honestly, the whole idea of TOTL headphones is simplicity, to be able to plug them in an have a great sound
if your have to EQ your better off buying a headphone for half the price, an EQing that, like a Beyer Dynamic T90 an AKG open back
additionally there may be sound stageing improvements within the HD 800S that are not present in the HD 800, so hopefully the new reveision makes improvements on more than just the Freq response
HELP! I was just about to buy the old SD800's, but should I wait to buy these? I was going to post a thread asking about whether or not they would work well with a "monster" Sansui G22000 receiver (220W/ch, ca. 1978), but I still cannot master how to post threads on this site. Or do I need a special headphone amp to fully appreciate the HD800's? I also want to know where I can buy an adapter to hook up the Web to my receiver from an iMac. Or should I even bother, as the file size on Spotify or iTunes is so limited that maybe I should just continue using my iMac with Grado SR80's, which by the way sounds as good as my friends much fancier setup? Could I even tell the difference between the SR80's/iMac and the HD800's/G22000, considering that the online files lose so much data from the original recordings? I am ashamed to admit that I worked as a stereo salesman as teen and young adult, but I am now clueless because I have forgotten what I had learned even about the basics.
I don't think graphs are showing real difference... Why Sennheiser should sell 2 almost identical headphones? There is goota be bigger difference i think.
honestly, the whole idea of TOTL headphones is simplicity, to be able to plug them in an have a great sound
if your have to EQ your better off buying a headphone for half the price, an EQing that, like a Beyer Dynamic T90 an AKG open back
additionally there may be sound stageing improvements within the HD 800S that are not present in the HD 800, so hopefully the new reveision makes improvements on more than just the Freq response
honestly, the whole idea of TOTL headphones is simplicity, to be able to plug them in an have a great sound
if your have to EQ your better off buying a headphone for half the price, an EQing that, like a Beyer Dynamic T90 an AKG open back
additionally there may be sound stageing improvements within the HD 800S that are not present in the HD 800, so hopefully the new reveision makes improvements on more than just the Freq response
Every headphone needs EQ as everyone has a unique head size, ear shape and ear canal shape. Target curves are based upon an average head rather than your head.
I'm sure there will be plenty of people talking of wonderous improvements with the HD800S but this happens with everything which is why you shouldn't pay attention to what most people say. Research has shown that trained listeners are far more consistent at evaluating sound whether it is speakers or headphones than audiophile reviewers and that is why you should be skeptical of what you read on every audiophile forum. 99% of people are going to give a layman response which is going to be highly unreliable. Other factors to consider are that out perception of the loudness of bass/treble is dependent upon how loud you are listening. The worst headphones are the ones that you are constantly lowering and raising the volume of because there is either too much bass or treble and suddenly when something hits that peak and it's uncomfortable to listen to. The HD 800 is one of those headphones if something hits that 6Khz peak and I find that ssssibilance is one of the most irritating thingssss in a headphone.
I agree that they should sound good out of the box. The HD 600 sounds good out of the box because the frequencies above 5Khz are below the target curve rather than above. The HD 800 has all those frequencies above the target curve and sounds like Sennheiser made a Beyerdynamic headphone. There are other factors such as age and hearing loss. Older people want a bit more treble than average to account for hearing loss.
I don't think graphs are showing real difference... Why Sennheiser should sell 2 almost identical headphones? There is goota be bigger difference i think.
honestly, the whole idea of TOTL headphones is simplicity, to be able to plug them in an have a great sound
if your have to EQ your better off buying a headphone for half the price, an EQing that, like a Beyer Dynamic T90 an AKG open back
additionally there may be sound stageing improvements within the HD 800S that are not present in the HD 800, so hopefully the new reveision makes improvements on more than just the Freq response
Every headphone needs EQ as everyone has a unique head size, ear shape and ear canal shape. Target curves are based upon an average head rather than your head.
