Onkyo A800 – "MASTER CLASS"

[Saberpunch]

I think I fix everything, I guess it didn't play copy and paste from my impression in another forum, so I basically had to retype it . If I miss something, I am not retyping it.

@draytonklammer I say go for it. It's $300 - $400 for resale typically, so it's not the most expensive to try out and it resell nicely the used market for some reason. I always see a Onkyo A800 gets grabbed within a day when it goes on sale, it's crazy. They should've just made more Onkyo A800 smh. As I said in my previous post, it's my favorite headphone for bass-heavy genres. Things like Classical music sometimes like Berlioz Symphonie Fantastique, especially movement 4, I say rap/hip hop is pretty good on it as well like the Pusha T new album It's Almost Dry, heavy synthesize bass pop like VALIS - 無窮プラトニック. Even rock music like Jimi Hendrix - Voodoo Child (slight return), and jrock like Band-Maid - From Now On is really good thanks to Gibson collab in tuning the headphone. Depending on your audio chain, the bass can be overpowering.

My favorite review for the Onkyo A800 is the below if you need more "influence". If you are disappointed by it for some reason either through comfort or you don't like the bass, you can always resale it so it's not the end of the world.

@protoss, its awesome such a modestly priced headphone is your favorite, which is high praise given your extensive experience. It reminds me of a headfier who owned a he90, r10, qualia, utopia, 009, etc..., and their favorite was a grado ps1000. Just shows that personal preference is king.

I hear your point of having a reference for good sound, especially as a check and balance to the soaring prices of modern flagships, which is getting ridiculous and pricing out folks like myself from this hobby. However, I'm not sure if the Harmon curve is it. IMO, evaluating based on a frequency curve is quite reductionistic, and does not take into account the multitude of factors that constitute good sound.

Regarding the A800's, I appreciate Protoss for the pro tip on grabbing a pair. I find them to be a very competent headphone that punches way above its price tag. Mine was purchased used with a generic aftermarket cable, so I may not be hearing their full glory, but here are some brief impressions:

• The build quality is solid and I really like the ear pad mechanism that pivots and gives a great seal. Oversized headband is really comfy.
• They scale with better gear. On lesser gear, they sounded muddy, veiled, and boring. However, they sound vibrant, emotive, and grand when paired with my Abbas 2.2SE DAC and Woo WA5 Amp. I assume Protoss listens to his pair on his EC Studio B, so A800's may have good synergy with 300B tube amps.
• Bass digs deep and bass notes have a nice heft/weight/rumble with good definition. Not as tight or punchy as my ZMF's, but feels just as powerful and more controlled, and perhaps more accurate. The A800 sounds like the Z1R bass done right. There is an ever-present sub-bass on familiar tracks that I am not used to.
• Treble is clear and crisp, and has nice sparkle to it. Not rolled off and not harsh on good recordings. However, on non-acoustic recordings (e.g., popular music), treble can be metallic and screechy, and vocals sibilant and strident.
• Wish for a bit more midrange clarity. Neither veiled or recessed, but lacking some of the nuances that flesh out the intonations and emotions in vocals. Perhaps some bass bleeding into mid-range, which gives a weight and a richness to vocals, but at expense of expressive/nimble-ness. Male voices sound better than female.
• Details/resolution/transparency approaches summit-fi, but fall short of most electrostatics and some high-end planars. However, the detail presentation sounds more realistic than a headphone like a Raal that pushes details forward and can be fatiguing.
• Overall flow of the music is natural, but seems a bit slow after listening to faster headphones. The music never gets ahead of itself, unlike the Raal and Jade 2's which make music sound like its playing on 1.5x speed. However, the music does not flow like water compared to my Jade 2's, or does not have the toe tapping effect like my Aeolus.
• Size of sound stage morphs (intimate to large) based on recording. Images seem locked into place. Really good depth, sounds 3-D with tubes. Realistic instrument separation. Maintains good control and separation during fast and complex passages.
• On good recordings, there are no weird peaks or dips. Everything sounds like the real thing. However, they scale down with poor or synthetic recordings.
• Acoustic instruments sound really (really) good. Natural timbre. Piano, percussions, wind and string instruments all sound natural and real, and have a depth and weight to them. Sounds just pop followed by a natural decay. You can hear the inner detail of each instrument. Really brings out the emotion in instruments. Best I've heard LA4's Best Friend album.
• The A800's pair well with a musical and energetic DAC/AMP's and can sound boring off the wrong gear. This is unlike the TH900 which sound fun on most pairings.

Overall, the A800's may be my new reference for acoustic instruments. Listening to Yiruma playing piano as I write this, and the sound pulls at my heart strings. However, there are several headphones I would choose over the A800's for vocals, even perhaps the humble HD650's. It is my understanding that Onkyo collaborated with Gibson instruments for the tuning for the A800, and this collab really shows in how great acoustic instruments sound.

 

[stasta]

@stasta Nice, that is good to hear. I definitely have to put the ERGO AMT on my bucket list to listen to. I also got to try the Onkyo A800 with the original pads one day. I noticed one thing with the Onkyo A800 is that it has really good stock materials like pads and cable. The stock cable is absolutely amazing and is probably one of the best stock cables I ever used. You and Protoss enjoy the original pads, so I know I have to listen to that as well one day.

Regarding the Mysphere headphone, easily the best midrange headphone I ever heard in the market and maybe of all time. I was fortunate to listen to a lot of headphones in the summit fi range, but at the end of the day, they still feel like headphones to me and nothing game-changing. That is why I was pretty burnt out in the hobby last month and just wanted to focus on my next speaker pick-up. I thought I would pick up 1 last headphone from this hobby and just focus on something else, which was both the Raal SR1a and Mysphere 3.2. The SR1a is probably one of the most high-level clarity and detail headphones I ever listen to. I think the only thing that could probably surpass it is probably Susvara on a good audio chain and some electrostats headphones like the X9000, Shang Sr., and HE-1. Even though I am using a entry-level speaker amp for it like the Vidar 2, it is powered by my Supratek 45 tube preamp and my really good R2R DAC. On a better speaker amp, I will probably get a better bass response and the soundstage will probably expand more. The resolution in the bass is also amazing. Probably the best-sounding bass compared to even the D8000 Pro LE and Caldera. The quality of the bass is really nice, probably have to compare it to the ATH-L3000 one day when I feel like it. The only thing I am disappointed in terms of its bass is that because the headphone is so quick, the bass decays too quickly and doesn't have that nice "oomph" to it. The Mysphere has a better bass punch while the Raal has a better bass texture, kinda like how I compare my Onkyo A800 vs. ATH-L3000 where the Onkyo A800 has a more satisfying bass while the ATH-L3000 has a more "audiophile bass". The reason I am bringing the Raal Sr1a up is that even though it has a high amount of clarity, something about that headphone still reminds me that I am listening to something digital and not real. (This little impression is to build up the Mysphere 3.2).

