Comparison Review: HD-800, HD-700, PM-1, and HE-560
Jan 19, 2015 at 1:50 AM Thread Starter Post #1 of 18

Thrang

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After having asked and received for a wonderful Christmas gift, the Oppo PM-1 and Oppo HA-1 amp (based on the overall great feedback here and elsewhere) - I found that I was Scroogily-disappointed with the PM-1’s. Not sonically, but simply for their poor comfort. I was seeking relief after 20 minutes generally.

That led to getting three additional headphones (while the PM-1 was still in-house), and what follows are my comparative experiences with the following:

Oppo PM-1 (Modified Leather Pads)
Sennheiser HD-700
HiFiMan HE-560
Sennheiser HD-800


Note too that preceding all of this, months earlier, was a few days with Audeze LCD-3. While they had a great warm signature and an engaging sound, they were sadistically uncomfortable - very heavy, odd cup angle, clamping pressure, and appreciable headband pain. Once I toyed with the idea of retaining an attorney to defend me in case I randomly assaulted someone during these bouts of head and ear pain, I knew it was time to move on.


Listening Environment:

- iMac 5k running the latest version of OS X Yosemite and iTunes
- 24 GB RAM
- Pure Music 2.02 (Pro-Q2 EQ enabled - modest, variable settings based on headphones, usually bell and shelf)
- Oppo HA-1 via async USB / Single Ended / Normal Gain


Music Selections from:

Brian Eno - Just Another Day On Earth
Brian Eno - Drums Between the Bells
Brian Eno - Lux
Chet Atkins & Mark Knopfler - Neck and Neck
Bobby McFerrin - Beyond Words
Daniel Lanois - Shine
Aphex Twin - Syro
Aphen Twin - Selected Ambient Works Vol 2
Bill Bruford’s Earthworks - All Heaven Broke Loose
Jon Hopkins - Contact Note
Laurie Anderson - Big Science
Uakati & Philip Glass - Aguas Da Amazonia
World Drummers Ensemble - A Coat of Many Colors
FFWD - FFWD
Wynton Marsalis - Unforgivable Blackness: The Rise and Fall of Jack Johnson
Trio De Guitares De Montréal: Garam Marsala
Talking Heads - Sand in the Vaseline
Red Hot Chili Peppers - What Hits!
Steve Reich - Music for 18 Musicians
Jon Hassell - Fascinoma

- all files full resolution AIFF or ALAC 44.1


My Goals:

- High quality headphone set-up for in-home use - no portable requirements
- Accurate, engaging, and non-fatiguing sound
- Comfort (for 1-2 hours of listening)
- investment of $1,500 to $2,500 for all gear and cabling


Summary of Ratings:
 
(Note: My scoring method is either pure genius or, as Jeremy Clarkson would say, complete rubbish. The baseline for being best in each category is 10 points. Finishers below that earn 9.5 to 0 depending upon how close or how far they are from the best. This allows, I hope, a cumulative scoring rank of which you can pick and choose what is important to you an calculate away)

Ratings like this are very dependent upon what one thinks is important, so the individual and final tallies cannot really be some absolute. If you find the PM-1’s very comfortable for example, my rating of 6 is not meaningful to you. And so on…
 
Anyway….


Points     Headphone
 
1 - Physical Comfort
10          HD-800 
8.5         HD-700 
8            HE-560 
6            PM-1 
1            Audeze LCD-3 (sorry, had to stick that one in there)
 
The HD-800 wins overall for the generous, ergonomic cup size, light weight, and modest claiming pressure. The ear pads and headband feel a tad softer to touch than while wearing them, but I can easily wear them for hours without much fuss. While lighter still, the HD-ear cup size made me a bit more aware of them throughout listening. The 560’s initially feel the nicest and softest on the head, and their headband is excellent, but after a while, it weights on me and clamps a touch much.
 
The PM-1’s just don’t work for me at all - ear feels quite cramped, headband seems luxurious, and I felt a good amount of pressure after modest listening sessions, and clamp pressure was too high. They were also the hottest to wear by far.
 
The 560’s had the worst cabling location I though, so its not uncommon to have the connectors press into your shoulders if you are relaxing in a chair and you tilt your head a bit. I also felt the cable isolation from physical touching wasn’t the best.


