[palmfish]

  Palmfish: My sister has had hearing aids her entire life, and will probably be completely deaf sometime later in life. So I'm semi-knowledgable about hearing aids-including the DSPs that all the digital ones have nowadays-whereas hey used to be primarily analog. A lot of hearing aids have numerous DSPs to choose from, each suited towards different things by default-and almost always programmable by the audiologist. I'd suggest telling him your exact situation with headphones-and see if there's a way he can get a DSP specifically for that use-that won't change/compress like the other DSPs used for everyday circumstances. Shouldn't be that difficult assuming he is willing to put forth a little effort-and not blatantly tell you to never listen to HPs again like I'm sure would be the common knee-jerk reaction by a lot of people...keep us updated!
 
-Daniel

 
Hey Daniel, want to let you know I am reconsidering selling my HD 800's. I visited the audiologist and had him tweak some settings on my "Music Program" and things are sounding better. He had to turn the feedback suppression up a couple notches to prevent the whistling feedback and I had him attenuate the highest frequencies a couple dB to tame the shrillness. The HD 800's are still a bit splashy on top but not as bad as they were. I also reinstalled my Anax mod foam/felt rings and things are sounding pretty good overall - still not what I would call "audiophile grade" sound, but now the HD 800's definitely are several notches better than the 558's. I get a sense of air and space with them again and a clarity and ease of effort with the 800's where the 558's sound closed in and cramped and darker. I'm at the point where the difference between them is big enough that I am doubting that the 600's will suffice.
 
I don't think I will ever eliminate the fuzz surrounding some high frequency sounds (its like a bit of scratchy hash straddling the pure tone) but overall, the 800's are at the point where the 558's don't satisfy. I'm going to keep tweaking and experimenting.
 
Thanks again for the encouragement.

 

[brunk]

Wow great to hear Palmfish! Glad to see there's still an appreciable difference for you 

 

[BournePerfect]

   
Hey Daniel, want to let you know I am reconsidering selling my HD 800's. I visited the audiologist and had him tweak some settings on my "Music Program" and things are sounding better. He had to turn the feedback suppression up a couple notches to prevent the whistling feedback and I had him attenuate the highest frequencies a couple dB to tame the shrillness. The HD 800's are still a bit splashy on top but not as bad as they were. I also reinstalled my Anax mod foam/felt rings and things are sounding pretty good overall - still not what I would call "audiophile grade" sound, but now the HD 800's definitely are several notches better than the 558's. I get a sense of air and space with them again and a clarity and ease of effort with the 800's where the 558's sound closed in and cramped and darker. I'm at the point where the difference between them is big enough that I am doubting that the 600's will suffice.
 
I don't think I will ever eliminate the fuzz surrounding some high frequency sounds (its like a bit of scratchy hash straddling the pure tone) but overall, the 800's are at the point where the 558's don't satisfy. I'm going to keep tweaking and experimenting.
 
Thanks again for the encouragement.

 
Awesome! Keep tweaking!!!!!
 
Glad to hear they are satisfactory at least for now-I'm sure there's plenty more to squeeze from both the hearing aids and the rest of the rig-it'll all come together eventually. Glad to see you're already making some sound progress...
 
-Daniel

 

[longbowbbs]

 

  Palmfish: My sister has had hearing aids her entire life, and will probably be completely deaf sometime later in life. So I'm semi-knowledgable about hearing aids-including the DSPs that all the digital ones have nowadays-whereas hey used to be primarily analog. A lot of hearing aids have numerous DSPs to choose from, each suited towards different things by default-and almost always programmable by the audiologist. I'd suggest telling him your exact situation with headphones-and see if there's a way he can get a DSP specifically for that use-that won't change/compress like the other DSPs used for everyday circumstances. Shouldn't be that difficult assuming he is willing to put forth a little effort-and not blatantly tell you to never listen to HPs again like I'm sure would be the common knee-jerk reaction by a lot of people...keep us updated!
 
