[XMarsX]

I borrowed a Lcd xc from a friend for a few weeks and honestly i didn't like it (the lcd x maybe better but im sure its similar )My Hd800s were more to my liking and even when i A/B the 2 headphones my friend agreed that he to preferred the Sennheiser. I love everything the Senns do , just wish they had deep Bass , that to me would be my perfect headphone
I still prefer the Hd800s to the Arya on 70% of my listening , but on Rock and Pop , initial impressions are i really like the extended bass that the Arya delivers , therefore i think they are a keeper
Just to go off tangent regarding quality ,Sennheiser feels like an Omega watch and Hifiman feels like a Tissot , initially not very impressed (given similar pricing)
However its all about the SQ and so far im very very pleased with Arya - will let it burn in more for a few more days and i have just ordered a 4 pin xlr aftermarket cable for it

Did you EQ the XCs? They absolutely need it and it makes a world of difference.

 

[Linntroika]

Yes did EQ and yes they were much better , however i still missed the soundstage delivery of the Hd800s and the highs on the lcd xc were just to high ,Senns have better integration on the frequency range and the sound was better balanced overall, however the worst aspect of the Lcd xc was comfort as i found them just to heavy

 

[XMarsX]

Yeah no way the XC is going to compete with an 800s in terms of soundstage. I'd be surprised if the X could as well. I'd like to own the 800s one day, but for some reason I want to try the 820 first.

I must be weird. I have the XC and X, and the weight does not bother me. Don't get me wrong, I wouldn't complain if they were lighter.

 

[Terco]

I'm glad you like the Arya it's a pretty good headphones!

 

[Tano]

D8000 pro is pretty close to the HD800s in terms of tonality. The D8000 Pro has the bass presence that the Sennheiser lacks, however, the stage is different. Obviously the HD800s is wider, while the D8000 Pro varies a lot depending of the recording. It's not as wide, but has more depth in my opinion.

 

[nieveulv]

This mythical headphone piques my interest as well!! Im putting my hopes on the erzetich charybdis. Its said to be widest soundstage with engaging bass. Let me update once i got my hands on one.

 

[Miiksu]

Stay with HD 800 but use tube amplifier or put class A amplifier in the chain.

Tubes definitely help with "dynamics". It has a more lively bass and sometimes can soften harsh treble.

 

[headstef]

Hello

I really love what the Sennheisers do but i wish they had more extended Bass , therefore looking for headphones that can produce a wide soundstage and deliver a deep bass - budget up to £5k

thanks in advance

Maybe you could have a look at the Neumann NDH 30 thread. Or even better listen to this landmark headphone. It is extremely resolving (but not based on hot treble), very finely balanced and life-like neutral, with impressive bass reaching down to the lowest sub-bass. Some people conclude that it is what the HD-800S should have been from the start and many leave their HD-800S or other expensive headphones aside for the NDH 30. It uses Sennheiser drivers and frame, with Neumann tuning and internal design. Sennheiser (pro division) is Neumann's parent company for some years now.
However, the NDH 30 doesn't have the 800S' impressively wide/deep soundstage. Instead it has a very precise (pinpoint) soundstage, quite wide, with great separation.
Most of all it is a very engaging and musical headphone. It combines accuracy with enjoyment in such a way that makes it hard to stop listening.
It is an impressively accurate tool for professionals but also an unexpected gift for the audiophile community. A very rare and special experience!

 

[Linntroika]

Well i have had the Arya for over a month now with a few hundred hours burn in and added a Miedz balanced cable from cosmic cables (which is alot better than the standard cable)
So without giving an in-depth review i will say that they are very good . There is nice separation , the soundstage is 80% as wide as the Senns, the highs are a sparkly high and the bass is more pronounced and digs deeper (although not subwoofer extension)
I would say the Senns are still my first choice headphone with a better integrated presentation , sweeter vocals and that soundstage is just amazing (really dont think i could ever live without it)
So for 75% of my listening the Senns have it , but for rock and bass heavy tracks im delighted with the Aryas

 

[bagwell359]

<not needed>

 

[RoThe]

I would say HE1000v2. Stock they only have a bit more bass than the HD800s running off a XDUOO TA-26, but the HE1000v2 takes the bass shelf much better. You can enjoy subbass on the Hifiman. I have both here and compared extensively to decide which one to keep.
In comparison the HE1000v2 feels a bit chaotic soundstage wise also a bit wider. The HD800s sounds really controlled to me, also imaging is a bit better.
Currently I still have both because I cant get my HD800s go, but if I had to decide I probably would keep the HE1000v2.

 

[Audiophiliac]

I got my original 800's in 2007, and lived with my own EQ bass boost, for a while. Then I got Sonarworks Referece EQ software that corrects them using a measured tone sweep recorded by mic's in a dummy head's ears, to perfection. Now, I have to take their word for it that my bass is flat to 10hz, and not boosted. It's not really muffled, but it's so booming (in a controlled way). After having upgraded every part of my chain except the usb port on the pc, (don't plug any part into a cheap power bar, even the pc, which likes a better cable a lot, also), my sound is seriously refined. I'm just waiting for 192kbps to further improve what 96kbps just got started fixing. Too bad most stuff has still only been 44.1. Once higher resolution is normal, going back to 44.1 will be a burn.
I will replace my original 800's with the cheaper same, not bothering with 800S, after Sonarworks, when they eventually die.

