Serial 00459
Wav files ripped from cd on ipod classic -> Wadia 170I transport - > DAC1 USB -> Headamp GS-1 via BJC -> HD800
No sibilance heard and playback reproduces a faithful and transparent view into the recording as suggested in prior threads. Truly amazing transient headphone with lush mids, the bass is there if it is there on the recording with no unrealistic bump in volume of it like the hd650. As far as imaging goes, go ahead and close your eyes and you are in the recording studio or the venue in which the music was recorded...hell, I can even hear the acoustics of the venue....this is fantastic but for some the truth of the recording quality may be a bit overwhelming and hard to deal with. What one hears in the recording or the audio chain WILL come through on these headphones and you will see the flaws in any minute segment of the chain. MY audio chain could be improved with better ICs and I could add a bit of warmth, I think with different ICs, amp(maybe tubes), or a dac but I feel that the representation of the audio that I am hearing suits my tastes well. If you like artificial colorings and flavorings stay far away from this headphone folks, if you don't this is a wonder to behold and, as I stated before, prepare to be in awe each time you listen to the same song. Go ahead and try other phones, I have, and they just aren't the same after experiencing the HD800s. The soundstage on these place one in a front row seat but I tend to think I'm a bit surrounded and this is to say if I'm in the front(row e) the I'm getting a 180 feel and a bit more than 180....I'm able to pick out instruments and voices from the air...the singer is in the front, percussion is the widest sounds...front, above and side to side. The cymbals and bass drum for me are faithful and true if one factors in the producer's artificial additives during mixing but if you listen to a live recording they are true. Bassheads should stay with the hd650s or other bass heavy phones would compliment(I do not find a need for this). Also, I must add that these phones reveal the most detail in a recording that I've ever heard effortlessly without compromising or being harsh or bass bumping. Take Porcupine Tree's Fear of a blank planet's album on the first track FOABP...the keyboard has never sounded so clear at such low volumes without causing the rest of the song to be bumped in volume. In time, others will realize what this headphone brings to this community-they just cannot digest all that this headphone does right,yet...they are in denial of it's greatness. I'm not a fanboy, just a realist and these headphones are crafted using the utmost care to detail and quality from the plug to the diaghrams from fit to finish. They do tend to grow on you. As time passes, I grow more enamored and appreciative of their abilities.
Other headphones heard:
Grado: GS1000, RS-1 (w/SAA Equinox), ATH W5000, AKG k701, HD650(w/SAA Equinox), HD600(w/SAA Equinox), Ety ER4S, AKG k501, Many others....
