HD800 - to be or not to be

[astroid]

Just came into some money and i have around £1500 to spend that wont cause a divorce, question is HD800 or not. I have heard it now a few times and have been VERY impressed with it each time. I havent heard anything else of a comparable quality however, D7000 , DX1000, T1 , PS1000 etc.
 
Is the HD800 a good purchase and will it improve with time ?

 

[astroid]

No replies , mmmm got to decide by the weekend or the wife will spend my cash!

 

[Bilavideo]

The HD800 does sound better after burn-in.  It's a very fine, balanced, precise headphone that does neutral better than anything I've ever heard.  If you like it better than the other cans you've heard - including the PS1000 and the T1 - buy it.

 

[earerror]

They work good unamped...but they will need a good headamp if you want the best of them. 

 

[Paganini Alfredo]

Well if you've heard and it liked it... go for it! For me, I couldn't deal with the treble so I had to say no go.

 

[indydieselnut]

I heard the HD800 in less-than-ideal settings and have been very happy with my Denon D7000 headphones.  I think what you'll hear from almost everyone here is that at the HD800/T1/PS1000/D7000/etc level of headphones, it comes down as much to personal preference as anything else.  Congrats on the cash and good luck with your purchase!
 

 

[SP Wild]

How about a LCD-2 and an amp to drive them for that kind of cash.

 

[feifan]

I haven't heard the D7000, DX1000, T1, or PS1000.
 
But I have the HD800, and I've stopped looking at other cans. In the past, I always found something lacking in my cans so I kept searching for something better. But the search stopped with the HD800. It does it all for me.
 
But as others have warned, a lot depends on your taste, the quality of your recordings, and the gear you use. Be sure to experiment with different combos before deciding.

 

[XLR1]

My recommendation, get the HD800.

 

[Shahrose]

Now's a good time as any to look for an HD800 too. I've seen quite a few low-priced ones in the sale forums here recently...

 

[priest]

astroid, I would say if you listen to a ton of electric rock and/or older or poorly-recorded works (eg, punk or indie), you might not want to spend a small fortune on the HD800. If you listen to alot of acoustic or vocals and/or modern or well-recorded works, you will probably be overjoyed with them, especially if you don't mind large. That's my personal view. In any event, they are undeniably a ridiculously great-sounding pair of headphones.

 

[monsieurguzel]

Yes, thanks to extremely finicky and easily bored Head-fiers out there, there are a bunch of HD800s out there being unloaded because they have somehow gone from being the greatest headphone in the world for the past year, to somehow being 'very unnatural sounding' and not that great
 
Trust me, these are awesome headphones that are arguably the best dynamic can ever engineered and well worth asking price...as long as you have good equipment feeding them.
 
Quote:

Now's a good time as any to look for an HD800 too. I've seen quite a few low-priced ones in the sale forums here recently...

 

[Gu Sensei]

Quote:

astroid, I would say if you listen to a ton of electric rock and/or older or poorly-recorded works (eg, punk or indie), you might not want to spend a small fortune on the HD800. If you listen to alot of acoustic or vocals and/or modern or well-recorded works, you will probably be overjoyed with them, especially if you don't mind large. That's my personal view. In any event, they are undeniably a ridiculously great-sounding pair of headphones.

X2 on this. Some folks love them across the board for all genres, but there are plenty of people indicating that they are not preferred for rock. Stating your musical preferences might be helpful.

 

[Ham Sandwich]

Quote:

Now's a good time as any to look for an HD800 too. I've seen quite a few low-priced ones in the sale forums here recently...

They're all selling them to buy the LCD-2. 

 

[dallan]

Yes, I have a pair I like but i don't agree with the poster up above that says they sound good unamped.  Amping is very important and they are finicky for the right amp.  As far as music, you hear what you put in but I even enjoy them immensely with my musical choices, mostly jambands and those come in a variety of levels of audience and plugged into soundboard sources that are way less than perfect......the 800s still kick butt with them.  But i want to hear all of what is there of course.