[OmidelF]

i wanted to buy the best headphone for music and the most comfortable one , so i was wondering considering the fact that this headphone is like 4-5 years old and a lot of newer headphones came after HD800 , is it still the best headphone for music ? if not the what is ? ( max price : 1200$)
 
 
also is there a big difference between this headphone and HD 700 ? 
 
 
 
 
and my last question is should i just buy this headphone alone for just listening to music and stuff ? my motherboard is asus maximus VIII hero , is the onboard soundcard enough for this ? or should i get a another soundcard or amp ? ( sorry i'm kinda newbee in these stuff i just want to buy the best headphone for music with max price of 1200$ considering my mainboard )

 

[peterb123]

Some would argue the HD800S is even better - but I don't think there is an agreement in the community, yet.
For me, with that  budget, I would go for the HD800 without hesitation. If I had to keep just one headphone, I would easily select the HD800.
Now, if you look for heavy bass, probably not the right route.
I like analytical playback, the stage, the comfort.
 
The only alternative for me (STAX putting aside) would be a T1 (couldn't hear much difference between G1 and G2) which is less analytic.
 
Finally, I would definitely get an amp for that setup (HD800 or T1). An O2 or a Schiit Modi/Magni combo will give lots of listening pleasure in the 150-300$ range.
 
Good luck!
 
Peter

 

[OmidelF]

 
Some would argue the HD800S is even better - but I don't think there is an agreement in the community, yet.
For me, with that  budget, I would go for the HD800 without hesitation. If I had to keep just one headphone, I would easily select the HD800.
Now, if you look for heavy bass, probably not the right route.
I like analytical playback, the stage, the comfort.
 
The only alternative for me (STAX putting aside) would be a T1 (couldn't hear much difference between G1 and G2) which is less analytic.
 
Finally, I would definitely get an amp for that setup (HD800 or T1). An O2 or a Schiit Modi/Magni combo will give lots of listening pleasure in the 150-300$ range.
 
Good luck!
 
Peter

 
thanks for the replay , but the problem is i can only go as far as 1200$  so i can't buy any amps if i wanna buy hd800 , so its either hd700 with amps or hd800 without amps
 
 
but considering that my motherboard is high end( asus maximus VIII hero) , will the onboard sound card be enough for a person that just wants to listen to normal type of music ? ( i'm not a music producer or a musician ) , how much difference will it make if i use it with amp ? more than 10 or 20% ?! ( i just want to listen to music and have a great experience , nothing professional )

 

[inthere]

Lot of choices for $1200 and it depends on your personal preference. The HD800 has rolled off bass and added treble for extra clarity......it cleans up a lot of bad bass heavy recordings. Now this won't show up on a lot of graphs floating out there but if you do a spectrum analysis with a program like Foobar 2000 you'll see the difference between what you hear and the original recording. The HD800 has the biggest soundstage of any headphone under $2000. 
 
Personal preference comes into play when you talk about musicality. For instance, a lot of Head-Fiers prefer this sound signature with rolled off bass and boosted treble and consider that musical. You can hear much more detail than the original master recording reveals. I sold my HD800 because I prefer the weight of the original bass and I hate it being rolled off, even for clarity's sake. Also I listen at higher levels and the boosted treble can get slightly painful. If you listen at lower to moderate levels it shouldn't be a problem. 
 
 So tell us your preferences, whether you like a bit of bass or lots of clarity and soundstage and maybe we can recommend something great for you, it may even be the HD800.

 

[inthere]

  thanks for the replay , but the problem is i can only go as far as 1200$  so i can't buy any amps if i wanna buy hd800 , so its either hd700 with amps or hd800 without amps
 
 
but considering that my motherboard is high end( asus maximus VIII hero) , will the onboard sound card be enough for a person that just wants to listen to normal type of music ? ( i'm not a music producer or a musician ) , how much difference will it make if i use it with amp ? more than 10 or 20% ?! ( i just want to listen to music and have a great experience , nothing professional )

 
 I'd personally say no way for HD800 without an amp, but some may disagree. If your budget is $1200 amp included then you can get some great headphones and a great amp still, just tell us what kind of sound you're looking for.