2 - Overall Sonic Quality
10          HD-800
8.5         PM-1
7            HE-560
6.5         HD-700
 
For the reasons stated in the specific categories below, the HD-800 was the most complete headphone out of all I tested. Nothing’s perfect, and all headphones have a signature. But what some call bright I call pure.
 
The PM-1 is a very well balanced headphone, though even with the modified ear pads, the higher registers weren’t has pure
 
The 560 was a warmer, second cousin of the LCD line, but one that has been in trouble with the law and not always invited to family get togethers.
 
The 700 was my least favorite, sounding relatively compressed compared to the others (smaller driver?), and more strident more often.


3- Low Frequency Performance (articulation, attack)
10          HD-800
9            PM-1
8            HE-560
7            HD-700
 
I’m sure some will raise eyebrows here, putting the HD-800 first in this category. Perhaps its the amp - perhaps the HA-1 drives the HD-800 very well. But I found it’s LF performance very spot on and quick. PM-1 was also very good, it a touch softer around the edges. 560 was a touch softer still. The 700 on rare occasions resembled me after Thanksgiving dinner - full, though not terribly agile.
 

4 - Low Frequency Performance (weight, palpability)
10          PM-1
9            HE-560
8.5         HD-800
8            HD-700
 
I give the nod to the PM-1 here, perhaps because its semi-open design helps, the better articulation it has over the 560 gives greater emphasis to the LF weight. The 800’s surprised me with the prodigious bass they could deliver when the material presented it, perhaps because some many have led me to believe otherwise. While certainly not a “warm” speaker, I heard organic qualities that would not lead me to describe it as a purely analytical can.
 
The 700 was not as rich in the lower registers to me.


5 - High Frequency Performance (articulation, attack)
10          HD-800
8.5         PM-1
7.5         HE-560
7            HD-700
 
Not much to be said here - the 800 is the king of the high end., with fantastic rendering of complex musical elements without every straining. The PM-1 is quite similar in its responsiveness. The 560 continues to be called warm, but in an engaging way. The 700 sounded horn-like at times.


6 - High Frequency Performance (air, extension)
10          HD-800
8.5         PM-1
8            HD-700
7.5         HE-560
 
The 800 was extraordinarily effortless at all registers, with no grain or grit. Similar with PM-1, but it did not extend as high to me. The 700 presented a bit more high frequency than the 560
 
 
7 - Soundstage
10          HD-800
8.5         HD-700
8            PM-1
8            HE-560
 
Both breadth and depth of the imaging was best with the 800. The 700 was also very good in this category, given the similar design. All were very good in this category I thought, though the 800 was in a different league.
 
 
8 - Dynamics
10          HD-800
9.5         PM-1
8.5         HE-560
8.0         HD-700    
 
Again, the 800 seemed to deliver the quietest and loudest passages best, creating a very visceral experience. PM-1 was outstanding in this area as well.        
 
 
9 - Build Quality/Materials
10         PM-1
9           HD-800
8           HD-700
7.5        HE-560
 
Oppo has really done a fantastic job with all aspects of the phone, the wood case, and providing not one but three difference ear pads with different sonic characteristics in the package. It has the highest luxury feel of them all, reminding me (in attention to detail) to the B&W P7 which my daughter uses. The Senns are very well built, but there’s not denying their high-tech, engineering first feel. Nothing wrong with that, but I wouldn’t call them luxurious. The 560’s look like the Professor on Gilligan’s Island built them from coconut shells. No, just kidding.  They are very well made, especially for the price, but at times, it looks a little an American car manufacturer trying to make something look like a Mercedes. It’s a decent copy, but it’s a copy.
 
Totals
87.5       HD-800
78          PM-1
69.5       HD-700
63          HE-560
 
 
While I don’t see dead people, I do hear things I've never heard before with the 800’s. Once you hear them, you can go back and find them with the other cans, but that only helps define the differences.
 
