Beagle
His body's not a canvas, and he wasn't raised by apes.
- Joined
- Jun 29, 2001
- Posts
- 9,239
- Likes
- 3,602
I was the Doubting Thomas who thought the HD800 was the hype of the century, and couldn't possibly believe that it was worth the tidy sum of $1800(CDN). I had originally put down a deposit in February, hoping to have them in March. When it became apparent that nobody knew when they would actually be released, I bailed out and became suspicious and cynical. As much as I hate to admit it (but certainly do not mind doing so) I am now eating humble pie (or is it crow?)
On September 24, I got the opportunity to audition the HD800, and was hoping I was going to dislike it so I wouldn't have to trade in my top headphones (to lessen the cash outlay) and spend more money on headphones. I listened for a good hour and was very unimpressed. So unimpressed that I ended up buying them.
Say wha?
Yeah. Nothing impressed me. That is, nothing jumped out or attempted to seduce me. The music sounded flat, unexciting. I couldn't hear any "bass" or "treble". The tonal balance and timbre was wonderful. It was then that I knew I had to have them, that these were the ones.
OK, I'll explain. Every headphone I have auditioned that had immediate presence of bass or treble ended up having too much, in the long run. The ones that sounded kind of dull always ended up being the most natural (Yamaha HP-1, Grado SR200, Sennheiser HD540 Reference).
So I turned in my traders, plopped down some cash and my CC, and committed myself to the HD800.
I'm not going to do a formal review ( I don't think anyone needs another formal HD800 review). I shall just make some observations in poin form.
The Positive
- the HD800 is super comfortable
- it does not need futzing around for proper fit or proper "sweet spot" positioning
- I was worried about big sound leakage; these leak way less than GS1000 or K701 at similar volume levels
- the HD800 is not a "funnel" that you have to squeeze or push music through while it shapes it into its specific sound. HD800 is more like a large board or canvas that the recording is placed upon, intact. There seems to be unlimited "headroom".
- Because of the above, each recording sounds "specific". Some sound dull, others bright, some in between.
- some people find the HD800 slow, flat, unexciting. It is, on certain recordings. But the John Butler Trio's "Grand National" bounced, snapped, kicked and danced all over the place. The Crusaders' "Streetlife" was very dynamic and open. I could hear a kind of cold, steely grey limited treble on some CD's. But on some others, as well as SACD and vinyl, the top end extended to the stratosphere.
"WE ARE NOT RESPONSIBLE FOR FLAWED RECORDINGS OR PERFORMANCES"
- midrange is about as uncolored and tonally accurate as I have ever heard in a headphone
-pink noise sounds very flat and even
-imaging and headspace are pretty much ideal
- during the day, when I am at work, I can't remember what the HD800 sounds/sounded like. I don't remember this ever happening before. This might mean that the HD800 has no "sound".
The Negative
- I'm not sure I hear anything in the lower bass. I certainly don't hear any "impact" or thud. The bottom end is wonderfully balanced overall, but I'm not sure that it drops down when called for
- the entire bass range seems to just lie there, no movement, no dynamics
Caveat: I only have about 50 hours on them, and accumulated at fairly low listening levels. I have put through about 20 hours of pink noise at a good volume level.
I have been listening exclusively to the HD800. I have not compared other headphones to it. I am loathe to. I am afraid that if I do listen to something else, it will alter my enjoyment and appreciation of the HD800. The "freshest" headphone always seems to trump the one I have been listening to.
The bass issue might be amp related. The amp I have been using is my PPA. I haven't tried it with the Shanling PH100.
Below is the components of my PPA:
-Basic PPA in Hammond Silver case, silver volume knob, green LED
-Neutrik Chrome nose 1/4 inch Output jack (non-locking)
-Full Complement of 15 Blackgates caps
-Vishay resistors
-Board Mounted Alps Blue Velvet audio pot
-3 Analog Devices 8610's OP-amps on removable Browndog adapters
-Amp bias in Class A with 6 discreet FET's and adjustable bias pots
-Full complement of 12 input FETS
-Amp set-up to receive Larocco Discrete Buffers
-Elpac Power supply
Is it possible that a PS upgrade might be in order. Are STEPS PS still available, or are there other viable options?
