[negura]

 
I have HD800 & HE6. The HE6 as well has great performance on piano. My wife is classical pianist, she prefers the Hifiman over the HD800 on piano pieces. (driven by EF6)
 
Obviousley, I told her that these headphones cost not more than 200,oo Euros

 
Agree. I always had a great opinion on instrumental reproduction on my modded HE-6 vs the stock HD800. That is not to say the HD800s aren't very good too...

 

[ruthieandjohn]

I have HD800 & HE6. The HE6 as well has great performance on piano.
Obviousley, I told her that these headphones cost not more than 200,oo Euros

 

[musicman59]

  That could also be a product of the rest of the gear chain, or the environment or both.

I am sure that could be part of it but there is no doubt HiFiMAN kept working on them after CES and made changes. What they changed I don't know.

 

[JaZZ]

  (...)

 
That was a very vivid and really helpful review! (Which doesn't necessarily mean that I would come to the same conclusion, but that's a commonplace.) I haven't heard any of the three, but would like to.

 

[JaZZ]

  For example, a silver cable turns my HD650 into a much better headphone that IMO easily outclasses the HD-800. Gone is the muddy bass and veil and hello highs.

 
No way! I have both (Silver Dragon included), and that's all I can say. – I should add «to my ears» as well.

 

[subtle]

I'm really not sure why this thread turned in to the HD800 appreciation thread in the past five to six pages, but I sure am glad I didn't get one of these broken HD800s with no bass being mentioned.

 

[icebear]

  I'm really not sure why this thread turned in to the HD800 appreciation thread in the past five to six pages, but I sure am glad I didn't get one of these broken HD800s with no bass being mentioned.

 
I am also not sure ... maybe lack of substantial new info from the manufacturer of the HE1000?

And FIW there is no such thing like a "broken HD800"

 

 

[pearljam50000]

  I'm really not sure why this thread turned in to the HD800 appreciation thread in the past five to six pages, but I sure am glad I didn't get one of these broken HD800s with no bass being mentioned.

lol@no bass

 

[figaro69]

   
I am also not sure ... maybe lack of substantial new info from the manufacturer of the HE1000?

And FIW there is no such thing like a "broken HD800"

 

The HD800 is the direct competition at half the price...that's why.  Once people get a better handle of the Hifimans it's going to be mano a mano.  The debate will be heated in the future, so giddy up, buddy boy!  The HE-1000s may be better than the HD800s, but it's going to be a tall order (and for double the price, to boot) to surpass them.  I have to tell you, I'm excited, especially after Frank Iaconne's impressions (i.e., he has never steered me wrong...our ears are shaped exactly the same!!!)

 

[ruthieandjohn]

   
I am also not sure ... maybe lack of substantial new info from the manufacturer of the HE1000?

And FIW there is no such thing like a "broken HD800"

 

I think as we all await new information on the HE1000 with this thread open before us begging for news, this thread becomes like CNN when the next phase of an event has not yet happened, and the reporters simply mark time with speculation, explanation, and repetition.
 
Good example is when Conan O'Brien presented his program from Cuba ("Conan In Cuba") a few weeks ago, and he played out his roof-top reporting on a barking dog into the best CNN speculation, explanation, and repetition, commenting at the end that he could extend it up to 6 hours, and that Anderson Cooper has the easiest job in the world.
 
"The dog has stopped barking now.  We need to see why it has stopped barking.  ... We don't know what kind of dog it is.  It sounds like a smaller dog.  This is what they do on CNN."
 
The section starts at about 1:50 into the tape.
 
 

 

[potkettleblack]

  The HD800 is the direct competition at half the price...that's why.  Once people get a better handle of the Hifimans it's going to be mano a mano.  The debate will be heated in the future, so giddy up, buddy boy!  The HE-1000s may be better than the HD800s, but it's going to be a tall order (and for double the price, to boot) to surpass them.  I have to tell you, I'm excited, especially after Frank Iaconne's impressions (i.e., he has never steered me wrong...our ears are shaped exactly the same!!!)

 

The fanboys really are holding on for dear life aren't they.

 
The thought of ANOTHER headphone coming a long that is more enjoyable and in many ways more technical than the hd800's - god forbid!
 
It was so funny to see the 800 owners screaming for answers when the first he1000 impressions came out.
 

    ''CAN THEY IMAGE LIKE THE 800'S???!!!
 
''DO THEY HAVE A SOUNDSTAGE LIKE THE 800'S???!!!''  
 
''THIS IS ALL WE HAVE LEFT. PLEASE SAY THEY DONT!!!''    

 
From what many, many people have said, the direct competition to these will be Audeze, Stax, Abyss and the he-6.
 

 

[money4me247]

lol i wldnt crown any champions prematurely until after sone direct comparisons. from the ces comparisions, the gap between a lot of these headphones doesnt sound to be that large.

 

[potkettleblack]

You told in pm's they were 500% better than the 650, 700's, 800's and the he-90's combined, money4me!
 
For shame!

 

[money4me247]

You told in pm's they were 500% better than the 650, 700's, 800's and the he-90's combined, money4me!

For shame!

hahah never heard the hd700 or he90, so prob wasnt me. i do think these were better than the hd800, but that was not from a side-by-side comparision & was of an earlier prototype. Really need a direct controlled back-and-forth comparison imo to really get the sense whether the 3k premium will be worth it.

 

[Currawong]

Finding someone with similar tastes who has access to a lot of cans is definitely invaluable.
 
Quote:

 

  I'm really not sure why this thread turned in to the HD800 appreciation thread in the past five to six pages, but I sure am glad I didn't get one of these broken HD800s with no bass being mentioned.

 
I am also not sure ... maybe lack of substantial new info from the manufacturer of the HE1000?

And FIW there is no such thing like a "broken HD800"

 

 
Basically this. Lacking impressions, people need something to talk about, so it ends up being everything else.
 
I'll throw a curveball and say that the HE1000's real competitor will be the MrSpeakers Ether. It was both pairs of cans that really gave me outstanding listening experiences recently. For a whole rig though, obviously the 009s with a suitable level of amplification. The HD-800s just haven't been giving me a satisfactory experience lately, probably because I've been listening to a local of vocals lately and the Ethers have outstanding treble reproduction.