[cactus_farmer]

I have the K712 Pro that has fairly impressive soundstage for its price, but it is over 7x cheaper than the HD800s.

Is there anything that would be a level up from the K712 Pro soundstage but still half the price of the HD800s?

DMS seems the thing that the HarmonicDyne Zeus has a significantly wider soundstage than the DT 1990 Pro (which already is barely narrower than the K712 Pro to my ears) - has anyone heard that?

 

[539465]

the DT990 has wide soundstage heard it's a bit wider than 1990

also argons

 

[BIG POPPA]

Beyerdynamic T1 version 1 or 2 are pretty close. Don't know about version 3 since its 32Ohm when rhe previous was 600 ohms. Would recommend version 1 or 2 to check out.

 

[Deolum]

No. The AKG K702 and so i guess the 712 too has the best soundstage in this category. You won't find anything better. The only thing that comes to mind is one of the old Stax Lamdas like the Lamda Pro.

 

[wazzupi]

Arya and Golden Planar GL2000

 

[cactus_farmer]

Arya and Golden Planar GL2000

Thanks, well Arya is just as expensive as HD800s, and I've seen mixed reviews on GL2000 - and it's only really Zeos who's saying that the soundstage is anything exceptional.

 

[cactus_farmer]

Is the HarmonicDyne Zeus a good contender for 'budget' HD800s - only in terms of soundstage and disregarding tuning?

 

[cfranchi]

Fidelio X2

 

[SilverEars]

Beyerdynamic T1 version 1 or 2 are pretty close. Don't know about version 3 since its 32Ohm when rhe previous was 600 ohms. Would recommend version 1 or 2 to check out.

I never thought T1 had similar sound stage as it's more of closed design. 800's sound stage is pretty unique. It's oval shaped vertically. I say AKG K7 series come close, but that's about it, it's not similar in shape. Imaging on the K7 is fairly avg though.

So, the new oval earcup shaped Hifimans share some similarities, but in terms of how the imaging is stretched vertically. 800 appears wider in the width due to the flat imaging in the outer perimeter, but Hifimans have more of the layering to the imaging or depth. That's what differentiates them. AKG K7 series comes closer due to both having that mylar dynamic flat imaging, although K7 series is more blobby.

 

[xanlamin]

No, Zeus is not a good contender at all. Beyers also do not have wide soundstage. The closest contender would be what SilverEars said above - the oval earcup Hifimans and you might want to consider the Ananda which is quite affordable. Another contender would be AKG K812 but it is still closer to your head as compared to the HD800S.

 

[kman1211]

Beyerdynamic T1 version 1 or 2 are pretty close. Don't know about version 3 since its 32Ohm when rhe previous was 600 ohms. Would recommend version 1 or 2 to check out.

The gen 3 has a wider soundstage and is more resolving than the gen 1 & 2. Much bassier and darker though so not everyone will like the change sound wise but it’s also physically more open. None of the T1’s came close to the HD 800 in terms of soundstage size imho as I never found the T1 Gen 1 and 2 all that wide and only the gen 3 comes off as somewhat wide sounding to me, but still not AKG K7 series wide.

 

[cactus_farmer]

No, Zeus is not a good contender at all. Beyers also do not have wide soundstage. The closest contender would be what SilverEars said above - the oval earcup Hifimans and you might want to consider the Ananda which is quite affordable. Another contender would be AKG K812 but it is still closer to your head as compared to the HD800S.

Have you heard the Zeus? DMS says it is 'like a concert hall on your head' and says it sounds wider than the DT 1990 Pro which I have and think sounds nearly as wide as my AKG K712.

About half of the reviews I've read say the Zeus has a wide soundstage and half say it hasn't. Same thing with the Gold Planar GL2000. I wonder if soundstage is a very listener-dependent attribute and/or has psychoacoustic properties since the headphone provides the cues but ultimately the listener needs to suspend disbelief and imagine the soundstage...?

 

[xanlamin]

Yes, I heard it but I think it's too far-fetched to say that it was like a concert hall. Plus, the tuning was rather bad. Personally. I think it would be hard to replicate the wide soundstage of the HD800S without adopting the angled driver design. There are 2 other headphones that may be able to compete - AKG K1000 and Sony MDR-MA900. I have not heard the AKG K1000 but used to own the MA900 which I thought had a very good soundstage as well

 

[Kammerat Rebekka]

Soundstage in headphones is vastly overrated. It’s like comparing biceps on bunnies.

 

[cactus_farmer]

Soundstage in headphones is vastly overrated. It’s like comparing biceps on bunnies.

Have you heard the HD800s? If so, would you say that the soundstage is bigger than other headphones, but still not impressively so?