Now, Mysphere 3.2, that is a different story. Here is a mini-impression I did in another forum below. TLDR is that the Mysphere 3.2 is the most realistic-sounding headphone I ever heard in the midrange. The Mysphere midrange is unmatched, except for maybe the Susvara from people's opinions I trust, but the Mysphere does have the most realistic presentation for many of the acoustic instruments (particularly string, percussion instruments, and vocals). Synthesized music, nothing to write home about. The Mysphere truly shines with acoustic music. The Mysphere 3.2 is the pickiest headphone on the source (music files, CDs, Vinyl), amp synergy (I never have an issue with it so far with 3 different amps, but I heard from other people that the bass gets uncontrolled and you lose its magical midrange on the wrong amp synergy), and probably the most annoying headphone to wear because positioning on the frames is everything on that headphone. But once you deal with that hassle and everything is in a "perfect world setting", it is the most rewarding headphone I ever listen to.

Mini-Impression below:
"Now let's talk about sound. 1st impression, these headphones were magical in the mids and the vocals sounded amazing.

The bass sounded weird to me and there is some clipping, but only in certain tracks and volumes. It's honestly more picky with modern pop music vs. pop music from the 80s. I could still listen to modern pop music, just have to set the volume median - low, again very specific on which tracks I have to do this to, mainly tracks with extreme synthesized bass. I feel like I can listen to Daryl Hall & John Oates and Michael Jackson tracks in high volume without the bass sounding weird or distorted. Coming from a person that really enjoys the Sennheiser HD600 and HD580 Jubilee, the bass sounds good and the mid-bass is punchy. I think I got a jumpscare on my first listen with the Mysphere 3.2. I forgot which song I was listening to, but I did a test song with classical and switched to pop. Then on the same level with no expectation of bass, because a lot of people said this headphone had no bass, the mid-bass punches me almost out of my seat. It's not the hardest punch I felt, but the Mysphere hits pretty hard. I knew the Mysphere had bass, but I thought it was with only the Viva Tube amp. The Allnic HPA-5000XL was able to give the Mysphere a good bass response as well. I am used to headphones that make bass really stand out like the Onkyo A800. When listening to “Dove - Cymande”, compared to my usual Onkyo A800, the bass guitar was on the weaker side meaning that it doesn' t particularly stand out in the music. It was more in the background as the bassline should be. In the track “Isn't It Romantic - Bill Evans Trio Live” you can really hear the bass being plucked and really hearing the vibration in the air echo.

My favorite sound from the Mysphere 3.2 has to be many of the acoustic instruments and female vocals in modern recording. I agree with many people when they say the Mysphere really shines with organic music and live music. One thing I really like about the Mysphere 3.2 vs a lot of headphones I tried in the past (including my ownership of the Caldera and D8000 Pro LE which is in the similar Retail Price Range of $4-5K as the Mysphere 3.2) is that the Mysphere on my particular setup, have this magical way to remove equipments from the music. What I mean by this is that you can kind of tell the quality of a person’s mic with a good headphone. With the Mysphere, there is no equipment, it is just you and the artist. In a good recording, it really sounds to me like there is no barrier between me and the artist. Before, I had the mindset that there would always be a barrier and nothing would be close to real life. I used to think you would always hear the artist through a filter of their equipment. That is why I particularly don't like listening to classical orchestra or acoustic music unless it's live or through speakers (because I like the soundstage). With the Mysphere, it shatters my expectations of what I used to think about headphones and gives me the ultimate immersive experience that I thought wasn't possible. With the electric guitar and bass, that is a different story but that is also why I specifically said my favorite sound from the Mysphere is acoustic instruments and female vocals. There were some recordings where I thought, dang the piano sounds flat. But switched to another recording and the piano sounded great. That is why I also specified modern recordings because I feel like most modern recordings of acoustic performances are really good. There are some good old recordings, but you will have an easier time looking through the newer recordings to get this no-barrier experience. am also hesitant to say every acoustic instrument sounds realistic as it is heavily dependent on how well it's recorded. An example in one of the classical recordings, the church bells sounded light and didn't have enough weight in its sound to sound real to me Same with some piano recordings where I wish there was more weight in some of the notes, but there is some piano recordings where it sounds very satisfying. But you will have an easier time looking through the newer recordings to get this no-barrier experience. I am also hesitant to say every acoustic instrument sounds realistic as it is heavily dependent on how well it's recorded. An example in one of the classical recordings, the church bells sounded light and didn't have enough weight in its sound to sound real to me. Same with some piano recordings where I wish there was more weight in some of the notes, but there are some piano recordings where it sounds very satisfying. But you will have an easier time looking through the newer recordings to get this no-barrier experience. I am also hesitant to say every acoustic instrument sounds realistic as it is heavily dependent on how well it's recorded. An example in one of the classical recordings, the church bells sounded light and didn't have enough weight in its sound to sound real to me. Same with some piano recordings where I wish there was more weight in some of the notes, but there are some piano recordings where it sounds very satisfying. The church bells sounded light and didn't have enough weight in its sound to sound real to me. Same with some piano recordings where I wish there was more weight in some of the notes, but there are some piano recordings where it sounds very satisfying. The church bells sounded light and didn't have enough weight in its sound to sound real to me. Same with some piano recordings where I wish there was more weight in some of the notes, but there are some piano recordings where it sounds very satisfying.

Soundstage, with the Allnic HPA-5000XL, I agree with a lot of https://www.sonusapparatus.com/2022/01/mysphere-3-1-3-2-impressions/said in his Mysphere article where there is a little exaggeration of the distance between each performer and that the soundstage is holographic. I want to add there is a lot of depth in the soundstage as well. I am not sure if that is thanks to the Evo B4B 21 or the Supratek Preamp adding depth to this soundstage, but I will give credit to both honestly lol. I think both of these pieces of equipment vastly increased the depth of my soundstage and I could hear the sound echos with a great amount of height. To me, it feels like I am more immersive with the performers where I am in the center of the music and everything is being played around me. That was probably one of the most fun I had listening to music and the stage feels so vast and big to me. This is truly an alternative option to escape reality, don't know if this is the healthier choice lol.

