[ardilla]

As much as I love my OG 800s, I always dip back into reading reviews and questioning if I should get the 800Ss. Some people say there's barely a difference, while above here OP says they are "bass heavy" while the OGs are fine.

The 800 has no bass at all. It's horrible for bass. Unlistenable. I fix it with EQ....sometimes lots of EQ depending on the amp....and I love the end result, but how are people getting by fine to the point they think the bass can be good to strong? I'm so at a loss here.

The HD800S have not significantly more bass than the OG. It's ridiculous to call them "bass heavy". Consider something else. Hifiman HE1000 or even the XS

 

[Audiophiliac]

As much as I love my OG 800s, I always dip back into reading reviews and questioning if I should get the 800Ss. Some people say there's barely a difference, while above here OP says they are "bass heavy" while the OGs are fine.

The 800 has no bass at all. It's horrible for bass. Unlistenable. I fix it with EQ....sometimes lots of EQ depending on the amp....and I love the end result, but how are people getting by fine to the point they think the bass can be good to strong? I'm so at a loss here.

I fix my original 800's with Sonarworks' microphone measured EQ. Everything is dialed right in super-flat. Since I splurged on this really expensive and way better $600 cable 3 months after getting them, in 2009, I really don't think I can be beaten, for my price. I will replace my hd800's with lightly used same hd800, since the EQ will still be necessary, but will also reach perfection among all other headphones for me. Sonarworks has a system-wide device driver, that will eq everything in windows default sound almost seamlessly. In playback software, if you run the EQ as a VST plugin only, your eq will get corrected with seemingly zero overhead, as it only loads a headphone correction curve. A little 80k VST plugin must be the EQ solution with the least overhead that there has been, so far.
HD800 will not distort your bass. If you're not used to microphone corrected frequency response, you'll probably think lots of people put a lot of bass in the music, and yup, they do. HD800 plays bass that totally shames my $300 8" subwoofer. For that price, my sub ONLY makes it down most of the way, and for sure will be the flabbiest of those who do, but fear not, HD800 sub bass plays so smoothly and tonally detailed. A speaker sub that sounds like that will cost a lot, I know it. grr. But first, Magnepan 1.6's sell used for not much more than these NHT's. Sorry, digressing OT.
Sonarworks has a 21 day free trial. After hearing headphones corrected right to a flat line, I will only buy headphones with a Sonarworks correction profile, from now on. Also, I'm going to upgrade to the speaker calibration also version, which they ship me a mic also with it's own calibration profile, for accurate speaker playback. Non-corrected gear all sounds like weirdo's doing it their own ways, without correction.

 

[UntilThen]

As much as I love my OG 800s, I always dip back into reading reviews and questioning if I should get the 800Ss. Some people say there's barely a difference, while above here OP says they are "bass heavy" while the OGs are fine.

The 800 has no bass at all. It's horrible for bass. Unlistenable. I fix it with EQ....sometimes lots of EQ depending on the amp....and I love the end result, but how are people getting by fine to the point they think the bass can be good to strong? I'm so at a loss here.

I’m not a bass head. I discovered that after 8 years of headphones. My current headphones are Susvara, HD800 and Grado GH1. So you know where my preferences are.

I lend my son the HD800 and then I wanted it back but he love it so much so I bought him the HD800S.

I had my share of bass accentuated headphones- LCD2, 3, 4, ZMF Atticus, Eikon and Verite Open.

I wouldn’t call HE1000se bass heavy either. I own it for 2 years before getting Susvara. I have Sus for 2 years now.

I audition Abyss 1266 TC and Caldera and they are not for me.

The debate of HD800 or HD800S will be decided by the individual buyer and I hope you get to listen to both for considerable time before making a decision. There’s not much choice really as HD800 is no longer in production.

My friend who only listen to classical music have both HD800 and HD800S and he definitely prefers HD800. Incidentally he has the Susvara too. We have the same headphones but I am not really a classical person.

I don’t use EQ though I’ve EQ LCD4 with Roon before. I have the mod for HD800 but I have never installed it.

 

[Audiophiliac]

I don't know why someone would prefer standard hd800, without using eq. The S model was correction of the new and expensive OG, which launched 100 companies into a frenzy of trying to defeat the hd800 at everything it was outstanding at, not only it's fatal eq flaw without a ceiling in $. Photos of new model reviews for ten years featured a shootout with hd800's, with even up to $3k models vying for the title of true hd800 beater, while not only in the eq department.
Outside of the default eq issue, is where the real performance of the hd800 makes history.
So, again, with an accurate eq correction, good luck defeating the OG for a long way up, $ wise.
Hmm, maybe I should add that un-corrected eq of hd800 is garbage, and no wonder everyone and their moms released models that try to compete in the >$1k market. Strangest problem ever to leave in final production of such otherwise outstandingly performing headphones.
After EQ, my HD800's are the fourth coming, I'll be so good because of them, for sure this time everyone else will be so good, too.