johnser96
New Head-Fier
So guys, I recently got a brand new HP4 to use with my HD800S. My current setup is the following:
Computer (streaming Tidal + Fidelizer Plus software) ---> Supra Usb A to B ---> Musical Fidelity M6sr DAC ----> Esprit Beta XLR ----> Ear HP4 ----> Sennheiser HD800S. I'm also using Supra's MD series main block. I just wanted to tell you my honest opinion, after listening for 100 hours, although this amp + headphone combo might have been covered by others in this thread.
Bass: Well, the sub-bass is not that much present, typical HD800S's issue. To be fair, I'm glad it's not there because forcing the sub-bass level in these headphones might result in distortion. The mid-bass and upper-bass are presented really nice and controlled, maybe just 1-2 db less than what is perceived as normal by most people. This combo is capable of presenting punch and slam when it has to, but nothing mindblowing. My Canor TP10 amp is capable of delivering ''better'' bass presentation with these headphones, nevertheless, the overall sound of the HP4 is way much better than the TP10's.
Mids: In one word: Amazing! The mids are pushed forward a little bit and that's something the HD800S really need. You can literally hear every nuance of each instrument, timbre is amazing, very realistic presentation. It gives me the impression that this is as good as the midrange of the HD800S's can sound like. I'm really starting to get addicted to the midrange of this combo as I find myself unable to stop listening sometimes.
Treble: This is where things start to get a little bit complicated. In my opinion, the treble of the HP4 is very natural and well extended, nothing wrong about it. But this does not synergize that well with the HD800S which require a rolled-off treble to sound their best. Yes the details are all there, but I find myself being annoyed by sibilance quite frequently with this combo. These sibilant 's' and 't' sounds can distract me from the music. Call me crazy but when I am not using Fidelizer on my computer then treble harshness and sibialnce are increased. Running Fidelizer fixes about 30% of the problem and the treble sounds a bit softer. I don't blame the HP4 for that, as this is another well-known issue of the HD800S. In contrast, when I'm using Canor TP10 + HD800S the treble is rolled-off a bit and sibilance is gone, unless if I'm listening to very bright recordings (but as I said before HP4 +HD800S is so much better overall). I know I'm a little sensitive to harshness comparing to other people so in conclusion I'll just say that the treble of EAR HP4 + HD800S is OK, but perhaps can be improved by other means.
Soundstage & Imaging: The soundstage is very wide, the widest I've ever heard with the HD800S. There is also a decent sense of depth. You can easily pinpoint instruments as seperation is at least top-notch. If you are a fan of a wide and precise sound presentation I think you gonna be absolutely more than satisfied. Period. Nothing else to add here.
Overall, I am deeply satisfied with the sound of the EAR HP4 + HD800S. After a few minutes of warm-up, it's really hard to stop listening. I have accepted that sub-bass is never gonna get right with the HD800S and I'm not willing to fight it anymore. If you are a basshead, go grab yourself another pair of headphones. My (biggest) concern is the treble which I believe can my improved substantially by other means. I mean, if using Fidelizer can fix about 30% of this issue, I guess there might be other ways to make it sound more natural and sibilance-free. I have spent so much money (at least for my standards) for my headphone system so I am willing to spent a few hundred more to get the sound I can consider an endgame for me. The next few weeks I'll start tube-rolling, starting with the warm-sounding Tung-sols a few guys have mentioned in this thread before. I am also planning to get a dedicated streamer (perhaps MF's MX-Stream when is released in a couple of months) and upgrade my USB and power cables. I don't think that any of these upgrades on their own can eliminate sibilance, but perhaps each one of them is capable of reducing it by a small percentage and if you add these percentages I might get a softer treble. If all of this fails, I guess I have to get a custom made passive filter to reduce the 6k - 7k frequencies a bit. I have asked my audio dealer and he said he can make one using low quality materials for free, just to test its performance. If it's good enough then we can make one with better quality materials.
I might have been slightly off-topic in the last paragraph, but I wanted to share all of my thoughts about this combo with you guys, in order to show you how great it is and that it's worth getting into some trouble to fix its issue. I'll come back in this thread after some time to share with you the results of my findings.
