Sennheiser HD800S Unveiled!
Mar 19, 2018 at 4:23 PM Post #6,361 of 6,523
Hey guys... I am SO PISSED! I'm pretty sure this has happened at least once or twice to others in this thread, but TLDR...

I just got my Senn HD800S that I'd been saving up all my pennies for - for ages. Didn't even have them for 24 hours. I decided to take a look at the cable change out process and what do you know... it pulled out the whole jack, including wires on one side of the phones. $1700 headphones down the drain. Now I'm starting the repair process with Sennheiser. There's no way I'm paying a dime for this... What a load of crap! I was expecting a lot more for $1700. :frowning2:


I make my own cables for my 800S cause I need a 20 footer....it's a lot of work to solder to those ridiculously small pins...I gotta wear two pairs of Reading Glasses to see them damn things...But when you get a great solder joint they are strong if not they break easily....Love my 800S!
 
Mar 19, 2018 at 11:14 PM Post #6,363 of 6,523
I make my own cables for my 800S cause I need a 20 footer....it's a lot of work to solder to those ridiculously small pins...I gotta wear two pairs of Reading Glasses to see them damn things...But when you get a great solder joint they are strong if not they break easily....Love my 800S!

I think you misunderstood me... the cable didn't break. It was the socket or receptacle that completely pulled out, wires and all. The cable never detached properly.

I shipped them out today. I spoke with a service rep at Sennheiser and she quoted that it takes 10 business days to return the item. I'm just hoping they don't claim it's my fault and try to get me to fork over more money.
 
Mar 20, 2018 at 3:31 AM Post #6,364 of 6,523
I think you misunderstood me... the cable didn't break. It was the socket or receptacle that completely pulled out, wires and all. The cable never detached properly.

I shipped them out today. I spoke with a service rep at Sennheiser and she quoted that it takes 10 business days to return the item. I'm just hoping they don't claim it's my fault and try to get me to fork over more money.
If you didn't purposely break them, they will probably replace them to you without an issue.

some time ago (Maybe year ago?), in r/headphones one was having similar scenario to yours. (The female connector on the HD800S itself came off with the cable) Sennheiser replaced the pair for him, no questions asked.

This is pretty rare scenario and in manufacturing no matter how good QC you have, things like these tend to happen unfortunately.
 
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Mar 20, 2018 at 3:51 AM Post #6,365 of 6,523
Anyone know the difference between the 800S and Focal Clear? I have the Clears and at times with the stage was larger.
i am curious about the clears bass response vs the 800S. sad to hear the soundstage is not an equal.
 
Mar 20, 2018 at 6:41 AM Post #6,366 of 6,523
Guys i want to ask few questions.
So i buyed Custom Silver Balanced cable for my HD800S and i noticed 2 things.
1st it goes fully in Violectric V280 balanced section and locks in while Stock HD800S balanced cable barely holds in and very easily wobble, does it make any difference how far pins goes?
2n thing i noticed that new upgraded silvet cable make sound a lot more clearer, more separated, wider, but less punchy.
For me its hard to believe that difference could be this big?...
I thought maybe, because stock balanced cable dont go fully in Violectric v280 Balanced output, that way you wont get full sound potential? Thank you for your answers.
 
Mar 20, 2018 at 7:14 AM Post #6,367 of 6,523
Guys i want to ask few questions.
So i buyed Custom Silver Balanced cable for my HD800S and i noticed 2 things.
1st it goes fully in Violectric V280 balanced section and locks in while Stock HD800S balanced cable barely holds in and very easily wobble, does it make any difference how far pins goes?
2n thing i noticed that new upgraded silvet cable make sound a lot more clearer, more separated, wider, but less punchy.
For me its hard to believe that difference could be this big?...
I thought maybe, because stock balanced cable dont go fully in Violectric v280 Balanced output, that way you wont get full sound potential? Thank you for your answers.
Some claim you get more bass single ended with the violectric.
 