Did a little A/B comparison with the Sennheiser HD580 Jubilee and the Mysphere 3.2. The Sennheiser HD580 is more forward in the vocals while the Mysphere is not recessed like the Sennheiser HD250 Linear 1, but vocals seem right in the middle where it is not exaggerated to the front but is where it should be. Mysphere 3.2 obviously blew everything else in the waters, it wasn't a competition lol. Resolution, bass, a more immersive experience where the Mysphere dispels barriers between me and the artist. still say the Sennheiser HD580 Jubilee is the GOAT cause Sennheiser has brought so many smiles in my memories I have to give them credit somehow. Didn't really A/B with the Raal SR1A because its not fair since I am using the Mysphere with the Allnic HPA-5000XL and the Raal with the Vidar 2. One thing I do like about Raal is that the music I like to listen to on the Raal is the opposite of what I would listen to on the Mysphere. I have a guilty music genre I really like to listen to and that is Vocoloid. The vocaloid genre kinda evolved to more than just the Vocaloid and more about the producers. Songs like “Odo - Ado”, “Hibikaze - Reol”, “DIAMANTE - IA (Sho Fujiwara)”, "Demon Lord - Kanaria" , and etc.

I think that is it for the 1-week impression. My chain is ROON Rock - Intel NUC 7i7 > EMM Labs NS1 > [AES] Mojo Audio Mystique EVO B4B 21 > Custom 45/6SN7 Tube Only Supratek Cabernet DHT > [RCA] Allnic HPA-5000XL > Mysphere 3.2 with Onkyo A800 ribbon cables.

TLDR:
Pro:

• Very emotional headphones
• Extremely good with the acoustic guitar
• Sounds like the equipment disappeared and listening to the instrument/vocals raw
• Immersive soundstage
• Truly shines with acoustic music and huge orchestras.
• Psychological rock music like “Voodoo Child (slight return) - Jimi Hendrix” and “2000 Light Years from Home - The Rolling Stone” is a trip with the Mysphere 3.2 and Allnic HPA-5000XL with my preamp/dac combo because of the good instrumental separation and soundstage maaaaan! Some rock songs are really good too like “Abraxas album - Santana”, especially with how they open the album up with “Singing Winds, Crying Beasts” which is really magical.

Con:

• Synthesize bass sound distorted to me in a loud volume. Got to lower the volume on my setup.
• Get some clipping/rattle when playing the big bass drums at a really loud volume ie classical music, but that is a lot of headphones tbh. It's just I'm used to that with my current bass-heavy headphones.
• Very picky on how well the music is recorded/produced in order to sound amazing. Way more picky on the recording vs. any other headphones I have experience with."

The only headphone from people's opinions I trust that can match or potentially be better in the midrange is the Susvara. Different presentation though where the Mysphere is supposed to be closer in terms of real life while the Susvara is more analogue-like, meaning its more warm and richer in tone. At least is how I seen people describe the 2 headphones and I agree that the Mysphere is closer to real life. I will probably pick up a Susvara either in December or next year since I am planning on purchasing a classic gear in October already. I heard the Susvara can be driven by my Allnic HPA-5000XL amp pretty well, it's just they say it's a curve ball in that retail price range because of it's unique sound presentation and if it actually synergizes well with the headphone, it really makes that headphone take off all the way to the moon.

Now, back on topic to the Onkyo A800 since this is an Onkyo A800 thread. I think the Mysphere 3.2 headphone is a nice complement to the Onkyo A800. They both have the same headphone connector, so you can use the same headphone cable. thing is that the Onkyo A800 is unmatched in terms of satisfaction in the bass region for me. I tried headphones like the Atrium Closed (Olive version) and the Abyss 1266 TC at CanJam recently. I will give the benefit of the doubt since Atrium Closed in different wood will give a slower decay which I will probably like more and the Abyss 1266 TC setup (3 different setups, DCA stack, Headamp new CFA3, and RSA new amp) is either not compatible with the Abyss since that headphone is heard to drive or the Hotel power issue was giving problems to those setups and I couldn't hear the full potential of the Abyss "legendary" slam. At this point and will just live with the Onkyo A800 and just wait till I get 2 subwoofers for my speakers. So Onkyo A800 for the satisfying bass-heavy music and the Mysphere 3.2 for the midrange on a more "realistic" presentation. If you own an Onkyo A800, I would recommend giving the Mysphere 3.2 as a good companion, let me take that back. I will only recommend it if you are willing to level your audio chain to a higher degree for both the Onkyo A800 and Mysphere 3.2.just tired at this point and will just live with the Onkyo A800 and just wait till I get 2 subwoofers for my speakers. So Onkyo A800 for the satisfying bass-heavy music and the Mysphere 3.2 for the midrange on a more "realistic" presentation. So if you own an Onkyo A800, I would recommend giving the Mysphere 3.2 as a good companion, Let me take that back I will only recommend it if you are willing to level your audio chain to a higher degree for both the Onkyo A800 and Mysphere 3.2.just tired at this point and will just live with the Onkyo A800 and just wait till I get 2 subwoofers for my speakers. So Onkyo A800 for the satisfying bass-heavy music and the Mysphere 3.2 for the midrange on a more "realistic" presentation. So if you own a Onkyo A800, I would recommend giving the Mysphere 3.2 as a good companion, let me take that back. I will only recommend it if you are willing to level your audio chain to a higher degree for both the Onkyo A800 and Mysphere 3.2. and Mysphere 3.2. I will only recommend it if you are willing to level your audio chain to a higher degree for both the Onkyo A800 and Mysphere 3.2.

*Edit: I have to re-edit some of my stuff lol. Is there a character limit in this forum? If it still looks funny, it is what it is.

I have been looking forward to your impassioned review. It is very informative.
Removing equipments from the music is exactly what I find attractive and what I look for in a full-open headphone.
I like to talk to people about headphones The experience of removing equipments from the music might be better with speakers, but speakers sound so different in environments and it's not always easy to discuss.