 

[headstef]

I got my original 800's in 2007, and lived with my own EQ bass boost, for a while. Then I got Sonarworks Referece EQ software that corrects them using a measured tone sweep recorded by mic's in a dummy head's ears, to perfection. Now, I have to take their word for it that my bass is flat to 10hz, and not boosted. It's not really muffled, but it's so booming (in a controlled way). After having upgraded every part of my chain except the usb port on the pc, (don't plug any part into a cheap power bar, even the pc, which likes a better cable a lot, also), my sound is seriously refined. I'm just waiting for 192kbps to further improve what 96kbps just got started fixing. Too bad most stuff has still only been 44.1. Once higher resolution is normal, going back to 44.1 will be a burn.
I will replace my original 800's with the cheaper same, not bothering with 800S, after Sonarworks, when they eventually die.

It is more realistic to expect audible improvements with upgrading your dac and amplification to the highest level possible, than expect improvements by raising sampling rate or "resolution". Using 44.1 kHz is not an obstacle for the highest quality reproduction with the most expensive gear available. All experiments and tests show that the transition from 44.1 to 96 kHz is almost non audible by absolute standards, (using any gear) while the transition from a $/€ 300 dac to a €/$ 2000 one is very dramatic. Compliment your best headphones with really top electronics (if possible) and listen for your self! The "bottleneck" is never the sampling rate; it is the dac/amplifier and the quality of the recording. However, almost any recording will benefit from high quality gear.
No need to say that 192 kHz is absolutely not needed for the highest sound quality (as percieved by human hearing), though it can facilitate the work of recording and mixing/mastering engineers.

 

[Audiophiliac]

It is more realistic to expect audible improvements with upgrading your dac and amplification to the highest level possible, than expect improvements by raising sampling rate or "resolution". Using 44.1 kHz is not an obstacle for the highest quality reproduction with the most expensive gear available. All experiments and tests show that the transition from 44.1 to 96 kHz is almost non audible by absolute standards, (using any gear) while the transition from a $/€ 300 dac to a €/$ 2000 one is very dramatic. Compliment your best headphones with really top electronics (if possible) and listen for your self! The "bottleneck" is never the sampling rate; it is the dac/amplifier and the quality of the recording. However, almost any recording will benefit from high quality gear.
No need to say that 192 kHz is absolutely not needed for the highest sound quality (as percieved by human hearing), though it can facilitate the work of recording and mixing/mastering engineers.

I did upgrade my dac from a $300 one to a $2400 one, actually. Yes, my new 44.1 smokes anything my old dac could do. Now, I can easily tell any changes that happen with my system. The problem with 44.1kbps tracks, is that every time there's a sample, it plays that sample until the next one comes. It's like listening to sound that's full of gaps. 96kbps sounds like it doubles the rate at which new information plays. It's the right improvement to make, but 96 leaves something lacking, that 192 satisfies better. The difference it makes is still not as big as using the best player, either. Using the default Amazon music streaming app playing 192 won't sound as good as Audirvana playing the same track at 44.1 from somewhere else, but it will sound like the original copy has more samples, and seems less full of holes. Getting 192 in Audirvana is really my hope, I can get that now with Qobuz, and if Tidal drops their MQA scam, I will be able to get it from Tidal. Otherwise, 192 will be the improving factor after all other considerations are the same, because it is the original recording quality measurement. You are, however, correct that it won't produce more bass, which is the thread's subject, only improve the amount of information everything gets. I only meant that my desire for more bass had been met, and that sample rate was all that was left to look forward to.
I have upgraded every inch of my chain to something better, except for the actual usb port my pc is outputting from. If your pc is plugged into a cheap power bar, get it off of there, for a major improvement in soundstage, clarity, and depth. Same improvement happens with video, getting off of a cheap power bar. A better cable on the pc further improves the signal that it is digitally outputting, I'm assuming you already know to do this on all the rest of your a/v equipment, with your amp straight into the wall for biggest soundstage, and unrestricted power except for your neighbor's noisy fridges.
Anyways, the 800's bass is supposed to be the thread's subject, so wow, I have huge full bass with my setup. Sonarworks was already the cat's pajamas back on my old $300 dac, but my new dac showed me that the bass hadn't all been playing. Now, it seems like every sound has more bass, even violins. The extra bass with violins makes it sound like I can hear the wooden body of the instrument, and makes it seem much more like it's actually a real violin playing. However, I would like to be done with upgrading my gear for a while now. I don't want to listen for bottlenecks, and I don't want to think about the 10k dac that people say is better than mine. Amazon is sending me a $60 tube for my amp, that may beat the $10 stock one, although will probably not be as good as the $250 tube I got when I first got the amp. I hadn't upgraded too much of my chain back when I was using that, so it's performance probably didn't even show as well as it would now. But, Sonarworks is the thing that fixed my eq problems, which no dac/amp combination would be able to correct to a flat line. If dac/amps could be incorrect enough to make HD800's flat, there would be major problems with dac/amps. It's a good thing frequency flaws are mostly only speaker/headphone problems, though they can be really bad, like the original 800's.
Sonarworks fixed my bass problem more than any of these changes is gear, though. Bass from the gear improvements is nice too, though, and is not the same way that adding a 4db bass boost sounds, so you should probably just buy the most expensive amp and dac that there is, and the fattest 8N purity power/signal cables you can find. And the 1500w max power conditioner for everything before your amp, which should go straight into the wall, I bet you'd still like a dedicated run for your outlets to the circuit box. Then, you'll want your home to be isolated from all your neighbors, and a straight run to an even bigger nuclear power plant. Oh, and there's this re-clocker you can output to, it also has an external clock upgrade port, that they say outputs a much better sounding I2S signal to your dac. Listening to the sound of my new dac's improved clocks, which cost almost as much as the $300 dac, I would love to have a better clock, that part keeps it from sounding totally fake. I never hear any digital that is clocked better than mine, the rest all sounds jerky. Clocks won't change your bass, though so that's ot.

 

[natalieann]

I have used this on the HD800s and it has worked wonders

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0BJVJ77SJ/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_asin_title_o03_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1