[sysfail]

  Just got my HD800S a few hours ago, and comparing it to my existing HD800. So far, it doesn't seem like a true upgrade, merely yet another side-grade. Air is traded off with the reduced treble and fatigue, bass is more perceptible due to reduced treble but not any more impactful. Massed vocals, especially female, just do not sound as compelling as on the stock HD800, a bit muted & distant and lacking energy. Instrument timbres for violins and cellos are a bit richer & fuller. I can listen to more poorly recorded material without wincing, but it isn't engaging, doesn't have that soaring, thrilling contrast between highs and lows.
 
The HD800 is to me a pretty laid back headphone on most studio recorded music with moments of excitement, now with the reduced treble of the HD800S and the mids remaining unaffected placement-wise, they sound almost boring. I prefer the HD800 at the moment by quite a bit.

 
I need more impressions like this so I will be satisfied with my modded HD800 and won't want to get the HD800S. 

 

[Kyle 491]

Interesting observations, glad I held back for now! Just wondered, you only had them for a few hours; so the can's and cable are not burnt in yet?

I suppose, however I'm not a great believer of burn-in, unless its brain burn in . For reference, the stock HD800 still zings my ears with its treble on the same old material I used to test them on the first day I got them.

 

[Thenewguy007]

  Just got my HD800S a few hours ago, and comparing it to my existing HD800. So far, it doesn't seem like a true upgrade, merely yet another side-grade. Air is traded off with the reduced treble and fatigue, bass is more perceptible due to reduced treble but not any more impactful. Massed vocals, especially female, just do not sound as compelling as on the stock HD800, a bit muted & distant and lacking energy. Instrument timbres for violins and cellos are a bit richer & fuller. I can listen to more poorly recorded material without wincing, but it isn't engaging, doesn't have that soaring, thrilling contrast between highs and lows.
 
The HD800 is to me a pretty laid back headphone on most studio recorded music with moments of excitement, now with the reduced treble of the HD800S and the mids remaining unaffected placement-wise, they sound almost boring. I prefer the HD800 at the moment by quite a bit.

 
I keep hearing that it either reduces the air a bit for an extra bit of bass or that there is no reduction & just an increase in bass/tamed treble.
Maybe it's just that subtle?
 
Btw what was your chain when using it?
Icon Audio HP-8 mk2 or the Ragnarok?
 

 

[MacedonianHero]

   
I keep hearing that it either reduces the air a bit for an extra bit of bass or that there is no reduction & just an increase in bass/tamed treble.
Maybe it's just that subtle?
 
Btw what was your chain when using it?
Icon Audio HP-8 mk2 or the Ragnarok?
 

I never found a reduction in air...in fact it was thankfully unchanged in my setup. But the treble "fixing" made these headphones no longer an enigma for me.

 

[shabta]

  I never found a reduction in air...in fact it was thankfully unchanged in my setup. But the treble "fixing" made these headphones no longer an enigma for me.

I find some of what you write about the HD800 S perplexing. I seem to remember that you said several times that you sold off your HD800 some time ago, so perhaps that is the basis of why some of your statements about the S vs. classic are idiosyncratic. If you read comments about the S both here and on other forums, the difference is a lot about the airiness of the classic vs. the better behaved treble of the younger bro. This is not a subtle difference. In addition, the S images a little less precisely than the classic, that difference is subtle, but still quite noticeable. 
 
Personally, speaking, I have now tried the S on a wide variety of amps and sources. I can say that while the S, like its older sibling, is sensitive to upstream gear (though a little less so), the basic differences between them remain.
 
I am not trying to pick a fight, but I also respectfully and emphatically disagree with what you write here.

 

[shabta]

  Just got my HD800S a few hours ago, and comparing it to my existing HD800. So far, it doesn't seem like a true upgrade, merely yet another side-grade. Air is traded off with the reduced treble and fatigue, bass is more perceptible due to reduced treble but not any more impactful. Massed vocals, especially female, just do not sound as compelling as on the stock HD800, a bit muted & distant and lacking energy. Instrument timbres for violins and cellos are a bit richer & fuller. I can listen to more poorly recorded material without wincing, but it isn't engaging, doesn't have that soaring, thrilling contrast between highs and lows.
 
The HD800 is to me a pretty laid back headphone on most studio recorded music with moments of excitement, now with the reduced treble of the HD800S and the mids remaining unaffected placement-wise, they sound almost boring. I prefer the HD800 at the moment by quite a bit.