 

[Saberpunch]

@stasta Thanks, appreciate the compliment. I also really enjoy the experience of a more "realistic" presentation of I am hearing the performer rather I hearing the performer through a microphone. This might sound weird since you need a mic in order to record the performance, but I believe with good recording equipment, a good sound engineer, and good equipment, you are able to achieve that performance of realism. It's just I never really heard it through a headphone no matter the price range of $100-$20,000. The headphones can sound amazing with hi-res, but it's never hit to me as "real" and they always just sound like another good sounding headphone. Which is dumb I know because it is headphone, but I just had higher expectation of it sounding more closer to real life. That is another reason why I keep saying I am going to speakers because the speaker was the closest presentation to real-life to me. But the downside of speakers is room treatment and that "magical" speaker placement spot. Then I encountered the Mysphere and it really changed my opinion on headphones. The Mysphere is the real deal of realistic midrange.

 

[theangelboy]

Don't know if this crosses over into anyone's music taste but this specific album by Welshly Arms vibes very well with the A800 (stock tuning, at least), more so than their first or latest album, IMO. Can't help but tap my foot while listening to it! (even more than usual lol )

 

[Saberpunch]

Hey @theangelboy just curious. I see you have the Philips Fidelio X2HR which people say is the same as the X2, but with an updated pad.

What are your thoughts difference between the Onkyo A800 and Philips Fidelio X2HR?

 

[theangelboy]

Hey @theangelboy just curious. I see you have the Philips Fidelio X2HR which people say is the same as the X2, but with an updated pad.

What are your thoughts difference between the Onkyo A800 and Philips Fidelio X2HR?

That's an interesting comparison, I had never A/B'd those before. After some listening back and forth between them I think I have solidified my thoughts. Note: these are both being compared with their respective stock configurations. For full disclosure's sake, I have never heard or owned the X1, X2 (non-HR), or X3, so I can't provide feedback on the differences within the Fidelio model line up.

Overall, while their sound signatures are similar-ish, the gap is wider than their raw frequency responses would suggest. The starkest difference to me was how much "clearer" the A800 is. Instrument separation, bass speed, bass impact/slam, and imaging are all much more decisive on the A800. By comparison, X2HR feels like all of the sounds are clamoring over each other creating a chaotic mess in really busy music. The dubstep song I have on my listening test playlist, for instance, just turns into a wall of sound on the X2HR. On the A800 I could clearly pick out the bassline, the vocals, and cymbals without issue in the same song (Dirty Disco by Zomboy). While I do think the frequency response differences (which I will go over below) plays a role in the difference, this goes beyond that IMO. I just think the driver of the A800 is more capable, and if I had to guess, has a much stronger/larger magnet in the driver since it has so much more control over the sound.

Frequency response-wise, the A800 is more v-shaped overall with 1db-5db more bass, less energy at 1-6khz but a larger peak at around 8khz. The X2HR on the other hand, has a rather large (~4db) peak at ~1.6khz and 5Khz. This, I believe, makes the midrange more forward, shouty (1.6khz) and grainy (5khz) on the X2HR. Bass on the X2HR also is less prominent and starts rolling off higher (~70hz vs ~50hz on the A800) and harder than the A800. This combined with the less precise driver control makes the bass take a back seat in the mix and lacks some authority when it is present.

Spoiler: Frequency Response Comparison

NOTE: This is measured on my homemade flat plate rig so it's not comparable to any other measurement rig.

With all that being said, I don't think the X2HR is a bad headphone, especially for the price (can be had for around $100). This goes double since the A800 has become unobtainium. I definitely put X2HR on the list of affordable open backs when someone wants to dip their toes in the hobby. It's a big step up from a lot of that craptacular consumer stuff out there. The X2HR has a generally inoffensive sound signature, a pretty thoughtful/ergonomic design, and amazing build quality to boot (kicks the butt of the A800 in that department...). It just can't really keep up with the A800's technical capability. However, that's a really tall order. I think you generally need to get something that's biocellulose or from Focal to have a fighting chance of keeping up in technicalities in the dynamic driver arena, IMO.

Anyway, I hope that helps to answer your question. This comparison was kinda rambling, so let me know if I need to clarify anything.

 

[Saberpunch]

Thanks for the comparison @theangelboy ! I recently saw a Philips Fidelio X2 went on sale in Reddit for about $70, but I think someone else beat me to the punch on it. I was interested because someone in Reddit proclaimed the Phillips Fidelio X2 to be the community's favorite headphone for that time because of its value to performance. Another interesting note is that I remember reading someone review and they mention that the Phillips Fidelio X2 and the Onkyo A800 was the same engineering team so the two headphones will probably share similarities.

I really appreciate your mini vs review of the Phillips Fidelio X2 vs Onkyo A800, it really help me get a good understanding of what the previous headphone of the same team made before the Onkyo A800 sounds like. And a lot of people do agree the Onkyo A800 is a huge step from their previous work, the Phillips Fidelio X2.

"It is Onkyos flagship of their new headphone line and was actually developed by Gibson. According to what I read it was actually developed by the same engineering team which created the Phillips Fidelio X and X2 headphones. These headphones are extremely highly regarded on this subreddit and other audio communities, so I think the A800 will be of great interest. Indeed I think the only reason these headphones haven't made a huge splash is that most people haven't got a chance to try them! So with no further ado lets jump into the the review!" Source: https://www.reddit.com/r/headphones...a800_headphones_review_hd_600_with/?rdt=55633

Still a little salty I couldn't get that Philips Fidelio X2, because one of my biggest reason was to obtain the velour pads to actually get closer on using the "original" pads on the Onkyo A800. Just want to cross that off my bucket list already.

 

[Saberpunch]

Sound Differences:
Onkyo A800 Caldera Thin Pads:
* Most comfortable and smallest pad
* Have the most visceral impact
*Soundstage is intimate

Vesper Audio Onkyo Custom Pad - Black, Not through perforation (as shown in the screenshot from your response),
(not through) perforated leather on the inner cavity with (through) perforated alcantara in black.
All other surfaces are intact (whole gain real leather), angled pad,
regular acoustic foam Impression:
* Soundstage is further compared to the other 3 pads.
* Overall more veil compare to the basic Vesper pads
* Feels like it favors more in the lower region and the upper region of the frequency sound nonexistent. Basically, I think the bass overpowers the other frequency.
* Visceral impact
* Sound louder

Vesper Audio Onkyo Basic Pad - Basic black pad, real whole leather, Natural latex Impression:
* Soundstage is more intimate and the music is closer
* Most clear sounding pad, but just by a little bit
* Less visceral impact compare to the Caldera Thin pads, but it's still there
* Sound louder, making me feel like I'm closer to the music

