[bearFNF]

Can anyone tell me which is better, sdr or anax? I knew sdr is latest mod on hd800.

Been a while but I listened to both of them way back when they were being worked on and vaguely remember that Anax took a little too much out for my taste. I went with SDR and have not really even thought about it till now. I also put on stock (un-modded) Dekoni Elite Sheepskin pads. I have never liked the stock pads, also not much of velour pad fan. Like the leather or pleather pads more.

You can search this thread to get any more info...

 

[DuncanDirkDick]

Adding the helmholtz resonator makes sense, everything else was detrimental in my experience.

 

[the1andonly]

How good are these on tubes? My friend wants to sell me one and says I can either take the balanced cable or single ended.... Should I get SE for Woo Audio WA7 or Balanced for Oppo HA-1?

 

[JoeTho]

How good are these on tubes? My friend wants to sell me one and says I can either take the balanced cable or single ended.... Should I get SE for Woo Audio WA7 or Balanced for Oppo HA-1?

I gave my HD800 to my wife a while ago. She sits by the fireplace and listens to them using the Oppo HA1. She loves it. But out of curiosity, I plugged them into the Musical Paradise MP301 MK3 Integrated vacuum tube amp last night. My dac was the RME ADI 2 DAC. It was the best I've ever heard the HD800 sound. Even better than the Utopia in my opinion.

 

[H20Fidelity]

I find the Burson takes about 30-minutes to warm up, after that its golden.

 

[gimmeheadroom]

How good are these on tubes? My friend wants to sell me one and says I can either take the balanced cable or single ended.... Should I get SE for Woo Audio WA7 or Balanced for Oppo HA-1?

All the 300 ohm Sennheisers are very, very happy out of a good OTL amp. On paper the WA2 is the best Woo to choose unless you have money to burn.

 

[the1andonly]

All the 300 ohm Sennheisers are very, very happy out of a good OTL amp. On paper the WA2 is the best Woo to choose unless you have money to burn.

is that because of the tubes it uses? the WA7 is the same price and the gen2 without the WA7tp is even cheaper... I got a gen 1 WA7 + WA7tp for $600 from a user here

 

[gimmeheadroom]

is that because of the tubes it uses? the WA7 is the same price and the gen2 without the WA7tp is even cheaper... I got a gen 1 WA7 + WA7tp for $600 from a user here

No, it's because of the topology. And again, I said on paper, because I haven't heard either amp. In general OTLs are prime feed for 300 ohm Sennheisers. Other topology tube amps may be fine, bad, great, depending on the specific amp.

 

[the1andonly]

No, it's because of the topology. And again, I said on paper, because I haven't heard either amp. In general OTLs are prime feed for 300 ohm Sennheisers. Other topology tube amps may be fine, bad, great, depending on the specific amp.

oh ok, I kind of understand sir, wasn't trying to be rude, but I am curios why does the WA2 look better of paper if you don't mind telling me, I know I am not very knowledgeable on this so I might not understand, so no worries I think I understand you mean theoretically! Also it does look very freaking cool!

 

[gimmeheadroom]

oh ok, I kind of understand sir, wasn't trying to be rude, but I am curios why does the WA2 look better of paper if you don't mind telling me, I know I am not very knowledgeable on this so I might not understand, so no worries I think I understand you mean theoretically! Also it does look very freaking cool!

There is no sir here and you are not rude at all. I'm not expert on this enough to give you a full explanation. OTL amps don't have a transformer, the WA2 is that type. Those amps work well with high impedance loads like the HD 800. SET amps, which is what the WA7 is might or might not work as well, you just have to try. So if you can't listen for a few hours to each one ahead of time, the safe bet is a good OTL amp.

 

[the1andonly]

There is no sir here and you are not rude at all. I'm not expert on this enough to give you a full explanation. OTL amps don't have a transformer, the WA2 is that type. Those amps work well with high impedance loads like the HD 800. SET amps, which is what the WA7 is might or might not work as well, you just have to try. So if you can't listen for a few hours to each one ahead of time, the safe bet is a good OTL amp.