On Bruford/Eartherworks “Nerve” there is a percussion whip that oscillates throughout most of the song. Its texture is most refined the 800’s, more subdued with others. Brian Eno often layers multiple live takes of the same lyric to achieve a slight imprecision in the recordings, and those subtleties are best represented with the 800’s. The complexity in Gavin Harrisons’ double bass drum work in “Futile” is all the more remarkable with the 800’s. The ambience of Atkins/Knopfler’s “Neck and Neck” is exquisite, and the percussive attacks in Reich’s “Music for 18 Musicians” and Glass’ "Aguas Da Amazonia” are palpable and deeply layered without ever losing definition and space. Even “Syro,” which contains a lot of complicated electronic rhythms and layered treatments, along with Eno’s ethereal “Bottomliners” playback equally and exceedingly well. Close mic’d vocals (McFerrin, Lanois, and titles  on Eno’s “Drums Between the Bells”) feel live.
 
Putting aside, for me, the PM-1’s comfort, one could be happy with any of these phones. I’m perhaps accentuating differences to help convey them. But when you do compare them side by side, you can appreciate the capabilities and musicality of the 800’s. With the right setup and quality source material, they are immersive and transportive.
 
I've orded a balanced cable for the 800's - the balanced output was better for the PM-1's, so I'm presuming I will see similar gains with a balanced set-up for the 800
 
Hope this was helpful to some.


As with anything, more time might refine this opinion and scoring, as I've spent a few days with all the phones. If there are any noticeable revisions to this opinion I'll update this thread accordingly
 
Jan 19, 2015 at 9:05 AM Post #2 of 18
Some photos of the current set-up, post-comparison. I may try a different cable, but there's nothing immediately wrong with the ZY cables balanced I purchased on Amazon, other than I wouldn't mind it being a bit longer.
 
I purchased a 10 foot Laird professional 4 pin XLR cable from BH Photo to extend it to my desk (this setup is adjacent to my lounge chair on the other side of the room) But when I connected it, no sound at all.
 
I tested the pin outs, and the 2nd and 3rd pin would not tone - when I opened the connector, those pins didn't even have wires soldered to them. So much for a professional cable!
 
 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 
Jan 20, 2015 at 12:17 AM Post #5 of 18
Thanks for posting a partial comparison consistent with what I am planning to do at a future San Francisco, CA, USA meet - the medium-Z showdown I'm setting up as of January 2015 has been postponed multiple times for hard schedule conflicts.  The Sennheiser® HD-700 and HD-800 are already in my list of candidates for a headset for my Asus® CM1630-06 as modified, which packs a XONAR® STX audio card (see also "Recommendable headphones and/or headsets for Asus XONAR Essence Series?," Post 15); I've preplanned an STX II for a Win10-box project.
 
This review puts the HD-800 as the Sennheiser® submission apparent.  I've yet to get enough information to narrow the field to one model for beyerdynamic®.  The AKG®/Harman® K612 and McIntosh® MHP1000 are the remaining known candidates.  Oppo® Digital may yet have a spoiler in the low-impedance PM-1, which presents a pure-resistive load to the STX' Texas Instruments® TP6120A2.
 
Jan 20, 2015 at 2:29 PM Post #6 of 18
Thrang,
 
You probably thought I was giving you a bit of grief on the other thread but that was not my intent. Anyway, very nice write-up and comparison. Your comments on the HD-700 are consistent with my own and many others and the less said about them the better (no offense to owners intended). On many of the technicalities you broke out above I would probably out the HE-560 ahead of the Oppo (in fairness I am thinking about my PM-2, not the PM-1 which I have only had very limited time with), although overall I like the Oppo better than the HE-560, hence my purchase of the PM-2. It is unfortunate that the PM-1 are so uncomfortable for you. People should note that these are very personal things, and that many people find the Oppo extremely comfortable.  Even Audeze owners don't usually tout their weight/ergonomics as a positive; it is more along the lines of not so bad, I can live with it, I don't notice; but nobody actually says they are really comfortable.  But a lot of us actually find the Oppo super-comfy. Sounds like a bad fit for you though.
 
Not sure if you are keeping the PM-1 or may return it, but if you still have it I would be interested in your view as to how much it scales. Can you listen through a portable or tablet and compare to your HA-1.  One of the criticisms I read over and over about the Oppo is that while they sound decent to good out of anything, that they just don't scale with better equipment, which the HD800, among others, definitely does.  My main critiques of the PM-2 is that the soundstage is a little narrow for open cans and while the bass response is deep, it lacks some punch/slam. But I use them either our of my phone or my Marantz integrated, which while decent (talking about the Marantz now, not the phone), probably does not compare to a dedicated head amp. Wondering if these areas improve much when using the Oppo amp in those regards (soundstage; slam).
 
