[pedalhead]

Quote:

Originally Posted by thechungster /img/forum/go_quote.gif Went to audition one today, and I love the sound. First thing that struck me were the mids. Oh so glorious they were! 2nd thing I noticed was the soundstage. I've never actually heard a headphone yet that made the singer in front at such ease. I didn't have to concentrate just to imagine where instruments were. Bass was deep and tight. I didn't feel it lacked impact. Treble wasn't bad at all. Extended and I didn't feel it was too in your face. The comfort was amazing, even though today my right side hurts for some reason, the comfort of them was brilliant. Would I think it's worth the price? That's a question I have not answered yet.

Hey Chungster, glad you got to hear a pair

.

 

[thechungster]

I'm quite tempted to save up for these and buy them now... Everything just felt right...

 

[pedalhead]

Quote:

Originally Posted by thechungster /img/forum/go_quote.gif I'm quite tempted to save up for these and buy them now... Everything just felt right...

Well I'm biased because they suit my taste, but do try & budget for a balanced setup if you want the best from them. From my listening tests, they really do benefit from balanced drive.

 

[music_man]

this is so weird. what everyone says about the hd800 i do not hear in them. i hear all that in the dt880. i just don't get it. the dt880 has the largest soundstage and seperation of any headphone i have ever heard. it sounds like things are feet away from your ears. it seems like everything is crammed together to me on the hd800. i don't understand how everyone has the opposite experience as me.

i am sure they are as everyone says. i just don't hear it for some reason. i doubt it's my amps. i guess my ears just don't like them. i am the oddball around here on this one i figure.

music_man

 

[pedalhead]

Quote:

Originally Posted by music_man /img/forum/go_quote.gif this is so weird. what everyone says about the hd800 i do not hear in them. i hear all that in the dt880. i just don't get it. the dt880 has the largest soundstage and seperation of any headphone i have ever heard. it sounds like things are feet away from your ears. it seems like everything is crammed together to me on the hd800. i don't understand how everyone has the opposite experience as me. i am sure they are as everyone says. i just don't hear it for some reason. i doubt it's my amps. i guess my ears just don't like them. i am the oddball around here on this one i figure. music_man

Wow yes that is weird. I could never describe the hd800 as congested. The soundstage is in fact one of it's striking qualities to my ears.

 

[thechungster]

Same for me. I was shocked by the soundstage, brilliant in depth and width

Maybe your ears don't like angled drivers? I read somewhere in the Beyer T1 thread, that angled drivers made the soundstage smaller for a particular member.

 

[immtbiker]

Quote:

Originally Posted by music_man /img/forum/go_quote.gif this is so weird.... music_man

Hey music_man, before the men in the white coats come to take you away and force you to take large quantities of Hadol, I was wondering (and I'm not going to say it in a way that influences your opinion in any way), what do you think of the soundstage/headstage, from top to bottom, on the sides by your ears. Do you hear a short or tall presentation closest to your ears, above your shoulders?
TIA.
Also, have you been taking any decongestants during what is now, ragweed season in the Northeastern US.

 

[Currawong]

Quote:

Originally Posted by music_man /img/forum/go_quote.gif this is so weird. what everyone says about the hd800 i do not hear in them. i hear all that in the dt880. i just don't get it. the dt880 has the largest soundstage and seperation of any headphone i have ever heard. it sounds like things are feet away from your ears. it seems like everything is crammed together to me on the hd800. i don't understand how everyone has the opposite experience as me. i am sure they are as everyone says. i just don't hear it for some reason. i doubt it's my amps. i guess my ears just don't like them. i am the oddball around here on this one i figure. music_man

I don't think you're crazy. A good headphone rig makes me critical, if anything, of the quality of a recording, such as how the mics were set up, and I don't think about the gear at all. This is not always a good thing, as it means that poor recordings will sound poor, and good ones good. I often listen now with HF-2s as I don't have to worry about that so much with them.

Incidentally, I was reading someone's comments on a $70k turntable + cartridge, who said that he didn't like it, as he had to spend so much time finding excellent recordings, as any even slightly poor were just unpleasant to listen to.

 

[music_man]

the top to bottom doesn't sound andy different to me. it just seems like the presentation is centered in my head. not at all what everyone else has described. i do take antihistimines year around as i have sinusitis. my ears however pass the audioligists tests.

i did not know they have angled drivers! that explains a big part of it. i get very strange results from angled drivers. which is why i mentioned i might have a problem with the t1 in that thread. also, other sonic enhancements like ultrasone totally mess things up for me.

now on the otherhand, most of my recordings are very poor. i think we have the answer.

someone try listening to graceland(extra tracks). someone must have that and the hd800,no? does it sound terrible? if not then i know these phones just do not jive with me

edit: immtbiker, what i meant is that the soundstage/headstage is no bigger than the cups in any direction. including up/down. also i find all the instruments are melted together and i cannot pick them out. i am sure it is my problem with angled drivers now that i know.
anyhow, because one finds something odd does not mean they are insane imo!


music_man

 

[ffrr]

I do not like the HD800s at all. Being a record/mix engineer, realism is of the utmost importance to me. The 800s at first really sounded enjoyable, but as I listened more and more, I became acutely aware that something just was not right. The highs and high mids are very artificial and "mechanical" sounding, really "hifi" and present, but not at all neutral.

bass is aqeduate if a little lean and the mids are pretty good..but the high end in those cans is unforgiveable, more especially at the price.


