[Sonic Defender]

I'm an outlier in the sense that I actually like the way the A800 looks. I get that it isn't a classic beauty, but it has a very distinctive aesthetic that works for me. It is nice that it gets some attention that I feel it very much deserves. The H900M is also a solid closed back headphone if a tad more bass-centric than some would prefer. The H900M, like the A800 in my opinion punches above it's price and is well made and distinctively styled.

 

[mbwilson111]

I'm an outlier in the sense that I actually like the way the A800 looks. I get that it isn't a classic beauty, but it has a very distinctive aesthetic that works for me. It is nice that it gets some attention that I feel it very much deserves. The H900M is also a solid closed back headphone if a tad more bass-centric than some would prefer. The H900M, like the A800 in my opinion punches above it's price and is well made and distinctively styled.

I also like how it looks. I also find it reasonably comfortable. The headband distributes the weight well on my head. Love how it sounds.

 

[Sonic Defender]

I also like how it looks. I also find it reasonably comfortable. The headband distributes the weight well on my head. Love how it sounds.

Very much agree as that sums up my experience beautifully. I'm looking forward to reviewing the next line-up of Onkyo headphones whenever that happens to be.

 

[LaCuffia]

It really does sound great....listened to it last night on both desk top and portable amps and it's quickly becoming one my favorite sounding headphones in quite some time. The bass is so satisfying, yet remarkably balanced.

Is the 900 basically the same design but closed? It looks like there are protein leather type pads though instead of velour.

 

[Sonic Defender]

It really does sound great....listened to it last night on both desk top and portable amps and it's quickly becoming one my favorite sounding headphones in quite some time. The bass is so satisfying, yet remarkably balanced.

Is the 900 basically the same design but closed? It looks like there are protein leather type pads though instead of velour.

If I can I will listen to both for you tonight as I have them both on hand. The H900M is certainly less linear in the bass and more impactful, but giving up clarity for that extra bass impact. I would characterize the H900M as more fun and contemporary sounding with the A800 more tuned toward the fun side of audiophile, but closer to neutrality than the H900M for sure. If you can order the H900M from a place with a good return policy they are well worth an audition I think. I may be parting with mine soon enough as I have very little listening time and I mostly use my Pioneer SEM 5.

 

[lyrean]

Has someone compared A800 to Focal Elear? I have Focal Listen and I may like it more in certain songs than A800 because of it's lesser bass quantity and more forward mids (A800 is overall much better though and Listen is a mobile headphone), and I was wondering what Elear could provide.

Another one that would be interesting is Sennheiser HD 660 S. I had HD 650 4 years ago but though it was quite veiled and boring sounding to my taste but I have heard that HD 660 S doesn't sound veiled.

 

[Pharmaboy]

I owned the A800 (sold it); also had a borrowed Elear in my system for weeks. So it's all sonic memory, but here goes...

These may be 2 open-back dynamic headphones, but they're relatively dissimilar. The A800 (once burned in) was pretty flat, no extreme spikes or dips in frequency that I recall. I thought it sounded pretty good, just not good enough to keep. And I found it extremely uncomfortable. I found a small but distinct family resemblance between the A800 & Fidelio X2s (same company did drivers for each, though different drivers). But the A800 was more detailed & less spacious in soundstage than the X2s.

The Elear is a whole other ballgame. That headphone swings for the fences when it comes to dynamics and detail (lots of both, sometimes too much). I found the bass to be OK, even better w/aftermarket earpads (not easy at all to pad roll that one). I couldn't hear the upper midrange dip everyone talks about. Ultimately I found the Elear to be rather wearing, sonically. The whole sound (IMO) is one big coloration...I never could relax and hear through it to the music.

Re HD660/Massdrop 6XX, I haven't heard that one at all. However, I recently finished a fascinating/lengthy review of an extensive HD650 mod (review compared that to the stock HD650). That modded headphone (Jupiter Audio Research J-Mod) has the best treble I ever heard--zero "veil"--plus excellent mids & bass. Another Head-Fi'er who's currently reviewing the same mod vs stock & I speculate that this mod may sound somewhat like the 660, in that it's so incisive, dynamic, and outright fun (not qualities I really associate with the HD650--though I liked the stock HP a lot, too).

 

[lyrean]

Thank you for your impressions. I guess I have to ask local audio store if they have Elear so that it could be tested. I have heard so many different opinions on it and it it just too expensive to buy without hearing it first.

HD 660 S are on discount now so they are quite tempting but they can't be listened anywhere here on store. Opinions also differ considering this headphones; some say it sounds like HD 650 and some say it doesn't have that veil and has more clarity. I'm not sure if they are worth buying if one didn't like HD 650.

 

[Sonic Defender]

Thank you for your impressions. I guess I have to ask local audio store if they have Elear so that it could be tested. I have heard so many different opinions on it and it it just too expensive to buy without hearing it first.

HD 660 S are on discount now so they are quite tempting but they can't be listened anywhere here on store. Opinions also differ considering this headphones; some say it sounds like HD 650 and some say it doesn't have that veil and has more clarity. I'm not sure if they are worth buying if one didn't like HD 650.

