[icebear]

Until you get a third party to measure and review your mod properly, you're an unknown quantity. Talk is cheap ... I can blab about vibration control with the best of them.

You need to sell modded headphones with a no questions asked return policy for me to take you seriously anyway.

Also, these guys are an outfit that sells thousand dollar cables and they also claim hard-wiring the cable is audible.

The missing (3rd party) reviews were exactely the reason why I was asking about experiences in this forum.
With so many HD800 owners here, I thought there might be fair chance that someone has first hand knowledge with his own headphones.
 
As for the hard wiring :
You reduce the number of contact points by 3
With a detachable plug you have 4 : wire to connector / connector to connector / connector to wire / wire to driver
Hard wired it's only 1 : wire to driver

 

[eugenius]

Thanks for letting us know what hard-wired means. That helps a lot!

 

[icebear]

Thanks for letting us know what hard-wired means. That helps a lot!

You're welcome, my pleasure

.

 

[Maxx134]

Seems to involve the driver vibration,
But I read here in old posts that the problem was actually lies in the special cone that is used and has a resonance.
So trying to solidify the driver probably is more placebo than actual results in my opinion. .

The wire is another story and most cable upgrades would cost less than 300 so not sure why such prices..

 

[eugenius]

They disregard the internal cup modding and say their approach is better. But as always, you have to believe them without proof.

I remember one of the HD800 modders saying it's not the driver that causes the 6k peak in the HD800.

 

[twsmith]

  I have the HD800 just since beginning of this week and it's not yet broken in apperantly and I am only driving it with my e20 DAC. That said... the conditions are far from optimized [and of course I'm using the infamous stock cable

] I have nothing to complain about.
 
I do not have the impression of aggressive highs or lacking bass but I am coming from 20 years of Stax.
So in my small booklet there is nothing about the HD800 that needs correction. A lot of cables or the damping mod. are trying to modify certain characteristics in the FQ range (e.g. less treable, more bass). I think I don't need any of this.
 
Cables or modifications that improve on the strength of the HD would be interesting though. I am in the 2014 batch of a GS-X Mk II and at some point laaaater this year

, I will need a balanced cable for the HD for the XLR connection to the headamp. That's why I was screeing info on cables and stumbled over this "HD800 Ultra mod".
 
I agree, the Endorphin range is way out there in terms of price (I'd need 12 ft) but I have not seen any negative comments but one, if I remember correctly. And in case you don't like the sound, they come with a money back guarantee.
 
I am not a musician who can ultimately judge how natural the presentation of audio equipment is (great to have such opinions here ! ). I enjoy live concerts in the NYC Metro area, mostly classic and Jazz in the smaller clubs. When listening to recordings I look for that live feeling with all the details that are happening, a closeness that ultimately will give you the excitement and goosebumps as if you have been there that night.
 
Looking forward to hear some experiences / comments on the SAA mod. of the HD800.

I can't speak about the SAA mod itself, however I do have the SAA Endorphin HD800 detachable cable (plus the stock and Cardas Clear cables).    My present setup includes the Invicta DAC and Questyle CMA800R amp, which together are very transparent and an excellent match for the HD800.  
 
There is no question that in terms of appearance and overall construction, the Endorphin is very nice cable.   It became interesting, though, when I started to switch back and forth between the HD800 stock, SAA Endorphin and Cardas cables.   My initial impression is that among the three, the Endorphin seems to "smooth out" the mid to high frequencies, and adds a little more bass compared to the other two cables. This alteration in frequency balance and perhaps a change in group delay or other variables also seem to create a slightly larger soundstage.  The Cardas Clear is similar to the SAA but seems to have slightly more emphasized mid-high frequency response.   
 
The real surprise to me was the HD stock cable -- of all three, it sounded the least colored and more true to the source, and seemed to have a better overall frequency balance and transparency.  It was never harsh or distorted, and the soundstage seemed more true to what was actually recorded rather than unnaturally enhanced.  I'm not exactly sure what to make of this, other than saying that with my particular set-up, the stock cable sounded pretty darn good, and actually bested the 2 aftermarket cables that I had.   I can't say whether this is just a personal preference (my brain, my ears) or due to the electrical properties of the cables themselves and their interaction/synergy with my particular amp/dac combination and the headphone itself.    
 
After going through this exercise, I can honestly say that cables can make a difference and that it may not be subtle.   However whether these changes are "better" or not depends ultimately on the listener.  I suspect the reason a lot of people prefer the aftermarket cables for the HD800 is that they help "calm down" what is often interpreted as an overaggressive high frequency response of the HD800.    However I don't believe this is actually a design fault of the headphone but more likely related to the source material itself, and perhaps the electrical characteristics of the dac and amp.   When you play a well recorded hi-rez (e.g. 96/24, 192/24, DSD) download through a good dac and amp, the HD800 with the stock cable can sound absolutely fantastic.  
 
The best advice I can give to anyone thinking about modding the HD800 or buying any pricey aftermarket cables is to give the stock cable a chance, optimally using the source/dac and amp you intend to use with it.   It's all too tempting (as I also learned the hard way) to assume that the stock cable is inherently flawed and that you MUST change the cabling of the HD800 to make it sound better -- sure, it may sound different, but is it really better?   Approach all testimonials and reviews of these aftermarket cables with a healthy degree of skepticism -- of course they must sound better if you have already plunked down $$$$ for the cable.  And remember that only positive comments (not negative ones) are generally posted on a manufacturer's website. 

