Why do HD800 headphones sounded weak when hook up to an iPod - Page 3  

 

+1

I'm of the understanding that the vendor didn't take the customer seriously in this case.

In a quiet environment the hd800s will sound exquisite through the headphone output of an ipod and will go louder through my portable cd player or my laptop.
In listening tests youll be struggling to pick up much difference between the standard headphone out connections and external amplifiers.
I have still got and still use 2 external amplifiers so although this may sound ambiguous I am not sure the £600 I spent on these items was my most intelligent purchase given that I cannot reliably tell them apart from the headphone jack of my phone or laptop under blind testing conditions.
Given that the amplifier by definition is designed to increase the volume of a source connected to it and most of the bs written about the most expensive ones state they do not colour the sound at all and are "liquid" or "transparent" I think it's justified to issue a word of warning before someone makes a purchase here.
I have no axe to grind here and I would be blissfully happy if I was able to prove my kit makes a difference to the sound quality. But unfortunately I can't. And it takes some guts to admit that.

Hi Daniel. Headphone amplifiers. .... I have a Fidelity audio hpa200 SE rrp £760
A Slee Novo rrp £300
An RSA the Hornet rrp £300
An Ibasso Heron P1+ rrp £200

I don't understand why wasting such vast quantities of money going through so much different kit would lend me extra credibility in a debate like this.
I simply sniffed out the flavour of the month stuff after reading through the endless reams of hifi mags web blogs and forum posts. I made no objective decision of my own before buying any of this stuff. I merely trusted someone elses judgement.
Does that make me credible?

Nope-not until you try at least one quality amp with HD 800. These are not your grandfather's headphones-treat them to a better rig.

-Daniel

Edited by Takeanidea - 3/9/13 at 3:44am

The store he went to was obviously only using the HD800 as a showpiece.  HD800s have a good enough reputation to stand alone; it just sucks for anyone who actually wants to hear them without the ideal ancillary equipment.

Often in this hobby, you DO get what you pay for. Never truer than for the HD800 and it's lofty, finicky demands. Just because people are obsessed with bang for the buck supposed giant killers around here, doesn't mean the higher end stuff isn't truly better. It usually is-and sometimes it takesone of the most revealing headphones ever made to show that. Obviously it isn't just $$-that was a figure of speach as I put it. But higher quality amp-which yes, often cost more money *gasp!*-come better quality, lesser distortion, better dynamics yadda yadda. It then becomes a matter of synergy, and finding what suits you imo. I've personally used a couple of highly touted matches for the Senn in the Dynalo and TTVJ Fet-A and couldn't stand the sound. Brittle, dry, piercing and flat immediately come to mind. My ZDSE and DP-1 changed all that into a smooth, dynamic, musical monster that my previous rigs couldn't shake a stick at-and not just because they cost more money, duh.

-Daniel

Lofty finicky demands - huh?
Are you sure your pair aren't faulty? Mine sound great when plugged into anything. Must be my imagination

Or maybe yours aren't run in yet?
Edited by Takeanidea - 3/9/13 at 2:06pm

 

 

It's amusing that all the people laughing at the OP know less than he does.

 

The problem is not the HD800's impedance level; there's a version of the HD25 with the same impedance and it drives perfectly well from a DAP. The HD800 does not because it is much less efficient. One average high impedance phones tend to be the less efficient ones, but the two qualities are not the same.

Ignorance is bliss in many cases and certainly in this one. I think Daniel is suggesting that there are amps out there which will make the HD800 go from good to great to magical. Which I agree with based on my own experience with the HD800. Ultimately, if you enjoy the HD800's out of your amps that's great but to suggest that the HD800s don't scale with amplification is kind of a dubious claim.

I  don't know what is dubious or not, when most opinion are based on some kind of subjectives experiences, and we know how subjectivity is reliable : hearing is believing, but the reverse too. And when someone  claim that there's only a  small improvement, then you a have proponent explaining that it's the hobby of audiophile to look for any improvements, and that you have to spend a lot for them ; otherwise you don't understand what is hi-fi, or your ear are not enough good. Problem with "small improvements", is that they are often at the threshold of perception, and often it's just placebo.

 

I don't believe the "scaling" myth, merely  you enjoy some coloration / distortions  from different sources.But for a standard transparent source  able to drive the hd800, you shouldn't have to spend a fortune. Now if the lack of colorations is not enjoyable for you, it's a different matter.

 x2

 

The funny thing is, I know this for a fact. So do many other HD800 owners. Sure it can sound good out of lesser setups-but it will sound better out of better rigs. The difference in this case is that I have experienced both sides of that coin and can confidently state that. It's irritating when someone who hasn't attempted to walk the beaten path chants over and over  that he refuses to believe something without putting forth the effort to find out for himself. I'm not claiming I have the best rig ever made for the HD 800 either-I'm willing to accept (through my own journey so far), that these Senns will continue to scale to an even higher level. I'm surely not gonna tell a K 01/Pinnacle owner that his setup doesn't sound/perform better than mine because I refuse to try it. Kids these days....

 

-Daniel

What a fair attitude.  But there also people that have not experimented the scaling after trying different source (such like Takeanidea on this thread). And I  didn't notice either much difference when I  tried the hd800 at the store with their big amp, and my xonar stx at home.

Also I  don't understand all the focus on the amp, the dac is as  important, if not more. If you amplify a crappy signal, it's still crap.