[grooveriders]

Thats another option I stumbled upon. How is your experience with the clears?

I only have 30 minutes of experience with it (music only, no gaming/movies). Enough to convince me to trade-up my elear for it (still looking for a trade in my country). I have tried iem with beryllium coated drivers and it the clear reminds me of those even tho the clear isnt beryllium driver. The "punch/attack" of the Clear is not what I have experienced on fullsize can before (maybe the utopia but I havent tried it yet). The soundstage on the Clear is also narrower than the H800 and bit narrower than the Arya. The details are better on the Arya than the clear.

But if you are looking for a comfortable headphone, the HD800 is the best I have tried so far.
You said you are not sastisfied with the HD800, is it because of the bass or the treble spike? For the bass there are some mods that you can do but it would not help by much but for the treble spike, the easiest way is to EQ it.

I have also tried the lcd-2 and lcd-3 but the sound isnt for me and the headphone is quite uncomfortable for me so I couldnt recommend those.

 

[bagwell359]

800S have the stage width, definition - and on most SS amps, the timbre isn't right (less than the Clear's), and yeah they can have a metallic edge. On a tube amp that runs 300 ohms well (could be OTL), and has some dynamics - the 800S slays the Clear and the Arya in most ways.

If you are rock n' roller or electronica fan, then the Arya is probably your choice - on a good SS amp (Whammy, etc.) The Clear is the all around grown up HD600 with bass. If you have no intention of getting a tube amp and like jazz, classical, and more than those are probably the choice.

 

[grooveriders]

If you are rock n' roller or electronica fan, then the Arya is probably your choice - on a good SS amp (Whammy, etc.) The Clear is the all around grown up HD600 with bass. If you have no intention of getting a tube amp and like jazz, classical, and more than those are probably the choice.

Now that you mentioned that, I also think that the Clear is more of a cross between hd6xx and Arya. The sound will be different from the hd800 for sure.

 

[SilverEars]

800S have the stage width, definition - and on most SS amps, the timbre isn't right (less than the Clear's), and yeah they can have a metallic edge. On a tube amp that runs 300 ohms well (could be OTL), and has some dynamics - the 800S slays the Clear and the Arya in most ways.

If you are rock n' roller or electronica fan, then the Arya is probably your choice - on a good SS amp (Whammy, etc.) The Clear is the all around grown up HD600 with bass. If you have no intention of getting a tube amp and like jazz, classical, and more than those are probably the choice.

Clear is pretty consistent with various amps. HD800 only shines with rare few amps, but in general, it's not all that exciting with majority of amps out there. This just means, it just has a general response that's isn't all that exciting.

 

[HiFiHawaii808]

While I can not really compare Arya (outside of word of mouth), I can compare Clear to HD800. I agree with grooveriders here that the Clear is also good choice (if you can ignore the smaller stage), especially if you plan to use it for multiple genres of music and stuff like movies.

The Clear is what I would label as a generalist headphone, with great imaging, dynamics, punch/impact, extension (even better than HD800) and agreeable sound signature (timbre is not the best out there, but its fairly good, when compared to HD800). It is a headphone that I could with fair certainty recommend to most people without much problems regardless of sources or other factors. The main drawback with this one as far as tehnicalities go can be said to be the sound stage which is quite a bit smaller in comparison (I think you could say wider than HD650, but not much).

HD800 on the other hand has a much larger stage, more detail, but worse micro dynamics and more controversial sound signature, as well as more metallic timber. It is more of an analitical headphone imo and not something I could ever recommend to most people, especially if you are not interested in trying the thing with a lot of different gear to find what you like best (generally tubes).



Imo if you get HD800 you will want tubes or at least slightly warmer SS amps, as HD800 and an analytical amplifier is asking to make any less than perfect recording less enjoyable. Regardless if you want a more neutral headphone then you should stay away from HD800. HD600 and some of the ZMF lineup (also pad dependant) are a lot more of what most people would consider neutral.

I think this is great advice. I auditioned the HD800s and Clears on a Chord Hugo 2. I really didn't like the HD800s at all. The Clears sounded good with everything. More of a generalist headphone.

Now that I have a tube amp, I am going to try the HD800s again to see if it sounds better. I definitely agree that people should audition the pairing they are considering before making the purchase. I think it might sound better with the tube amp, but I am not sure.