I'm sure there will be plenty of people talking of wonderous improvements with the HD800S but this happens with everything which is why you shouldn't pay attention to what most people say. Research has shown that trained listeners are far more consistent at evaluating sound whether it is speakers or headphones than audiophile reviewers and that is why you should be skeptical of what you read on every audiophile forum. 99% of people are going to give a layman response which is going to be highly unreliable. Other factors to consider are that out perception of the loudness of bass/treble is dependent upon how loud you are listening. The worst headphones are the ones that you are constantly lowering and raising the volume of because there is either too much bass or treble and suddenly when something hits that peak and it's uncomfortable to listen to. The HD 800 is one of those headphones if something hits that 6Khz peak and I find that ssssibilance is one of the most irritating thingssss in a headphone.
I agree that they should sound good out of the box. The HD 600 sounds good out of the box because the frequencies above 5Khz are below the target curve rather than above. The HD 800 has all those frequencies above the target curve and sounds like Sennheiser made a Beyerdynamic headphone. There are other factors such as age and hearing loss. Older people want a bit more treble than average to account for hearing loss.
I don't agree with your belief in the necessity for EQ or that the HD800 is unacceptably sibilant. The HD600 is a nice sounding headphone but it is not better than the HD800 to my ears.
HELP! I was just about to buy the old SD800's, but should I wait to buy these? I was going to post a thread asking about whether or not they would work well with a "monster" Sansui G22000 receiver (220W/ch, ca. 1978), but I still cannot master how to post threads on this site. Or do I need a special headphone amp to fully appreciate the HD800's? I also want to know where I can buy an adapter to hook up the Web to my receiver from an iMac. Or should I even bother, as the file size on Spotify or iTunes is so limited that maybe I should just continue using my iMac with Grado SR80's, which by the way sounds as good as my friends much fancier setup? Could I even tell the difference between the SR80's/iMac and the HD800's/G22000, considering that the online files lose so much data from the original recordings? I am ashamed to admit that I worked as a stereo salesman as teen and young adult, but I am now clueless because I have forgotten what I had learned even about the basics.
The HD800 will sound incredible out of that Sansui MONSTER you mention................I've got a Pioneer Spec system (250wpc) that drives the HD800 extremely well and shows just how good the bass is on an 800. Pics are required from you of that beast.................there's only one other known one on these boards (member SilentOne) and one member has the G33000 from what I remember. There's a vintage thread here as well so please come on over and share with us.
I don't agree with your belief in the necessity for EQ or that the HD800 is unacceptably sibilant. The HD600 is a nice sounding headphone but it is not better than the HD800 to my ears.
The HD800 will sound incredible out of that Sansui MONSTER you mention................I've got a Pioneer Spec system (250wpc) that drives the HD800 extremely well and shows just how good the bass is on an 800. Pics are required from you of that beast.................there's only one other known one on these boards (member SilentOne) and one member has the G33000 from what I remember. There's a vintage thread here as well so please come on over and share with us.
That is not how headphones work. Headphones/Speakers do not suck up all power available. Your headphones will use the same amount of power regardless the maximum power output of the amplifier.
It's not like the only problem the HD 800 had was that 6Khz peak. That was the most glaring problem but it still has a slightly sucked out mid range and too much treble emphasis above 6Khz as well. I expect the HD 800S will still need some amount of EQ but there might be some improvements in other areas that will make the HD 800S more attractive than the HD 800. I can easily see the HD 800 being discontinued and just the HD 800S being sold. I doubt many will complain seeing as the price increase is marginal. I don't see Sennheiser thinking it to be beneficial to have both in production at the same time.
It's not like the only problem the HD 800 had was that 6Khz peak. That was the most glaring problem but it still has a slightly sucked out mid range and too much treble emphasis above 6Khz as well. I expect the HD 800S will still need some amount of EQ but there might be some improvements in other areas that will make the HD 800S more attractive than the HD 800. I can easily see the HD 800 being discontinued and just the HD 800S being sold. I doubt many will complain seeing as the price increase is marginal. I don't see Sennheiser thinking it to be beneficial to have both in production at the same time.
My biggest problem with HD800 is the treble, so if HD800S will have that completely fixed then I might buy it. Being a realist I highly doubt it but I'd like nothing more to be pleasantly surprised.
My biggest problem with HD800 is the treble, so if HD800S will have that completely fixed then I might buy it. Being a realist I highly doubt it but I'd like nothing more to be pleasantly surprised.
From the Sennheiser graph posted earlier the treble is clearly not fixed but the 6Khz peak has been reduced. The frequencies from 7-10Khz are still above where they should be.
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