[leeperry]

at first I was confused because the way the plastic rings click-lock together there's an initially high amount of static friction that holds the ring (and attached ear pad) in place, and I didn't want to break anything and didn't twist hard enough at first.

OK thanks a lot, easier to do than to explain, Pandora's box open now

Anyhow, pinout is different from Hifiman, A800 needs ring for R instead of tip so I've soldered both et voilà my super neato Acrolink OCC cable works with both now

Next on the list is newplasting the baffles then

 

[nraymond]

Not sure if the stock cable wiring has been documented here for the A800 or not, but I thought I'd post it so that people making or ordering custom cables for their A800 have it handy. The stock cable is wired so that if you plug in the left and right cables to the wrong earcups, you'll get no sound - the left side uses the tip and not the ring, and the right side uses the ring and not the and not the tip:

6.35mm tip -> 3.5mm left channel tip
6.35mm ring -> 3.5mm right channel ring
6.35mm sleeve -> 3.5mm sleeve on both left and right channels

 

[mbwilson111]

Not sure if the stock cable wiring has been documented here for the A800 or not, but I thought I'd post it so that people making or ordering custom cables for their A800 have it handy. The stock cable is wired so that if you plug in the left and right cables to the wrong earcups, you'll get no sound - the left side uses the tip and not the ring, and the right side uses the ring and not the and not the tip:

6.35mm tip -> 3.5mm left channel tip
6.35mm ring -> 3.5mm right channel ring
6.35mm sleeve -> 3.5mm sleeve on both left and right channels

Thank you so much! I want to have a shorter cable made.

Is this the only headphone that is wired this way?

 

[Audio Aficionado]

When I first read about the Onkyo A800 a couple of years ago I went online and bought one straight away. I was really looking forward to hearing them. However, weeks of anticipation went by without an update from the courier service, I eventually sent them an email and got a reply saying that the headphone had not even been dispatched yet. That was about 4 weeks after I paid $400 (U.S.D) for it. I got my money back, but I was annoyed as I had been really looking forward to hearing the A800. I have just noticed a retailer selling one for £330 ($400) and I am wondering whether to by it or not. I'm hesitant because of my experience the last time I bought one, lol. Hmm what to do. I would hope it would be at least comparable to the last mid priced open-back headphone I owned and liked,- the Sennheiser HD700. If it is any better than the HD700 then I might go ahead and buy it. Time to do a bit more research and see.

 

[Ninth Wave]

To the current owners of A800, would you classify it as Midfi or like entry level Hifi? (term they use with the likes of Focal Elex) If there is such thing.

Well, as a new member of the forum and someone who considers himself to have nowhere near the level of expertise that so many of you have, I'd like to offer my perspective on these headphones. I'm really lowering expectations from the outset, right?

I bought these headphones because because I wanted to improve my listening experience. The other headphones I had been using, like the AKG K702 and Audio Technica ATH-M50X, were okay and should've been adequate for my needs...but I yearned for something bigger, brighter and more full-bodied. The AKGs were a bit lifeless to my ears while the ATs were too clinical and a little boomy. They're fine for travelling or watching movies/TV shows on an iPad, for example, when the sound isn't critical. But I didn't see them as a good music headphone. And while I had the B&W PX for a while, they didn't offer any comfort which was distracting and I couldn't seem to get a good sound from them when wired. It was nothing special anyway. I'm not particularly interested in listening wirelessly because of the propensity for snaps, crackles and pops...or dropouts.

So I just wanted a nice pair of headphones that were comfortable and delivered something new and exciting as far as music delivery was concerned. And these A800s certainly ticked those boxes! They really are quite a special set of headphones, compared to the others I'd used previously, and putting them on is something of an experience in itself. What I mean is, I have to make the time to sit down with these to just focus on the music and enjoy it. Other headphones don't get the same treatment because they haven't wowed me enough. In saying this, I am about to embark on a bit of a journey with some planar magnetic headphones - the Mr Speakers Aeon Flow Open (AFO). I'm hoping they will take the music to the next level. If the difference is palpable between those and the A800s or the AKGs, maybe I'll sell those sets at some point.

What I find most interesting to note about the A800s is the lack of availability and information on them. I bought my set from an eBay seller in Hong Kong or Japan (can't remember now) as they're not available here in Australia, as far as I'm aware (same as the Onkyo DP-X1A DAP).

Hopefully this helps in some way.

 

[Sonic Defender]

@Ninth Wave Really glad that you are enjoying the A800 so much, as you know I am a big fan and agree with your take on them. The Onkyo line was poorly marketed and just didn't have that ground swell of public attention and demand that would have caused the production and distribution channels to really bring the lineup into prominence in any meaningful way. Shame for sure. Now that a new company is behind the marketing and production for Onkyo headphones (Gibson Innovations was the previous company that handled this for Onkyo) perhaps things will be different for any new lineup of Onkyo headphones which if it happens I hope to once again review.

