[davidgotsa]

I've only spent 12 hours with mine (I got it today), but I wouldn't mind keeping it as my only headphone. Sure, if you only listen to hip-hop or dance music, there are better options... That said, I just spent the last hour listening to mainstream/radio music and it's good enough for me. 
 
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Does anyone here have any qualms about having the HD800 as their only headphone?

 

 

[olor1n]

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Hi -

I was really impressed when I heard the HD 800 again yesterday and would like to have one (see my below ad). Does anyone here have any qualms about having the HD800 as their only headphone?

 

Perhaps it's new toy syndrome but I haven't reached for my LCD-2 or HD650 in the 2 weeks I've owned the HD800. The LCD-2 couldn't keep me away from the HD650 when it entered the stable. I'm not a headphone collector, just want the end result to be involving and convincing, within a justifiable budget. I'll be selling everything to consolidate and to rebuild a better system around the HD800 alone.

 

[Windsor]

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Perhaps it's new toy syndrome but I haven't reached for my LCD-2 or HD650 in the 2 weeks I've owned the HD800. The LCD-2 couldn't keep me away from the HD650 when it entered the stable. I'm not a headphone collector, just want the end result to be involving and convincing, within a justifiable budget. I'll be selling everything to consolidate and to rebuild a better system around the HD800 alone.

The HD 800 sounded great to me over the past few days and definitely more appealing in terms of clarity and accuracy than my recently neutral-EQ'd LCD-2 (which sounds more preferable to me than the LCD-2 without EQ). The important thing to me seemed to be the quality of the source, mainly the recordings - even though the music is great, an old version of Led Zeppelin's 'II' didn't sound as hefty and enjoyable sonically as something like Clapton/Winwood's 'Live at Madison Square Garden' recording.
 
Perhaps the only caveat of the HD 800 is that poor quality recordings may be less enjoyable than with a more 'forgiving' headphone such as the LCD-2.
 
FYI: I used my Lavry DA10 with the HD 800 yesterday, which is about as neutral and true to recordings as you can get, and I loved it. I don't think I'd want to colour the sound of the HD 800 with DAC/Amp or cable.

 

[olor1n]

Fwiw, I actually find poor recordings to be more listenable through the HD800 than the LCD-2. The rev.2 imparts too much of its signature on the recording and that is not always a good thing imo. At least with the HD800 the warts and blemishes are only those inherent in the recording, not an additional quirk of the headphone adding an extra layer of suck.

 

[Maxvla]

Really anticipating the arrival of my HD800s and you guys talking about your new ones is not making it any easier to wait! Been 17 days since my order and Colorware says ships in 2-3 weeks so it's still on time, just wish it was here already...

 

[Windsor]

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Fwiw, I actually find poor recordings to be more listenable through the HD800 than the LCD-2. The rev.2 imparts too much of its signature on the recording and that is not always a good thing imo. At least with the HD800 the warts and blemishes are only those inherent in the recording, not an additional quirk of the headphone adding an extra layer of suck.

Sorry if it's OT from the original thread, but since I EQ'd it to a more neutral sound, the LCD-2 gets out of the way of recordings much more. I just noticed that during Bonham's drum solo on Led Zeppelin's 'Moby Dick' that there are about 3 or 4 tape splices. I never noticed that many before. The standard sounding LCD-2 is too coloured for my current preferences.

 

[olor1n]

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Fwiw, I actually find poor recordings to be more listenable through the HD800 than the LCD-2. The rev.2 imparts too much of its signature on the recording and that is not always a good thing imo. At least with the HD800 the warts and blemishes are only those inherent in the recording, not an additional quirk of the headphone adding an extra layer of suck.

Sorry if it's OT from the original thread, but since I EQ'd it to a more neutral sound, the LCD-2 gets out of the way of recordings much more. I just noticed that during Bonham's drum solo on Led Zeppelin's 'Moby Dick' that there are about 3 or 4 tape splices. I never noticed that many before. The standard sounding LCD-2 is too coloured for my current preferences.

So you were able to EQ out the narrow, tunnelled presentation, the unnatural resonance and the incoherence in busy passages? Nice job! 

 

[Anaxilus]

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incoherence in busy passages? Nice job! 

That was what killed the LCD2 for me too above the others issues.  I didn't know how to fix it other than redesign the driver.  Maybe I've been to critical of EQ. 

 

 

[Windsor]

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So you were able to EQ out the narrow, tunnelled presentation, the unnatural resonance and the incoherence in busy passages? Nice job! 

Since EQ'ing the LCD-2 to a more neutral frequency response I definitely prefer it to the standard LCD-2 sound. With the EQ the sound is much more natural and less congested and clear to my ears, though there is still some resonance/boominess (just words) that I would call a bit unnatural. It's definitely not as open-sounding and spacious as the HD 800 sounds, but it's immensely enjoyable. Enjoying some Steely Dan now.

 

[brokenthumb]

Guys, I was all set to buy the LCD-2 and now after reading the last couple of pages I'm starting to have doubts.  Thanks alot...

 

[Windsor]

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That was what killed the LCD2 for me too above the others issues.  I didn't know how to fix it other than redesign the driver.  Maybe I've been to critical of EQ. 

The boominess of the standard-sounding LCD-2 definitely gets in the way of busy passages a bit more in comparison to how my EQ'd LCD-2 renders them, which makes busier passages much clearer and less boomy without sounding unnatural. It's still not HD 800-level clarity though.

 

[Windsor]

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Guys, I was all set to buy the LCD-2 and now after reading the last couple of pages I'm starting to have doubts.  Thanks alot...

LCD-2 is still a great-sounding headphone. I've been loving mine loads in-between posting on here the last few hours. 

 

[purrin]

 
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Guys, I was all set to buy the LCD-2 and now after reading the last couple of pages I'm starting to have doubts.  Thanks alot...

Buy both.
 
I do find it interesting that the HD800 has experienced a sort of resurgence after being poo-poo'd as being overly bright, thin, and dry sounding.
 

 

[brokenthumb]

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Buy both.
 
I do find it interesting that the HD800 has experienced a sort of resurgence after being poo-poo'd as being overly bright, thin, and dry sounding.
 

 
I wish... I will be doing good to buy one of them with a decent amp.
 

 

 

[Windsor]

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I do find it interesting that the HD800 has experienced a sort of resurgence after being poo-poo'd as being overly bright, thin, and dry sounding.

 
Speaking personally, I was really really surprised at how the HD 800 sounded when I heard it a few days ago after previously hearing it a few months before. It is obvious to me that the quality of the recordings will clearly show with the HD 800. It's treble still sounded slightly piercing to me, but the clarity was astonishing and the bass was very full and not lacking; the HD 800 just seems to present bass in a less hefty/pressured way than some other headphones do.