[droido256]

The one i have (new 2016) powered directly from the iphone is ridiculously loud, and hooking up the B1 to them does nothing, so far they need a amp like a duck needs a wetsuit.

 

[DavidA]

The one i have (new 2016) powered directly from the iphone is ridiculously loud, and hooking up the B1 to them does nothing, so far they need a amp like a duck needs a wetsuit.

doesn't the iphone have one of the more powerful amps?  I think the LG was another.  My S5 sucks, the only thing it can drive decently is a Vmoda XS which is super efficient.  I've been using my Fiio X3 to drive the EL8 when I travel (pretty good) but at home its connected directly to my headphone jack from the Xonar DG sound card (better).

 

[droido256]

Oh the iphone def is better than the samsung amps, but even the weakling work computers could push them easily to thumping hard

 

[thefitz]

I'm running it exclusively through my Pono player in balanced mode, and I can crank the hell out of it. It would need to be a significant drop in sensitivity.
 
Personally, I think this is one of these "they changed the box colour, it must sound different!" situations.
 
I used to work at a beer store. There was this annoying European beer sold by the can. The can was green. The company came out with a new can design. The can was now red. Same damn beer. The regulars didn't want it anymore.

 

[WayTooCrazy]

  I'm running it exclusively through my Pono player in balanced mode, and I can crank the hell out of it. It would need to be a significant drop in sensitivity.
 
Personally, I think this is one of these "they changed the box colour, it must sound different!" situations.
 
I used to work at a beer store. There was this annoying European beer sold by the can. The can was green. The company came out with a new can design. The can was now red. Same damn beer. The regulars didn't want it anymore.

How do you like it through the Pono?
 
I'm liking these A LOT through my Modi 2 Uber > Vali 2 w/E88CC India tube. I also like it from my Galaxy Note 3 > DacMagic XS. They both sound really good and clean. Though, the Pono and using Balanced is intriguing.

 

[thefitz]

  How do you like it through the Pono?
 
I'm liking these A LOT through my Modi 2 Uber > Vali 2 w/E88CC India tube. I also like it from my Galaxy Note 3 > DacMagic XS. They both sound really good and clean. Though, the Pono and using Balanced is intriguing.

I think it's amazing. Selling my Sony MDR-Z7 for that reason. I'm using them together exclusively.

 

[droido256]

So far the EL-8, direct drive from iphone, using just run of the mill apple music files, no 24 bit no 192khz (tho I want to get some of fave songs in 24bit/192 for Ampliflac.) the EL-8 is blowing away everything i own, and everything ive heard (so far), tho the most expensive headphone IM willing to pay for is a LCDx, or a HE-6 (sorry senny fans, the HD800 sound just sucked to me, Ill say it.......)

 

[zambz]

So far the EL-8, direct drive from iphone, using just run of the mill apple music files, no 24 bit no 192khz (tho I want to get some of fave songs in 24bit/192 for Ampliflac.) the EL-8 is blowing away everything i own, and everything ive heard (so far), tho the most expensive headphone IM willing to pay for is a LCDx, or a HE-6 (sorry senny fans, the HD800 sound just sucked to me, Ill say it.......)

 
<rant>
Agreed re the HD800.  What's the point of a great soundstage and comfort when the frequency balance is completely unmusical and just plain awful.  The 6kHz peak also masks the fact that the treble on the HD-800 lacks extension and leaves a lot to be desired.  People calling the HD-800 "fast" clearly have never heard a planar because any Audeze headphone has significantly better transient response than the HD-800.
</rant>
 
Glad you're enjoying your EL-8s as much as I am

 

[WayTooCrazy]

"Z" Reviews did a review on the HD800 and the Audeze EL-8 Open. I asked him if he liked the EL-8 Open more than the HE-400i. He told me they were "more". I then asked the same question of the HD800 vs the EL-8 Open. He said.. "I'd rather have the EL-8O".  I like his reviews, he doesn't care and is willing to speak his mind, and also entertaining.

 

[DavidA]

   
<rant>
Agreed re the HD800.  What's the point of a great soundstage and comfort when the frequency balance is completely unmusical and just plain awful.  The 6kHz peak also masks the fact that the treble on the HD-800 lacks extension and leaves a lot to be desired.  People calling the HD-800 "fast" clearly have never heard a planar because any Audeze headphone has significantly better transient response than the HD-800.
</rant>
 
Glad you're enjoying your EL-8s as much as I am

First time I've ever heard that the HD-800 lacks extension in the treble

 

[droido256]

First time I've ever heard that the HD-800 lacks extension in the treble

HD800 are like the Grados, screechy. Certainly not worth 1000-1500 bucks, though not many dynamics are. Tho very few planars are also, especially given how well the RP driver from Fostex can do. The low to mid range Hifimans, and clearly Audeze low to mid range clearly can hold their own against the big boys as well.

 

[zambz]

  First time I've ever heard that the HD-800 lacks extension in the treble

 
Honestly, try this:
 
1. Notch out the 6 kHz peak with EQ (to correct it)
2. Listen to a piece of music with a very nice top end on the HD-800 and pretty much any fazored Audeze
 
No amount of EQ could bring back the sparkle that the Audeze (or my studio monitors with ribbon tweeters) have.  Once you remove that nasty peak at 6 kHz, you start to realise that it is the lower treble that has all the heat while the upper octave is not at all articulate or even present.
 