-Daniel

 
Hey Daniel, want to let you know I am reconsidering selling my HD 800's. I visited the audiologist and had him tweak some settings on my "Music Program" and things are sounding better. He had to turn the feedback suppression up a couple notches to prevent the whistling feedback and I had him attenuate the highest frequencies a couple dB to tame the shrillness. The HD 800's are still a bit splashy on top but not as bad as they were. I also reinstalled my Anax mod foam/felt rings and things are sounding pretty good overall - still not what I would call "audiophile grade" sound, but now the HD 800's definitely are several notches better than the 558's. I get a sense of air and space with them again and a clarity and ease of effort with the 800's where the 558's sound closed in and cramped and darker. I'm at the point where the difference between them is big enough that I am doubting that the 600's will suffice.
 
I don't think I will ever eliminate the fuzz surrounding some high frequency sounds (its like a bit of scratchy hash straddling the pure tone) but overall, the 800's are at the point where the 558's don't satisfy. I'm going to keep tweaking and experimenting.
 
Thanks again for the encouragement.

Excellent news! Now it is down to almost regular Head-Fi tweeking!

 

[thegrobe]

Palmfish- I'm glad to hear you're finding an acceptable work around. Your other posts are a heart breaker, but it's good you're finding something that works for you.

 

[palmfish]

Thanks guys.

The distortion is still an annoying distraction at times, but overall I have to say they sound pretty good. Dynamics are intact and the airy stage (my favorite aspect of the HD 800) is noticeable.

Its actually quite amazing that it sounds as good as it does considering the signal path the music is traveling along to my inner ear...

 

[PCWar]

Am waiting impatiently for my HD800. I was curious about one thing. Red the last 100 pages of the thread with the expectation to find a very limited number of amps that would go well with them and didn't found one single model. Why people keep telling they are difficult to pair then when they are so good to anyone with amps from ~100 USD Vali & O2 to 3000 USD. Will post my positive impressions paired with my Portaphile 627 when they arrive.

 

[Audio Jester]

Thanks guys.

The distortion is still an annoying distraction at times, but overall I have to say they sound pretty good. Dynamics are intact and the airy stage (my favorite aspect of the HD 800) is noticeable.

Its actually quite amazing that it sounds as good as it does considering the signal path the music is traveling along to my inner ear...

Palmfish, this is HeadFi. If it goes on/in/near your ear and vibrates it can be tweaked/modded/improved upon. I wish you the best for your new journey, the Hearing Aid Mafia is calling!

 

[palmfish]

Thanks Jester, I'm trying. I have nothing to lose.

 

[Chinafbi]

My Bifrost Uber just arrived today and I'm listening to the Lyr + Bifrost Uber Combo.  The sound is just too bright.  Yesterday, I tried the Fiio E17 DAC + Lyr (tungsgram ecc85) and the sound was just right and is really good and musical. 
 
 
Update:  I think I found the answer.  The Lyr (Tungsgram Ecc85) is not a good combination for all of my sennheser headphones.  I will try other tubes when i get them in the mail in a few days.

 

[LugBug1]

  ^^ Congrats!!
Yeah.. I'm in honeymoon mode too but with a very different system..
 
Just picked up my Naim DAC-V1 and have been listening to it on and off for the last four hours or so. The last hour solid.. I've read that it takes about 100 hours to break in but so far it just smokes the WA7 (which now sounds rough around the edges to me).  Deeper, tighter bass, vocals to die for (both male & female), precise instrumentation placement, detail galore, a sort of richness/fullness thats hard to describe (the Naim sound that I've been reading about?) and a sound stage to die for.  Smooth as silk, no sibilance.. maybe a little rough on top but still smoother than what I've had before.
 