Dang, I can't believe its almost a year and I still love this headphone lol! Got some weird hybrid velour pads for like 20 bucks and thought I would try it out with the Onkyo A800. So here is an update on my pad rolling on the Onkyo A800 since finding a pure velour pad is so hard for the Onkyo A800. Is there such a thing as too much bass... yes lol. I kinda liked the Onkyo A800 with the weird hybrid velour, it got a lot of similarities with the Caldera Thin Pads oddly where it kinda give a nice chunk of bass boost, but it sacrifices clarity a smidge. A smidge in this hobby is huge depending who you talk to, that's why you see some people drain $$$ to either get rid of the smidge or boost the smidge. If you want maximum clarity, I really do like the Vesper pads and probably still recommend them. The Vesper pads do sacrifice a lot of soundstage, but its great for studio produced songs. I tried the DowiTech pads again and the midrange is pretty good, but I think soundstage gets pretty airy with these. I think the soundstage sounds a lot bigger with the DowiTech for some reason > then the Caldera Thin Pads > then the Vesper Pads (Pretty dang intimate, but I think its perfect with studio produced songs). Vesper pads have the best clarity and bass sounds cleaner and not too overpowering, so I am still willing to sacrifice some soundstage for it, and its a pretty noticeable change in the soundstage I say. The point being, 5 months later, I still think the Vesper Pads is the best pad I tried for for my personal taste currently (studio produced songs)

I did a pretty lazy test on this since I have gotten into a lot of the newer songs, but the test songs I did were:
"Daylight" and "IDGAF" - Drake,
"DDD" - Reol
"Show" - Ado.

There is a special post I kinda want to do...

So, I recently went to a live orchestra recently for “Butterfly Lovers Violin Concerto” and Beethoven’s “Eroica”. So I was in a violin mood and was awe of their performance. Can't really find a good recording that I like for butterfly lovers..., so I'm using “Four Seasons of Buenos Aires: 2. Invierno Porteño (Winter)” - Arabella Steinbacher and Beethoven Eroica - William Caballero and the Pittsburg Symphony Orchestra as my go-to testing song for violins. I was planning to use multiple of my headphones just to shat on them vs the Onkyo A800. Buuuuut, I think the Mysphere 3.2 is too freaking good for live music lol. I have to admit the Onkyo A800 does give a more "interesting" presentation with the way it can make the instruments echo, but the Mysphere 3.2 is really clean, clear, the soundstage is wide, and the tonality on it is on point. The Onkyo A800 is really amazing on the lower end of the spectrum for classical music, especially with the Timpani. I thought I would really like the Sennheiser HD580 Jubilee for classical orchestra, but it honestly sounded way too thin for me. The tonality is great, but again, too thin for my taste. The Susvara in my opinion is the most perfect headphone I ever listened to and don't feel like crap owning it. I didn't enjoy owning the Caldera and D8000 Pro LE when I owned them (that is why they are gone). Every time I remember how much I paid for those, I thought I was just a really frugal person. Then I randomly picked up a Susvara and thought, "dang ,this is really nice". Then I remembered how much the Susvara cost and how much I paid for and I actually thought, "This is pretty worth it". Difference in taste and setup, I still think the Caldera and D8000 Pro LE are really good headphones, just not something I feel comfortable keeping around since I know they won't get much headtime when I have my Onkyo A800 and ATH-L3000 around. But the Susvara is different, it actually made me think that high-end headphones aren't that bad for the price-to-performance ratio. The Susvara bass reaches low and sounds full and not lacking at all, mids are so beautiful and delicate that they touch your soul, and highs so amazing it make you say "wow". Why am I gassing up the Susvara? It's still a planar headphone and I think I have issues with planar headphones. Planar headphones just sound pretty weird to me and not really natural. It sounds really clear and detailed, but it still sounds freaking not real to me. When I went to the live orchestra, my brain instantly clicked, and knew this was live music. When I'm listening to the Planar headphones, my brain still goes "Hmmmmm, is this real?" Of course the way the music is recorded and produced is still a huge factor, but the headphone being used is still a huge factor. Why am I saying this, because the Mysphere 3.2 is freaking REAL! I think it's the best headphones I ever heard that could replicate live music to actually trick my brain that this is real! I don't think anything could beat the Mysphere 3.2 when it comes to live music, except maybe the Sennheiser HE90 if I ever get to hear it 1 day... Fun fact, one of my favorite headphones for classical music might be a headphone I actually sold which is the Sony MDR-CD3000. I sold it to fund my vacation and I always regretted doing that... Wish I still had the Sony CD3000 to really compare if it was just a happy memory or if it was really that good just like my brain remembers it.

So for me, I say I like Mysphere 3.2 and the Onkyo A800 a lot of classical orchestras and classical music. The Raal Sr1a is a toss-up because the bass response is too fast that its an overkill sometimes. For the rest of my collection, I prefer them to more studio-produced songs. I think it's Susvara/Raal Sr1a/ATH-L3000/Onkyo A800/Mysphere 3.2 > everything else. LOL, I can't choose, I really like all 5 headphones for studio-produced songs, so it just depends on the mood and genre. I say Susvara is more of an all-rounder for most genres and I strongly like to listen to new studio-produced music with this headphone first, ATH-L3000/Onkyo A800 for more classic rock and pop music, Raal SR1a for more heavily synthesized music, and the Mysphere for acoustics with vocals.

Why am I posting this text vomit in the Onkyo A800 thread? Because even after everything I listened to and owned for about a year, the Onkyo A800 still manages to be one of my favorite headphones of all time no matter the price range. I won't say for technicality it's better, but the way it presents music to me, it's really one of a kind.

Setup: ROON Rock - Intel NUC 7i7 > EMM Labs NS1 > [AES] Mojo Audio Mystique EVO B4B 21 > Custom 45/6SN7 Tube Only Supratek Cabernet DHT > [RCA] Allnic HPA-5000XL > Headphones

I think I might chill for the rest of the year. Gotta recoup and actually save for other expenses not audio related. Next year I do want to aim upgrading the DAC again, either going to inject nano machines into my DAC or trade it in for a 2 chassis power hunk. We will see what the future will hold, but in the mean time, going to continue listening to the Onkyo A800 with a smile on my face . Hopefully when I come back to this thread, there will be a successor to the Onkyo A800 because it’s so criminal this headphone is out of production…

 

[boodi]

Nice wrie up ..thanks for sharing . I completely understand the 'click' about planar heapdhones ( or the more natural hearing/eardrum impression coming from dynamic drivers , or from the a800).

