[Balisarda]

Count me among those who have found the treble of the HD 800 too pronounced, but I wonder if this is a partial solution:

I read somewhere that the HD 800 angles its drivers 15 degrees off parallel from the ears, to present sound as coming more from the front than from the sides--more like loudspeakers than traditional headphones.

This makes sense as long as one measures the 15-degree offset on a vertical axis relative to the ears, but moving the headband forward or backward on one’s head must change the point of aim. That is, the offset drivers aim sound from front to back only when they sit at a particular angle on your head; moving the headband forward or backward must change the point of aim upward or downward.

In practice I find that moving the headband forward on the head deemphasizes the treble. It may also sacrifice some of the open soundstage that really sets the HD 800 apart for me, but more subtly, I think, than the softening effect it has on the treble.

Give it a try?

 

[St3ve]

Positioning does indeed make a difference. I tend to wear mine with the back edge of the pads touching the back of my ear (if that makes sense). Seems to be the sweetspot for me.

I also tend to find that the treble of the HD800 seems to be tied to the volume that you play them at, indeed it was one of the first things I noticed about them - the treble seems to get disproportionately loud with high volume. Not a problem for me personally though, because at my usual ~80db level, they sound beautifully balanced, treble and all.

 

[Roger Strummer]

Positioning makes a very noticeable difference in all headphones, you can see more in this Meier Audio page. I´ve found that the lower and more forward I position the phones they become bassier and the trebles less piercing.

 

[nikongod]

Quote:

Originally Posted by St3ve /img/forum/go_quote.gif Positioning does indeed make a difference. I tend to wear mine with the back edge of the pads touching the back of my ear (if that makes sense). Seems to be the sweetspot for me.

I also wear my HD800 further forwards.

The OP may also want to experiment with the "height" he wears the headphones at. I prefer to wear most headphones LOW on the ears.

 

[achristilaw]

Low, forward and with the axis rotated rearward. The headband is almost ready to slip off the back of the noggin (I don't have hair to hold it

). One helluva sweet-spot.....

 

[JaZZ]

From the start I found out that wearing it very low (and not forward!) helps to optimize the sonic balance.

Nevertheless I had issues with the treble as well – and found a perfect cure.
.

 

[Shahrose]

No harshness in my HD800 whatsoever. Cable helped, forgiving source helped, smooth amp helped. At one point they were too smooth, and oddly enough, they were too bright with a particular setup as well. Point is, they're really sensitive to small changes in upstream gear, it's just a matter of finding a synergistic combination.

 

[Roger Strummer]

Quote:

Originally Posted by JaZZ /img/forum/go_quote.gif From the start I found out that wearing it very low (and not forward!) helps to optimize the sonic balance. Nevertheless I had issues with the treble as well – and found a perfect cure. .

Your mod was what took away all the doubts I had about buying the HD800

. I did it on the first pair I tried and it works pretty well, with a lot of room for experimentation for tuning the sound to fit the particular taste of people.

 

[gevorg]

Te "cure" for HD800 is the same as the "cure" for HD650: very expensive source and very expensive amp.

 

[earerror]

Some years ago a friend showed me an interesting Pocket Equalizer project, he told me that the method works perfectly to balance treble on any set of cans.

BTW, here's the site:
HeadWize - Project: Designing A Pocket Equalizer For Headphone Listening (A HeadWize Design Series Paper)

 

[ting.mike]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Balisarda /img/forum/go_quote.gif Count me among those who have found the treble of the HD 800 too pronounced, but I wonder if this is a partial solution: I read somewhere that the HD 800 angles its drivers 15 degrees off parallel from the ears, to present sound as coming more from the front than from the sides--more like loudspeakers than traditional headphones. This makes sense as long as one measures the 15-degree offset on a vertical axis relative to the ears, but moving the headband forward or backward on one’s head must change the point of aim. That is, the offset drivers aim sound from front to back only when they sit at a particular angle on your head; moving the headband forward or backward must change the point of aim upward or downward. In practice I find that moving the headband forward on the head deemphasizes the treble. It may also sacrifice some of the open soundstage that really sets the HD 800 apart for me, but more subtly, I think, than the softening effect it has on the treble. Give it a try?

Thanks for the nice tip. I'll definitely give it a try, although the treble is quite wonderful for the majority of my classical music.