Since I received the HD800 S I have put in somewhere between 100 – 150 hours of listening mostly on two different amps (and a little on a 3rd). I also did a lot of comparisons with my up to now favorite current production headphone, its older brother the HD800.
Overall, I have found the HD800 S to be a worthy of consideration for anyone thinking of purchasing a TOTL headphone. It features a wide open sound stage, revealing with lots of inner detail perfectly extracted, very realistic rendering of timbre and decay for acoustic instruments and is very well extended at both ends of the spectrum. While an overall bright headphone, it doesn’t suffer from the peaky treble its older sibling—albeit at the expense of a little air and instrument separation and definition. It seems to handle any genre of music with aplomb and sounded good on both solid state and tubes. I think it is definitely the best dynamic headphone on the market and competitive, depending on your taste, with any current production headphone available. Oh and it’s probably the most comfortably headphone I have ever used (which means the same as HD800).
When you buy it what do you get? A usb stick with your personal diffuse sound field graph, measured by Sennheiser on your pair that allegedly takes a whole bunch a time to produce. That’s certainly better than having to get Sennheiser to send you one like I had to with the HD800 (it took two tries for me). Probably one more cable than you really need (ie one single ended and one balanced) some promotional “blah blah what great purchase” material, the headphones (they are matte black), a flimsy outer box with pictures of the headphone on it and a much more sturdier box you will want to keep for storage or if you move or sell it. You can look for pictures elsewhere.
I am one of those who tried the Anax mod and then undid it. So you can say I didn’t like it, but I do like the S one heck of a lot. I also should mention that a youth squandered on lots of rock ‘n roll at high volume probably means I am less sensitive to trebly phones than some.
What follows is a collection of impressions, which, in order to help people calibrate, are mostly in comparison to the HD800.
In general the differences between HD800 and the S aren't subtle, but they ain’t night and day. It's a lot like the differences between many TOTL headphones, the differences are slightly exaggerated when you try to express it writing. It is less subtle than trying to figure out the differences between two excellent amplifiers, you don’t need to switch back and forth a bunch of times to hear it, it is obvious from the start, but only after many hours and of listening was I able to begin to better understand the differences. In general we can say the Classic is brighter, the younger S is relatively warmer. Both are detail monsters with big sound stage. The classic maybe a little more so. But wait! There's more...
Rocking Out
I started by listening mostly to rock music, since that is where I found the classic HD800 sometimes problematic. In the beginning I mostly listened on my Lehman BCL because I can go back and forth between classic and youngster easily since it has two single-ended head-outs. I have also listened a little bit to my Icon Audio HP8 mkII amp with NOS Sylvania 6SN7 (70s) and a modern JJ gold pin ECC83, my current fave tubes so far.
I listened to a variety of stuff old and new. I will just pick two albums that pretty well exemplify what I discovered.
Listening to the hi-res, Stephen Wilson remix of Yes's Fragile, the classic HD800 sounds a little sibilant on Roundabout: "I'll SSSSpend the day your way". The youngster reveals no such emphasis. The album is musically amazing and but the recording quality, even after it's been Steven Wilsonified, is so-so. The youngster just sounds so much more right. The classic has a tendency to sound grainy on this recording. For example the South Side of the Sky sounds like the VU meters are way into the red when the sound it at a crescendo, ("seems like all eternity), well at least if you are listening to classic. But the young guy makes this sound, well, smoother—the grain is almost all gone.
However, the heightened treble of the original does give in some cases the sense of a little more air and details. As an example of this, I was listening to a hi-res version of David Gilmour's newest, Rattle that Lock. The song Dancing Right In Front of Me has a beautiful solo towards then end. Under the guitar are classic Floydish sounding background vocals. It sounds further down in the mix on the youngster and noticeably more up front on the classic. I have no idea which is more correct, but on this pristine recording the instrument definition, the air and the inner detail seems a little better on the classic. But, the slightly warmer tonality, and the way the cymbals splash seems more right somehow on the S.
In general, the youngster seems to be better suited to brightly recorded and poorly recorded material. I have heard Sennheiser is saying that the S is more extended at the bottom end the its classic older bro. On the rock tracks I played it was really hard to tell if this is indeed the case.
