Tall yes, but width ratio compared to the height is foreshortened. Other long cup HFM's are similar - such as HEX v2, Ananda. But the sum total is large no doubt. Like many planar speakers they place instruments well in a macro sense, but exact placement/details seem to be more of a province of ribbons and estats and the 800.
upstream electronics play a very significant part of this..
of course the headphones need to have the ability to stage well.
my understanding is the sennheiser hdvd800 amp was built to turn the oval soundfield of the hd800 into a circular one..
(electronics matter)
when I use a Topping DAC it has no depth to the soundstage (allows it to benchmark better),.. hence I have zero use for such a 'technically accomplished DAC' (musically near useless vs even ten year old budget 'built for actual musicality' parts.
spec sheet warfare is a sad thing.
a great amp (and DAC et al) will let the smallest of nuances through that set up a large 'stage' presence...
(negative) feedback designs (ie most modern world 'built to bench well' amps) seem to lose some of those 'small aspects' needed for GREAT staging.
the k701 is the best known space headwear that most have held as top of the tree.
for closed backs my best experiences have been with some sony mdrz7 (useful for tvs and movies especially for that low bass note 'rumble' they can achieve.. like a night club playing nearby), and smaller field but exceptional 'setup' and 'circular' field is the Ultrasone Edition 5.
might sound like I tout what I have, but maybe I have what I tout from research, hunting, and experience..?
(true I don't care to respend chasing my tail due to diminishing returns on 'upgrade-itis'.)
and I do not have k701, (some k612pro get some gametime though)
With regards to the DAC affecting soundstage, do Topping DAC's actually affect width and height of soundstage? I'm thinking of getting an Atrium because of its 3D/holographic qualities, but I have a Topping D90LE/A90D stack. Your comment has made me worried that maybe I'd be better off with a different DAC (I do plan on getting a tube amplifier for them when I have the money to do so).
I never thought that the ZMFs soundstage was one of its strengths. Fantastic headphones but more about great timbre.
The original Hifiman Arye has a great soundstage from what I read. I can’t really comment from Personal experience.
Best headphone from everything I have owned for soundstage was the Snorry NM-1. It wasnt my favorite headphone though.
I have had most of the flagships from Focal, Audeze, ZMF and Kennerton. Soundstage isnt crazy good on any of them….but good enough for me as I valued other things a lot more.
Properly DAC/Amped HD800 is right up there as one of the best. Had the Chord Dave which was a little forward for me so I went to the Holo May KTE and that pushes everything back a little without losing detail. The amp is DNA Stratus and this is one of the sweetest sound combo's for me. Tube rolling will affect sound as well.
I would say another is the Raal SR1a. These are very good coming out of a Pass Lab amp and most like speakers that disappear.
Estats are not as wide but spooky good as sound appears from out of thin air almost. Senn HE60 for me does this as well as Stax 007 MK1.
Out of the ZMF tree, the Atrium is the biggest or airiest but not quite as large as the HD800.
Abyss 1266TC has great sound stage and hits hard when properly amped as well. I love these but again many people hate them but they do have a pretty big sound stage.
In general I like things about 10 rows back and not in an intimate club unless the imaging and layering is so good... it is spooky good.
Just my 2 cents.
Abyss 1266TC has great sound stage and hits hard when properly amped as well. I love these but again many people hate them but they do have a pretty big sound stage.
So impressive. But the sense of being able to relax and get into the music 100% seems to be interrupted by sonic fireworks "wow, listen to that!", "OMG, that bass". Maybe if I had them long term that sense would fade.
In general I like things about 10 rows back and not in an intimate club unless the imaging and layering is so good... it is spooky good.
Just my 2 cents.
I couldn't agree more. When listening to the Atrium it's like the stage is wide open and there's so much more information than with other non-electrostatic headphones. The ZMF Atrium is one of my all time favorite dynamic headphones, hands down. Funny thing it sounds like it's also a planar and an electrostat. Read that somewhere and I agree!
For me the Voce which doesn't have the sheen added.
Yes. If you like the 650/HE-500 warm mid thing missing a bit of detail, then this is quite good.
So impressive. But the sense of being able to relax and get into the music 100% seems to be interrupted by sonic fireworks "wow, listen to that!", "OMG, that bass". Maybe if I had them long term that sense would fade.
While I don’t have anything report yet(saving up for atriums)
When I went to buy the HD800s I left with the focal Clear MG because of the good imaging I was talking about. That headphone is perfect in a lot of ways I just wish it had a larger stage but with the impressive imaging.