 

[SilverEars]

If HD800's treble can be smoother with most soild state amps and still keep the sharp response (which I like) and bring the bass up, that would help significantly. And I'm talking about good tight impactful bass. These days we can get such bass from K371 or M-200, although they are closed. So, I expect better bass from headphones costing multiple amount of these.

The vividness of imaging or separation is nothing to wtite home about. Therr are headphones that can do better like the Focals. If one goes back and forth with Focals, HD800's imaging will seem more blended.

The sound stage really can open up like crazy with the right amp. A particular amp I use opens up stage by a huge margin and provides great bass, but this is rare as I've tried many amps.

 

[TylersEclectic]

Chronos review of the HD800S

 

[szore]

I have tried out both the Arya and HD800. The HD800 has much more potential if you are looking to upgrade your amp later on. On a high-end tube amp the HD800 eats the Arya alive. Soundstage wise, the Arya is narrower. For overall Gaming and movies, the Arya should be better option it packs more "punch" than the HD800. Another option is the Focal Clear, I like these more than the Arya and it is also easier to drive.

Ehhh i love the ARya. I went to buy the Clear and was getting ready to pay, and the salesguy suggested I try the Arya, then it was hands down Arya... It needs 250 hours to burn in... it really transforms into something great... a precision instrument (with the right amp and cable...

 

[grooveriders]

Ehhh i love the ARya. I went to buy the Clear and was getting ready to pay, and the salesguy suggested I try the Arya, then it was hands down Arya... It needs 250 hours to burn in... it really transforms into something great... a precision instrument (with the right amp and cable...

I was looking for the clear but ended up getting the HE1000 v2 also. Sounds great with my current setup, not dac/amp picky as the hd800 but a bit harder to drive than the clear.
To me the HE1000 v2 and the hd800 shares some similarity (better technicalities) than the clear for sure. Not sure how much I can say about the arya because I have only tried it with the tube amp (wa33) and it doesnt match really well, but should be close to the he1000 imo.
The clear does only one thing that the hd800 and the arya/he1000 couldnt which is the “crispness” and the “punchiness” (diversity is what I look for in earphones also)

 

[szore]

I was looking for the clear but ended up getting the HE1000 v2 also. Sounds great with my current setup, not dac/amp picky as the hd800 but a bit harder to drive than the clear.
To me the HE1000 v2 and the hd800 shares some similarity (better technicalities) than the clear for sure. Not sure how much I can say about the arya because I have only tried it with the tube amp (wa33) and it doesnt match really well, but should be close to the he1000 imo.
The clear does only one thing that the hd800 and the arya/he1000 couldnt which is the “crispness” and the “punchiness” (diversity is what I look for in earphones also)

Exactly...and that crispiness and punchiness is what turned me off, it is so ham-fisted and obvious...fatiguing...

 

[nikon6]

Hello everyone. I need your inputs and suggestions for both HD800s and Arya's and which one should I keep. I currently have the HD800s paired with the thx 788 desktop amp/dac and I was wondering if the Aryas are better overall for music, gaming and movies? Are there better options for the price. Would like to replace the HD800s to try something new since i'm not fully satisfied and audio is a journey to begin with. Also is it true if I let go these 800s I'll really miss the soundstage? Are there any other headphones that can produce the soundstage that the HD800s possess

Quick background on the previous headphones I've tried which are Hd58x, Hd6xx, Sundaras and Dt1990 pro. The music I listen to are jazz, rnb, indie, hiphop, pop, intrumental.

Would also like to "upgrade" my dac/amp into a proprietary amp and dac. I have two options for the amp. Either the THX 789 or Topping A90. What would you guys pick among the two to power these headphones. For the dac, my only option is the SMSL Su8.

if you guys have any suggestions for the dac that would be great.

Thank You!

AMONster23,
I just wrapped up two months of using the Arya and one month with the HD800s doing A B comparison. I was driving them with the Topping A90 and the SMSL SU-9 DAC. I ended up sending the HD800s back because I prefered the energy of the Arya's. I loved the detail in the highs of the Sennheisers and the overall resolution but I felt as though the sound was always further away from me or just out of reach compared to the Arya's. I always EQ'd in bass on the HD800s but never needs to add much to the Arya's. The sound stage isn't the worst on the Arya's and the layering is quite good. As some background, I've ran IEM's for 7-8 years and am just now getting into headphones. Arya's, HD800s and Focal Clears are what I have experience with. Cheers