[money4me247]

  I think as far as details, soundstage, bass and treble go, W5000 is pretty close, at least out of my two setups.
Definitely closer than others mentioned.
Midrange is humped so they are not as neutral as HD800 but if I was looking for closed alternative that would be my first choice.
 
Had Mad Dogs, LCD-2.2 (not LCD-XC), D5K and now TH600. None of them even close to Senns sig and resolution.

The HD800 is not closed tho lol.
 
I think if you are getting a fancy pants pair of closed, you might as well get one that takes advantage of being closed and does it well (aka has great bass)... ala what I've read about the TH900. (rather than try to find a closed that is trying to be open with super neutral/great sound stage)

 

[Andrew_WOT]

 

  I think as far as details, soundstage, bass and treble go, W5000 is pretty close, at least out of my two setups.
Definitely closer than others mentioned.
Midrange is humped so they are not as neutral as HD800 but if I was looking for closed alternative that would be my first choice.
 
Had Mad Dogs, LCD-2.2 (not LCD-XC), D5K and now TH600. None of them even close to Senns sig and resolution.

The HD800 is not closed tho lol.
 
I think if you are getting a fancy pants pair of closed, you might as well get one that takes advantage of being closed and does it well (aka has great bass)... ala what I've read about the TH900. (rather than try to find a closed that is trying to be open with super neutral/great sound stage)

Not really sure what you were trying to say here and why you quoted my post. 

 

[money4me247]

  Not really sure what you were trying to say here and why you quoted my post. 

you listed a bunch of closed headphones (minus the LCD-2.2) & lamented about their deficiencies against the HD800, so I responded that if I was getting a end-high pair of closed headphones, I would try for closed headphones that emphasized the strengths of the closed design rather than lamenting over how they fail to reach the HD800's sound stage & sound signature which is obviously unique to open design & the specific driver tuning of that model.
 
since OP is a "headphone semi-noobie," I think he would benefit from exploring other sound signatures. There are closed headphones with great sound stage & detail while having an unique fun closed bass coloration (eg. TH900). however, on second consideration, the TH900 also leak noise, so maybe not that specific model... but in that sense.
 
Sounds good?

 

[Sxooter]

I would say the Beyerdynamic DT-770s are a closer match than the T5ps. Both have a noticeable and similar bass humps, but the 770s have less loss in the treble range than the T5p. Given the price on amazon right now of around $160 or so, they're a good deal on a starter set of closed cans.
 
=713&graphID[]=3641&graphID[]=4061&graphID[]=3791&scale=30]http://graphs.headphone.com/graphCompare.php?graphType=0&graphID[]=713&graphID[]=3641&graphID[]=4061&graphID[]=3791&scale=30

 

[Sxooter]

I would say the Beyerdynamic DT-770s are a closer match than the T5ps. Both have a noticeable and similar bass humps, but the 770s have less loss in the treble range than the T5p. Given the price on amazon right now of around $160 or so, they're a good deal on a starter set of closed cans.

 

[money4me247]

First, I need to disclose I am a headphone semi-noobie.

I recently upgraded headphones from a AKG K271 MK II to the Sennheiser HD 800. The fidelity is night and day!!! The problem is I listen to my music so loud, that when using the HD 800, everyone in the room can hear what I am listening to. It sort of defeats the purpose of using headphones in the first place.

So my question is if anyone can give me recommendations of an equally quality sounding headphone like the HD 800, but is more "closed" for true private listening? Any thoughts are most appreciated. Many thanks in advance (especially from the Mrs.)

 

gosh, you guys are getting wayyy too picky about this, throwing out bass humps over here vs treble emphasis over there. OP clearly states he is new to the headphone game & he NEVER mentions anything about the frequency response of the HD800. he never even throws out one single audiophile term describing the HD800 or mentions one specific sonic quality that he really loves about the HD800! He only mentions increased "fidelity" slash quality in the general sense.
 
pretty safe to say he is just looking for equal sound quality in the broader sense. I doubt all your detailed sub-analysis of the small differences in XYZ part of the frequency response really matters to him. It does not sound like he is looking for the closest replica of the HD800's exact specific sound signature & sound, but rather he is just looking for a closed pair of headphones worth $1.5k of sound quality. Does not sound like he's looking for a starter set of closed headphones with a similar sound signature to the HD800, but rather just a high-end high-quality pair of closed headphones.
 
edit: he doesn't even mention a hi-fi set-up, so who knows what he's even running these things out of lol.