On September 24, I got the opportunity to audition the HD800, and was hoping I was going to dislike it so I wouldn't have to trade in my top headphones (to lessen the cash outlay) and spend more money on headphones. I listened for a good hour and was very unimpressed. So unimpressed that I ended up buying them.
Say wha?
Yeah. Nothing impressed me. That is, nothing jumped out or attempted to seduce me. The music sounded flat, unexciting. I couldn't hear any "bass" or "treble". The tonal balance and timbre was wonderful. It was then that I knew I had to have them, that these were the ones.
OK, I'll explain. Every headphone I have auditioned that had immediate presence of bass or treble ended up having too much, in the long run. The ones that sounded kind of dull always ended up being the most natural (Yamaha HP-1, Grado SR200, Sennheiser HD540 Reference).
So I turned in my traders, plopped down some cash and my CC, and committed myself to the HD800.
I'm not going to do a formal review ( I don't think anyone needs another formal HD800 review). I shall just make some observations in poin form.
The Positive
- the HD800 is super comfortable
- it does not need futzing around for proper fit or proper "sweet spot" positioning
- I was worried about big sound leakage; these leak way less than GS1000 or K701 at similar volume levels
- the HD800 is not a "funnel" that you have to squeeze or push music through while it shapes it into its specific sound. HD800 is more like a large board or canvas that the recording is placed upon, intact. There seems to be unlimited "headroom".
- Because of the above, each recording sounds "specific". Some sound dull, others bright, some in between.
- some people find the HD800 slow, flat, unexciting. It is, on certain recordings. But the John Butler Trio's "Grand National" bounced, snapped, kicked and danced all over the place. The Crusaders' "Streetlife" was very dynamic and open. I could hear a kind of cold, steely grey limited treble on some CD's. But on some others, as well as SACD and vinyl, the top end extended to the stratosphere.
"WE ARE NOT RESPONSIBLE FOR FLAWED RECORDINGS OR PERFORMANCES"
- midrange is about as uncolored and tonally accurate as I have ever heard in a headphone
-pink noise sounds very flat and even
-imaging and headspace are pretty much ideal
- during the day, when I am at work, I can't remember what the HD800 sounds/sounded like. I don't remember this ever happening before. This might mean that the HD800 has no "sound".
The Negative
- I'm not sure I hear anything in the lower bass. I certainly don't hear any "impact" or thud. The bottom end is wonderfully balanced overall, but I'm not sure that it drops down when called for
- the entire bass range seems to just lie there, no movement, no dynamics
Caveat: I only have about 50 hours on them, and accumulated at fairly low listening levels. I have put through about 20 hours of pink noise at a good volume level.
I have been listening exclusively to the HD800. I have not compared other headphones to it. I am loathe to. I am afraid that if I do listen to something else, it will alter my enjoyment and appreciation of the HD800. The "freshest" headphone always seems to trump the one I have been listening to.
The bass issue might be amp related. The amp I have been using is my PPA. I haven't tried it with the Shanling PH100.
Below is the components of my PPA:
-Basic PPA in Hammond Silver case, silver volume knob, green LED
-Neutrik Chrome nose 1/4 inch Output jack (non-locking)
-Full Complement of 15 Blackgates caps
-Vishay resistors
-Board Mounted Alps Blue Velvet audio pot
-3 Analog Devices 8610's OP-amps on removable Browndog adapters
-Amp bias in Class A with 6 discreet FET's and adjustable bias pots
-Full complement of 12 input FETS
-Amp set-up to receive Larocco Discrete Buffers
-Elpac Power supply
Is it possible that a PS upgrade might be in order. Are STEPS PS still available, or are there other viable options?