Good luck with the AFO, it may just be that for you whereas for me, to this point I just can't fully get with the Mr. Speaker sound. I had on hand here both an Ether Open and an Aeon Flow Closed and neither worked for me, but clearly many people enjoy them very much so that just tells us what we already know, preferences are individual. Please update the thread on how you get along with the AFO and I hope that the A800 continues to be part of your listening rotation.

 

[Ninth Wave]

@Ninth Wave Really glad that you are enjoying the A800 so much, as you know I am a big fan and agree with your take on them. The Onkyo line was poorly marketed and just didn't have that ground swell of public attention and demand that would have caused the production and distribution channels to really bring the lineup into prominence in any meaningful way. Shame for sure. Now that a new company is behind the marketing and production for Onkyo headphones (Gibson Innovations was the previous company that handled this for Onkyo) perhaps things will be different for any new lineup of Onkyo headphones which if it happens I hope to once again review.

Good luck with the AFO, it may just be that for you whereas for me, to this point I just can't fully get with the Mr. Speaker sound. I had on hand here both an Ether Open and an Aeon Flow Closed and neither worked for me, but clearly many people enjoy them very much so that just tells us what we already know, preferences are individual. Please update the thread on how you get along with the AFO and I hope that the A800 continues to be part of your listening rotation.

Thanks SD.

Well, I managed to get a listen in yesterday, albeit for only half an hour or less. And it was a good first impression, without blowing me away.

Firstly, the size of the AFOs was a surprise. For some reason, I expected a much bigger cup size. Is that the right terminology?

When I put them on my large-ish head, I was taken with how nice they felt. They were so comfortable and just seemed to pair well with the shape of my noggin. That's important!

As for the sound, I wouldn't say it was massively different from the A800s. However, there were a few little elements of sonic detail that I picked up on. It seemed like a perfect example of the law of diminishing returns; I'd just shelled out $1140 for a set of headphones that weren't significantly different from the set I'd been using. There were differences, but they were subtle at best.

I'm not down about this though. Far from it, in fact. I am excited by the opportunity to get more familiar with these and analyse their performance without time pressures or other commitments.

And I'd like to do a proper comparison with the A800s for my own amusement.

I've now started looking into upgrading my headphone amp too and my inclination to pursue the Chord Mojo has been validated by the store I bought the AFOs from. As much as I have enjoyed the capability of the Xduoo XD-05, it does have a cheapish feel and I don't enjoy the crackling of the unit whenever I touch the headphone jack. That bugs the crap out of me!

One final comment on these headphones: as nice as they are, I am missing a full room setup with loudspeakers. That's the feeling I came away with after my initial listen to the AFOs.

And here I am wanting to spend more money on head gear! Madness.

 

[Sonic Defender]

Thanks SD.

Well, I managed to get a listen in yesterday, albeit for only half an hour or less. And it was a good first impression, without blowing me away.

Firstly, the size of the AFOs was a surprise. For some reason, I expected a much bigger cup size. Is that the right terminology?

When I put them on my large-ish head, I was taken with how nice they felt. They were so comfortable and just seemed to pair well with the shape of my noggin. That's important!

As for the sound, I wouldn't say it was massively different from the A800s. However, there were a few little elements of sonic detail that I picked up on. It seemed like a perfect example of the law of diminishing returns; I'd just shelled out $1140 for a set of headphones that weren't significantly different from the set I'd been using. There were differences, but they were subtle at best.

I'm not down about this though. Far from it, in fact. I am excited by the opportunity to get more familiar with these and analyse their performance without time pressures or other commitments.

And I'd like to do a proper comparison with the A800s for my own amusement.

I've now started looking into upgrading my headphone amp too and my inclination to pursue the Chord Mojo has been validated by the store I bought the AFOs from. As much as I have enjoyed the capability of the Xduoo XD-05, it does have a cheapish feel and I don't enjoy the crackling of the unit whenever I touch the headphone jack. That bugs the crap out of me!

One final comment on these headphones: as nice as they are, I am missing a full room setup with loudspeakers. That's the feeling I came away with after my initial listen to the AFOs.

And here I am wanting to spend more money on head gear! Madness.

Really nice to hear your impressions, and it does indeed show that the A800 are actually pretty decent performers and punch above their price for sure. Keep us posted as your impressions grow. The Mojo is very nice, lots of options, but for sure the Mojo deserves solid consideration.

 

[ponyhead]

I'm having a hard time finding this out: where does one buy the a800 in the US?

 

[nraymond]

I'm having a hard time finding this out: where does one buy the a800 in the US?

