My HD-800s arrived. Have been testing with a Forza Noir Hybrid HPC XLR cable and the HA-300. The HA-300 drives it very easily. I was at 8:00 to 9:00 on the low impedance setting. Unlike the Utopia, which is equally easy to drive, it doesn’t seem to benefit from higher impedance settings.
I started by listening to the sort of one instrument classical music the AKG 1000 excels at so a couple of 24 bit FLAC Yo-Yo Ma albums, Yo-Yo Ma Plays Ennio Morricone and Six Evolutions: Bach Cello Suites.
Within a minute of listening I realised I was comparing apples with oranges. The HD-800S renders a single instrument brilliantly but it’s a standard headphone. The sound stage is wider than the Susvara and Diana Phi, but it’s still a headphone. The K1000 is an ear-speaker and the sound stage is much wider with the flaps open as far as they go which is how I do most of my listening.
The HD-800S can do a lot of what the Susvara and Diana Phi can do for a lot less money but the K1000 can’t. People say the HD-800S doesn’t have enough bass but the K1000 has almost no bass. The HD-800S has a bit less bass than the Susvara but the quality of the bass is very good. I listened to Massive Attack’s Angel, Muse’s Madness, and Bjork’s Hunter, my usual bass test tracks and the HD-800S was very good although it’s quality over quantity.
I agree that the HD-800S pairs very well with the HA-300. It tames the treble and smooths what might be an overly analytical sound. I still find the treble too fatiguing to listen to something like Aerosmith’s Cryin’ or Crazy at 24 Bit and 192.0 kHz. None of my headphones do justice to 80s pop rock like Queen, Aerosmith, and Def Leppard.
I sometimes hear a bit of grunge with the HD800-S and HA-300. I had this issue with the Utopia too. Occasionally, I have to lift the tube cage off the HA-300 and gently touch the tubes, it seems to clear the static that too easy-to-drive headphones are more suspect to relaying through the HA-300.
The HD-800S does high resolution modern pop nearly as well as Susvaras and Diana Phi. It’s detailed, resolving, and quick, so when you add in some very nice bass quality you’re getting a lot of bang for your buck. It wipes the floor with other headphones I’ve listened to in this price range, e.g. LCD3, if you value detail, clarity, and refinement.
For classical music, it’s 50/50 with the Susvara, the Susvaras’s treble is smoother but the HD-800s is crisper. I slightly prefer the HD-800s which is incredible considering the price differential. The HD-800s is brilliant value for money if you mainly listen to classical, jazz, acoustic, and light modern pop.
The K1000 is still untouchable for classical music, in particular single instrument. It can also do bass-light older pop provided the treble is pulled back a bit in the recording. For example, Chicago’s If You Leave Me Now sounds amazing, the K1000 really digs out and projects the vocal, better than I’ve ever heard it before.
I think I’m more likely to keep the K1000 in the long run than the HD-800s because of its completely different sound and phenomenal sound stage with classical music rather than because it’s better than the HD-800s. The HD-800s is a much better all-round headphone but it doesn’t wow me like the AKG K1000.
I started by listening to the sort of one instrument classical music the AKG 1000 excels at so a couple of 24 bit FLAC Yo-Yo Ma albums, Yo-Yo Ma Plays Ennio Morricone and Six Evolutions: Bach Cello Suites.
Within a minute of listening I realised I was comparing apples with oranges. The HD-800S renders a single instrument brilliantly but it’s a standard headphone. The sound stage is wider than the Susvara and Diana Phi, but it’s still a headphone. The K1000 is an ear-speaker and the sound stage is much wider with the flaps open as far as they go which is how I do most of my listening.
The HD-800S can do a lot of what the Susvara and Diana Phi can do for a lot less money but the K1000 can’t. People say the HD-800S doesn’t have enough bass but the K1000 has almost no bass. The HD-800S has a bit less bass than the Susvara but the quality of the bass is very good. I listened to Massive Attack’s Angel, Muse’s Madness, and Bjork’s Hunter, my usual bass test tracks and the HD-800S was very good although it’s quality over quantity.
I agree that the HD-800S pairs very well with the HA-300. It tames the treble and smooths what might be an overly analytical sound. I still find the treble too fatiguing to listen to something like Aerosmith’s Cryin’ or Crazy at 24 Bit and 192.0 kHz. None of my headphones do justice to 80s pop rock like Queen, Aerosmith, and Def Leppard.
I sometimes hear a bit of grunge with the HD800-S and HA-300. I had this issue with the Utopia too. Occasionally, I have to lift the tube cage off the HA-300 and gently touch the tubes, it seems to clear the static that too easy-to-drive headphones are more suspect to relaying through the HA-300.
The HD-800S does high resolution modern pop nearly as well as Susvaras and Diana Phi. It’s detailed, resolving, and quick, so when you add in some very nice bass quality you’re getting a lot of bang for your buck. It wipes the floor with other headphones I’ve listened to in this price range, e.g. LCD3, if you value detail, clarity, and refinement.
For classical music, it’s 50/50 with the Susvara, the Susvaras’s treble is smoother but the HD-800s is crisper. I slightly prefer the HD-800s which is incredible considering the price differential. The HD-800s is brilliant value for money if you mainly listen to classical, jazz, acoustic, and light modern pop.
The K1000 is still untouchable for classical music, in particular single instrument. It can also do bass-light older pop provided the treble is pulled back a bit in the recording. For example, Chicago’s If You Leave Me Now sounds amazing, the K1000 really digs out and projects the vocal, better than I’ve ever heard it before.
I think I’m more likely to keep the K1000 in the long run than the HD-800s because of its completely different sound and phenomenal sound stage with classical music rather than because it’s better than the HD-800s. The HD-800s is a much better all-round headphone but it doesn’t wow me like the AKG K1000.