never had the hd-800s but had two hd-800 with black dragon and cardas cable. amps little-dot mkVi with nos tubes and balanced beta-22. yes the soundstage is great but a drill for my ears.Honestly, I don't think headphones get much BETTER than the Elear. Sure, you can get DIFFERENT, something that fits your preference, but something subjectively different... i don't know.
Sure, the soundstage and imaging on the Elear is not astonishing, an HD800S is far better at that. But the overall presentation of music, engagement and the ability to make one emotional... again, it's preference, my preference is the Elear
I've even heard the Hifiman Susvara, which is INSANELY good. The clarity, soundstage, dynamism... One of very few headphones I think is better than the Elear. But still, there are areas where I prefer the Elear. I'm not saying that you should buy the Elear over the 4000$ Susvara, the Susvara is obviously the technically superior 'phone, I'm just saying that at this level, it's mostly about personal preference.
What do I love about the Elear?
Well, it's a great all-rounder. To me, music through the Elear just sounds RIGHT. it's so realistically dynamic, so natural, it's easy to just get lost in the music. Tonal balance is just right to me, except for the 4k region which is a little too recessed for me. A small eq notch (3dB, 3Q at 4kHz) fixes this though.
the Elear just hits the sweet spot so well for me. I'm so happy I found it.
of course exist better headphones but the elear is an honest headphone and built very well
you wrote about susvara. when i had at the same time the hifiman he-6 and he-500, the first was superior but the second more envolving
for soundstage i prefere my speakers LOL
of course IMHO