Whoa thank you! was not even aware of these attributes, haha yeah I got the WA7 because the Abyss guys recognized it's sound quality, which means nothing as far as stuff they may not have recognized isn't necessarily bad or not that it cannot/isn't be better than the WA7... but man I got the Gen1 with the Burr Brown DAC knowing it was old but smooth(which I like) and the sound quality was great when I forgot I was using 16/28khz even, when I turned it to 32/192khz I was just amazed how great it sounds... I am going to go research the terms you just used to understand tube amps better! I really like them, and you have no doubt helped me to make more informed decisions on them in the future, so thank you! this whole forum is pretty awesome for learning and trying new stuff

 

[gimmeheadroom]

Whoa thank you! was not even aware of these attributes, haha yeah I got the WA7 because the Abyss guys recognized it's sound quality, which means nothing as far as stuff they may not have recognized isn't necessarily bad or not that it cannot/isn't be better than the WA7... but man I got the Gen1 with the Burr Brown DAC knowing it was old but smooth(which I like) and the sound quality was great when I forgot I was using 16/28khz even, when I turned it to 32/192khz I was just amazed how great it sounds... I am going to go research the terms you just used to understand tube amps better! I really like them, and you have no doubt helped me to make more informed decisions on them in the future, so thank you! this whole forum is pretty awesome for learning and trying new stuff

Burr Brown DACs are a great old skool sound. But every DAC needs a good power supply and analog section too.

Anyway, there are general rules of thumb but there are also always exceptions. I have to buy most of my gear without being able to listen to it before making a decision. So I'm generally following the guidelines I learned on this forum and so far it has worked out fine. If you already got the WA7 I'm sorry for the confusion I added here, I totally misread your post I thought you were asking whether to buy the WA7 or the Oppo <FACEPALM>

So my apologies and Enjoy the music!

 

[smodtactical]

Anyone have a HD800 headband cover or cushion they use? I tried the ZMF pilot and co-pilot suede pads but didn't feel quite right. My stock pad needs to be replaced but i figure there might be some cover that people find comfortable.

 

[cycle53x12]

I gave my HD800 to my wife a while ago. She sits by the fireplace and listens to them using the Oppo HA1. She loves it. But out of curiosity, I plugged them into the Musical Paradise MP301 MK3 Integrated vacuum tube amp last night. My dac was the RME ADI 2 DAC. It was the best I've ever heard the HD800 sound. Even better than the Utopia in my opinion.

I love the HD800, I recently added some balanced cables and just love the sound when driven with the right amp. Everything sounds so wide with the HD. Still a great headphone if you are willing to EQ than you can relieve some of the treble.

 

[the1andonly]

Anyone have a HD800 headband cover or cushion they use? I tried the ZMF pilot and co-pilot suede pads but didn't feel quite right. My stock pad needs to be replaced but i figure there might be some cover that people find comfortable.

Did Sennheiser stop selling the OEM headbands?

Also this is what I bought for my Focals as soon as I got them, I also was able to get Focal to send me a pair of earpads, and they messed up so I ended up getting them free which was nice of them, so now I have perfect unsullied headband and extra earpads so I ain't losing $$$ when I sell it because of nasty dirty headband or old beatup earpads
https://www.amazon.com/Headband-Universal-Replacement-Protector-Headphones/dp/B07JGLNNHY

also the one I got might be slightly differently named, pretty sure it said "Focal" in title and was the exact right size, I had to relook up the item so this is the same maker and the same build but might not be sized perfectly for Focals or anything else

Here is the exact ASIN I bought (cannot find it listed anymore but it said "Large" in title and was for "2 1/2" " headband)
B0814D2NG7
Old title (cannot find the item at all now, only much smaller sized)

"Large Sized Replacement Headband Cushion Pad Cover Head Band Protector with Zipper, Headband Cover Cushion Protector Pad for Headphones (Max for 2-1/2''W Cushion pad, Black) (New)"

EDIT- nevermind just out of stock
https://spares.sennheiser.com/en-us/catalog/sparepart/534406