When I tried the 800s I loved how wide it was but I didn’t feel it had the same level of imaging I’d come to expect. It also sounded a little dark to me. (I need to try it on tubes still). I also like a modest amount of bass and it was none distant on the HD800s like everyone says…
I think I might try to find a place to demo the 800 on tubes, and if I don’t like it then I’m going to the atriums full stop
While I don’t have anything report yet(saving up for atriums)
When I went to buy the HD800s I left with the focal Clear MG because of the good imaging I was talking about. That headphone is perfect in a lot of ways I just wish it had a larger stage but with the impressive imaging.
When I tried the 800s I loved how wide it was but I didn’t feel it had the same level of imaging I’d come to expect. It also sounded a little dark to me. (I need to try it on tubes still). I also like a modest amount of bass and it was none distant on the HD800s like everyone says…
I think I might try to find a place to demo the 800 on tubes, and if I don’t like it then I’m going to the atriums full stop
The 800's do not have bass cannon bass, but on OTL amps with a bit of bass shelf from an EQ (like +3.5 db from 85 Hz down), it's decent for most music. I think the soundstage is very large and I think the imaging is better than the OG Clear - on an OTL. But on SS amps of even very high quality it's yin without the yang.
Dark? With no EQ? Hmmm... my ears say on SS it's somewhat mid first with a treble emphasis, and that further takes away from the bass.
For all: I can only conclude that the headphone industry is so hooked on bass cannons because people miss the heft of room speaker bass, The raw truth is that the human ear cannot pickup 25 Hz anywhere near as well as 100 Hz bass. EQ'ing 25 Hz to be equal to 100 Hz bass in volume at ones ear is a kludge, its also inaccurate. Some folks like technicolored inaccuracy for fun or adrenalin. Someone here took me on about this last year. They said the artist wants people to enjoy the music whichever way they want - which is true in the freedom of choice angle - but - if the artist wanted to have a big bass boost from 400 Hz down to 20 Hz, they'd have it boosted in the mix.
Had to google this thread as I have found a new imaging king: CA-1A. It's soundstage is amazingly accurate and I tried it in MW2. Footstep directional ques were more accurate than my ADX5k, which I previously tought was the king of imaging.
CA-1A soundstage is not particularly wide, but it is wide enough to be convincing and instrument separation is excellent.
The 800's do not have bass cannon bass, but on OTL amps with a bit of bass shelf from an EQ (like +3.5 db from 85 Hz down), it's decent for most music. I think the soundstage is very large and I think the imaging is better than the OG Clear - on an OTL. But on SS amps of even very high quality it's yin without the yang.
Dark? With no EQ? Hmmm... my ears say on SS it's somewhat mid first with a treble emphasis, and that further takes away from the bass.
For all: I can only conclude that the headphone industry is so hooked on bass cannons because people miss the heft of room speaker bass, The raw truth is that the human ear cannot pickup 25 Hz anywhere near as well as 100 Hz bass. EQ'ing 25 Hz to be equal to 100 Hz bass in volume at ones ear is a kludge, its also inaccurate. Some folks like technicolored inaccuracy for fun or adrenalin. Someone here took me on about this last year. They said the artist wants people to enjoy the music whichever way they want - which is true in the freedom of choice angle - but - if the artist wanted to have a big bass boost from 400 Hz down to 20 Hz, they'd have it boosted in the mix.
I recently received my Atriums! I vastly prefer them over the HD800s There is definitely a great sense of 3D space with this these. It is much closer to what i was looking for so I am really thankful for all the recommendations in this thread!
I did have the opportunity to thoroughly test the HD800S on tubes, and I enjoyed so much more than my original impression. The bass also did not bother me too much either as I had a warmer set of tubes and if the song had bass then it was more than enough to push forward. I actually felt sad not keeping them in some regard haha.
That being said if I could have a Focal Clear MG that was as wide sounding as the Atrium but with the same level of detail and retrieval that would be my perfect headphone. So far though the Atrium is closest to the endgame I'm looking for though!
I couldn't agree more. When listening to the Atrium it's like the stage is wide open and there's so much more information than with other non-electrostatic headphones. The ZMF Atrium is one of my all time favorite dynamic headphones, hands down. Funny thing it sounds like it's also a planar and an electrostat. Read that somewhere and I agree!
My 800's have an insanely big soundstage. They're corrected with Sonarworks EQ, and my cable is a big fat high purity job. Also, don't plug anything into a cheap power bar. I swapped my pc to a $200 power distributor instead, and right away my sound and picture digitally output a much larger, cleaner, and deeper signal. Upgrading the pc power cable after that helped some more. I'm sure you already know to do that with the rest of your audio gear.
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