I haven't heard the HD800 sound better. In each of the previous setups (Bifrost Uber/Lyr, WA7) I always found something lacking but not so far with the Naim.  The plan was to add a tube (Woo WA2, WA5, Raptor, Decware??) amp way down the road (after I recover from this purchase) but if the Naim is going to get better, it may be an end game for me.
 
I'll give it a few months to break in and see if the magic is still there. The WA7 lasted four months and is now up for sale. Keeping the Vali just for the sheer value and fun of it and can easily use it in the bedroom and living room.
 
Darn these HD800's.. aren't they wonderful! 

 

I would say any Naim product could be a potential endgamer. Congrats, I'd love to hear the V1. It's one of the greatest Dacs out there. 
 

   

Thats great news palmfish, maybe just need some adjusting time. I don't know if you use a computer as an audio source but you could maybe try using an EQ to tame certain freqs? It may be a case that its only one area that is causing the distortions. I use foobar and the inbuilt EQ is really quite good. I use it to tweak my K701. 
 
Or if you use a cd player, there are plenty of very good vintage graphic equalizers out there by the likes of ADC, Pioneer, Marantz, Technics. And they look verry pretty with all the lights ha! 
 
Also, I just wanted to say... No one on here has perfect hearing. In fact most of us into audio have far from perfect ears. We hammer them more than most people. I played in bands from the age of 17 to 30 playing most weekends and practising twice a week. Every gig or practice I would be a little deaf afterwards. My ears are definitely damaged to a certain extent because of this. I now avoid going to any rock/pop gigs when my friends are going. I always make some excuse because they would call me a ***** for saying that it will be too loud haha. 
 
A good ear, doesn't have to mean a perfectly working one. A good ear is experience with music/audio. Try telling Beethoven he had a bad ear! (Well he wouldn't hear you anyway but you know what I mean ) 
 
We're all routing for you, and keep us informed. 

 

[palmfish]

Originally Posted by LugBug1 /img/forum/go_quote.gif
 
Thats great news palmfish, maybe just need some adjusting time. I don't know if you use a computer as an audio source but you could maybe try using an EQ to tame certain freqs? It may be a case that its only one area that is causing the distortions. I use foobar and the inbuilt EQ is really quite good. I use it to tweak my K701. 
 
Or if you use a cd player, there are plenty of very good vintage graphic equalizers out there by the likes of ADC, Pioneer, Marantz, Technics. And they look verry pretty with all the lights ha! 
 
Also, I just wanted to say... No one on here has perfect hearing. In fact most of us into audio have far from perfect ears. We hammer them more than most people. I played in bands from the age of 17 to 30 playing most weekends and practising twice a week. Every gig or practice I would be a little deaf afterwards. My ears are definitely damaged to a certain extent because of this. I now avoid going to any rock/pop gigs when my friends are going. I always make some excuse because they would call me a ***** for saying that it will be too loud haha. 
 
A good ear, doesn't have to mean a perfectly working one. A good ear is experience with music/audio. Try telling Beethoven he had a bad ear! (Well he wouldn't hear you anyway but you know what I mean ) 
 
We're all routing for you, and keep us informed. 

 
I don't use a computer as a (direct) source so EQ will be difficult. Vintage gear, as you know, is right up my alley but I had not thought of adding a graphic equalizer...an excellent idea, although it will change my entire setup since I currently have my Squeezebox Touch feeding three components. I'm gonna dedicate some grey matter to that one.
 
And I appreciate you sharing your experience. Widening my perspective of hearing and audio helps me deal with my disability, and maybe it will also raise a red flag for some younger people here to use some caution with this hobby.

 

[BournePerfect]

Agreed-hearing damage is the elephant in the room here at Head-fi, and in most audio circles I'd presume.
 
-Daniel

 

[Rayvolution]

The HD 800 has been on a price drop for the last month on Amazon, currently sitting at $889. Anyone have any idea whats going on here?

 

[bearFNF]

Must be a pre-x-mas sale...time for a second set...