Gibson (the US guitar maker) had bought a controlling interest in Onkyo back in 2012, but entered bankruptcy last year. This year Sound United (division of DEI Holdings, which is owned by the private equity firm Charlesbank Capital Partners) bought Onkyo's home audio division (this puts Integra, Pioneer, and Pioneer Elite under the same roof as Denon, Polk, Marantz, Definitive Technology, and Boston Acoustics). Gibson had also purchased Philips WOOX Innovations and renamed it Gibson Innovations, and it was under Gibson Innovations that many Onkyo headphones were manufacturered. When Gibson entered bankruptcy, they "wound down" Gibson Innovations, and what is known is that Philips re-took control of their audio goods at that point and partnered with Hong Kong-based TPV in a five year deal starting June 1, 2018 where TPV gained worldwide access for sales, marketing and distribution of "A/V products and accessories previously licensed to Gibson, including headphones, Bluetooth speakers, audio playback speakers, and DECT cordless phones". I haven't seen anything about headphones announced from Onkyo after they were acquired by Sound United, but they had this brief statement in 2018 when things went south with Gibson:

https://www.onkyo.com/whats_new/2018_0502.html

"The business alliance with Gibson Innovations Limited, a subsidiary of Gibson in the development and sales of headphones, etc. of Onkyo brand was terminated. Sales of Onkyo brand headphones, etc. will be made through a business alliance with TCL Group in the future as announced. As for ONKYO U.S.A Corporation, a distributor of Onkyo’s products in North American region, since shares held by both Onkyo and Gibson have already been sold, there will be no impact on sales of Onkyo’s products in North America in the future."

From what I can tell, TCL iLab in Belgium is a rename/re-org of what was Gibson Innovations (i.e. what was WOOX):

https://www.tclusa.com/about-us/press-releases/tcl-adds-headphones-to-lineup

What isn't clear to me is what the current relationship is between Onkyo under Sound United and TCL iLab, who presumably retained some of the talent or at least details on how to produce the Onkyo A800 and H900M... I would think that would be the key to getting more of that product to market at this point.

 

[nraymond]

Well, turns out the acquisition of Onkyo by Sound United is off:

https://hdguru.com/sound-united-terminates-onkyo-acquisition-plan/

I'll be curious to see where things go from here.

 

[ponyhead]

I found a pair for sale on here and snatched it up

I love it, but I can't tell yet if I like it more than my hd6xx. At first I thought I slightly preferred the 6xx, but now I think I slightly prefer the a800, making it my new favorite pair at least momentarily. I get the sense I'm reaching the point of diminishing returns; I'm not sure how much better a pair of phones can be to my ears than either of these. But of course I'll keep listening to more cans to hear what's out there

The stock cable seems a bit finicky and it's too long for my needs, so I swapped in a shorter cable. But the first one I tried didn't work and I have no idea why. It was a dual TRS cable by New Fantasia and I only got the left channel, even when I tried plugging it in with left and right reversed! So I doubt it's the cable's fault, but it doesn't match with the a800 for whatever reason. Then on ebay I bought a cable advertised as being for the a800 and it works even though it's also TRS and I can't visibly tell how its connections differ from those of the non-functioning cable.

 

[mbwilson111]

I found a pair for sale on here and snatched it up

I love it, but I can't tell yet if I like it more than my hd6xx. At first I thought I slightly preferred the 6xx, but now I think I slightly prefer the a800, making it my new favorite pair at least momentarily. I get the sense I'm reaching the point of diminishing returns; I'm not sure how much better a pair of phones can be to my ears than either of these. But of course I'll keep listening to more cans to hear what's out there

The stock cable seems a bit finicky and it's too long for my needs, so I swapped in a shorter cable. But the first one I tried didn't work and I have no idea why. It was a dual TRS cable by New Fantasia and I only got the left channel, even when I tried plugging it in with left and right reversed! So I doubt it's the cable's fault, but it doesn't match with the a800 for whatever reason. Then on ebay I bought a cable advertised as being for the a800 and it works even though it's also TRS and I can't visibly tell how its connections differ from those of the non-functioning cable.

Could you share the link to that cable? If you read some of the posts earlier on this page you will see that the wiring is different on the A800 for some reason.

 

[ponyhead]

Could you share the link to that cable? If you read some of the posts earlier on this page you will see that the wiring is different on the A800 for some reason.

Apparently I bought the last one in stock. Perhaps it will be restocked though - https://www.ebay.com/itm/4FT-3-5mm-...or-ONKYO-A800-Premium-headphones/173426584835

Oh I see it has a name after all: Earmax. Maybe searching for that will turn up another one.

It's rather thin; it looks like it should have cost $3 instead of $20. But unlike the better-looking stock cable, I don't have to turn it a certain way to have both channels and centered imaging. Plus it's allegedly OCC (not that I think that matters).

 

[leeperry]

Maybe searching for that will turn up

Told you in PM buddy, LS on left and RS on right, any Hifiman-compatible cable can be reterminated in 5 mins top