[CoLdAsSauLt]

I did a brief write-up of my first impressions regarding my change from HD800 to HD800 S:

http://www.head-fi.org/t/795365/sennheiser-hd800-s-impressions-thread-read-first-post-for-summary/60#post_12287233

 

[Oregonian]

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

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

Go on craigslist in your local area, click electronics, type in vintage in the search bar and start perusing.  There's a thread dedicated to vintage here as well where we can give you feedback. 
 
Let me know what area you are in and I'll do a quick search for ya to give you some ideas. 

 

[Oregonian]

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

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

I put in Los Angeles -
 
https://losangeles.craigslist.org/lgb/ele/5388695691.html
https://losangeles.craigslist.org/sgv/ele/5415836740.html
https://losangeles.craigslist.org/lac/ele/5389350459.html
 
And my favorite brand - Pioneer
https://losangeles.craigslist.org/wst/ele/5415088372.html
https://losangeles.craigslist.org/sfv/ele/5398236076.html - nice Pioneer integrated
https://orangecounty.craigslist.org/ele/5404044814.html
 
The beauty of craigslist is you can go see, hook up your headphones and listen...............

 

[deserat]

 
I put in Los Angeles -
 
https://losangeles.craigslist.org/lgb/ele/5388695691.html
https://losangeles.craigslist.org/sgv/ele/5415836740.html
https://losangeles.craigslist.org/lac/ele/5389350459.html
 
And my favorite brand - Pioneer
https://losangeles.craigslist.org/wst/ele/5415088372.html
https://losangeles.craigslist.org/sfv/ele/5398236076.html - nice Pioneer integrated
https://orangecounty.craigslist.org/ele/5404044814.html
 
The beauty of craigslist is you can go see, hook up your headphones and listen...............

Hah. Cool thanks.  And the price on these is low enough it's  easy to experiment. Plus I can annoy my hipster co-workers with how retro cool I am.

 

[MacedonianHero]

  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.

No worries, you are certainly entitled to emphatically disagree with me...because based on my experiences, I too emphatically disagree with your comments. The imaging is virtually unchanged to my ears; confirmed by yet more direct A-B comparisons this past weekend with a friend's HD800 headphones. But those are my experiences with my gears and ears as they say. 

 

[jhljhl]

The hd800s sounds like an hd800 with an endorphin cable from what I gather but I will hear for myself one of these days yet.

 

[Thenewguy007]

 

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... 
 

 
Out of the Schitt line of amps, people recommend the Vali, Valhalla 2 & the Ragnarok for pairing well with the HD800.
 
From my experience, tube amps do pair better with the HD800.

 

[cocolinho]

I can tell you Lyr 2 is working well too. I even sold my Val 2 for it.

 

[MWSVette]

  I can tell you Lyr 2 is working well too. I even sold my Val 2 for it.

I love my HD800 with the Lyr.  Great match IMHO...

 

[Moonhead]

Probably been up before, but can somebody tell me about HD800 vs. HD700.
 
I could use a can with a more relaxin signature thats easier to drive and im a Sennheiser fanboy

 

[PleasantSounds]

  Probably been up before, but can somebody tell me about HD800 vs. HD700.
 
I could use a can with a more relaxin signature thats easier to drive and im a Sennheiser fanboy

 
I think you want the HD650

 

[yates7592]

He's already got HD 650.

 

[Moonhead]

Yeah, im pretty pleased with my HD650, but the Wife use them all the time.
Heck, maybe I just have to forget about HD700, really dont need them, even though they tempt me. 

 

[ubs28]

Probably been up before, but can somebody tell me about HD800 vs. HD700.

I could use a can with a more relaxin signature thats easier to drive and im a Sennheiser fanboy

Try the HEX.

 

[cocolinho]

  Probably been up before, but can somebody tell me about HD800 vs. HD700.
 
I could use a can with a more relaxin signature thats easier to drive and im a Sennheiser fanboy

I own HD650/700/800. 
Forget about 700 if you're looking for a relaxing signature. 650 is the way to go.
Still I don't think 700 are a bad headphones, just not for everyone