[Exediron]

I just noticed the review, and headed over here to see if there was already a thread about it; surprise, there was! Here's my thoughts:

First off, the pictures are much better than most HD800 reviews; that's to be expected.

I'm not familiar with the equipment he used in his test, but I trust that it probably is high quality. I actually agree with him about the soundstage; perhaps he says it too strongly, but Ken Rockwell is known for over-stating things to make his point. The fact of the matter, as according to my impressions from several hours in Chicago, is that the soundstage of the HD800 is greatly over-hyped. I auditioned them side-by-side with the T1 and found the soundstage on the HD800 no better, and perhaps worse. That's probably not a surprise, considering which one I bought.

I don't agree about the comfort; I think the HD800 is quite comfortable. The only headphones I'd definately rank ahead of them would be the D5000s. He's right about the earpads, though; there's hardly any padding in them. They feel like plastic.

To those wondering if he's read Head-fi; he links to Skylabs review in his, so I'm betting the answer is 'yes'.

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**** ***, did the forum ever not want me to post this! I had to type the thing in wordpad and copy-paste so that I could have multiple lines.
 
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EDIT: First post of my third year with Head-fi! Yippe!.
 
PS: Does anyone smell a fish?

 

[furyagain]

I used to have a HD800 and it's soundstage is the biggest when compare to all the others headphones i had ever owned...
 
T1,D7000, LCD-2, HE-6,DT-990 pro, DT-880 pro, DT-770 pro, Rs1i, HD-650
 
HD800 is SOUNDSTAGE!!

 

[wdahm519]

Quote:

 Look. For an Edition 8 review next. Anybody know any southern calif/ san Diego dealers for Stax? Also may try to review Audezzeeee LC whatever the cLl them in law Vegas. I want as close ad I cN get to the sound of. Live symphony orchestra, if any of you are musiciNs with suggestions. Fir now, my DT990 are tops for me, and I bought them in 1988. I wonder if the new models Re any good still?

I'm glad you feel this way, Ken.  You've led me to a lot of great decisions for camera equipment (mostly just to amuse myself... and to have fun), and I find a lot of what you say probably true of the HD 800 even though I've never actually hard them myself.  I'm just glad you like your DT990's more, because I'm rockin' the same headphones (except 250ohm).
 
You should try the 990 2005 Edition though.  Its terrific.

 

[cowjuan]

ken rockwell?! wow. welcome, and sorry about your wallet. 

 you run a great website and i hope you stick around here.

 

[Exediron]

Quote:

I used to have a HD800 and it's soundstage is the biggest when compare to all the others headphones i had ever owned...
 
T1,D7000, LCD-2, HE-6,DT-990 pro, DT-880 pro, DT-770 pro, Rs1i, HD-650
 
HD800 is SOUNDSTAGE!!

Eh, I suppose it's possible I just don't like wide-open soundstages, but I really didn't think that the HD800 was that impressive when I heard it. Maybe the equipment didn't do it justice.

 

[NumLock]

Wow Ken Rockwell, too bad he uses Nikon, jk. Before my love for headphones came my love for cameras. Ken's name was everywhere when I was looking for photo gear reviews.

 

[nikongod]

Quote:

too bad he uses Nikon

 

[furyagain]

Quote:

Quote:

I used to have a HD800 and it's soundstage is the biggest when compare to all the others headphones i had ever owned...
 
T1,D7000, LCD-2, HE-6,DT-990 pro, DT-880 pro, DT-770 pro, Rs1i, HD-650
 
HD800 is SOUNDSTAGE!!

Eh, I suppose it's possible I just don't like wide-open soundstages, but I really didn't think that the HD800 was that impressive when I heard it. Maybe the equipment didn't do it justice.

I think it was because ,  I do listen to chinese female vocul, the HD800 does  better then anything  else that i had ever tried
the reason why i sold the HD800 and kept the T1 , as T1 is more like my go to headphones no matter what i listen.
 
I am actually going to experience more the lcd-2 and HE-6 , i may give up one of those for another pair of HD800 again..
 
just a plan.

 

[kostalex]

 
Quote:

Cable
Silver-plated, oxygen-free copper (OFC).

 
Was this a stock cable for HD800?

 

[m0gwai]

As someone who's completly new to headphone (me), I must say his description of the HD8000 and what he dislike about them is exactly what I felt when hearing them for the first time, I'm also comming from various beyerdynamic. If you read review and forum online and buy them without actually listening to them, you can easly be disapointed, I know I was.

 

[Mochan]

"Interesting" isn't how I'd describe anything Ken writes. No offense Ken. 

 

[sugarkang]

Is it okay to be as offensive as possible as long as you add "no offense" at the end?
 
Quote:

"Interesting" isn't how I'd describe anything Ken writes. No offense Ken. 

 

[sugarkang]

From the review:
 
"Most of my listening was directly with a Sony CDP-X303ES Compact Disc player, whose professional ¼" headphone jack has more than enough guts to drive these well. While audiophiles listen to whatever life hands them, I personally ran the proof-of-performance on this player with a borrowed $50,000 ROHDE & SCHWARZ UPL with its optional high-performance analog circuits (that's a benefit of having worked for Tektronix). I know my player is giving me what's on the glass master; do you?"
 
You just basically compared your 1/4" headphone out from a CD Player to a $50,000 machine. 
Not even a dedicated amp, but a headphone out? 
Man, I at least paid $50 for my amp. 
You got some balls.  I like that.

 

[Zombie_X]

Ah I quickly skimmed through it and saw he said he had to max the volume on his ipod. Still the general tone he described is right, but an amp can improve upon the bothersome treble.
 
Quote:

Its an interesting review, as with most of his reviews should be taken with a grain of salt.
 

he said he was using a big fat pro-sony CD player for his source.

 

[sparker]

I don't think that's Ken Rockwell. Sounds more like a poorly implemented troll to me. The spelling and the grammar are both distinctly different from his website's spelling and grammar.