 

[icebear]

Thanks for sharing your experience tw,
my original statement is still correct in all points (I am still in the waiting line for a GSX-MkII).
 
In the meantime though, I have gotten a balanced cable for the HD800. I've choosen a Norne Vanquish, which was about 1/5 $$ of the SAA Endorphine. Without going back and forth between the Vanquish and the single ended stock cable because the HD plugs are a pain to pull out

, I do like the Vanquish very much but then I also had no problem with the original cable. I used a simple Canare extension cable with the stock cable. The Vanquish I am using with a Norne dual XLR to SE adapter.
 
I completely agree that from my point of view any aggressiveness of the HD800 comes from the source and maybe I just got lucky with my first choice the e20 DAC. I am still amazed by the HD800's sound stage. Since getting the Sennheiser, I heard the Abyss, SR-009, Audeze (all but XC) and for me HD800 is the only one that gives me a sound stage that doesn't seem to be "inside my head". An effect that I can't stand at all.
 
Looking forward to the head amp and the potential improvements going from a built-in single ended DAC headphone output to a fully balanced set up. But already listening to music with my current set up is so much fun, that I can't really see the need for any modifications of the headphone itself. Also in my choice of cable I did not want to "correct" anything but bringing out the inherit qualities of the HD800 as it is. For me the Vanquish is doing that for a very reasonable price.
 
Still, if anyone has first hand experience with the SAA "ultra mod", sharing impressions would be greatly appreciated

 

[preproman]

I've had the SAA Endorphin HD800 cable (Hardwired) "Not the Ultra Mod" for over a year.  I only have two headphones at the moment The HE-6 and the HD800, both hardwired.  I just don't like to deal with the connectors.  Also, I want my cable soldered directly on the driver.  I don't want to go through all those contacts.  IMO the best connectors are no connectors.  
 
I didn't buy into all his (James) claims about the Ultra Mod.  I've heard 2 pairs of HD800s with the Anax mod.  Didn't like either one of them.  So the Hardwireing is all the mod I feel I need.  
 

 

 

[icebear]

  I've had the SAA Endorphin HD800 cable (Hardwired) "Not the Ultra Mod" for over a year.  I only have two headphones at the moment The HE-6 and the HD800, both hardwired.  I just don't like to deal with the connectors.  Also, I want my cable soldered directly on the driver.  I don't want to go through all those contacts.  IMO the best connectors are no connectors.  
 
I didn't buy into all his (James) claims about the Ultra Mod.  I've heard 2 pairs of HD800s with the Anax mod.  Didn't like either one of them.  So the Hardwireing is all the mod I feel I need.  
....

That is the only statement about which there sould be no discussion when it comes to cables and connectors

.

 

[eugenius]

I did a 6.3mm connector swap some years ago for a guy who broke his HD800 jack and I replaced it with an Amphenol 6.3mm gold plated jack. I reallly like that jack, it has a very tight fit wherever you plug it, even into Neutrik Combo jacks which tend to be a little loose for the jack part.
 
Recently he messaged me that his other stock Sennheiser cable sounds much better (soundstage, resolution and some other big words were spoken).  He had both for a long time and I guess he figured it out just now. Or he had a bit much to drink that night - I'm not really sure.
 
I can tell you I've never been able to tell connectors apart when they make good contact. I've never been able to tell you if the speaker cable has bananas, spades or nothing either.

 

[Rico613]

I'm curious is the SAA hardware balanced cable is fully balanced?  I.E. 6 separate wires? 
 
Does anyone know what wire he is using?  copper OCF,  OCC ??  Silver  ???

 

[Music Alchemist]

I intend on buying at least two HD 800s - one stock, another with the hardwired SAA Endorphin cable and ultra mod - and publishing detailed comparisons between them. Once I do so, I will try and remember to provide a link to it in this thread.
 
About the hardwired cable, James Serdechny (the owner of Stefan AudioArt) told me this in a private email:
 

The Hardwired version of our Endorphin Headphone Cable will do all of the above but on a higher level and all the extra "artifacts" you did not know you were hearing in the music are gone (due to the elimination of all four headphone connectors). In the reproduction process this is huge as the music is now just more like live music.

@preproman That is a gorgeous HD 800!

 
As for the materials used:
 

We designed and tested dozens of our own conductive surface formulas which consisted of the purest copper available combined with proprietary conductive enhancing material so the HD800 would perform at the highest level possible with optimal user comfort.

 

[eugenius]

Tell James to send a modded one to Tyll Hertsens@Innerfidelity if he's willing to walk the walk not just talk the talk.

 

[Tyll Hertsens]

  Tell James to send a modded one to Tyll Hertsens@Innerfidelity if he's willing to walk the walk not just talk the talk.

More than happy to do the measurements.

 

[Music Alchemist]

  More than happy to do the measurements.

 
I just contacted James with a request. If he doesn't get in touch with you personally, I'll let you know what's up.