The Massdrop HD58xx also sounds intriguing and if impressions are to be believed, for quite a bit less money, seemingly offers a sound quality as competent and satisfying as the HD660S, if different.

 

[nraymond]

The Massdrop HD58xx also sounds intriguing and if impressions are to be believed, for quite a bit less money, seemingly offers a sound quality as competent and satisfying as the HD660S, if different.

I just took delivery of the HD58x recently and have the A800. Preliminary comparison is that the HD58x is more of a reference sound - less sub-bass, nothing excessive in the highs. Instrument separation is good (especially with stock pads). A800 has a wider sound stage and more sub-bass (some of the best sub-bass I've heard in any open headphone), equally good instrument separation, but I think the highs on the A800 are less even, making it less of a reference class sound. The HD58x have the most bass of any of that lineup (more than the old HD580, HD600, HD650 or HD660S). Ignoring sub-bass, the amount of bass on the HD58x sounds right to me. I tried the Yaxi aftermarket earpads on the HD58x and while it extended the bass, there was too much of a cost to the rest of the sound signature, particularly in how the highs presented themselves in the HD58x, so I don't think I'd recommend anything other than the stock pads with the HD58x. I don't own any other Sennheiser headphones from that lineup but word is the others can 'scale' better with more expensive amplification (my testing was primarily with the Musical Fidelity V-Can headphone amplifier powered by a Breeze Audio linear power supply, fed by a JDS OL DAC over optical from lossless sources).

 

[lyrean]

Now that I have briefly heard all 3 Focal headphones (Elear, Clear and Utopia) I must say, none of them did impress me. Clear sounded more like a refined HD 650. Elear and Clear were both warm sounding, Elear was almost dark. Elear shined with heavy metal and rock music with male vocals but female vocals and treble itself sounded rolled off. Clear lacked the bass and slam of Elear but it was more neutral than Elear.

I enjoyed Utopia most of these 3 but I can't see it being even near close to it's price tag.

A800 is quite bright sounding when comparing it to these 3 Focal headphones.

Elear and Clear might be good choices if you are treble sensitive. They didn't seem to cause any listening fatigue.

 

[Pharmaboy]

Now that I have briefly heard all 3 Focal headphones (Elear, Clear and Utopia) I must say, none of them did impress me. Clear sounded more like a refined HD 650. Elear and Clear were both warm sounding, Elear was almost dark. Elear shined with heavy metal and rock music with male vocals but female vocals and treble itself sounded rolled off. Clear lacked the bass and slam of Elear but it was more neutral than Elear.

I enjoyed Utopia most of these 3 but I can't see it being even near close to it's price tag.

A800 is quite bright sounding when comparing it to these 3 Focal headphones.

Elear and Clear might be good choices if you are treble sensitive. They didn't seem to cause any listening fatigue.

This is one of those times where my experience w/the same headphones is so different that I wonder how it could happen. I haven't heard the Utopia, but did hear an Elear at length in my system; owned an A800; and heard the Clear at CanJam NYC under show conditions.

Comment about the A800: it sounded very bright when I first listened, but after 150 hrs burn-in, brightness is basically gone. I won't say the treble even on the burned in A800 is great for me, but it's really not bright. Sold that a couple months ago.

I found the Clear to be shockingly bright. Painful to listen to. Elear struck me as somewhat bright--but what made the Elear challenging for me is that it sounded insistent, in-my-face. It's dynamic in a way that isn't musical--made me jump. Still, IMO the Elear is way more headphone than the A800--more detail, better "technicalities."

None of these headphones really worked for me, and they apparently sounded quite different to me vs you.

 

[lyrean]

I found the Clear to be shockingly bright. Painful to listen to. Elear struck me as somewhat bright--but what made the Elear challenging for me is that it sounded insistent, in-my-face. It's dynamic in a way that isn't musical--made me jump. Still, IMO the Elear is way more headphone than the A800--more detail, better "technicalities."

I only listened these at store and I think my opinions would differ if I had more time with each one in my home. When I was listening to Elear, I found a spark of treble somewhere around 10kHz and that may cause fatigue but otherwise I found its treble to be rolled off. Clear sounded better and more even to me.

I think all of these 3 Focal headphones had better soundstage and imaging than A800.

 

[mbwilson111]

For people considering buying new (shorter) cable for the A800 I tried it with the one pole cables from the Meze Classic yesterday and it does only give sound on one side. This means that a new cable would have to be two pole like the original one (or the Beyerdynamic T1/T5p for example) to get stereo sound, which is of course nice

I've seen these cables for less than $18 on ebay (1,2 m version) so it's available for cheap which is good news.

I am finally going to order an inexpensive 1.2 m cable for mine now that the weather is cooler and I can wear headphones again. All summer I could only use iems and buds. Kind of got addicted to them...

 

[Roderick]

Are the pads replaceable somehow? A800 is a nice headphone, I like the style too... But the pads could use more debth.