I think that there are a lot of HD800 owners that will agree with what you are saying. I would highly recommend anyone who already has the HD800 and is happy with it to audition the S rather than buy on the blind.  What I found helped me come to a more considered opinion, was when I put the HD800 aside for a day and only listened to the S. Then came back to comparing. BTW- On some tracks I would agree the bass is pretty similar. On others, especially hip hop or well-recorded IDM, I found the S to have significantly more punch. I agree with you about the sense of thrill on the HD800. I think that is due to the more V-shaped presentation of the classic vs. the S. It's why a lot of people find the TH900 more dynamic. As a result I often have found the classic to sound more exciting on highly compressed music. But I also think that dynamism it is a hair less accurate, But I certainly can understand why someone else will come to a different conclusion about which headphone best suits their needs. 

 

[deserat]

Hey all. Am looking for a quick bit of advice. I've recently upgraded from the Hifi Man HE 560 to the HD800. Ok that's not entirely true I sold the HD600 and kept the HE560 then bought the HD800. I'm done with my headphones for awhile.

Now, (un)fortunately, I've two amazing headphones; one for work and one for home. My current chain is a Bimby (Bifrost Mutlibit) > Lyr 2 > Telefunken E88CC.  I feel like this drives the HE560 quite well. It opens up it's soundstage just enough and to my ears gives the HE560 more detail than the HD800. What I like about the HD800 though is it's natural, open, and well positioned soundstage... as detailed as the HE560 is it doesn't feel natural... it sounds like and HDR photograph looks, exciting and other worldly. I like that but I want to build the chain out under the HD800 to complements what I feel are it's strengths, accuracy and imaging. I've only about $1000 to work with for the amp. Am planing to use another Bimby for the DAC. I feel like I've narrowed it down to 2 amps. Schiit Mjolnir 2 or Woo WA6se ( used of course ).  In time I'll upgrade tubes, I can't go beyond the $1000 so please don't suggest a Blue Hawaii etc...

I guess the main conflict for me is that I've read repeatedly ... "The HD800 responds very well to Balanced" and "The HD800 responds really well to pure tube amps"  as you probably know the Mjolner is Hybrid and the Wa6se is pure tube... 
 

 

[shabta]

  Hey all. Am looking for a quick bit of advice. I've recently upgraded from the Hifi Man HE 560 to the HD800. Ok that's not entirely true I sold the HD600 and kept the HE560 then bought the HD800. I'm done with my headphones for awhile.

Now, (un)fortunately, I've two amazing headphones; one for work and one for home. My current chain is a Bimby (Bifrost Mutlibit) > Lyr 2 > Telefunken E88CC.  I feel like this drives the HE560 quite well. It opens up it's soundstage just enough and to my ears gives the HE560 more detail than the HD800. What I like about the HD800 though is it's natural, open, and well positioned soundstage... as detailed as the HE560 is it doesn't feel natural... it sounds like and HDR photograph looks, exciting and other worldly. I like that but I want to build the chain out under the HD800 to complements what I feel are it's strengths, accuracy and imaging. I've only about $1000 to work with for the amp. Am planing to use another Bimby for the DAC. I feel like I've narrowed it down to 2 amps. Schiit Mjolnir 2 or Woo WA6se ( used of course ).  In time I'll upgrade tubes, I can't go beyond the $1000 so please don't suggest a Blue Hawaii etc...

I guess the main conflict for me is that I've read repeatedly ... "The HD800 responds very well to Balanced" and "The HD800 responds really well to pure tube amps"  as you probably know the Mjolner is Hybrid and the Wa6se is pure tube... 
 

Without totally wading into religion, the HD800 is amp sensitive, but not balanced vs. SE sensitive. People say that the Mjolner is not a great match for the HD800, I haven't heard the amp myself, but it has been said so many times by people I respect that I would be surprised to find it wasn't true. I find the Woo to be way too colored an amp, it makes everything too woo-y.
 
The Vahalla 2 on the other hand sounds great, really great and is well below your budget. I really like my Icon HP8 ( but you have to chuck the stock tubes), but it only fits in your budget if you either live in europe or can find it used. 

 

[Kyle 491]

   
I keep hearing that it either reduces the air a bit for an extra bit of bass or that there is no reduction & just an increase in bass/tamed treble.
Maybe it's just that subtle?
 
Btw what was your chain when using it?
Icon Audio HP-8 mk2 or the Ragnarok?
 

 
I used both, the Icon Audio HP-8 mk2 is warmer, I prefer the Ragnarok with the HD800S. Its the opposite for the stock HD800.

 

[Hansotek]

 
Hey all. Am looking for a quick bit of advice. I've recently upgraded from the Hifi Man HE 560 to the HD800. Ok that's not entirely true I sold the HD600 and kept the HE560 then bought the HD800. I'm done with my headphones for awhile.