Jan 20, 2015 at 3:18 PM Post #7 of 18
  Thrang,
 
You probably thought I was giving you a bit of grief on the other thread but that was not my intent. Anyway, very nice write-up and comparison. Your comments on the HD-700 are consistent with my own and many others and the less said about them the better (no offense to owners intended). On many of the technicalities you broke out above I would probably out the HE-560 ahead of the Oppo (in fairness I am thinking about my PM-2, not the PM-1 which I have only had very limited time with), although overall I like the Oppo better than the HE-560, hence my purchase of the PM-2. It is unfortunate that the PM-1 are so uncomfortable for you. People should note that these are very personal things, and that many people find the Oppo extremely comfortable.  Even Audeze owners don't usually tout their weight/ergonomics as a positive; it is more along the lines of not so bad, I can live with it, I don't notice; but nobody actually says they are really comfortable.  But a lot of us actually find the Oppo super-comfy. Sounds like a bad fit for you though.
 
Not sure if you are keeping the PM-1 or may return it, but if you still have it I would be interested in your view as to how much it scales. Can you listen through a portable or tablet and compare to your HA-1.  One of the criticisms I read over and over about the Oppo is that while they sound decent to good out of anything, that they just don't scale with better equipment, which the HD800, among others, definitely does.  My main critiques of the PM-2 is that the soundstage is a little narrow for open cans and while the bass response is deep, it lacks some punch/slam. But I use them either our of my phone or my Marantz integrated, which while decent (talking about the Marantz now, not the phone), probably does not compare to a dedicated head amp. Wondering if these areas improve much when using the Oppo amp in those regards (soundstage; slam).


Grief in what thread? Sorry I didn't see that...so until you give me a link I'll be nice...
bigsmile_face.gif

 
(edit: oh, about buying and trying multiple phones? No worries, that doesnt phase me...)
 
Yes, the PM-1 was just a poor comfort experience all the way around for me...I don't have unusually large elephantine ears either. so I'm mildly surprised this isn't noted more often.
 
I think if there was no comfort issue PM-1, I never would have brought the other phones in to experiment...it's quite good sonically, especially that's its not weak in some areas and super strong in others - very good performance throughout all aspects.
 
Unfortunately, the PM-1's went back yesterday - needed to get the refunds rolling back in on my CC. All I can say is that off the HA-1, the PM-1's sound a bit better on the balanced output vs the single ended. A bit more smooth, dynamic, and spacious.
 
I'm guessing a revealing phone will makes the weak links in the chain more apparent, but I didn't try with my iPhone, since I was never thinking portable use.
 
The balanced cable for the 800 should be here today, so curious how that sounds.
 
Jan 20, 2015 at 4:53 PM Post #8 of 18
Thrang, so let me ask you this. How did you find the bass slam/punch of the PM-1 out of the HA-1 as compared to say your memory of the Audeze cans from when you had those.
 
Jan 20, 2015 at 5:17 PM Post #9 of 18
Thrang, so let me ask you this. How did you find the bass slam/punch of the PM-1 out of the HA-1 as compared to say your memory of the Audeze cans from when you had those.


Hmm...it's been a bit since I had the LCD-3's...if my recollection is accurate, lelt me give the crudest of sports analogies, and as a New Yorker, I hope the first reference makes sense!

The PM-1's bass performance is like (in his prime) Jaromir Jagr.. Very muscular low (rear) end, fast, and very agile. But very lean!

The Audeze is like vintage John Daly bombing drives. Big, smooth, occasionally out of control, probably a touch soft in the middle which somehow improves performance.

Both are very enjoyable to watch, but for very different reasons.

I think a lot of this is balance of the phone, If the phone is a little rolled off at the high end (are the Audeze, I think yes), one naturally turns up the volume which, by the nature of the curve means, the bass is a little more prominent. There are other qualities of speed and extension of course, but my two cents based on what I've heard.

