[340519]

I have a question for you all because it's vexing me. You know, the upgraditis.
So I heard the sennheiser hd800s cans at planet of sound in Ottawa, and they sounded stunning with a marantz dac amp combo. I have the three phones listed in my signature that I really like (including the 650s), but the 800s sounded so lovely. I like all my existing phones of course and buying the senns would take a sacrifice of selling 2 svs pb13 subs to get them(I have 4 pb13s total). I cant buy them out of pocket because my wife will divorce or shoot me, one or the other. I'm very torn. Sell two great subs for a great set of cans. A difficult decision. I dunno...

 

[Ichos]

2 subs are never enough!
You are going to compromise your bass response with unwanted resonances!

 

[340519]

2 subs are never enough!
You are going to compromise your bass response with unwanted resonances!

Lol I hear you. I have the svs aseq1 that flattens the response of the 4 of them

 

[Ichos]

Anyway HD800 is a great headphone that should be a nice welcome to the rest of your collection.

BTW - This svs aseq1 looks like a great machine and very useful.

 

[L0rdGwyn]

Every so often I have to come back here and gush about the HD650. In my regular rotation, I also have the Auteur, Atticus, and HD800. I used to poopoo the scalability of the HD650, thought it was a myth, an old wives tale. But I swear, every time I upgrade the tubes for my amplifier (which is more often than it should be, admittedly), the performance of the HD650 seems to climb to a greater degree than my other headphones. It is just so damn musical and the midrange...there is some serious magic in this headphone, they got it right.

 

[yangian]

I found HE400i has a much larger soundstage than 6xx. Am I right?

 

[L0rdGwyn]

I found HE400i has a much larger soundstage than 6xx. Am I right?

If this was directed at me, I cannot say, sorry :/ I have not heard the 400i, never been much of a planar guy. The 6XX are not known for their sound stage, so I would not be surprised. However, I have found that it can be expanded considerably with the right tube pairing. The HD650 does not feel the least bit claustrophobic in my chain. Whether or not it is actually getting bigger or there is some psychoacoustic brain trickery at play, who knows. But then again, perception is reality

 

[340519]

Every so often I have to come back here and gush about the HD650. In my regular rotation, I also have the Auteur, Atticus, and HD800. I used to poopoo the scalability of the HD650, thought it was a myth, an old wives tale. But I swear, every time I upgrade the tubes for my amplifier (which is more often than it should be, admittedly), the performance of the HD650 seems to climb to a greater degree than my other headphones. It is just so damn musical and the midrange...there is some serious magic in this headphone, they got it right.

I have the 650s, but I'm considering the 800s. Do you prefer the 650s over the 800s?

 

[L0rdGwyn]

I have the 650s, but I'm considering the 800s. Do you prefer the 650s over the 800s?

As of right now, I would say yes. The HD800 (I have the original, non-S) are technically impressive, no doubt, and some are drawn to that. Where the HD650 has an emphasized upper midrange, the HD800 is somewhat recessed. I'm coming to the conclusion that this is the reason they don't get much head time, it is the reason I sold the Focal Elear very shortly after buying them years ago, I found them "boring". Now, I am likely biased because my other three major headphones are all very mid-forward, and I think this is just my listening preference. Some likely enjoy a relaxed upper midrange, it all depends on what you value in your listening experience. If soundstage/airiness/separation/imaging are higher on your list of priorities, the HD800 may be your cup of tea.

 

[340519]

As of right now, I would say yes. The HD800 (I have the original, non-S) are technically impressive, no doubt, and some are drawn to that. Where the HD650 has an emphasized upper midrange, the HD800 is somewhat recessed. I'm coming to the conclusion that this is the reason they don't get much head time, it is the reason I sold the Focal Elear very shortly after buying them years ago, I found them "boring". Now, I am likely biased because my other three major headphones are all very mid-forward, and I think this is just my listening preference. Some likely enjoy a relaxed upper midrange, it all depends on what you value in your listening experience. If soundstage/airiness/separation/imaging are higher on your list of priorities, the HD800 may be your cup of tea.

Thanks for the reply. The more I read here and get involved with headphones, it seems there is no holy grail headphone that does everything right, just differences that are subjectively better or worse.

 

[lugnut]

Thanks for the reply. The more I read here and get involved with headphones, it seems there is no holy grail headphone that does everything right, just differences that are subjectively better or worse.

Absolutely !

 

[megabigeye]

Thanks for the reply. The more I read here and get involved with headphones, it seems there is no holy grail headphone that does everything right, just differences that are subjectively better or worse.

FTFY

 

[SP Wild]

out of curiosity, what's grain and are you all talking about the same thing? I have some super vague ideas coming to mind when I think grain:
one is something that feels like extra texture added from massive amounts of distortions on some amps(can sound really nice, or not). but I have a hard time understanding what that has to do with the headphone.
the other sort of idea that might feel "grainy" to me would be some spiky mess in the FR for the high midrange(somewhere between 2 to 6khz maybe) giving a sort of gritty sound from some recordings/instruments. but then I'd have a huge list of headphones/IEMs I'd think about before I would mention 650 or 660.
I could consider massive midrange distortions from the headphone but that in no way applies to those headphones.

so basically I don't understand what you guys are trying to describe. is this the "veil" being rebranded?

Yes. Indeed it is.

I am with the post two posts previous to your post and hear grain on all dynamic headphones. Except orthodynamic. I hear it in dome and paper tweeters. Compression horn tweeters would 'blend' it away (as does my K701 headphone)... except piezoelectric horns, they're blazing fast, as fast as planars, ribbons, and stats and these have no grain period.

 

[Odin412]

I have the 650s, but I'm considering the 800s. Do you prefer the 650s over the 800s?

I prefer the 650 by a wide margin. I am very treble-sensitive, and the HD800 is almost physically painful for me to listen to. Also, the 800 is ruthlessly revealing of poor recordings. The sound signatures of the 650 and the 800 are very different so I would recommend that you listen to the 800 before buying it to see it you like it.

 

[buke9]

I found HE400i has a much larger soundstage than 6xx. Am I right?

You are right.