Now, (un)fortunately, I've two amazing headphones; one for work and one for home. My current chain is a Bimby (Bifrost Mutlibit) > Lyr 2 > Telefunken E88CC.  I feel like this drives the HE560 quite well. It opens up it's soundstage just enough and to my ears gives the HE560 more detail than the HD800. What I like about the HD800 though is it's natural, open, and well positioned soundstage... as detailed as the HE560 is it doesn't feel natural... it sounds like and HDR photograph looks, exciting and other worldly. I like that but I want to build the chain out under the HD800 to complements what I feel are it's strengths, accuracy and imaging. I've only about $1000 to work with for the amp. Am planing to use another Bimby for the DAC. I feel like I've narrowed it down to 2 amps. Schiit Mjolnir 2 or Woo WA6se ( used of course ).  In time I'll upgrade tubes, I can't go beyond the $1000 so please don't suggest a Blue Hawaii etc...


I guess the main conflict for me is that I've read repeatedly ... "The HD800 responds very well to Balanced" and "The HD800 responds really well to pure tube amps"  as you probably know the Mjolner is Hybrid and the Wa6se is pure tube... 

 

Without totally wading into religion, the HD800 is amp sensitive, but not balanced vs. SE sensitive. People say that the Mjolner is not a great match for the HD800, I haven't heard the amp myself, but it has been said so many times by people I respect that I would be surprised to find it wasn't true. I find the Woo to be way too colored an amp, it makes everything too woo-y.

The Vahalla 2 on the other hand sounds great, really great and is well below your budget. I really like my Icon HP8 ( but you have to chuck the stock tubes), but it only fits in your budget if you either live in europe or can find it used. 

Lol! You can't compare it on two totally different amps and say, "it's not balanced vs. SE sensitive." On half the amps out there you can't even make a qualified statement of that nature on the same amp because the balanced and SE sections are built totally seperately. Though it's not as common now, under identical conditions balanced is superior, as the power and slew rate are both doubled relative to a matching single ended output. Designing for SE is a seperate engineering problem. It's fully possible to make SE outputs that are as good as balanced ones, but that is happening at the amp, not the headphone.

 

[Oregonian]

  Hey all. Am looking for a quick bit of advice. I've recently upgraded from the Hifi Man HE 560 to the HD800. Ok that's not entirely true I sold the HD600 and kept the HE560 then bought the HD800. I'm done with my headphones for awhile.

Now, (un)fortunately, I've two amazing headphones; one for work and one for home. My current chain is a Bimby (Bifrost Mutlibit) > Lyr 2 > Telefunken E88CC.  I feel like this drives the HE560 quite well. It opens up it's soundstage just enough and to my ears gives the HE560 more detail than the HD800. What I like about the HD800 though is it's natural, open, and well positioned soundstage... as detailed as the HE560 is it doesn't feel natural... it sounds like and HDR photograph looks, exciting and other worldly. I like that but I want to build the chain out under the HD800 to complements what I feel are it's strengths, accuracy and imaging. I've only about $1000 to work with for the amp. Am planing to use another Bimby for the DAC. I feel like I've narrowed it down to 2 amps. Schiit Mjolnir 2 or Woo WA6se ( used of course ).  In time I'll upgrade tubes, I can't go beyond the $1000 so please don't suggest a Blue Hawaii etc...

I guess the main conflict for me is that I've read repeatedly ... "The HD800 responds very well to Balanced" and "The HD800 responds really well to pure tube amps"  as you probably know the Mjolner is Hybrid and the Wa6se is pure tube... 
 

If you have the space, might want to consider a vintage speaker amp.  Really make the HD800 sing.  Can be had for far less than $1000.................far less. 

 

[shabta]

Lol! You can't compare it on two totally different amps and say, "it's not balanced vs. SE sensitive." On half the amps out there you can't even make a qualified statement of that nature on the same amp because the balanced and SE sections are built totally seperately. Though it's not as common now, under identical conditions balanced is superior, as the power and slew rate are both doubled relative to a matching single ended output. Designing for SE is a seperate engineering problem. It's fully possible to make SE outputs that are as good as balanced ones, but that is happening at the amp, not the headphone.

 
I think you just agreed with me 

 

[Hansotek]

 

Lol! You can't compare it on two totally different amps and say, "it's not balanced vs. SE sensitive." On half the amps out there you can't even make a qualified statement of that nature on the same amp because the balanced and SE sections are built totally seperately. Though it's not as common now, under identical conditions balanced is superior, as the power and slew rate are both doubled relative to a matching single ended output. Designing for SE is a seperate engineering problem. It's fully possible to make SE outputs that are as good as balanced ones, but that is happening at the amp, not the headphone.

 
I think you just agreed with me 

 
That is entirely possible. I should have done a better job of reading the post you were responding to. I get what you were going for there.

 

[deserat]

That's an intriguing idea. Any suggestions or things to look for?

 

[deserat]

 
If you have the space, might want to consider a vintage speaker amp.  Really make the HD800 sing.  Can be had for far less than $1000.................far less. 

Sorry for the double post, for got to hit "quote"... 

That's an intrigueing idea. And suggestions or guidelines?