. It's my opinion and understand from everything I've read (subjective or otherwise) that the HD800s are a bright headphone. That said, there are others out there like myself that just don't hear it, plain and simple, even with the dreaded 6KHz peak (that doesn't always appear in measurements). It's likely due to the fact that our hearing (mine for sure) is fubar or the fact that we all have different ears and brains.

I work in healthcare and have had the opportunity to have my hearing and that of co-workers tested by an audiologist numerous times after having repaired their equipment (calibrated using NIST reference standards). We all have different audiometric curves and hence we all hear things differently.

That said, I can't and won't dismiss the comments of the majority of the forum readers in declaring the HD800 a bright headphone. I'm just lucky enough not to be affected by it and I get to enjoy my pair as much or maybe more than others. Just because we don't hear the brightness doesn't mean our comments or opinions shouldn't be expressed.

Dale

+1 also when using warm tubes like i am its not bright. I actually think the headphone is warm and big sounding. I suppose with a solid state amp its different story. 

 

[LugBug1]

How loud you listen is a factor as well imo. The only time treble is an issue with me is when I crank them right up.. My HD600's at the same volume aren't as fiery.  At my normal volume which admittedly is probably quite low, I've never had any issue with the treble no matter what recording (even Miles trumpet).  
 
I recently did a little comparison between the hd600's and 800's to see at what level distortion would start to creep in or the sound would deteriorate. Unfortunately my ears can't handle the kind of volume needed for this haha. But what I did discover, was that the HD800's are quite a bit more sensitive. I could get the volume a lot louder with the 600's before the treble got really annoying. 
 
I also had the sense to try 'bass only' music and so using a double bass solo I was able to crank both of them right up. But the clicks, plicks and slaps soon became very tiring with the hd800's as they pronounced the treble over the bass more so than the 600's. 
 
Anyhows, I couldn't hear any distortions on either, but the 800's are really quite amazing, boy can these cats get loud! - the control and resolution didn't seem to change at all, even the sub bass stayed tight. The 600's blurred a little and the bass had more bloom at super high volume. The bass on the hd600's is not on par with the HD800's anyway, but they do have a nice controlled punch to them, though it doesn't extend very low in comparison.
 
So that was it... HD800's stayed the same at stupid volume. The HD600's didn't seem to distort, but did not show the same control as they do at lower volumes.
 
This was done with a Sansui 551 which is very loud (louder than any headphone amp). This amp is loud at 8 oclock - I cranked it up to 11-12 for the test. I wouldn't recommend anyone doing this simply for your hearing. I played in bands for 20 year so I'm used to loud and I only did it for very short periods. 
 
A pointless test, but a fun one  

 

[Sorrodje]

Don't get me wrong. HD800's slightly brightness is not an issue in my opinion. It's only the inherent personality of HD800.

    

 

[daverich4]

+1 also when using warm tubes like i am its not bright. I actually think the headphone is warm and big sounding. I suppose with a solid state amp its different story. 

I'm with you. I listened to my HD800's for a year driven by a Headroom Max and they were so bright they made my HD600's sound like there was cotton stuffed in the cups. Finally, last January, I got tired of listening fatigue after an hour and bought a Woo Audio WA22, rolled in some of the recommended tubes and have been in listening heaven ever since.

 

[navigavi]

I do experience brightness from the HD 800's. But it's only on high volume and particular vocal songs that I really notice it. (hissing s) And even then it's not really disturbing. Though I do think my violectric stack (HPA v200, DAC v800) kind of tames it. I'm using kimber cable hero interlinks with stock hd800 cables.

 

[roskodan]

i think there is quite a difference between hd800s, there are bright ones, and may i say dark ones as well, with my i didn't experience any brightness, even at pot to the metal, v800 xlr  to v200, see graph in my pics
 
while the one i auditioned at the local dealer store was quite sparkly, but not harsh, unlike the t1 which is on the harsh side in the peak region, all from v800 v200

 

[Sorrodje]

Indeed I've observed myself slight differences between two HD800. I've tested a new pair ( I don't know anything about its past burn in) that sound a tad brighter thant mine. Very slight difference though.  
 
I think there're actually more differences between listeners . i persnally haven't any issue with HD800 treble but some people really can't use it more than few seconds. Other people can't tolerate my Ultrasone's treble . We tried a Beyerdynamic T1 recently and I didn't find it harsh ou picky but a friend of mine who haven't any issue with HD800 hates T1's treble peak. 
 
We're not equal in front of sound signatures.  That said all HD800 measurements ( no ears , no personal bias ) show that HD800 has a slight emphasis in the 5-9 khz range.     

 

[BournePerfect]

I've owned 3 different HD800s from the 14xxx-19xxx rang and they've all sounded identical to my ears-only changing as the upstream gear changed. That said-there's already another thread discussing this

:
 
http://www.head-fi.org/t/646871/new-hd-800-very-different-than-the-old-hd-800
 
-Daniel

 

[magiccabbage]

Any takers? 
 
http://www.head-fi.org/t/687115/sennheiser-orpheus-he90-and-hev90

 

[Sorrodje]

  I've owned 3 different HD800s from the 14xxx-19xxx rang and they've all sounded identical to my ears-only changing as the upstream gear changed. That said-there's already another thread discussing this

:
 
http://www.head-fi.org/t/646871/new-hd-800-very-different-than-the-old-hd-800
 
-Daniel

 
The two HD800 I compared were plugged in the same rig.  They shared quite the same signature for sure. The Demo model what a tad brighter than mine though 

. A friend of mine was there and agreed with me. We tried to use the two HD800 in order to A/B my MG Head VS a trafomatic Head one and we perceived more brightness from one rig. then we plugged the two HD800 in the same amp ( the MG Head) and we could still notice differences. We stopped using the demo model immediately. Our interest was to compare amps not cans.