 

[boodi]

Hopefully I will be able to hear your a800 system a day , as I am very curious. If it happens to be around your place for work or vacation, I might ask you about it a day

 

[Saberpunch]

Appreciate it, would like to share the sound with other people, that’s why I sometimes take my gear with me to work, just to get another unbiased opinion.

My setup is actually still in the development stage lol.

*ROON Rock - Intel NUC 7i7 (dedicated music server that works really well with Roon) >

*EMM Labs NS1 (dedicated streamer for a more clean sound that will enhanced the black background. That overall will increase the clarity and help the soundstage easier to imagine) >

*[AES] Mojo Audio Mystique EVO B4B 21 (This one is a more analog sounding R2R DAC where it’s warm and rich in sound. Also gives a nice little bloom in my bass. The little details in the music is more in your face making the music sound more forward. Downside of using a old DAC chip is my AES options is really picky, but the sound it produces is a nice trade off)>

*Custom 45/6SN7 Tube Only Supratek Cabernet DHT (Using EML 45 Mesh tubes. I say increase the overall clarity, increase the soundstage depth/height, gives a tighter bass in my system, and giving more textures in the midrange) >

*[RCA] Allnic HPA-5000XL (It’s not what you would expect from a OTL/OCL Tube amp. This one produces a clean sound that enhances the mid bass to be more punchy. What makes this amp more unique than anything I really use is the way it stages and present music, making it very holographic and engaging.) >

*Headphones

The things I might replace is the EMM NS1 Streamer with a USB Streamer to DDC to SPDIF RCA.

I want to upgrade the Mystique Evo B4B 21 DAC to the Pro version with the nano upgrades (nano upgrades rumor for November) to make the DAC even more refined and cleaner sounding or the rumored 2 chassis power beast that Mojo Audio may release next year.

It’s harder to upgrade the Allnic HPA-5000XL since there isn’t anything really like it since it’s so unique. But if I ever want a cleaner sound, the Mass Kobo 394II is suppose to be a cleaner sound with really nice texture to the music from what I read. But in return, I will lose the Allnic unique staging and presentation, which don’t know if it’s worth losing since it’s the main reason why music is really engaging in my setup besides the Mystique Evo (because the Mystique Evo likes to throw little details a little more forward).

The Supratek is staying since it’s originally for my speaker setup and there aren’t too many option for a 45 tube preamp. If I do move away from it, it’s most likely going to be a Allnic DHT preamp. But it’s really up to where I want to go with my speakers.

It’s a lot to think about for the future, but I am going to take it one step at a time. So basically small upgrade 6-12 months break to appreciate the upgrade and go from there. so I guess my setup is in a never ending of improvement, but I think that is what makes this hobby so fun is the never ending improvement.

 

[boodi]

I am curious on a matched-maxed A800 chain that ( potentially/hypotetically ) competes with Susvara in some areas , as well as my 2 A800 are taking a bit of dust lately ( and 1 is on permanent loan it seems so) .
I was able to feed A800 with some clear and detail-oriented sources and decent amps , solid state amps only though apart from brief encounters
; but I am not quite sure that what I heard is on the level and sound signature you're experiencing , might be 'a bit' different .
And then the Audio Mistique Evo upgraded..

 

[Saberpunch]

Honestly, as much as I love the Onkyo A800, I don’t think the Onkyo A800 will ever compete with the Susvara. The Susvara reaches really low (advantage for planar technology) and the bass is really good. Mids is very delicate and very rich sounding. It also smooth, but in my system not too smooth which I like since it doesn’t smooth out the textures too much. Really nice extension in the highs as well to bring a lot of details to the instrument that play in that range. The Susvara also reveals music with ease and bring forth little details without being fatigued. The soundstage as well is another level where vocal reverb is just so stunning and amazing.

It just another tier imo, my past expensive headphones like the Caldera and D8000 Pro LE can’t even touch the Susvara to my taste. And I still think the Caldera and D8000 Pro LE are really great headphone, just a tier below which makes them more comparable to mid-if since the performance isn’t too much of a big gap. I think those headphones are more entry high-fi, but are really good that you can’t really call them mid-fi. That is just how much I think the Susvara is that amazing. And that’s how much I think the Mysphere is even more amazing because in terms of my preferred sound in the midrange, the Mysphere is better than the Susvara. The Susvara is just really a complete headphone doing well in all areas of the spectrum, that’s why I consider it the almost perfect headphone and I think it’s perfect for more studio produce songs because it will be more truer to the recording.

Now, if we are talking preference and tonality, that is very different. As I said earlier, all planars don’t really sound natural to me, I prefer dynamic headphones. I think planar headphones are great for studio produce sounds. But if I want something closer to live music, I go with dynamic. My preference just so happen to be the Onkyo A800 with the way it showcase bass, midrange, and even the way the Onkyo A800 does treble that makes the music even more exciting. The way the Onkyo A800 is tune really works well with things like the electric guitar, drums, bass guitar, and vocals. The intimate soundstage is really nice because it brings the vocals out nicely (thanks to the Vesper Audio Pads). Combining all them together, the Onkyo A800 really mesh well for the music I prefer.

Sorry, don’t got too much time right now, so imma cut it short. Don’t know if we want to go down this rabbit hole, but preference is a whole different conversation because on one headphone can make everything sound the way we want because instrument and even synthesize sound is a wide range to cover. I’m terms of technicality, the only touching Susvara is summit-fi Estats like the Shang Sr, HE-1, and X9000 and a ribbon headphone like the Raal SR1a. But if we are bringing preferences, the entire headphone market can be in the conversation no matter the price range. And preference is what really matters to me. I just got technicality headphone like the Raal SR1a and Susvara to scratch my back. It just so happen that the Susvara is also really rich in sound that it can be consider a preference that I like.