Dancing to Hip Hop and Electronica
So the next day, I tried some hip hop and electronica.
So who was bass king was harder to discern on the rock tracks from the day before, but boy on hip hop it was so much easier. Kendrick Lamar's recent masterpiece, To Pimp a Butterfly, just sounds overall better on the HD800 S. Other albums I played were the recent release by Colleen, Captain of None and Jamie XX, in color. I always liked the bass on the HD800, articulate and extended, but honestly it lacks a little in the slam department.
Kendrick Lamar's Wesley Theory, just hits harder and seems to go a little lower on the youngster. Maybe it is because the youngster sounds warmer than the classic all I can say is on Hip Hop, hands down I would grab the S every time.
On electronica it isn't as clear. For example on Colleen's I'm Kin. The sense of air around the singer’s voice is seductive and in general the track sounds slightly more open on the classic. But the thump of the bass is deeper and fatter on the youngster. Similarly on Jamie XX Gosh, the way the highly processed vocals jump out of the mix on the HD800 is totally cool. But again the track hits deeper and warmer in a good way on the youngster.
I think that the very nature of highly processed modern music makes it hard to say which headphone is more accurate. Unless you are the person who created it, I don't know how you can say for sure what it should sound like. On both headphones the presentation was excellent. On the more bassy tracks I would probably go for the youngster.
So far I would say things for me tilt slightly towards the youngster. On some tracks I felt like I could hear a little more deeply into the music with the classic, probably due to what some call the hotter treble energy. It was actually really nice on very well recorded music. But on older or less good recordings I would definitely give the nod to the youngster. Overall I prefer the tonality and bass response of the youngster over it's sometimes more revealing older brother. The soundstage on S was pretty much Sennheiser HD800 big. I like that, for some reason that I don’t get, some don’t. If you don’t, you won’t like the S.
Does it sound like a piano?
Next, I wanted to try some classical stuff. There I wasn’t sure which way things will fall. First of all I think that up to now it was hard to think of a headphone that I like as much for chamber music, the SR 009 expensively amped maybe is equal. I have an emotional bias towards the classic, it was hearing piano on the HD800 that originally seduced me. So I put the classic aside for day and only listened to the S to recalibrate my ears a little. For me this was going to be an important test: While acoustic albums often have almost as much studio wizardry and processing of the sound as their electric cousins, I have a much better idea what acoustic instruments are supposed to sound like, especially since I have guitars and a Steinway baby grand lying around the house.
Again I am just singling out a couple of recordings that exemplify what I think I heard.
Igor Levit's recent release in Hi-Res, Bach, Beethoven and Rzewski is not only amazing music but very well recorded. With this music I find the comparison a little more difficult. The classic gives a more lit up presentation, which makes certain nuances of the attack of hammer on the string really much easier to discern. That is really cool. There is an open airiness to the presentation with HD800 that is seductive. It also seems just a hair's breadth short of completely realistic. It comes closer to right than any headphone I have heard except maybe the Stax 009 for solo piano. But when I last ab'ed the star Staxen and HD800 side by side a year or so ago, they were really slight differences of the same general idea ( one a little more grainy at times the other more effortless at the high end but sometimes seemed to be a wee less authoritative at the low end). But both seemed just a teeny tiny bit tilted up which gave this really compelling you can hear every nuance thing that I like. Ok so how does the youngster sound?
The S sounds warmer, a little richer, it goes a little deeper when he hammers away on the left end of the ivories. The decay seems more like it sounds when I sit on the couch and someone plays the piano in the living room about 2 meters (6 feet) away. It is also little less clear and a little less airy than the classic. But on the classic there were a few places where Igor hit the tinkly keys on the right end of the piano pretty hard and the seeming air and clarity gave way to a slightly too sharp sound. It is lessened on the S for sure. I actually ran over to the piano and started banging on it and then listened again to the recording. It’s not really the same piano and a different room etc. But it is always good to hear what the real thing sounds like. On richness, I gives it to the S. On detail, I gives it to the classic. On which is more natural? I thinks I gots to say the S, the timbre was just a little more right. But some will definitely like the classic better here. It is the more fun headphone on Igor Levit's recent recording of Beethoven's Diabelli Variations. Did I just say the classic is the more fun headphone? No one ever says the HD800 is the more fun headphone on head-fi. But here I am saying it, on head-fi, in this particular case. On hip hop, funness is totally with the youngster, Does anyone who listens to classical piano care about funness? Maybe in this case. I dunno we are splitting hairs anyway, but that is a big part of the funness here at head-fi: Making a big deal out of small diffs.