 

[OmidelF]

   
 I'd personally say no way for HD800 without an amp, but some may disagree. If your budget is $1200 amp included then you can get some great headphones and a great amp still, just tell us what kind of sound you're looking for.

i just want to have a great experience listening to music , like pop and hip hop and  ...  ( no jazz and stuff , just normal type of music )  and i'm a newbee when it comes to sound cards and amps , so i just want a headphone for typical music with maximum of 1200$ , do u suggest if i buy a solo HD800 ? or should i just buy a less expensive headphone with amp ? , i have to say again that i DO NOT want to use it with my PHONE , only with my computer that has a good soundcard it self ( asus maximus viii hero)

 

[ChookJones1987]

For the price of the HD800 you can get the HD650 plus a good amp and dac. The 650 when driven properly is not that far off when it comes to resolution, detail and certainly has a better tone. It's also better then most of the stuff out there.
 
Other options are the LCD-2, HE-500(Used) 

 

[OmidelF]

  For the price of the HD800 you can get the HD650 plus a good amp and dac. The 650 when driven properly is not that far off when it comes to resolution, detail and certainly has a better tone. It's also better then most of the stuff out there.
 
Other options are the LCD-2, HE-500(Used) 

 
 
so are you saying that a HD650 with amp is better than HD800?! is amp THAT important EVEN when i have a high end motherboard ?! and i just want to listen to pop and hip hop music ?

 

[ChookJones1987]

Better is a difficult term in audio. A 650 driven with a good amp and dac is close enough to the HD800 but the issue with the HD800 is it sacrifices those last bits of detail for musical enjoyment. 

 

[OmidelF]

  Better is a difficult term in audio. A 650 driven with a good amp and dac is close enough to the HD800 but the issue with the HD800 is it sacrifices those last bits of detail for musical enjoyment. 

well as i said i'm really newbee in this stuff and i dont even know what driven even means ! so considering that can you tell me what should i do?! get a HD800 or not ?! i'm just getting more confused 

 

[inthere]

  i just want to have a great experience listening to music , like pop and hip hop and  ...  ( no jazz and stuff , just normal type of music )  and i'm a newbee when it comes to sound cards and amps , so i just want a headphone for typical music with maximum of 1200$ , do u suggest if i buy a solo HD800 ? or should i just buy a less expensive headphone with amp ? , i have to say again that i DO NOT want to use it with my PHONE , only with my computer that has a good soundcard it self ( asus maximus viii hero)

 
I'm saying HD800 is very difficult to drive without a dedicated amp and you may not get the full benefit of them without one. You can get an HD650 with an amp and it may sound better than HD800 without an amp because the HD800 will be very low volume.
 
Both headphones are a bit difficult to drive and the HD800 is harder to drive than the HD650, but at least with the HD650 you can afford an amp with your budget.

 

[ChookJones1987]

I think you personally need to go demo different headphones, You are just going to get subjective impressions and given that you just read the HD800 are the best is telling me you are going to rush into something without understanding what you are getting into, 
 
Anyone who tells you what do buy isn't helping you. You need to help yourself here and try out some different gear and see what YOU prefer. You are talkng about dropping a grand on a pair of headphones without even knowing if you will like them or not! 
 
Reason why I mentioned the 650 is because it is very resolving without being painfully so at the cost of a musical experience.

 

[inthere]

  well as i said i'm really newbee in this stuff and i dont even know what driven even means ! so considering that can you tell me what should i do?! get a HD800 or not ?! i'm just getting more confused 

 
Ok, don't get the HD800 because it's very low volume and you need an amp make it loud enough. 

 

[OmidelF]

   
Ok, don't get the HD800 because it's very low volume and you need an amp make it loud enough. 

well the problem is i heard the same thing when i was going to buy denon  d2000 , so i got an amp (e10) with it , and i did not find ANY difference with or without amp , only that i was able to make it much louder with AMP , but that ended up making my headphone broke :/ right side of my denon d2000 got broke and i'm sure it was because of amp since i was making my headphone play music louder than it was able to , but without amp was fine too 
 
 
so do we REALLY need AMP ? what's with people's obsession with amp's ? every one kept telling me i SHOULD buy an amp for my denon d2000 but after i bought it i regret it 
 
so do i really need amp or not ? i really don't want to spend an extra 200$ just for an amp and then feel no difference nor that i don't want to use it with my e10 because i'm worried it might end up the same way my denon d2000 did ... and my local shops DO NOT provide any testing before purchase 

 

[inthere]

Denon D2000 doesn't an amp, it's 25 ohms, whoever told you it "needs" an amp was mistaken. 
 
HD800 is 300 ohms and it actually "needs" an amp.