[Armament]

Salutations friends! I literally made this account 10 minutes ago, however I have been stalking these forums for a few months now. Anyway.. I had questions about the HD800 headphones. I'll start from the beginning. In the times of past I have been listening to mostly the earphones that come stock with players and phones. Also listening to low quality mp3 files. After a while I wondered if there was something better. Sure enough, I discovered FLAC files. But they sounded exactly the same through my stock earphones. I did intensive research and decided to pick up some Shure SE535s. Music finally sounded more alive and I was hooked. The problem I have with those is.. the highs seem to hurt my ears after a while and bass seems weak. I tried to mess with the equalizer and trying other players for PC but they all seem to be the same. In the end I stuck with Winamp because of it's simplicity to use. I did research and learned that onboard sound supposedly sucks. So I went ahead and purchased a Creative ZXR sound card. The sound quality did not feel like it improved much, if at all. I then thought then I might need some new in-ears.. or even headphones! Did some research, and the word "ATH-M50" kept popping up. Found a sweet deal on them for around $75 so I went ahead and bought them. They sound great, not as good as the SE-535s, but the highs don't kill my ears after extended use. BUT the ear cups now hurt my ears after an hour or so. Basically I'm just saying **** it and want to buy some of the best headphones that are #1 in comfort and very close to that in sound so that I won't have to spend any more money. The HD800s came up multiple times with people saying they are the most comfortable they've ever tried and seem to disappear after a while of use. They also say quality is some of the best they've ever heard. I was about to order them.. but after reading many reviews people say that an amp is needed. I looked up the specs to my sound card, and sure enough it says it supports up to 600ohm headphones. So I think I'm in the clear.. totally wrong. Looked up reviews to the card and people are saying that an external amp is still needed to get the full sound quality of the headphones. I'm totally lost here.. will I need an amp to drive the HD800s? Would that plug into the sound card somehow to bypass the built in amp? If an external amp costs too much.. shouldn't I pick some headphones that are of high quality with a lower impedance? Or would I still need an external amp to drive those as well? Any info you can provide would be greatly appreciated. 

 

[GREQ]

Yes HD800 NEEDS (and I literally mean that) an amplifier.
And it's ridiculously picky.
I've tried the HD800 through a 4 different sources and it only sounded acceptable through one of them.
 
Anyway, forget the HD800 - you won't like the treble, which I found to be piercing as I also do not like hot treble.
So what else is super-high-end and comfortable but doesn't absolutely need an amp? AKG K812 - nope!... forget it... again, hot treble.
hmm....
Literally the only other headphone I can think that does these is the Oppo PM-1.
I can't fully recommend it because it's one of the few I havn't actually heard, but combined with all the reviews and people I know and trust (who's experiences and opinions almost always mirror my own) lead me to believe this is close to my favourite flavour of headphone.
 
Hopefully someone else can chime in regarding these very special requirements, but I'm sure the purists will still tell you to buy a dedicated DAC and amplifier to pair with such majestic headphones anyway, despite it's incredible efficiency. 

 

[Armament]

Thanks for the information man. This is starting to sound a bit expensive now.

 

[Armament]

  Yes HD800 NEEDS (and I literally mean that) an amplifier.
And it's ridiculously picky.
I've tried the HD800 through a 4 different sources and it only sounded acceptable through one of them.
 
Anyway, forget the HD800 - you won't like the treble, which I found to be piercing as I also do not like hot treble.
So what else is super-high-end and comfortable but doesn't absolutely need an amp? AKG K812 - nope!... forget it... again, hot treble.
hmm....
Literally the only other headphone I can think that does these is the Oppo PM-1.
I can't fully recommend it because it's one of the few I havn't actually heard, but combined with all the reviews and people I know and trust (who's experiences and opinions almost always mirror my own) lead me to believe this is close to my favourite flavour of headphone.
 
Hopefully someone else can chime in regarding these very special requirements, but I'm sure the purists will still tell you to buy a dedicated DAC and amplifier to pair with such majestic headphones anyway, despite it's incredible efficiency. 

