Sennheiser HD800S Unveiled!

Cool

Peter...are you planning to write an review for guru?

tonynewman said:

  Today I wrecked my beloved modded HD800. I yanked a tube before my amp had fully discharged the capacitors and made a very loud BANG through the right channel. My hearing has recovered and the amp is undamaged, but the HD800 headphone is toast.
 
Sad loss, but the timing could not be better with the HD800S available. Have contacted Meier Audio - will place an order once they get back to me with the necessary details.
 
I loved the HD800, but it needed the modding to tame that treble. HD800S has that built in and a better bass response? Count me in

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Hello...
As far as I remember, Sennheiser uses, during manufacturing of HD800, exact match for both channels in any particular HD800... and they record and keep any produced HD800 detailed measurements in their database... So, it is possible, that Sennheiser service (in you country) can replace your HD800 blown-up driver with "exact match".
Hope that this information, if correct, helps somehow...

They will replace both drivers, even if they have "exact" match data, one driver has already burned in, while the other will be new.  It's still better to replace both.

khragon said:

  They will replace both drivers, even if they have "exact" match data, one driver has already burned in, while the other will be new.  It's still better to replace both.

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Sure, it will be better 'in absolute sense', but depends from finances too..
... but again, I remember that there is one (no names  ...) head-fier, who claimed in one thread that he could not hear any differences between MP3 and uncompressed audio formats... and in other thread said, that after changing standard power cord of hp-amplifier to expensive one helped to make "sound" better... (maybe both statements were 'placebo' thinking?)
So maybe I better say, that it depends from 'how much' driver is 'burned-in'.

Very early thoughts after an hour or so of listening.....
Very subtle difference in sound vs HD800, definitely less bright and pearcing in the treble but not A huge change. It's only when switching quickly between the old and new that the difference becomes more obvious . So far nothing sounds overly different other than the slightly reduced 'glare' . Bass seemed exactly the same at first but the more I listen it does have a little more presence but it's just as tight, that is more obvious switching between the 2. mids are maybe a little bit warmer but it's subtle at best. Overall the sound just seems a little warmer without taking anything away, if anything I can hear a little more detail overall because the treble isn't as distracting. All the things I love about the HD800 are still there which is a relief.
It is a very small change overall but so far I think it is definitely for the better with no obvious downside .

james-uk said:

Very early thoughts after an hour or so of listening.....
Very subtle difference in sound vs HD800, definitely less bright and pearcing in the treble but not A huge change. It's only when switching quickly between the old and new that the difference becomes more obvious . So far nothing sounds overly different other than the slightly reduced 'glare' . Bass seemed exactly the same at first but the more I listen it does have a little more presence but it's just as tight, that is more obvious switching between the 2. mids are maybe a little bit warmer but it's subtle at best. Overall the sound just seems a little warmer without taking anything away, if anything I can hear a little more detail overall because the treble isn't as distracting. All the things I love about the HD800 are still there which is a relief.
It is a very small change overall but so far I think it is definitely for the better with no obvious downside .

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I think that's exactly what HD800 owners would like to hear, and probably explains why this wasn't called the HD850!

I wonder if the change is similar to the HE-560 where one goes from the Stock Focus Pads to Focus-A pads.  The pad swap lopped off 4 or so db at the 4-5khz peak.  The resonator on the HD800S seems to lop off 4db at the 6khz peak.   The resulting change on the 560 caused its midrange to become warmer, because a lot of the harmonic energy centered around that low treble transition was subdued.  6khz isn't as responsible for as much timbral changes, but it should have a slight warming effect as well.

tmraven said:

I wonder if the change is similar to the HE-560 where one goes from the Stock Focus Pads to Focus-A pads.  The pad swap lopped off 4 or so db at the 4-5khz peak.  The resonator on the HD800S seems to lop off 4db at the 6khz peak.   The resulting change on the 560 caused its midrange to become warmer, because a lot of the harmonic energy centered around that low treble transition was subdued.  6khz isn't as responsible for as much timbral changes, but it should have a slight warming effect as well.

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That's exactly what it seems like. Couldn't of put it better. It also allows for a little more volume which makes them more satisfying . I must state that it is a small difference but it is a welcomed improvement . So far I'm very happy . To put it into perspective , I hadn't touched my Hd800 for a week or so because I had a cold and I was waiting for the S to arrive and at first I was disappointed , they just sounded like my old pair, it's only after listening for a while to re adjust to the sound and then switching back and forth that it becomes obvious . Going back to my HD800 after more time with these and they sound slightly bright.
Looks like my poor old HD800 is going to a new home.
I just want to make it clear though, the improvement is small and subtle but it's certainly welcomed to my ears, its nothing like the HD600 vs 650 difference but if I had to use that difference as a scale of warmth , then if the Hd600 is a 1 and the 650 a 10 then the HD800 are 1 and the 800S are a 3-4 at best.
I hope this helps put it into some perspective for anyone who isn't sure what to do.

Here is my little setup right now. I've got a feeling the HD600 might not gets a much headtime now. Early days though.

james-uk said:

I just want to make it clear though, the improvement is small and subtle but it's certainly welcomed to my ears, its nothing like the HD600 vs 650 difference but if I had to use that difference as a scale of warmth , then if the Hd600 is a 1 and the 650 a 10 then the HD800 are 1 and the 800S are a 3-4 at best.
I hope this helps put it into some perspective for anyone who isn't sure what to do.

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What does the Scale mean? I liked HD 600 and using it most of the time,  I am waiting on the HD 800 S, and returning my HD 800.  HD 800 S is going to be my new friend. 

nprathap said:

What does the Scale mean? I liked HD 600 and using it most of the time,  I am waiting on the HD 800 S, and returning my HD 800.  HD 800 S is going to be my new friend. 

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Sorry , that 'scale' is rubbish. I was just trying give a quantity of the difference between the HD800 v 800 S by using the Senn 6** as a Reference point as many know how they sound in relation to each other .If the difference between the 650 /600 could be simply put on a scale of 1-10 of 'warmth' then let's put the 600 at 1 and 650 at 10. Given that 'scale' then using the same one the difference in warmth between the 800 and 800S would be 800 at 1 and 800S at 3.
In other words don't expect a huge difference from 800 to 800 S like going from 600 to 650.

james-uk said:

Sorry , that 'scale' is rubbish. I was just trying give a quantity of the difference between the HD800 v 800 S by using the Senn 6** as a Reference point as many know how they sound in relation to each other .If the difference between the 650 /600 could be simply put on a scale of 1-10 of 'warmth' then let's put the 600 at 1 and 650 at 10. Given that 'scale' then using the same one the difference in warmth between the 800 and 800S would be 800 at 1 and 800S at 3.
In other words don't expect a huge difference from 800 to 800 S like going from 600 to 650.

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My questions was Scale of 1 to be the least and 10 be the highest right? 

HD800 stock, HD800 modded, HD800S, HD600 FR compared : 
 

 
HD800S : Red
HD800 Stock : Yellow
HD800 Modded : Blue
HD600 : Grey
 
WARNING : Measurements taken on my own headphones with my own measurement rig. DO NOT COMPARE WITH OTHER SOURCES ! . It just allow to see the difference in FR between the four options. WARNING

james-uk said:

Here is my little setup right now. I've got a feeling the HD600 might not gets a much headtime now. Early days though.

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You use a solid-state amp, which one is it?