Dueling Violins
One thing I have discovered while living in France are all the small labels doing audiophile sound and dynamic performances of chamber music. The scholarship is sometimes astounding. Some of it is mixed on the HD800! I don't know how much of it makes it outside of France, I guess everyone has heard some of the Alpha label recordings. Checkout the stuff with Cafe Zimmermann doing Bach. But I digress. For this test I used a recent release by L'Aura Rilucente Handel & Haym: Trio Sonatas in hi-res. Haym is quite a discovery, apparently a contemporary/collaborator of Handel. His trio sonata in D was a revelation, with quite a thrilling Allegro for the finale.
On both headphones you can clearly make out the two lead violins furiously trading licks back and forth, with cello harp and organ underneath. The sense of air around the instruments is absolutely to die for with the HD800 and the instrument separation is fantastic. Every sound seems to suspended perfectly in space. This headphone was made for music like this. And yet, every now and again the lead violin is just a wee bit too strident or sharp. I suspect with my no longer young ears, this bothers me less than some.
The HD800 S on the other hand really nails the timbre and the decay of the instruments which sound a hair more natural. It seems to be just enough less strident on the higher registers than its more experienced sibling. This comes at the expense of air. The difference between the two is small, but very definitely there. It isn't like I have to go back and forth ten times and listen really closely to discern a difference.
At this point I decided to switch amps. I leave the Lehmann with its two SE outputs and go over to the more laborious to compare Icon Audio HP8 MK ii with its single output. The HD800 shines on this amp, more holographic sound and less strident than the Lehmann. It is why I bought it. Everything is right with the world once again. Until I switch over to the S, and once again I feel like the timbre is slightly more correct. The S doesn't sound as different on the tubes as its bro, but I still like it better on tubes. And while I have again given up a bit of air and definition around the instruments, in addition to the timbre and decay, I get a blacker background. It's a tradeoff. If you are happy with your HD800 as is, I would say you need to audition rather than buy an S on the blind.
A Trip to Symphony Hall
So next I try symphony. I am a bit of a freak about Mahler's ninth, especially the second movement. So for this, I chose Kubelik with Symphonieorchester des beyerischen Rundfunks from 1967. I have heard it something like a hundred times and I decided to go for 101. Going back and forth between phones, this time sticking with the tubular goodness of the Icon, it is all becoming pretty clear now.
Tympani go a wee bit lower and hit a wee bit harder on the S. Experience counts though and in this case older bro has it for instrument separation & definition, especially on the complex crescendos. And again on the S the timbre sounds more natural, and less strident. The warmer sound generally works here—it sounds more natural— but it is still a pretty bright headphone. Just a little less so. And gosh those tympani thump soooooo satisfyingly.
Jazzing Things Up
Going back to the days with those black spinning things that got worse sounding every time they spun around, Kind Of Blue by Miles Davis was one of my reference points for evaluating a new component. Using the 2013 high-res stereo version and the Icon, I soldier on. One of the cool things about doing an eval is I get to lose myself in music for a bunch of hours and then a bunch more.
Here I start with the S. I don’t think I have ever heard opening track, So What, ever sound better on headphones (maybe on a SR007 mk1 on BHSEE, but that was a looong while ago). The opening bass line hits deep and yet articulate, you hear all the inner detail and sub tones. No mud being slung today. Then just to see if your system is up to snuff Miles starts slow then gently squeals. The new kid, HD800 S, just walks up to the line of too sharp but nails it. It seems perfect. Live Trumpet will be sharp and a bit piercing, and the S renders it pretty close to perfect. No detail is lost, the timbre is spot on, but I ain’t wincing.
