[whirlwind]

what serial number do you guys consider new.
 
I just bought a 2nd hand pair of HD800....the serial number is 19XXX.....In no way is my treble overly bright....not at all?

 

[LugBug1]

  what serial number do you guys consider new.
 
I just bought a 2nd hand pair of HD800....the serial number is 19XXX.....In no way is my treble overly bright....not at all?

I think we are up to approx 26*** now. But don't fret about how old or new they are. They are all the same apart from normal manufacturing differences. 
 
No pattern has emerged in regards to differences between old and new. 
 
Just enjoy them guys and lets keep ageism to the politically incorrect crowd

 

[whirlwind]

  I think we are up to approx 26*** now. But don't fret about how old or new they are. They are all the same apart from normal manufacturing differences. 
 
No pattern has emerged in regards to differences between old and new. 
 
Just enjoy them guys and lets keep ageism to the politically incorrect crowd

Will do

 
I am really digging them

 

[karzai]

  I think we are up to approx 26*** now. But don't fret about how old or new they are. They are all the same apart from normal manufacturing differences. 
 
No pattern has emerged in regards to differences between old and new. 
 
Just enjoy them guys and lets keep ageism to the politically incorrect crowd

I just got mine today and the serial number is 3077X. 
 
At the time of this writing, I have only been playing my 5th song and forgive me but I am not particularly blown away by the sound. Is it normal? I feel like I blew away several hundred dollars for a marginal improvement in sound over Shure SRH840. The open configuration does make the soundtage more airy but other than that, there's nothing anything special.
 
Could I expect any more improvement from the sound? My tube amp has not reached 30 hours yet and along with the burn in period of both the amp and the headphone, could I expect a remarkable improvement in the future? What percentage do you think will the improvement be?
 
I must say that they are like speakers. They hardly make me feel I am wearing a headphone at all. They don't touch my ears (pinnae). They are so comfortable and so light.
 
I'll update if I notice some improvement.

 

[James-uk]

I just got mine today and the serial number is 3077X. 

At the time of this writing, I have only been playing my 5th song and forgive me but I am not particularly blown away by the sound. Is it normal? I feel like I blew away several hundred dollars for a marginal improvement in sound over Shure SRH840. The open configuration does make the soundtage more airy but other than, that there's nothing anything special.

Could I expect any more improvement from the sound? My tube amp has not reached 30 hours yet and along with the burn in period of both the amp and the headphone, could I expect a remarkable improvement in the future? What percentage do you think will the improvement be?

I must say that they are like speakers. They hardly make me feel I am wearing a headphone at all. They don't touch my ears (pinnae). They are so comfortable and so light.

I'll update if I notice some improvement.

Just keep listening and eventually the HD800 moment will come. Once it does you won't hear any other headphone quite the same ever again.

 

[LugBug1]

Just keep listening and eventually the HD800 moment will come. Once it does you won't hear any other headphone quite the same ever again.

This^

 

[MacedonianHero]

 
I just got mine today and the serial number is 3077X. 
 
At the time of this writing, I have only been playing my 5th song and forgive me but I am not particularly blown away by the sound. Is it normal? I feel like I blew away several hundred dollars for a marginal improvement in sound over Shure SRH840. The open configuration does make the soundtage more airy but other than that, there's nothing anything special.
 
Could I expect any more improvement from the sound? My tube amp has not reached 30 hours yet and along with the burn in period of both the amp and the headphone, could I expect a remarkable improvement in the future? What percentage do you think will the improvement be?
 
I must say that they are like speakers. They hardly make me feel I am wearing a headphone at all. They don't touch my ears (pinnae). They are so comfortable and so light.
 
I'll update if I notice some improvement.

Amp/dac/source? Garbage in = garbage out....especially with the HD800s. 

 

[Twangsta]

Hey folks, need some help getting a better sound out of my HD800s 
 
I'm currently using a Universal Audio Apollo Twin Duo.
The DAC is top shelf pro grade as far as I know.
 
It's headphone output specifications are as follows:

Jack Type	1⁄4” Female TRS Stereo (unbalanced)
Frequency Response	20 Hz – 20 kHz, ±0.1 dB
Dynamic Range (A–weighting)	113 dB
Signal-to-Noise Ratio (A–weighting)	113 dB
Channel Separation	Greater than 110 dB
Total Harmonic Distortion + Noise	–101 dBFS
Stereo Level Balance	±0.11 dB
Output Impedance	10 Ohms
Output Gain Range	–INF to 0 dB
Maximum Output Power	80 milliwatts into 600 Ohms

 
I don't have the option of trying different amps to see if I can get a better amplifier for the HD800s at a reasonable price.
I'll be buying sight unseen/unheard.
 
