Head pain from new headphones

[silverlight]

So any advice for getting a headache wearing a new pair of headphones for more than an hour. not the kind of listening fatigue I was expecting getting into headphones. Had the HD800's only for a couple of days, burning them in, but get a migrane like pain after an hour (top of head, starts to wander down sides if I keep wearing them). Really like the sound, so not sure if there's something that can be done...

 

[EugeneK]

Hm, is it too loud?

 

[silverlight]

no, I don't listen too loud. the pain is directly under the top strap of the headphone and spreads from there. have tried re-positioning them / adjusting them as much as I could too

 

[EugeneK]

Try spreading out the pressure from the headband some more by placing a bath sponge or towel between your head and the headband. I didn't think the HD800 was that heavy.....

 

[Kman2012]

I had a similar problem with my new headphones a few weeks back..I just stuck it out with a little bit of listening a day and it got better and now is totally fine.

Obviously if its incredibly painful then rethink that strategy.

 

[Sovelin]

Try wearing them from behind your head. If your head feels fine, then it's just from the pressure the headband is putting on your head. You can either follow Kman's advice and tough it out from there, or follow Eugene's advice and place something between the headband and your head. But try wearing them differently first to rule out if it is something else.

 

[silverlight]

Thanks guys, appreciate the response. I'll give it another go tonight. it's definitely from the headband - putting a small towel in mitigated the issue later last night when I tried again (but the towel raised them too much so not a long term solution). As you say, it might be a function of conditioning my head

a little like cycling with a road bike the first few times... I'm going to try the fit of a couple other headphones this weekend (DT990, GS1000) to see how differently they fit (and will be fund to hear the different sonic characteristics as I've only spent real time with Senns and AKG's).

 

[TopPop]

How's the sibilance on the HD800? Or are they bright? Too detailed? Etchy? All of the above?

If I listen to a headphone that has some of these problems for too long, I begin to get a headache. It was one of the main reasons I got rid of the DT-880.

 

[IctusBrucks]

I find my DT990 to have a pretty comfy headband, whatd you not like about the 880 fit?


What I don't like about the 990 is some bloaty sounding midbass.

 

[silverlight]

I definitely found them bright, but _exceptionally_ detailed. great for doing critical listening (I do lots of testing before sending tracks over to my main hifi rig in addition to listening from 2nd system). I've only had the HD800 for a few days, and have been burning them in 24/7 (with XLO Burn-in track and Purist Audio design burn-in disc), and the harshness I was hearing in the highs has mellowed a lot (40hrs breakin). Was getting very shrilly highs with so-so recordings for example with female vocals. Also keep in mind I'm only driving them with an EMU0404, which while having a great DAC chip is a very jittery source and underpowered which is magnified I find with the HD800's (definitely not a flaw, just that they are very revealing). I have an Isabellina HPA showing up next week and that will be a far better source to work with. Tonight I'm going to take the headphones over to the main rig where I've got better DACs (Berkeley Alpha and Weiss DAC2 and have a listen via a Headroom headphone amp I've had for a while and see how they sound - I expect they'll sound a lot more balanced and rounded).
But back to your point, it could certainly be one of the factors driving the headaches. I have total confidence these are amazing headphone for critical listening, but jury is out for me whether or not they'll be long-session enjoyable musical headphones (and don't want to make that judgment until I've got better equipment driving them).

UPDATE: listened to the headphones through the Berkeley and Weiss this evening, and WOW are they transparent (esp via the Berkeley which is the most transparent DAC I've personally heard). They strike me as the perfect headphone for studio listening/analysis - man are they merciless. They sound wonderful on some of the hirez material I have (24/96 to 24/192 recordings). On some redbook material they do have the sibilant sound that I've heard others discuss (this really wasn't the case for me on the higher res stuff). Will these guys be "fun" to listen to for long, relaxing enjoyment listening? I can see why some folks may want to use a different pair for that. I have 4 different headphones arriving tomorrow just to try out some different kinds of sound. physically still bothering my head...

 

[silverlight]

Quote:

Originally Posted by IctusBrucks /img/forum/go_quote.gif I find my DT990 to have a pretty comfy headband, whatd you not like about the 880 fit? What I don't like about the 990 is some bloaty sounding midbass.

perhaps it's just the shape of my head, but much of the weight is being distributed to just a portion of headband's width on the top of my head about 2-3" wide. the padding is also fairly firm relative to the weight it's supporting (these are heavy cans!)

 

[kmhaynes]

The mid region of the top of your head, where the slight dip is for most people (I'm using highly medical terms, here!) is a very sensitive portion of your head and skull. Try rotating the phones back just a bit so that the band rests on the harder, less sensitive top/back curve of the skull. So, not at 12 o'clock, and not at 3 o'clock, but about 1 or 1:30.

 

[tohenk2]

Tilting them a bit to the front works better for me. Not that I get a headache from the HD800, but still. (The open AT-wings are ideal for me!) I don't know if it is available in your country at this moment, but you also could try to order a free piece of Tempur. (They offer free test samples sometimes.) Sliced thinner that might do the trick. Or you could try some other even softer slowfoam to even out the pressure. Can't quite remeber where but read something about density of slowfoams in one of the non-audio forums.

 

[cswann1]

I've noticed that whenever I first started using a new can (especially the K701 with those damned bumps

) I'd eventually build up a resistance to the fatigue that they were causing me. Not listening fatigue but sensitivity where the band was making contact. I'm going through it with my D7000's now.

The pad idea is a good one maybe a folded washcloth on your head. Try wearing them normally as long as you can then add the pad when it starts to make your head hurt. Eventually you may build up a tollerance.

Good luck.

 

[silverlight]

thanks for the additional suggestions on breaking in (my head! LOL!). I happened to run across a couple foam pads that are used as adjustments in cycling helmets (about 1"x4"x.5"), and one of these under the headband seems to have done the trick. Btw, the HD800's are really mellowing out now after 70 hours of the burn-in track. I have a few more I'm trying now but the detail and transparency of the HD800 is really remarkable (the shrilly / sibilant sounds have really gone away for the most part, and now just playing back what I'm hearing on the recordings, and compared to my speakers which I hear a little less from, I'm now thinking my speakers are rolling off at the highs and just not showing it as much!).

btw, tossed a sheet of ERS cloth on top of my EMU0404 DAC and like magic a few seconds later the sound cleaned up and mellowed out further. nice cheap tweak

have done extensive RMI/EFI in my main rig but never invested much in cleaning up the home office...