By contrast, the HD800 is just a little less convincing. Unlike on some tracks where it is hard to tell a difference, here the bass doesn’t go quite as low and doesn’t hit quite as hard. Still there is this really nice inner detail and if I hadn’t just heard the S, I would say the bass is pretty close to perfect. But when Miles Horn comes in, that is where the real differences are laid bare. On one hand I feel like I hear a little more of the breathiness of the Trumpet, but with it comes a kind of sibilant misbehavior, when Miles suddenly careens into the upper register of the instrument. Later in the album, on places where Miles is more retrained (e.g. the opening bars of Freddie the Freeloader), the slightly extra bit of air gives a hair better sense of definition and detail, but still a little bit at the expense of tonality compared to younger bro.
Ladies and Gentlemen, the Grateful Dead
I saved this for last because it is my personal fetish and some of you will just wanna skip to the conclusion, if anyone has even bothered to read this self-indulgent trope-fest to this point. In my sig I mention that aural bliss is Dark Star from Philadelphia in ’72. Dark Star is a psychedelic opus that represents everything that is great and sometimes bad about the tripped out improvisational style of the Grateful Dead. There are a couple of simple verses, the chords are few and easy to play, it becomes a holy modal stomping ground for group weirdness and no two version are alike, some are really, really not alike.
When I listen to this track from Dick’s Pick 36, I simply forget about which headphone is better. No matter which phone I use, the gear melts away and I am lost once again in Jerry-land. And at the end of the day that is what makes this hobby ( and both of these headphones) great.
In conclusion:
HD800 more air, sometimes better instrument separation/definition. HD800 S sometimes goes a little lower and slams a bit more, warmer, blacker background, less prone to piercing highs, even more natural timbre and decay. S better with rock, hip hop, poor recordings and maybe electronica. Classical music, it's harder to say— In general it’s the S but on some recordings the air and instrument separation of the classic is quite beguiling. Jazz is similar to chamber music, but because of the prominence of bass and drums I think the S takes the show. Both seem to scale with amplification, both like my tube amp best. (I have three amps around here to try). I suspect the S is less amp dependent, but someone with more different amps would be better off answering this. It MIGHT mean that total cost of ownership is less, in that you might find with the S a more modest amp will be enough than is required for the classic. More research will be required and head-fi being what it is, in a six months we will likely know. The S is certainly the best Dynamic driver headphone available today. It seems to work with every genre of music I threw at it, improving on an already great set of cans.
In this suddenly crazy world of Head-fi summit phone pricing, the HD800 S seems like it is priced well. If you sell the cable you don’t need you are only a couple of hundred bones above the classic, which is starting to look damn cheap. If I were really pressed for funds and could stretch, now is the time to get a used HD800. Otherwise try an S.
I predict that the S will be loved by the professional reviewer class. They mostly wanted to love the classic, but couldn’t even though they respect it. With the S they get their perfect lover and their perfect spouse in a single package.
Lots of people been asking about this compared to the HEK. I think no one can actually tell you which is better, they sound so different. Personally, I didn't like the more relaxed sound of the HEK as much as the HD800, I feel it gave up just a little too much detail to get there. I did a side by side with the HD800 this summer. It may be more of an all-rounder than the HD800 but now the S changes that equation.I also don't like how heavy it is, my neck gets sore. And finally, I don't have the same confidence in the longevity of the Hifimann, yet. And even more finally, $3000 is even crazier money. Too crazy for me with all the other stuff I could buy, given the fact that I find it a side grade at best. If you heard the HEK, liked it and were thinking of getting it, I would recommend auditioning the HD800S. The slightly warmer more natural sound then the classic while retaining most of the precision, makes me think a few of the people tilting to the HEK might tilt back.
Don’t ask me about LCDs, I don’t like’em and I could explain why ( heavy, quality control issues, sound), but who cares. For me, if it isn’t the S, I would go for a SR009 or if, as rumored, the new SR007s are really better than the early mkiis then they are worth a look. The new Stax SR L700 seems like it is worth a shot. But they all will come to even crazier money and you are locked into idiosyncratic amps.
I would recommend that anyone who has the HD800 try to demo before upgrading blindly. I can imagine some people not wanting to lose the little extra bit of airiness and precise definition between instruments for the more restrained charms of younger bro. For people who were scared away by the hot treble of the classic, now it’s time to give the new baby a look. As always on head-fi YMMV.