I prefer my Stax and 701s by a considerable margin, after listening /comparing for several months now.

the only other cans that intrique me at the Lawton LA7000? if AKG would add a touch more low extension(and I hate boom, HATE IT) to the 701s and do away with that uncomfortable leather headband piece, my search would be over..

 

[HeadphoneAddict]

Quote:

Originally Posted by ffrr /img/forum/go_quote.gif I do not like the HD800s at all. Being a record/mix engineer, realism is of the utmost importance to me. The 800s at first really sounded enjoyable, but as I listened more and more, I became acutely aware that something just was not right. The highs and high mids are very artificial and "mechanical" sounding, really "hifi" and present, but not at all neutral. bass is aqeduate if a little lean and the mids are pretty good..but the high end in those cans is unforgiveable, more especially at the price. I prefer my Stax and 701s by a considerable margin, after listening /comparing for several months now. the only other cans that intrique me at the Lawton LA7000? if AKG would add a touch more low extension(and I hate boom, HATE IT) to the 701s and do away with that uncomfortable leather headband piece, my search would be over..

In my rig (Macbook > PS Audio DLIII DAC > EC ZDT amp > HD800) the Sennheiser are very realistic sounding. It almost rivals the Woo GES > Stax O2 Mk1. The HD800 are not as good in terms of smoothness and refinement and maybe a little less speed, but absolutely better in the bass and impact and width of imaging. I have the Lawton LA7000 and love them as my best closed can (even sold my APS-cabled Edition 9).

I compared the LA7000 to Sony R10 at the July meet, and while not as good as the R10 they were not crushed either. However, when going back and forth between the LA7000 and HD800 today with my ZDT, the HD800 win every time. Here at RMAF everyone who has listened to the HD800 vs LA7000 prefers my HD800 (re-cabled with Fidelity-Audio.com "Double-Helix" HD800 cable). The HD800 vs O2 Mk1 is about 50-50 for or against.

The ZDT is my best amp in the house, and nothing sounds bad with it, so that may have something to do with my findings.

 

[pedalhead]

Looking after the kids today but I'll have a listen to Graceland on my hd800s tonight. As has already been mentioned, I do find the hd800 is very much a rubbish in rubbish out kind of headphone, certainly more so than others I have owned. I suppose that stands to reason considering how revealing they appear to be.

 

[music_man]

ffrr, incedently i am a professional recording engineer. maybe that has something to do with why we do not like the hd800. we are used to monitors. i also like the k702 better than the hd800. i like the k702 a lot. i'd put it in the top tier. i like the dt880 pro better though. it has much wider/bigger imaging and more bass. the dt880 have an exagerated sound though. they make everything larger and more seperated. if musicians are standind 3 feet apart it makes them 8 feet apart. i understand everyone says the hd800 has this type of soundstage. i do not hear it at all. everything is crammed and muffled to me.
i said in another post that the dt880 make the gs1000(with $8,000 cable! and mahogany cups) sound unlistenable. i still maintain this. i guess what i like about the dt880 so much is the soundstage and how bright they are. yet they somehow manage to actually subdue sibilance. brilliant.

pedalhead, did you listen to graceland? is it the "extra tracks" in the fold open cardboard jacket(cd)? that cd brings out the absolute worst on the hd800 for me and the absolute best of the dt880 pro.

music_man

 

[pedalhead]

Quote:

Originally Posted by music_man /img/forum/go_quote.gif pedalhead, did you listen to graceland? is it the "extra tracks" in the fold open cardboard jacket(cd)? that cd brings out the absolute worst on the hd800 for me and the absolute best of the dt880 pro. music_man

Hi mate yes I had a listen to Graceland, although I don't have the extra cd. I do find that some tracks on that album sound better than others through headphones. The Boy In The Bubble sounds frankly terrible and yes, congested, but on all my cans, not just the HD800s. With the exception of the accordian that provides some degree of soundstage, everything else on that track just sounds like a dull blob in the middle of my head, but it's always sounded that way to me. Most of the rest of the album fare a lot better for me. Diamonds On The Souls of Her Shoes for example sounds great, with a nice soundstage & placement.

Take a listen to Diamonds...and Homeless. Are you hearing congestion there?

edit - this was via flac--->squeezebox3--->CI Audio VDA2/VAC1--->Mapletree Ear+ HD2 (single ended)

 

[music_man]

diamonds and homeless sound good. on call me al and know what i know the sibilance is horrible on the hd800. it is not nearly as bad on the dt880. the dt880 also has larger soundstage on the entire cd. i guess maybe what it boils down to is the dt880 makes the best of the worst cd's. whereas the hd800 makes bad sound terrible. that would certainly suggest the hd800 is technically superior. it is just not for me since all my recordings are pretty lousy for the most part. i listen to pop/electronic/synth jazz/easy rock. these tend to be the worst recordings. the hd800 being so critical must simply make the worst of these. garbage in,garbage out. however, the dt880 seems to me to have a real knack at really polishing up these recordings. i am not going to change my listening habits so the hd800 as brilliant as it is is simply not for me. honestly though i have not heard the hd800 on a stellar recording. i might totally change my mind about it then. it wouldn't really matter though because any good recordings probably do not suit my taste in music.

i remember everyone thought the hd6xx was tops when they came out. i never liked those either. maybe also i am just not for the sennheiser sound. i do hear the dreaded veil on the hd800. i know a few other people have mentioned this as well. overall i guess i am the oddball on this one. many more people love them than dislike them.

music_man