 

[zorin]

  you listed a bunch of closed headphones (minus the LCD-2.2) & lamented about their deficiencies against the HD800, so I responded that if I was getting a end-high pair of closed headphones, I would try for closed headphones that emphasized the strengths of the closed design rather than lamenting over how they fail to reach the HD800's sound stage & sound signature which is obviously unique to open design & the specific driver tuning of that model.
 
since OP is a "headphone semi-noobie," I think he would benefit from exploring other sound signatures. There are closed headphones with great sound stage & detail while having an unique fun closed bass coloration (eg. TH900). however, on second consideration, the TH900 also leak noise, so maybe not that specific model... but in that sense.
 
Sounds good?

The guy who started this thread wants A - CLOSED headphones [that's what he means, headphones that do not leak sound] as an alternative to open HD800 and B - closed headphones with the sound signature similar to the sound signature of HD800. Obviously since he uses headphones with a balanced frequency response and with full sounding middle frequencies we can safely assume that he listens to real music and would prefer headphones that do not have recessed middle frequencies with the vocals sounding distant and removed. Should we try to be helpful to him with our suggestions ?

 

[Sxooter]

It may well be that OP is on a Unicorn hunt though. I mean even a really good set of closed cans are going to have a very different sound to an open set. Funny I just ran into this same problem the other day with a friend looking for good closed HPs for work.

And hey, I'm just talking about an emphasis on the bass, i.e. a hump in the response curve. At least I'm not using nebulous language like fast, slow, crunchy, sibiliant and talking about things that don't exist like break-in periods.

 

[zorin]

  I would say the Beyerdynamic DT-770s are a closer match than the T5ps. Both have a noticeable and similar bass humps, but the 770s have less loss in the treble range than the T5p. Given the price on amazon right now of around $160 or so, they're a good deal on a starter set of closed cans.

A good suggestion but if he can afford more expensive headphones then why not go for a better sound quality of T5p ? He can buy a  good second hand T5p on head-fi for around 850-900 dollars. The treble of T5p is more extended and at the same time less shrill and its tonality is also better. The shrill treble of HD800 is one aspect of sound that he does not have to have in his new headphones.

 

[Sxooter]

  A good suggestion but if he can afford more expensive headphones then why not go for a better sound quality of T5p ? He can buy a  good second hand T5p on head-fi for around 850-900 dollars. The treble of T5p is more extended and at the same time less shrill and its tonality is also better. The shrill treble of HD800 is one aspect of sound that he does not have to have in his new headphones.

I would hardly consider the DT770s to be shrill. My main point being since he's a noob to headphones he's probably better off not spending $600 or more on hist first pair of closed headphones. I'd recommend taking a list of the phones recommended here and going somewhere like Guitar Center where he can try some out and get a feel for various models. Who knows? He might be perfectly happyw ith a pair of ATH-M50s.
 
Compared to the DT770s and the HD800s I find the complete lack of treble above 10khz on the t5ps to be unacceptable. But each person's tastes vary, as will the OPs, so he needs to get out and hear the different headphones he's considering rather than blindly buying the most expensive thing on the shelf.

 

[Sonido]

First, I need to disclose I am a headphone semi-noobie.

I recently upgraded headphones from a AKG K271 MK II to the Sennheiser HD 800. The fidelity is night and day!!! The problem is I listen to my music so loud, that when using the HD 800, everyone in the room can hear what I am listening to. It sort of defeats the purpose of using headphones in the first place.

So my question is if anyone can give me recommendations of an equally quality sounding headphone like the HD 800, but is more "closed" for true private listening? Any thoughts are most appreciated. Many thanks in advance (especially from the Mrs.)

What's your DAC and amp? I think existing gear in the chain should be taken into consideration on what headphone you should get. For example, if you only have an OTL amp, getting a low impedance headphone would require you to get another amp. Also, since you mention you're kinda new to this stuff, it's possible you're not optimizing the HD800, and some of these closed headphones with the right amp might sound comparable to what you're used to.

 

[zorin]

  I would hardly consider the DT770s to be shrill. My main point being since he's a noob to headphones he's probably better off not spending $600 or more on hist first pair of closed headphones. I'd recommend taking a list of the phones recommended here and going somewhere like Guitar Center where he can try some out and get a feel for various models. Who knows? He might be perfectly happyw ith a pair of ATH-M50s.
 
