[John Willett]

Quote:

Oh, I don't find them bright at all, that's why I put it in quotes. Just compared to the HD650, it has a brighter sound.
 

OK - so it could just as well mean that the 650 rolls off the top end.

 

 

[I3eyond]

So, while I have never found the HD650s to be veiled like some say...I do at times wish they had more detail, like a Grado can.
 
I auditioned the SR325i,and didn't find them to be too bright.  Though, their bass response did not impress me at all.  
 
I'm thinking the HD800 will be perfect for me from what you all are saying....
 
 

 

[John Willett]

Quote:

So, while I have never found the HD650s to be veiled like some say...I do at times wish they had more detail, like a Grado can.
 
I auditioned the SR325i,and didn't find them to be too bright.  Though, their bass response did not impress me at all.  
 
I'm thinking the HD800 will be perfect for me from what you all are saying....
 
 

I'm saying I think the HD 800 will be perfect for you.
 
Especially if you like neutrality, accuracy and detail with a good soundstage and (if the original was well recorded) good placing of instruments in the soundstage.
 
The 800 is vastly better than the 650 (and I do have both).
 
 
 

 

[atomiccow]

How much do you like the HD650? If you love it, I would say you will not like the HD800. If you're looking for something entirely different for better or worse, then go for it.
 
If you're looking an upgrade with the same signautre of the HD650, the LCD-2 rev 2 is the way to go. Comfort of the LCD-2 is a world apart from the HD650 and HD800 though. It's basically horrible so factor that into your decision too.
 
I have had HD650 first then wanted to upgrade. I had a friend who has an HD800 so I listened to it extensively before buying the LCD-2. The HD800 is totally different animal. It is absolutely not a do-it-all headphone like the HD650.

 

[John Willett]

Quote:

How much do you like the HD650? If you love it, I would say you will not like the HD800.

Interesting - I have the 650 and loved them until I heard the 800.
 
The HD 800 showed up all the deficiencies in the 650, and even though I loved the 650 the 800 was so much better it blew me away.
 
But then, I am always on the search for neutrality and lack of colouration so I can hear the instruments as they really are - not to give a pleasant coloured sound.
 
 
Quote:

I have had HD650 first then wanted to upgrade. I had a friend who has an HD800 so I listened to it extensively before buying the LCD-2. The HD800 is totally different animal. It is absolutely not a do-it-all headphone like the HD650.

 
The question I would ask here is what amplifier was he using and what was the source - the 800 is very revealing.
 
 

 

[atomiccow]

Quote:

 
 
The question I would ask here is what amplifier was he using and what was the source - the 800 is very revealing.
 

It was a good enough setup, better than the on I'm running my LCD-2 through right now. Basically for the HD 800 you need high quality recording, and by that I don't mean high bit rate or lossless source files. The HD800 only plays nice with well recorded / mastered music which tends to be in the classical and jazz genre. I basically found it universally rapes rock, pop, electronica, and basically 99% of the popular genres of music because they tend to be badly recorded / mastered.
 
The HD650 and LCD-2 are so coloured they glaze over the defficiencies in mainstream recordings making them a much more do-it-all headphone. I do not own or listen exclusively to well mastered recordings which is why I took the LCD-2 over the HD800.
 
 

 

[bustaplz]

Before I got my HiFiMAN HE-500, I was able to audition them with the HD-650 and HD-800 through a Rega DAC and Musicial Fidelity M1HPA. The HD-650 and HD-800 were worlds apart for me. The HD-800 did not like anything that was recorded poorly or was not lossless. I found myself preferring to listen to the HE-500 over both the HD-800 and the HD-650. I think the HD-650 and HE-500 are more fun, with the HD-800 being an incredible piece of design and engineering. The imaging is completely superior, but I found myself analyzing the music too much while listening to them and not enjoying the technology of the HD-800 more than the music I was listening to through them. I think the HE-500 would be closer to the HD-650 sonically and it sounds like the LCD-2 may be even closer, though I have not yet had the pleasure of hearing the LCD-2.

 

[RexAeterna]

To the OP.

 

[nikp]

Quote:

Interesting - I have the 650 and loved them until I heard the 800.
 
The HD 800 showed up all the deficiencies in the 650, and even though I loved the 650 the 800 was so much better it blew me away.
 
But then, I am always on the search for neutrality and lack of colouration so I can hear the instruments as they really are - not to give a pleasant coloured sound.
 
 

Does that mean your HD580 is your favourite?
 

 

[I3eyond]

HD800 not good with electronica?  That's a negative. . . 
 
To the question on how much I like my HD650s:
 
I like them, but don't necessarily love them.  They sound great, don't get me wrong, but I just want more.....

 

[Amarphael]

Quote:

HD800 not good with electronica?  That's a negative. . . 

Depends on what type, IME HD800 is excellent with more 'refined' progrresive Electronica types like Delerium, Massive Attack, Portishead and such. But if you want to be knocked out when some heavy bass notes appear, It ain't gonna happen.


 
 

 

[I3eyond]

Quote:

Depends on what type, IME HD800 is excellent with more 'refined' progrresive Electronica types like Delerium, Massive Attack, Portishead and such. But if you want to be knocked out when some heavy bass notes appear, It ain't gonna happen.


 
 

What about Infected Mushroom?  And, would you consider the HD650s capable of "knocking me out" when heavy bass notes appear? 

 

[atomiccow]

Quote:

What about Infected Mushroom?  And, would you consider the HD650s capable of "knocking me out" when heavy bass notes appear? 

No I wouldn't. It has a lot of bass presence which makes it more suited for these types of genres in general but its not by any means heart thumping. I don't think any enthusiast / audiophile headphone does or should produce heart thumping bass since the intended amount of bass is mixed into the recording initially and it's rarely on a heart thumping level. The HD650 does not have a treble emphasis which makes its lows and mids much more noticable.
 
Going from an HD650 to and HD800 you will instantly notice what sounds like a deficiency in bass. This is due to less bass presence from its more neutral sound signature. The actual frequency response of the HD800 doesn't show any more bass roll off vs the HD650.
 
I would highly not recommend you let the HD800 be the phone you purchase without auditioning first. It is a phone where you must carefully examine not only your setup but your music tastes. If you haven't owned the HD650 for years and have never thought much of it then it is not your type of sound signature so maybe going to a new sound signature like the HD800 you will find something you like (but you can also try many other top tier phones which you may like even more). I must warn you though that if you are looking specifically for an HD650 successor, the HD800 is probably not what you're looking for.

 

[I3eyond]

1) It seems like you go Grado and get the detail you lose the bass.
 
2) It seems like you go AKG and get the soundstage and airyness and you lose the bass. 
 
So it seems from what some of you are saying detail + soundstage + airyness = Sennheiser HD800.  Can we then make the conclusion from statements 1 & 2 that:
 
detail + soundstage + airyness + Sennheiser HD800 = rolloff in bass?

 

[Dubstep Girl]

Quote:

1) It seems like you go Grado and get the detail you lose the bass.
 
2) It seems like you go AKG and get the soundstage and airyness and you lose the bass. 
 
So it seems from what some of you are saying detail + soundstage + airyness = Sennheiser HD800.  Can we then make the conclusion from statements 1 & 2 that:
 
detail + soundstage + airyness + Sennheiser HD800 = rolloff in bass?

wrong.
 
akg has bass. grado has bass.  and hd 800 has bass.