Mar 20, 2018 at 10:52 AM Post #6,369 of 6,523
I own both 800 and 800s however I prefer 800 sound more than 800s . May be still in the burn-in period. It is almost a year.
Might also be that you used the 800 for a few years I take it and your brain has acclimated to that signature. If the reverse was true and you owned the 800S first I wouldn't be surprised if you preferred it over the 800. Nothing wrong either way, but once we settle into something, we tend to like it. It is like that with operating systems, if you started out as a PC user, likely you tend to prefer it, or an Android user versus Apple, whatever you first like and get used to is difficult to unseat.

Completely stop using the 800 for a few months, like never use them and stick to the 800S. Then go back to the 800 and see if you still prefer that signature. Going back and forth is working against the 800S as your brain is still really mated to the 800. It is what in psychology we call intermittent reinforcement. It is very hard to extinguish a behavior, or in this case preference (not that that has to be your goal) when from time to time you still provide your brain with the 800. Because the brain never knows when it will receive the stimulation it doesn't wean itself off of the desire to have that stimulation. If you go long enough without feeding the expectation/desire for that stimulation, eventually the brain can move on.

So if you really want to know if you could prefer the 800S, you need to give it plenty of time to itself, free of the 800 being used.
 
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Mar 20, 2018 at 12:06 PM Post #6,370 of 6,523
Guys i want to ask few questions.
So i buyed Custom Silver Balanced cable for my HD800S and i noticed 2 things.
1st it goes fully in Violectric V280 balanced section and locks in while Stock HD800S balanced cable barely holds in and very easily wobble, does it make any difference how far pins goes?
2n thing i noticed that new upgraded silvet cable make sound a lot more clearer, more separated, wider, but less punchy.
For me its hard to believe that difference could be this big?...
I thought maybe, because stock balanced cable dont go fully in Violectric v280 Balanced output, that way you wont get full sound potential? Thank you for your answers.
I'm also using the stock balanced cord with the HD800S. As far as I can tell, any wobble would be due to the clearance between the outside of the connector and the faceplate of the V280.The movment may be due in part to the XLR jack it's self, that's considered normal so I would not worry, just make sure you have the connector in all the way.

Yes, the difference between silver and copper can be quite noticeable on the right setup.
 
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Mar 20, 2018 at 1:35 PM Post #6,371 of 6,523
I'm also using the stock balanced cord with the HD800S. As far as I can tell, any wobble would be due to the clearance between the outside of the connector and the faceplate of the V280.The movment may be due in part to the XLR jack it's self, that's considered normal so I would not worry, just make sure you have the connector in all the way.

Yes, the difference between silver and copper can be quite noticeable on the right setup.
Thank you, but the thing is new cable goes fully in, but Stock cable dont go as deep in connection. Seems like Sennheiser cable xlr housing is bigger in diameter which is odd. I really cant believe difference... balanced stock xlr vs 6.3mm is not as big difference as silver xlr vs stock xlr.
I guess one can call me believer now lol
 
Mar 20, 2018 at 5:38 PM Post #6,372 of 6,523
Thank you, but the thing is new cable goes fully in, but Stock cable dont go as deep in connection. Seems like Sennheiser cable xlr housing is bigger in diameter which is odd. I really cant believe difference... balanced stock xlr vs 6.3mm is not as big difference as silver xlr vs stock xlr.
I guess one can call me believer now lol
The Sennheiser XLR connector is unique and has it's own fill compared to other connectors like Nectrik. As long as both drivers are working and it sounds good you're okay. I have been using the Sennheiser balanced cable with the V280 for over a year now with no problems.
 
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Mar 21, 2018 at 3:58 PM Post #6,373 of 6,523
I think you misunderstood me... the cable didn't break. It was the socket or receptacle that completely pulled out, wires and all. The cable never detached properly.

I shipped them out today. I spoke with a service rep at Sennheiser and she quoted that it takes 10 business days to return the item. I'm just hoping they don't claim it's my fault and try to get me to fork over more money.

Yea maybe I did misunderstand you...sorry to read they just fell apart...Senns will take care of you though...they'll be back before you know it....Happy Listening....!!
 

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