Because the 800's seem relatively uniform in response, I find I can play them lower with immense enjoyment.

Edit: changed metaphorical golfer reference!
 
Jan 21, 2015 at 9:31 AM Post #10 of 18
  After having asked and received for a wonderful Christmas gift, the Oppo PM-1 and Oppo HA-1 amp (based on the overall great feedback here and elsewhere) - I found that I was Scroogily-disappointed with the PM-1’s. Not sonically, but simply for their poor comfort. I was seeking relief after 20 minutes generally.

That led to getting three additional headphones (while the PM-1 was still in-house), and what follows are my comparative experiences with the following:

Oppo PM-1 (Modified Leather Pads)
Sennheiser HD-700
HiFiMan HE-560
Sennheiser HD-800


Note too that preceding all of this, months earlier, was a few days with Audeze LCD-3. While they had a great warm signature and an engaging sound, they were sadistically uncomfortable - very heavy, odd cup angle, clamping pressure, and appreciable headband pain. Once I toyed with the idea of retaining an attorney to defend me in case I randomly assaulted someone during these bouts of head and ear pain, I knew it was time to move on.


Listening Environment:

- iMac 5k running the latest version of OS X Yosemite and iTunes
- 24 GB RAM
- Pure Music 2.02 (Pro-Q2 EQ enabled - modest, variable settings based on headphones, usually bell and shelf)
- Oppo HA-1 via async USB / Single Ended / Normal Gain


Music Selections from:

Brian Eno - Just Another Day On Earth
Brian Eno - Drums Between the Bells
Brian Eno - Lux
Chet Atkins & Mark Knopfler - Neck and Neck
Bobby McFerrin - Beyond Words
Daniel Lanois - Shine
Aphex Twin - Syro
Aphen Twin - Selected Ambient Works Vol 2
Bill Bruford’s Earthworks - All Heaven Broke Loose
Jon Hopkins - Contact Note
Laurie Anderson - Big Science
Uakati & Philip Glass - Aguas Da Amazonia
World Drummers Ensemble - A Coat of Many Colors
FFWD - FFWD
Wynton Marsalis - Unforgivable Blackness: The Rise and Fall of Jack Johnson
Trio De Guitares De Montréal: Garam Marsala
Talking Heads - Sand in the Vaseline
Red Hot Chili Peppers - What Hits!
Steve Reich - Music for 18 Musicians
Jon Hassell - Fascinoma

- all files full resolution AIFF or ALAC 44.1


My Goals:

- High quality headphone set-up for in-home use - no portable requirements
- Accurate, engaging, and non-fatiguing sound
- Comfort (for 1-2 hours of listening)
- investment of $1,500 to $2,500 for all gear and cabling


Summary of Ratings:
 
(Note: My scoring method is either pure genius or, as Jeremy Clarkson would say, complete rubbish. The baseline for being best in each category is 10 points. Finishers below that earn 9.5 to 0 depending upon how close or how far they are from the best. This allows, I hope, a cumulative scoring rank of which you can pick and choose what is important to you an calculate away)

Ratings like this are very dependent upon what one thinks is important, so the individual and final tallies cannot really be some absolute. If you find the PM-1’s very comfortable for example, my rating of 6 is not meaningful to you. And so on…
 
Anyway….


Points     Headphone
 
1 - Physical Comfort
10          HD-800 
8.5         HD-700 
8            HE-560 
6            PM-1 
1            Audeze LCD-3 (sorry, had to stick that one in there)
 
The HD-800 wins overall for the generous, ergonomic cup size, light weight, and modest claiming pressure. The ear pads and headband feel a tad softer to touch than while wearing them, but I can easily wear them for hours without much fuss. While lighter still, the HD-ear cup size made me a bit more aware of them throughout listening. The 560’s initially feel the nicest and softest on the head, and their headband is excellent, but after a while, it weights on me and clamps a touch much.
 
The PM-1’s just don’t work for me at all - ear feels quite cramped, headband seems luxurious, and I felt a good amount of pressure after modest listening sessions, and clamp pressure was too high. They were also the hottest to wear by far.
 
The 560’s had the worst cabling location I though, so its not uncommon to have the connectors press into your shoulders if you are relaxing in a chair and you tilt your head a bit. I also felt the cable isolation from physical touching wasn’t the best.