What's the best non DAC desktop headphone amp for under 300$ to go with these cans? 
Should I just wait till I can afford the sennheiser amp?
 
I love the sound I'm already hearing but I'd like to know if there's more I can do with around 300$ 
 
Would really appreciate any advice.
 
Thanks a ton in advance.
 
 
 
 

 

[CybDev]

I just got mine today and the serial number is 3077X. 

At the time of this writing, I have only been playing my 5th song and forgive me but I am not particularly blown away by the sound. Is it normal? I feel like I blew away several hundred dollars for a marginal improvement in sound over Shure SRH840. The open configuration does make the soundtage more airy but other than that, there's nothing anything special.

Could I expect any more improvement from the sound? My tube amp has not reached 30 hours yet and along with the burn in period of both the amp and the headphone, could I expect a remarkable improvement in the future? What percentage do you think will the improvement be?

I must say that they are like speakers. They hardly make me feel I am wearing a headphone at all. They don't touch my ears (pinnae). They are so comfortable and so light.

I'll update if I notice some improvement.

Depends on what you were expecting I guess.

A "huuuuge" difference? Not really, unless what you started with was truly horrible.
Did you want "more" bass/mids/treble that simply isn't there in the master? Then HD800 is not for you.

Many of my friends actually prefer their "beats"-type cans to my HD800, not knowing what it is or its reputation.
- And that's perfectly fine, let people enjoy their taste in music.

You might want to demo cans in this price range before you buy them... and as multiple people have pointed out, the entire chain is important, source/dac/amp.

HeadFi is a game of diminishing returns

That said I'm really happy with mine, and I still give them nearly 50% listening time vs. the SR-009

 

[LugBug1]

  Hey folks, need some help getting a better sound out of my HD800s 
 
I'm currently using a Universal Audio Apollo Twin Duo.
The DAC is top shelf pro grade as far as I know.
 
It's headphone output specifications are as follows:

Jack Type	1⁄4” Female TRS Stereo (unbalanced)
Frequency Response	20 Hz – 20 kHz, ±0.1 dB
Dynamic Range (A–weighting)	113 dB
Signal-to-Noise Ratio (A–weighting)	113 dB
Channel Separation	Greater than 110 dB
Total Harmonic Distortion + Noise	–101 dBFS
Stereo Level Balance	±0.11 dB
Output Impedance	10 Ohms
Output Gain Range	–INF to 0 dB
Maximum Output Power	80 milliwatts into 600 Ohms

 
I don't have the option of trying different amps to see if I can get a better amplifier for the HD800s at a reasonable price.
I'll be buying sight unseen/unheard.
 
What's the best non DAC desktop headphone amp for under 300$ to go with these cans? 
Should I just wait till I can afford the sennheiser amp?
 
I love the sound I'm already hearing but I'd like to know if there's more I can do with around 300$ 
 
Would really appreciate any advice.
 
Thanks a ton in advance.
 
 
 
 

Matrix M-stage would be my recommendation. Other say that the Schiit Vali is a good and cheap starting point. You could go for a little Dot MKIII but then there is the price of finding good tubes to replace the cheap stock ones...    

 

[karzai]

  Amp/dac/source? Garbage in = garbage out....especially with the HD800s. 

Amp/DAC = WA7tp/WA7
 
Source =  44.1/16, 192/24 FLAC/WAV Files
 
Player = Media Center 19

 

[MacedonianHero]

 
Amp/DAC = WA7tp/WA7
 
Source =  44.1/16, 192/24 FLAC/WAV Files
 
Player = Media Center 19

Pretty good setup, but the HD800s still climb higher in my experiences.

 

[karzai]

  Pretty good setup, but the HD800s still climb higher in my experiences.

Please don't say that. People have warned about how treacherous this path could easily become and I still have years of mortgage to pay. Haha.

 

[MacedonianHero]

 
Please don't say that. People have warned about how treacherous this path could easily become and I still have years of mortgage to pay. Haha.

Sorry, then I'd just run from this place. Head-fi can be pretty hard on one's wallet. 

 

[GL1TCH3D]

 
Amp/dac/source? Garbage in = garbage out....especially with the HD800s. 

Amp/DAC = WA7tp/WA7

Source =  44.1/16, 192/24 FLAC/WAV Files

Player = Media Center 19

I didn't enjoy the HD800s at all the the WA7. I found the WA7 to be very harsh in the highs =/