You would maybe find that the HD800 will have a slightly different soundstage and instrument definition with other amps and spending more time with them. The tonal response you talk about is close to the AKG 702, but with different sources and different amps your opinion may change as far as your take on their soundstage and instrument delineation? In my opinion it's slightly different. You should try the HD800s with other equipment as I feel your ideas about specialization (specifically) may change? Mine did. To me the HD800s had slightly better detail and bigger soundstage which gave room for instrument delineation? I agree they never seemed worth the money they asked. Still they would be great headphones for $500. I simply never purchased them because of my ideas about their specific value in regards to my collection. I also found them to be slightly cold, where I had the k701 already.
I found that the HD800 had an amazing ability to scale up and continue to scale up, farther than even the AKG k701-k702 could go? Just my 2 cents.
I found that the HD800 had an amazing ability to scale up and continue to scale up, farther than even the AKG k701-k702 could go? Just my 2 cents.
It is very true that headphones in general have come a long way since the HD800 was introduced, especially at the lower end of the market. I have the akg702's and they are fantastic for the money, but just don't do what the HD800 can do. It is well known that the HD800's need good source components and many of the negative comments/reviews seem to come from incompatibility of the connected gear. If you have a good quality and well matched system, even now the HD800's offer an unmatched soundstage, clarity and detail.
With all due respect, the gear you list above is not exactly reference grade.....I'm not being snobbish about that, it's just a statement of fact. You are matching a reference grade headphone with some quite basic source components....the HD800 is always going to reveal such compromises.
A lot also depends on the listening material. For classical music (generally) the HD800 is hard to beat (again I stress on a well matched system), but is less than ideal on certain types of music. Many "bassheads" think it is light on bass, but I believe it is accurate based on the source material.
I've never found it necessary to mod my HD800's, most of my gear is high quality tube based and I don't experience any of the fatigue or sibilance that some others report. However, again that is probably down to system matching. The HD800 is a very precise "instrument" in many ways....it is particular about matching gear. This may be a weakness....other (cheaper) headphones can be matched with virtually anything and sound their best, not the HD800.
However, matched with my DNA stratus and musical paradise MP-D2, I have not heard a better headphone, with the exception of my Ether flows, which just edge out the HD-800's in terms of flexibility with other music genres. However, with classical music, the HD-800's are unmatched (so far)
The HD800's are a niche headphone IMHO and will not suit the majority, There are many headphones out there now that will offer more flexibility with connected gear and at a fraction of the price, but they also do some things so well that they still deserve consideration, especially if you have higher quality front end gear. The price has come down considerably in the past year or two also, so I think it still offers good value. Some believe the original HD800 actually out performs the HD800S, especially when modded. I can't comment on that, but I personally see no real weaknesses in the original HD800.
However, to say that the HD800 is worth €200-300 is pretty silly when you are using lower end source gear to test it with. Just about every review of the HD800 mentions that they are very critical of source gear and you need to use equivalent level hardware to get anything close to the benefit of these headphones. I have done this myself and can...