2 - Overall Sonic Quality
10          HD-800
8.5         PM-1
7            HE-560
6.5         HD-700
 
For the reasons stated in the specific categories below, the HD-800 was the most complete headphone out of all I tested. Nothing’s perfect, and all headphones have a signature. But what some call bright I call pure.
 
The PM-1 is a very well balanced headphone, though even with the modified ear pads, the higher registers weren’t has pure
 
The 560 was a warmer, second cousin of the LCD line, but one that has been in trouble with the law and not always invited to family get togethers.
 
The 700 was my least favorite, sounding relatively compressed compared to the others (smaller driver?), and more strident more often.


3- Low Frequency Performance (articulation, attack)
10          HD-800
9            PM-1
8            HE-560
7            HD-700
 
I’m sure some will raise eyebrows here, putting the HD-800 first in this category. Perhaps its the amp - perhaps the HA-1 drives the HD-800 very well. But I found it’s LF performance very spot on and quick. PM-1 was also very good, it a touch softer around the edges. 560 was a touch softer still. The 700 on rare occasions resembled me after Thanksgiving dinner - full, though not terribly agile.
 

4 - Low Frequency Performance (weight, palpability)
10          PM-1
9            HE-560
8.5         HD-800
8            HD-700
 
I give the nod to the PM-1 here, perhaps because its semi-open design helps, the better articulation it has over the 560 gives greater emphasis to the LF weight. The 800’s surprised me with the prodigious bass they could deliver when the material presented it, perhaps because some many have led me to believe otherwise. While certainly not a “warm” speaker, I heard organic qualities that would not lead me to describe it as a purely analytical can.
 
The 700 was not as rich in the lower registers to me.


5 - High Frequency Performance (articulation, attack)
10          HD-800
8.5         PM-1
7.5         HE-560
7            HD-700
 
Not much to be said here - the 800 is the king of the high end., with fantastic rendering of complex musical elements without every straining. The PM-1 is quite similar in its responsiveness. The 560 continues to be called warm, but in an engaging way. The 700 sounded horn-like at times.


6 - High Frequency Performance (air, extension)
10          HD-800
8.5         PM-1
8            HD-700
7.5         HE-560
 
The 800 was extraordinarily effortless at all registers, with no grain or grit. Similar with PM-1, but it did not extend as high to me. The 700 presented a bit more high frequency than the 560
 
 
7 - Soundstage
10          HD-800
8.5         HD-700
8            PM-1
8            HE-560
 
Both breadth and depth of the imaging was best with the 800. The 700 was also very good in this category, given the similar design. All were very good in this category I thought, though the 800 was in a different league.
 
 
8 - Dynamics
10          HD-800
9.5         PM-1
8.5         HE-560
8.0         HD-700    
 
Again, the 800 seemed to deliver the quietest and loudest passages best, creating a very visceral experience. PM-1 was outstanding in this area as well.        
 
 
9 - Build Quality/Materials
10         PM-1
9           HD-800
8           HD-700
7.5        HE-560
 
Oppo has really done a fantastic job with all aspects of the phone, the wood case, and providing not one but three difference ear pads with different sonic characteristics in the package. It has the highest luxury feel of them all, reminding me (in attention to detail) to the B&W P7 which my daughter uses. The Senns are very well built, but there’s not denying their high-tech, engineering first feel. Nothing wrong with that, but I wouldn’t call them luxurious. The 560’s look like the Professor on Gilligan’s Island built them from coconut shells. No, just kidding.  They are very well made, especially for the price, but at times, it looks a little an American car manufacturer trying to make something look like a Mercedes. It’s a decent copy, but it’s a copy.
 
Totals
87.5       HD-800
78          PM-1
69.5       HD-700
63          HE-560
 
 
While I don’t see dead people, I do hear things I've never heard before with the 800’s. Once you hear them, you can go back and find them with the other cans, but that only helps define the differences.
 