 

[Saberpunch]

I am back from a live concert with one of the best bands in the world Band-Maid. That band is incredible and each member is very talented. I love and appreciate each member on what they bring to the band: Saiki; Miku; Kanami; Akane; and Misa. I highly recommend anyone to visit Band-Maid at least once. My position in the concert was 3rd row, center near stage right. So after the concert, even though my ears are piercing from the extremely high level of volume being played at the concert, I wanted more. First try to recapture the magic using my 2 channel speaker system... disappointed because the tonality of the guitar wasn't crunchy enough for me. Try my other headphones like the ATH-L3000, ATH-AD2000, and others. No no, not even close. Then, save the best for last, Onkyo A800 using my Caldera thin pads time to shine! Yes, yes, yes, yes, yes! Not even close to live of course, but man this taste really good. The crunchiness the Onkyo A800 brings to Miku guitar, the clean riffs that do justice to Kanami guitar, the powerful vocals for Saiki, the bass bites on each note, and the kick bass from Akane Drums visceral in my head. This is why I sold all those other TOTLs and was insane enough to buy another pair of Onkyo A800. This experience reminds me why the Onkyo A800 is my favorite headphone of all time. Nothing will close to the experience the Onkyo A800 will provide for your music.

Concert Pics:

Bass player is super talented. I am not a Bass guitar expert, but a lot of bass players is impress with Misa because of how well she can transition pick style to slap style and how natural she backup vocals, guitars, and drums and still is able to some melodies into the music. Misa is really talented and also a lot of people favorites member in the band. This is also one of the reason I feel like no other headphones can do this justice. Because of the Onkyo A800 impressive bass, the Bass player Misa can really shines and you can really hear her talented plays in the music. Both Misa (Bass Guitar) and Saiki (vocalist) are my favorite part in Band-Maid music. But all of them are really good once you listen to their songs a lot more like Miku (Rhythm Guitar/Backup Vocals) gets more complicated riffs for the background on albums after 2016, Miku is the guitarist that usually have a really nice crunchy sound in the music. Akane (Drums) got really good with twin pedals and ability to switch beat so naturally is really good. And then we have Kanami with a more bright and clean electric guitar sounds. Kanami guitar solos is always epic and was really fun watching live. When I lock myself in a dungeon to learn more about Band-Maid, I actually primarily use the Onkyo A800. I was using the ATH-AD2000 in the beginning for faster paced songs, but the tonality for bass guitar was too lacking for me and the bass player is one of the best part of their music. So back the Onkyo A800 went on my head when I was studying Band-Maid music.

No English songs, but the 2021 album “Unseen World” and 2022 album “Unleash” have a lot of English lyrics mix with Japanese. I like their Japanese mix with English lyrics because Miku (Rhythm Guitar/Backup Vocals) usually write their lyrics. Miku uses a lot of wordplay in her music. She likes to use some Japanese words that she wanted the lead vocals pronounce it like it’s a English words so the lyrics will have multiple meaning depending what language you speak.

I am curious on a matched-maxed A800 chain that ( potentially/hypotetically ) competes with Susvara in some areas

Sorry for the late reply, got caught up in something yesterday so I had to make the previous post short (even though its pretty long lol)...

So... Part 2. Recap from Part 1 (above post), it terms of overall technicality, Susvara can't be touched except by TOTL Estats. Sorry also for the long rant, I thought you meant a max-out Onkyo A800 vs a max-out Susvara, that would be a crazy comparison because a max-out Susvara bass is insane because it can hit really low and it will be bumping lol. I could try to compare the two through what I have currently... But honestly, I don't really like comparing headphones unless it's from the same developer or company because the experience will be vastly different. As I said, I much prefer preference than a headphone that have high technicalities. If I really want a headphone with extreme high technicality, I would get a Raal SR1a or a TOTL Estat (which I basically got the Raal Sr1a and Susvara as a reference headphone. I will explain why I use the Susvara as a reference headphone later.) I was trying to make a segway to my preference comparison, but was cutoff short yesterday. So, this post is a continuation of the first post and this will be mainly a focus comparison of one of my favorite bands Band-Maid on Onkyo A800 vs Hifiman Susvara!

This comparison post is going to be pretty lazy since I don't want to spend too much time on this. For serious listening, I want to wait until I get a really good CD Transport (there is a rumor that an American Company I am very excited about is going to be releasing a CD Transport next year and it is going to exceed the Jay Audio CD3 MK3. I can't say who . So if you are into CD Transport, start saving for late 2024). My network streamer is just going to be for casual listening which is basically most of the time lol. Serious listening is for special moments.

This comparison is on BAND-MAID OKYU-JI 2021 live concert Blu-ray. If you want to know about Band-Maid and what I like about its live music, please see my first two quotes at the beginning of this post. So I didn't even use my network streamer on this, I use my Panasonic Blu-Ray player and thought it would be more interesting to switch it up instead of just listening to music, but to watch a live concert in Blu-Ray form and see if I can capture that "Live" feeling. Don't worry, I connected the Panasonic Blu-Ray to a DDC to SPDIF Coax to my Mystique Evo B4B 21 DAC. The sound quality took some hit, but it's mostly there.

Because this is a preference comparison, I won't be getting too deep into its technicality because Susvara would win on paper. Susvara even at my current setup have better resolution on bass, midrange, and treble. Susvara reaches lower in the lows and has a higher high extension of the spectrum. The soundstage of the Susvara is more grand with more height and depth making a more the reverbs soar to the heavens. The separation is better making the music less congested and imaging is better having an easier time pinpointing the band members. Speed is very fast on the Susvara. Susvara got a blacker background and can present small details very well without being fatigued. I honestly think the main reason people don't think Susvara is a very technical headphone is that their setup won't let them show the Susvara technicalities (a better source, DAC and amp goes a long way with the Susvara) or they are only trying to listen for the midrange resolution. Thats why I think owning a Susvara is important when doing impression for that headphone vs. just a short impression at a show, because you will need a whole lot of time to really appreciate that the Susvara can really do everything really good. When I was listening to the Susvara on a EF1000DAC at Chicago Canjam 2023, I wasn't too impressed. Noise factor was an issue and I couldn't really pick the music I was too familiar with. Because of the noise factor, the only thing I could try to concentrate was on resolution and this after my my HE-1 demo so wasn't too impressed. But, after owning it for a couple of months, I slowly appreciated what the Susvara provided for the music I threw at it. Well... if Susvara is so dang good, why the heck am I still listening and talking about the Onkyo A800? This is where preference kicks in. If you follow my post, I became a big Band-Maid fan early 2023. There live performance at the The Underground venue in NC was amazing that it became one of my highlight in 2023. I even saw the Odezsa concert at the PNC Music Pavilion this year and that was amazing too, but the Band-Maid girls really left a good impression on me. So on the BAND-MAID OKYU-JI 2021, what I looking for is how the Susvara and Onkyo A800 are going to showcasing bass guitar, drums, 2 electric guitar (lead and rhythm), and lead and backup female vocals in the Jrock genre.

