[subtle]

Quote:

Originally Posted by MrOutside /img/forum/go_quote.gif $6000 youre better off getting something better like an R10 or L3000 if youre going to be spending that much

$6000? Where did you pull that number from? My Melos need some repair work at the moment, so all I'm using my HD800 with is the Asus STX Essence card and it sounds fantastic. I just set it to the High Gain level and am completely satisfied. If you don't factor in the cost of my computer the card and headphone together cost less than $2000.

I also sold off my L3000 after getting the HD800. Not necessarily because it was "better", I just preferred some of its traits to those of the L3000. You can't label something as definitively better simply because it has a higher resale value on the used market. It's always all about personal taste.

 

[AgainstTheGrain]

Are the HD800 really as good as advertised? Worth their $1400 price tag?

 

[pearljam5000]

That's pretty encouraging,because i plan on getting the HD800 with the STX and to be done with it!

Quote:

Originally Posted by subtle /img/forum/go_quote.gif $6000? Where did you pull that number from? My Melos need some repair work at the moment, so all I'm using my HD800 with is the Asus STX Essence card and it sounds fantastic. I just set it to the High Gain level and am completely satisfied. If you don't factor in the cost of my computer the card and headphone together cost less than $2000. I also sold off my L3000 after getting the HD800. Not necessarily because it was "better", I just preferred some of its traits to those of the L3000. You can't label something as definitively better simply because it has a higher resale value on the used market. It's always all about personal taste.

 

[Oggranak]

Quote:

Originally Posted by El_Doug /img/forum/go_quote.gif the HD800 can be enjoyed from a Compass, with ease.

I am intrigued.

 

[musicmind]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Covenant /img/forum/go_quote.gif At one stage I asked HeadphoneAddict on his oppinions of the Pico DAC > WA6 > HD800 combo that he owns, and he considers it a synergistic rig that still makes the HD800's sing. I haven't heard this combo, but I've learned to trust his ears WA6 with PDPS and Sophia: $795 USD Pico DAC-Only: $349 USD Total: $1,144 USD, plus the cost of interconnects and shipping. I dont think you can get much better price/performance ratio than that.

x2. Very sensible advise. I had a week of listening to the HD800 through my Apogee mini-DAC and stock WA6 and was very impressed. The WA6 PDPS should fare even better.

You definitely dont need to spend 6000USD to get a "good" setup and enjoy what the HD800 has to offer.

 

[Geek]

feifan,

I'd be careful stating the HD800 is capable of sounding great from lower-end source equipment... while you seemed to have great luck, I've had nothing but bad experiences. Mine sound terrible and metallic out of my m-audio firewire audiophile's headphone out, mediocre, muddy, and harsh all at the same time out of the same card's RCA outputs driven through my headroom MOH amp...

and plain god awful using laptop 1/8" outputs, even if piped through my amp!

I'm sure there are sources out there that defy the trend I'm experiencing but we're talking sources that sounded OK - listenable and enjoyable - with HD650s! The 800s are too revealing to allow for a "top-down" or headphone-weighted approach towards building your system.

I could be wrong, though - let your ears decide for themselves.

-Geek

 

[subtle]

Quote:

Originally Posted by AgainstTheGrain /img/forum/go_quote.gif Are the HD800 really as good as advertised? Worth their $1400 price tag?

I've owned most of the high end headphones available in and out of production, excluding the K1000, Sony R10, HE90/HE60, and Qualia 010. I had the L3000, Omega II MK I, 3 PS1s at one point, 2 HP2s, vintage RS1 with brown headband, Edition 9, D7000, HD650, etc. All of those I was very familiar with and owned for a minimum of one months time, some for more than a year, to get well acquainted with their signature. The only exception being the D7000 which just never appealed to me. It was sold in the first two weeks.

Having spent quality time with all of those I can see yes, affirmatively 100% without a doubt, the HD800 is worth its price tag. In fact, I'll go ahead and say that to my ears it is the best bang for buck high end headphone out of any available in and out of production. I've learned from my past experiences that there is no such thing as the perfect headphone, and there never will be, however the HD800 is the closest thing for me based on my personal tastes out of all the ones I have tried. If money permits in the future I would love to own another L3000 to compliment the HD800 with its lush romantic nature, but for now the addictive speed, detail retrieval, and technical ability of the HD800 is more than enough to keep me satisfied.

 

[Hopstretch]

Quote:

Originally Posted by subtle /img/forum/go_quote.gif Having spent quality time with all of those I can see yes, affirmatively 100% without a doubt, the HD800 is worth its price tag. In fact, I'll go ahead and say that to my ears it is the best bang for buck high end headphone out of any available in and out of production. I've learned from my past experiences that there is no such thing as the perfect headphone, and there never will be, however the HD800 is the closest thing for me based on my personal tastes out of all the ones I have tried. If money permits in the future I would love to own another L3000 to compliment the HD800 with its lush romantic nature, but for now the addictive speed, detail retrieval, and technical ability of the HD800 is more than enough to keep me satisfied.

Would second this. I had some quibbles with the unforgiving treble response initially and, yes, the sound stage is artificially large. But either my HD800s burned in, or my gear burned in, or my ears burned in and now I can't imagine giving them up. They are superb. Went back to (recabled) 650s the other day for reference and the 800s simply pissed all over them.

 

[Uncle Erik]

Quote:

Originally Posted by AgainstTheGrain /img/forum/go_quote.gif Are the HD800 really as good as advertised? Worth their $1400 price tag?

I also think the HD-800 is worth it. I had no intention of buying a pair wen they were announced - I thought they were overpriced and didn't think they'd offer that much improvement over the HD-600 and HD-650.

I got a chance to listen to the HD-800 at CanJam, having gone in prepared and expecting to dislike them as an overpriced grab for dollars.

Except they were really good. The HD-800 pushed all the right buttons and IpodPJ was nice enough to let me plug his pair into my rigs for a listen. They were wonderful with my equipment.

So I thought it over a couple of weeks, then I ordered a pair and sold off several others to cover the price. It was worth it. The HD-800 gets more head time than anything else I have.

Even when the HF-2 showed up, I listened for a couple of hours, pu the HF-2 back in the box, and went back to the HD-800. The K-1000 is in its box, as are all the other headphones. It's still a little bit of a new toy, but I think the HD-800 will be my favorite for some time.

 

[AgainstTheGrain]

What music goes well with the HD 800? I listen to all types of music. Rock, pop, dance, trance, techno, rap, r&b, jazz, no country tho lol

 

[Drumonron]

IPOD Classic->Wadia itransport->Benchmark DAC1-USB->GS-1->HD800
This works for me....what is better?

 

[Oggranak]

I've only heard the HD800 out of a NAD speaker amp (damn the audio stores that don't understand headphones), but even then, they sounded pretty decent. Worth $1300 for that kind of setup? Of course not, but I could imagine them sounding phenomenal in a better setup. And they're comfy.

 

[AgainstTheGrain]

If I were to take the plunge on th HD800 I would sell all my equipment except for my IE8. And that would be my last headphone for some years. I would just focus on improving the components to it.

 

[cswann1]

Reading over this thread, I realized that upgradeitis is far easier to resist while listening to my current system.

The Denon SACD->Little Dot MKIVse ->Sennheiser HD580 sounds great to me and best of all it's all paid for.

[size=medium]Gawd[/size] help me if I ever get to spend any time with a HD800.

 

[ical]

HD800 is very reveling, transparent and unforgiving. A flagship cans have to match with premium components in order to perform.