Computer (streaming Tidal + Fidelizer Plus software) ---> Supra Usb A to B ---> Musical Fidelity M6sr DAC ----> Esprit Beta XLR ----> Ear HP4 ----> Sennheiser HD800S. I'm also using Supra's MD series main block. I just wanted to tell you my honest opinion, after listening for 100 hours, although this amp + headphone combo might have been covered by others in this thread.
Bass: Well, the sub-bass is not that much present, typical HD800S's issue. To be fair, I'm glad it's not there because forcing the sub-bass level in these headphones might result in distortion. The mid-bass and upper-bass are presented really nice and controlled, maybe just 1-2 db less than what is perceived as normal by most people. This combo is capable of presenting punch and slam when it has to, but nothing mindblowing. My Canor TP10 amp is capable of delivering ''better'' bass presentation with these headphones, nevertheless, the overall sound of the HP4 is way much better than the TP10's.
Mids: In one word: Amazing! The mids are pushed forward a little bit and that's something the HD800S really need. You can literally hear every nuance of each instrument, timbre is amazing, very realistic presentation. It gives me the impression that this is as good as the midrange of the HD800S's can sound like. I'm really starting to get addicted to the midrange of this combo as I find myself unable to stop listening sometimes.
Treble: This is where things start to get a little bit complicated. In my opinion, the treble of the HP4 is very natural and well extended, nothing wrong about it. But this does not synergize that well with the HD800S which require a rolled-off treble to sound their best. Yes the details are all there, but I find myself being annoyed by sibilance quite frequently with this combo. These sibilant 's' and 't' sounds can distract me from the music. Call me crazy but when I am not using Fidelizer on my computer then treble harshness and sibialnce are increased. Running Fidelizer fixes about 30% of the problem and the treble sounds a bit softer. I don't blame the HP4 for that, as this is another well-known issue of the HD800S. In contrast, when I'm using Canor TP10 + HD800S the treble is rolled-off a bit and sibilance is gone, unless if I'm listening to very bright recordings (but as I said before HP4 +HD800S is so much better overall). I know I'm a little sensitive to harshness comparing to other people so in conclusion I'll just say that the treble of EAR HP4 + HD800S is OK, but perhaps can be improved by other means.
Soundstage & Imaging: The soundstage is very wide, the widest I've ever heard with the HD800S. There is also a decent sense of depth. You can easily pinpoint instruments as seperation is at least top-notch. If you are a fan of a wide and precise sound presentation I think you gonna be absolutely more than satisfied. Period. Nothing else to add here.
Overall, I am deeply satisfied with the sound of the EAR HP4 + HD800S. After a few minutes of warm-up, it's really hard to stop listening. I have accepted that sub-bass is never gonna get right with the HD800S and I'm not willing to fight it anymore. If you are a basshead, go grab yourself another pair of headphones. My (biggest) concern is the treble which I believe can my improved substantially by other means. I mean, if using Fidelizer can fix about 30% of this issue, I guess there might be other ways to make it sound more natural and sibilance-free. I have spent so much money (at least for my standards) for my headphone system so I am willing to spent a few hundred more to get the sound I can consider an endgame for me. The next few weeks I'll start tube-rolling, starting with the warm-sounding Tung-sols a few guys have mentioned in this thread before. I am also planning to get a dedicated streamer (perhaps MF's MX-Stream when is released in a couple of months) and upgrade my USB and power cables. I don't think that any of these upgrades on their own can eliminate sibilance, but perhaps each one of them is capable of reducing it by a small percentage and if you add these percentages I might get a softer treble. If all of this fails, I guess I have to get a custom made passive filter to reduce the 6k - 7k frequencies a bit. I have asked my audio dealer and he said he can make one using low quality materials for free, just to test its performance. If it's good enough then we can make one with better quality materials.
I might have been slightly off-topic in the last paragraph, but I wanted to share all of my thoughts about this combo with you guys, in order to show you how great it is and that it's worth getting into some trouble to fix its issue. I'll come back in this thread after some time to share with you the results of my findings.
interesting what You write about treble. I had the same issue with Audeze lcd3 f (yes, they have a peak in the hights) and i softened it a bit with rca cables (Cardas) and a tube DAC (MHDT). It was almost good, but ultimately i decided to change headphones.
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