Compared to the DT770s and the HD800s I find the complete lack of treble above 10khz on the t5ps to be unacceptable. But each person's tastes vary, as will the OPs, so he needs to get out and hear the different headphones he's considering rather than blindly buying the most expensive thing on the shelf.

"Less shrill" as compared to HD800 and not to DT770. On the other hand DT770 sounds sibilant on female vocals' upper registers on badly mastered tracks / albums  - not horrible but some sibilance is there. T5p nicely deals with this problem; I agree that the sound signature of T5p is more mellow but many like it that way. Coming from the soundstage of HD800 down to the soundstage of ATH-M50 headphones would be a shock. Other points valid.
Have a nice and peaceful Christmas.

 

[money4me247]

  The guy who started this thread wants A - CLOSED headphones [that's what he means, headphones that do not leak sound] as an alternative to open HD800 and B - closed headphones with the sound signature similar to the sound signature of HD800. Obviously since he uses headphones with a balanced frequency response and with full sounding middle frequencies we can safely assume that he listens to real music and would prefer headphones that do not have recessed middle frequencies with the vocals sounding distant and removed. Should we try to be helpful to him with our suggestions ?

If you read OP's post carefully, you will notice that he NEVER mentions anything about sound signature or balanced frequency response. He also only has 2 posts under his belt. You guys are all assuming that he wants a sound signature similar to the HD800 + balanced frequency response, but the only thing he specifically mentioned wanting was "FIDELITY," which can be defined as detail & clarity vs general sound quality.
 
I think a lot of the discussion in this thread might be going above & beyond in detail of what OP is looking for, and all this in-depth sound signature discussion may be more confusing to OP than helpful.
 
But by all means, please continue this riveting discussion of which closed headphones has the closest sound signature/most balanced frequency response. I am personally finding it very interesting hahah.

 

[Andrew_WOT]

 

  I would hardly consider the DT770s to be shrill. My main point being since he's a noob to headphones he's probably better off not spending $600 or more on hist first pair of closed headphones. I'd recommend taking a list of the phones recommended here and going somewhere like Guitar Center where he can try some out and get a feel for various models. Who knows? He might be perfectly happyw ith a pair of ATH-M50s.
 
Compared to the DT770s and the HD800s I find the complete lack of treble above 10khz on the t5ps to be unacceptable. But each person's tastes vary, as will the OPs, so he needs to get out and hear the different headphones he's considering rather than blindly buying the most expensive thing on the shelf.

"Less shrill" as compared to HD800 and not to DT770. On the other hand DT770 sounds sibilant on female vocals' upper registers on badly mastered tracks / albums  - not horrible but some sibilance is there. T5p nicely deals with this problem; I agree that the sound signature of T5p is more mellow but many like it that way. Coming from the soundstage of HD800 down to the soundstage of ATH-M50 headphones would be a shock. Other points valid.
Have a nice and peaceful Christmas.

Not related to OP question but calling HD800 "shrill" when comparing to DT770 and T5P is not quite fair, to me it's opposite, but as always "setup matters" rule applies. 

 

[brad34221]

I think a lot of the discussion in this thread might be going above & beyond in detail of what OP is looking for, and all this in-depth sound signature discussion may be more confusing to OP than helpful.

It is to a degree, but being a semi-noob, I'm reluctant to show my ignorance!

Here is the deal, in the most simple way I can explain it. I run my HD 800s directly from my McIntosh C2300 preamp, without any type of headphone amplifier at this point. The headphone output stage from the C2300 does not have to "strain" to get to my desired listening volume. When I started using the HD800, the fidelity difference (quality of sound of the music I listen to) dramatically increased!! Night to day, mono to stereo, black and white to color, etc. If it wasn't for the music leaking, I would be 100% satisfied with my current set up. There is no DAC in use. 99% of the music I listen to is vinyl. I'm an "analog man".

My desire for headphone listening is due to my wife likes to read often while I listen to my music. We don't disturb each other this way, well at least until I acquired the HD800s. Now it's "turn your music down". I listen mostly to classic rock music, but I hate to be classified to a musical niche. With the AKGs, I never had that problem since they are closed. I don't like going back to them now, I've been spoiled !!!!!!

So this is where I am now, hoping to find a pair of cans that don't leak, but can compare to the "quality of the sound" of music that I am now spoiled with due to the HD800. I hope all this makes sense.........