On Bruford/Eartherworks “Nerve” there is a percussion whip that oscillates throughout most of the song. Its texture is most refined the 800’s, more subdued with others. Brian Eno often layers multiple live takes of the same lyric to achieve a slight imprecision in the recordings, and those subtleties are best represented with the 800’s. The complexity in Gavin Harrisons’ double bass drum work in “Futile” is all the more remarkable with the 800’s. The ambience of Atkins/Knopfler’s “Neck and Neck” is exquisite, and the percussive attacks in Reich’s “Music for 18 Musicians” and Glass’ "Aguas Da Amazonia” are palpable and deeply layered without ever losing definition and space. Even “Syro,” which contains a lot of complicated electronic rhythms and layered treatments, along with Eno’s ethereal “Bottomliners” playback equally and exceedingly well. Close mic’d vocals (McFerrin, Lanois, and titles  on Eno’s “Drums Between the Bells”) feel live.
 
Putting aside, for me, the PM-1’s comfort, one could be happy with any of these phones. I’m perhaps accentuating differences to help convey them. But when you do compare them side by side, you can appreciate the capabilities and musicality of the 800’s. With the right setup and quality source material, they are immersive and transportive.
 
I've orded a balanced cable for the 800's - the balanced output was better for the PM-1's, so I'm presuming I will see similar gains with a balanced set-up for the 800
 
Hope this was helpful to some.


As with anything, more time might refine this opinion and scoring, as I've spent a few days with all the phones. If there are any noticeable revisions to this opinion I'll update this thread accordingly

Perfect!!! Thank You so much for the detail. I have the HD700s with the oppo HA-1, Now i know what my next pair will be!!! HD800s!! The wonderful thing is that my HD700s scored a 69.5 and to my ears they are outstanding, and i can now imagine how the HD800s would be ahead of time. Now the question is which headphones will be invented that score a 99.9! I have multiple completed designs in my head, no offers please.
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Jan 21, 2015 at 9:45 AM Post #11 of 18
Perfect!!! Thank You so much for the detail. I have the HD700s with the oppo HA-1, Now i know what my next pair will be!!! HD800s!! The wonderful thing is that my HD700s scored a 69.5 and to my ears they are outstanding, and i can now imagine how the HD800s would be ahead of time. Now the question is which headphones will be invented that score a 99.9! I have multiple completed designs in my head, no offers please.:L3000:


Well, my half-baked scoring system has nine categories, so 90 would be the highest score, and this also presumes one generally agrees with my categorization. Further, everything is equally weighted, so there's only so far one can take another person's assessment.

I will say that the 800 was notably better than the 700, though for some, they will need to assess the value of the improvement given the doubling of cost.
 
Jan 21, 2015 at 9:58 AM Post #12 of 18
Well, my half-baked scoring system has nine categories, so 90 would be the highest score, and this also presumes one generally agrees with my categorization. Further, everything is equally weighted, so there's only so far one can take another person's assessment.

I will say that the 800 was notably better than the 700, though for some, they will need to assess the value of the improvement given the doubling of cost.

Yes my mistake. 90 being the highest score does make the HD800s very good. If they ever go on sale i will grab them. Something tells me that even with the HD800s things can still go higher from there. The headphone technology has not been perfected yet, think we need a few more decades for that, same with speakers in my opinion. We are getting there. The Goal? To be able to close our eyes and not be able to distinguish reality from recorded.
 
Jan 21, 2015 at 10:08 AM Post #13 of 18
Yes my mistake. 90 being the highest score does make the HD800s very good. If they ever go on sale i will grab them. Something tells me that even with the HD800s things can still go higher from there. The headphone technology has not been perfected yet, think we need a few more decades for that, same with speakers in my opinion. We are getting there. The Goal? To be able to close our eyes and not be able to distinguish reality from recorded.


Personally, I think that's impossible and not a goal of many recordings (perhaps traditional classical or jazz recordings may be closer to this idea)

There are so many amazing recordings that use sophisticated studio, mixing, EQ and filter techniques that they are impossible to reproduce effectively on a live stage. To me, most concerts never present a strong stereo image because of the inherent poor nature of live halls and limited speaker placement. It's just about volume. Much of Eno's work is incredibly nuanced and layered, and headphones allow you to hear the most subtle treatments 10 layers deep and faint in relative level...none of this could ever be recreated live.

Live also implies room interaction, and cans over your ears can never allow this, short of adding a rough approximation via DSP.
 

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