I wish I could borrow a pair to spend a lot more time on this, but I spent a good few hours trying to hear a similar treble response on the HD-800s that I did with the LCD-3/X/EL-8 and no matter what I did with EQ, the top octave just wasn't as well presented.
 
This also held true of the slam in the bottom end, the punch that we all love with our Audezes, it just isn't there.
 
But that's just one man's opinion I guess

 

[DavidA]

HD800 are like the Grados, screechy. Certainly not worth 1000-1500 bucks, though not many dynamics are. Tho very few planars are also, especially given how well the RP driver from Fostex can do. The low to mid range Hifimans, and clearly Audeze low to mid range clearly can hold their own against the big boys as well.

I guess this is the fun part of this hobby where everyone hears different and has different preferences.  My hearing and preferences must be a little different since I don't think Grados (RS2e and SR-225e) or the HD-800 are screechy, to me the highs on all are smooth, detailed, clear and extended, but it also depends on the gear in the audio chain and to some extent the genre of music being listened to. 
 
I also have a HE-560, HD-700, T1 and SR-009, all of these put my EL8o to shame in the highs on my system, and the HD-800 on my home system does everything better than the EL8o, even the bass is tighter and goes lower, only when I'm out and about and using a DAP does the EL8 do better than all of the other headphones except for the HD-700 due to its easy to drive nature.  The HD-700 with Fiio X3 is a really good combo for portable use and also much more comfortable, my GF uses her HD-700 and X3 everyday when she walks the dog, the EL8 is just too heavy to walk around with IMO. 
 
FWIW I also have a LCD-2f, its good but would still take the other headphones listed above over the EL8, these are just my experiences and impressions.
 
PS: I also don't use any EQ since additional processing only adds distortions and will muddy up the sound IMO.

 

[droido256]

I guess this is the fun part of this hobby where everyone hears different and has different preferences.  My hearing and preferences must be a little different since I don't think Grados (RS2e and SR-225e) or the HD-800 are screechy, to me the highs on all are smooth, detailed, clear and extended, but it also depends on the gear in the audio chain and to some extent the genre of music being listened to. 

I also have a HE-560, HD-700, T1 and SR-009, all of these put my EL8o to shame in the highs on my system, and the HD-800 on my home system does everything better than the EL8o, even the bass is tighter and goes lower, only when I'm out and about and using a DAP does the EL8 do better than all of the other headphones except for the HD-700 due to its easy to drive nature.  The HD-700 with Fiio X3 is a really good combo for portable use and also much more comfortable, my GF uses her HD-700 and X3 everyday when she walks the dog, the EL8 is just too heavy to walk around with IMO. 

FWIW I also have a LCD-2f, its good but would still take the other headphones listed above over the EL8, these are just my experiences and impressions.

PS: I also don't use any EQ since additional processing only adds distortions and will muddy up the sound IMO.

Havnt tried the 560 yet, want to. The hd700, is just..... Awful, the T1 is fine, but gets spanked in over all tonal balance and attack by most planars(sorry just was not impressed by Beyer's Tesla), the Stax sound pretty good, but no way im plopping down that much for something marginally better than a planar (not that impressed by electrostats all things considered). Given its still in the 3 digit range, needs no amp, or dac or anything, sounds amazing, the EL-8o is definately top crop. Its heavy yes (shrug) for maybe the first two hours of ownership, then after that cant even feel its there. The hd700, and 800 i couldnt listen to for more than 30 mins before my ears fatigued.

 

[DavidA]

Havnt tried the 560 yet, want to. The hd700, is just..... Awful, the T1 is fine, but gets spanked in over all tonal balance and attack by most planars(sorry just was not impressed by Beyer's Tesla), the Stax sound pretty good, but no way im plopping down that much for something marginally better than a planar (not that impressed by electrostats all things considered). Given its still in the 3 digit range, needs no amp, or dac or anything, sounds amazing, the EL-8o is definately top crop. Its heavy yes (shrug) for maybe the first two hours of ownership, then after that cant even feel its there. The hd700, and 800 i couldnt listen to for more than 30 mins before my ears fatigued.

Its great that we like different sounds, gives manufactures the opportunities to create many different headphones of various sound signatures.  Seems that you look for single tonal balance which is not something that I consider important, I like headphones with different tonal balances / signatures for the same reason that only chicken would be boring. 
 
I get that the HD-700 is one of those headphones that is either love it or hate it, doesn't seem to have a middle ground.  The highs seem to affect different people in different ways, its like the screech of my parrot, too me it wasn't bad, to my ex-wife it was like a knife in her ear. 
 
Got hooked on electrostatics way back in the 80's when I heard some STAX speakers at a friend of my parents house, to this day I haven't heard too many speakers that can better it.  I also have a old SR-34 Stax, its a electrect, not a true electrostatic and is driven by speaker taps, and as old as it is can still sounds better than a few $1K headphones that I've heard.
 
The beauty of the EL8 is its easy to drive nature and if I didn't have any amps or DACs then I would be very content because the EL8 would perform better than many more costly headphones that usually require a amp / DAC that pairs well with them. 
 
Before a fair judgment or comparison of headphones can be done, I think that one should try and do the comparison when both headphones are provided a reasonable system that drives them properly.  Passing judgment on say a HD-800 driven by a compute headphone jack or phone and saying its not good is no way to make a comparison IMO.  I'm assuming that you have heard the HD-700 and HD-800 driven by good gear that was well matched and came to your conclusion that they are not your cup of tea, you made your wallet very happy there.