What about Grados headphones? They seem a bit funky with their wooden look but people say they're fairly easy to drive? One thing though.. they seem to have at least three hundred models of headphones. (sarcasm) BUT.. thanks for that recommendation. I will definitely look into the OPPO. I've never heard of that brand but it looks very pretty and comfortable.

 

[Armament]

Bumpity bump.

 

[GREQ]

Yeah, I actually WAS going to add Grado GS1000e (or whatever) into the mix, but I honestly don't think the sound quality you get is worth the money you pay.
I love Grado headphones and the sound, I really do... but by modding an SR80i or SR225i, I can get pretty much the sound I like, preferable to a stock RS2i. 
 
Right now I've modded an old SR80 (not i or e models) and I've A-B'd with a bunch of Grados - it sounds MOST like a PS500! But with a little less treble sparkle/emphasis and a tad less resolution.
So all that really says about Grados is that the low-end models are phenomenal value for money, and you're paying for luxury materials and incrementally better sound as you go up the chain of command.
 
BUT - still worth auditioning if you get the chance. Paired with the right gear the GS1000i can have a gravitational effect on your jaw bone.

 

[Armament]

Yeah, I actually WAS going to add Grado GS1000e (or whatever) into the mix, but I honestly don't think the sound quality you get is worth the money you pay.
I love Grado headphones and the sound, I really do... but by modding an SR80i or SR225i, I can get pretty much the sound I like, preferable to a stock RS2i. 

Right now I've modded an old SR80 (not i or e models) and I've A-B'd with a bunch of Grados - it sounds MOST like a PS500! But with a little less treble sparkle/emphasis and a tad less resolution.
So all that really says about Grados is that the low-end models are phenomenal value for money, and you're paying for luxury materials and incrementally better sound as you go up the chain of command.

BUT - still worth auditioning if you get the chance. Paired with the right gear the GS1000i can have a gravitational effect on your jaw bone.

When you say audition, you mean test them out? Where would I do that? I live in a small town and the closest city would be in Dallas, TX. It would be awesome to try out the ones I want before buying.

 

[GREQ]

 
When you say audition, you mean test them out? Where would I do that? I live in a small town and the closest city would be in Dallas, TX. It would be awesome to try out the ones I want before buying.

Ah, that's unfortunate.
Living in central europe has it's advantages. Certainly shorter distances are involved for me in this hobby. 
 
Not sure where you should start really. 
I know a few guys who would just buy 2 or 3 headphones at once, and return the 2 they decided not to keep a week later (keeping all packaging neat and tidy).
Of course you would lose a little bit on postage but it sorts out the auditioning problem. 

 

[BrezicR]

Hello,
 
as you immerse in high class headphones, you should always consider buying an amp and a DAC, otherwise you won't get all the potencial of the headphones. Forget about soundcards, because they are just too low quality for such headphones. It doesn't matter, if they can drive 600 ohm headphones, because it's important also how the drive them. If you need some rather good but not too expensive dac/amp, you should look at nuforce, shiit or O2 odac.
So, about the HD800: the headphones are a bit bright, meaning some might have issues with the treble, however this depends also from what kind of amp you are using. The HD800 are considered very picki about the amps. I use the Violectric V100, which is a bit warmer amp and it pairs beautifuly with the HD800 in my opinion. No problem with treble. The HD800 excel with classical music or jazz, not so much with electronic or bass havy music. If you prefer warm sound, you should be looking at Senns HD600 or HD650. If you want to spend more, orto headphones might be the right choice, like HiFiman 500 or Audeze LCD-2. But ortos defenetly needs an amp.
I have a big problem with my Grados (sr225). They are extremly uncomfortable. My ears heart after half an hour of listening. However the sound for the price is very good. Better grados are over ear, instead of onear like the sr225, however I read that even with those people are complaining about confort.

 

[lin0003]

If you go for the HD800 you will need an amp and a DAC, whatever soundcard you have will not cut it. A budget solution is a Schiit Modi/Vali. You will also want to check out the Anax mod if you want to get the HD800. When you have more cash to spare you can always upgrade your amp and DAC, the HD800 scales incredibly well.