For the BAND-MAID OKYU-JI 2021 live concert Blu-ray, I would say for my preference...

Bass guitar (Onkyo A800 > Susvara): The Susvara does bass guitar very nicely, clean ring and great showcase on dynamics. I know bassline in music isn't supposed to stand out, but I really like it when the bass stands out because Misa's bass play is really awesome and she is really talented. So of course I want to hear more Misa! With the Onkyo A800, the bass guitar has more presence in the music and makes me really appreciate it more. The bass guitar also have more growl and sound more powerful on the Onkyo A800. Because of the Susvara bass is tighter and faster, we will get less decay on the bass guitar ring. I enjoy the delay lingering ring in the bass guitar because it makes the stage more "real" to me and gives more of that indoor small music venue vibe that I really like for rock music.

Drums (Onkyo A800 > Susvara): You can feel the bass on the Susvara, but I would say it is more controlled and more "audiophile" like where the bass is tighter is disappear quickly. I like my bass where I can hear more reverb on the kick drums and bassline. I also get more of a visceral effect on the Onkyo A800 than the Susvara and I really like the way the Onkyo A800 makes me really "feel" the drums. I just overall enjoy the kick drums and tom tom on the Onkyo A800. The snare drums sounds more like snare drums to me on the Onkyo A800. It just has a better tone on the Onkyo A800. The way Cymbals do sizzle a lot higher and I like how it sounds when it crashes on the Susvara.

Rhythm Guitar (Onkyo A800 > Susvara): I said it in my first two quotes at the beginning of the post. Miku as the guitarist usually has a really nice crunchy sound in the music. The Onkyo A800 is just tuned to have more "crunch" in the guitars and it's always so tasty. Yeah, the Susvara will separate the Rhythm guitar more and you can have an easier time focusing on it, but it just doesn't sound the same to me and it makes it even less exciting to me.

Lead Guitar (Onkyo A800 > Susvara): You expect I would like the Kanami guitar with the Susvara since it's more of a cleaner tone, but I still like the way the Onkyo A800 show cases Kanami guitar. Kanami guitar just has more bite and excitement on the Onkyo A800. I think the Susvara kinda automatically loses for me for midrange electric guitar. I'm just not a fan of smoothing out the midrange on the guitar...

Backup Vocals (Susvara > Onkyo A800): The Susvara really brings little details from your music and lets you notice it with ease. The backup vocals are more subtle and its sometimes hard to know if backup vocals are happening, but honestly think that's how it's supposed to be. It's called backup vocals because it's not supposed to stand out. But noticing little details like this on the Susvara is pretty nice and I like that a lot.

Lead Vocals (Susvara > Onkyo A800): Susvara is really good for vocals. The smoothness of the Susvara is a double-edged sword, sometimes I like it for specific things and sometimes I don't like it on specific things. For vocals, I do enjoy the smoothness of the Susvara as it adds extra emotional layer to me. And the clarity on Saiki's vocals is just really nice. When it comes to midrange vocals, the Susvara can melt your soul. I say the Onkyo A800 (with the Vesper Pads) is more forward in vocals which I like, but the vocals are where they should be in the recording in the Susvara.

So, even after all the great technicalities on paper of the Susvara winning, I still greatly prefer the Onkyo A800 even with all its "flaws" when comparing it to the TOTL headphones. It really all comes down to musical preference and how a headphone present the music. With the soundstage like Susvara, vocals with reverbs are amazing to me. But for a lot of the Jrock music I like, the large soundstage kinda gets in the way cause I like having an intimate presentation. I want middle-row seats for a classical orchestra, but I want front-row tickets for a rock concert. The Susvara can get exciting in music despite its "relax" presentation, but the Onkyo A800 can double the excitement due to its presentation and its nature of bringing out the bassline of the music. On a max-out Susvara setup, it can get really exciting on the Susvara (I just read people's impressions on a $20K+ setup), but I did actually hear the Onkyo A800 on a Viva 845 Tube amp and it blew my clothes off... figuratively, I would've got arrested for public nudity if that really happens lol. The Susvara is a warmer and richer-sounding headphone than the Onkyo A800, but the Onkyo A800 is a more neutral-sounding headphone and blends in with a lot of setups I used with it. The Onkyo A800 is also a Gibson tune headphone, so it explains a lot why I would prefer rock music on the Onkyo A800 vs the Susvara that probably has classical music and jazz in mind even though I don't even prefer the Susvara on classical or jazz due to its planar sounding nature lol. I prefer the Susvara on studio-recorded music because it lets me hear the entire song. Once I listen to that song about 5 - 10 times and pretty much heard all the details in the music. Then I switch through my other 4 headphones to see which one I like the best for that song. It's because if you heard the little details the first couple of times using the Susvara, then I will start hearing it more on my other headphones. The little details will always be there in the music, you just have to put more effort listening to the listening vs the Susvara naturally brings the entire music to you. Once you know what kind of little details you are looking for, you can find it with the other headphones, again you just to more effort into listening to the music. I like using the Susvara vs the Sr1a as a reference headphones because the Susvara actually has subbass, the SR1a feels like the subbass is missing.

So I guess the point of the first two posts is not to get too caught up on the technicalities, but on what music you prefer and how you want that music presented to you. So just keep trying a headphone no matter what price range (if you can afford it or even the dirt cheap ones) and find your favorite preference. If you really care about technicality, just get an Estat setup or invest in a Raal Sr1a setup with subwoofers. Btw, I am not talking directly to you Boodi, I am just talking to everyone that's reading to make sure that I am not talking about technicality when I said the Onkyo A800 is a better headphone for me, I am talking about my preference.

Anyway, that was pretty fun doing this lol. I could do other comparisons with my other headphones vs the Onkyo A800, but right now I just catching up on some new music and exploring different genres. Happy October everybody, thanks for reading and see ya!

Some pics:

What’s funny is that I listen to the Live concert using the Susvara first and liked it, but didn’t get the need to stand up and jump around. When I put on the Onkyo A800 after the Susvara and press play again on the Live Concert, I just jumping doing head bangs like I’m really there lol. The Onkyo A800 got me acting like I would in a real Band-Maid Concert. I got pretty sweaty on the headphones though…Don’t worry, I will sanitize the pads and put lavender oil to make it smell good again!

Live concert I was using for this comparison:

The headphones:

 

[GaryP]

In autumn, audiophiles wake up after dark.