[achristilaw]

Quote:

Originally Posted by HeadphoneAddict /img/forum/go_quote.gif Anything that you have two of?

Certainly not EVERYTHING you got two of!

 

[number1sixerfan]

I just grabbed Earphonesolutions' last pair.

They will be here tomorrow.

 

[vvanrij]

A kidney and a nut.

Anyway, what is it with audiophile's and Diana Krall... ?

 

[HeadphoneAddict]

Quote:

Originally Posted by vvanrij /img/forum/go_quote.gif A kidney and a nut. Anyway, what is it with audiophile's and Diana Krall... ?

Well, it isn't just her, but some female vocals are just great to listen to, and her band is sometimes a very good jazz musicians (Like John Clayton, Jeff Hamilton and Anthony Wilson).

 

[RationalGaze]

Quote:

Originally Posted by number1sixerfan /img/forum/go_quote.gif I just grabbed Earphonesolutions' last pair. They will be here tomorrow.

Did you get the 5% discount?

 

[dallan]

Quote:

Originally Posted by KevinR70 /img/forum/go_quote.gif Getting ready to make the switch. Have you tried any other tubes with the 800's?

No i haven't done any rolling since getting them but i do have two Valvos also. One is still new in the box. I have several tubes, i guess if i really wanted to smooth it out more i may go for a black glass tung-sol, have two as well.

I tell you, these cans are very neutral, quick and airy. You will probably see the difference with any tube change.

I actually have my DX1000s on right now for a bit, i wanted to listen to them for a bit and then jump back over to a/b a little. The DX1000s have such a nice deep bass and are such a good complement to the hd800s for the other side of the spectrum. Of course they are closed though which come with another set of sonic issues.

For open dynamics i feel that the 800s have set the bar though at this point, especially if you really want to hear what other components actually sound like in the chain.

 

[boomana]

Quote:

Originally Posted by greggf /img/forum/go_quote.gif Is anybody still suggesting that the HD800 are "the absolute best" dynamic headphone or "revolutionary"? Or is that gone? I've thought that I've kept up with these threads, but I can't tell for sure if anybody out there is still saying this stuff. Truth is, if they are "still" a revolution in design and "the world's best", I'm interested, eventually. Otherwise . . . well, I've had to live without a lot of other great headphones, and I can go without these, too. Are these just one of the pack or do they stand out?

I don't think anyone is going to know for awhile. I experienced the HD800s sounding different from rig to rig at CanJam, which led me to question:

1) Is there a difference between pre-production or production models?

2) How much does break-in matter? Some were straight out of the box, and some, like in tyll's room, were the pre-production models that some hours on them.

3) How fried is my hearing and brain adjustments, moving from one rig to another every few minutes for two days and a couple nights?

4) Are they really that revealing of source and amp choices? No matter the influence of the others, I'm pretty confident that this played a big part as the changes were often significant, and some surprising to me. This is also why I think they may be capable of being up there with the best of the best, but they're going to be highly system dependent, not too different from the HD650s, which sound fair out of many rigs, damn good out of some, and freaking amazing out of only a handful. They may end up like the K1000s, where people don't really discover their real value until years later when some serious component matching gets going. We'll see.

I'm getting my pair tomorrow, and am keeping my fingers crossed that they'll do well with my system as I'm not looking to upgrade my amp for a least a few years, and am not planning on a source upgrade for about another year or so after not buying one more audio thing except music at all, and saving saving saving (so I say). If I don't like them with my rig, it will be someone's gain, as I'll sell them for a bit of a discount here within a month or two.

 

[number1sixerfan]

Quote:

Originally Posted by RationalGaze /img/forum/go_quote.gif Did you get the 5% discount?

What 5% discount?

 

[blubliss]

With a tube change in my rig yesterday these phones are really starting to shine. I was thoroughly immersed in the music. Having been going between the HE90 and R10 for the past year, my bar was set high.

On first listen to the HD800 I was not blown away. At CanJam, it was next to impossible for me to form opinions. But now that I am home and have had time to listen more, I can say that these are truly a top-tier phone.

The soundstage is excellent, and I want to say that they have an incredible 3D effect where the music is layered in front of me, of course depending on the recording. I was listening to a Flanger song yesterday and the scratchy record noise in the beginning had a depth I had not heard (or noticed) in the past.

I was just really enjoying the musical nature of these phones. They are certainly fast and detailed. Vocals are rich and pleasing to my ear. Bass is very balanced and tight, but definitely not overboard. I do believe that the amp and source play a large part in how this phone performs. I did notice this at CanJam. And the tubes in my rig made a large difference.

The R10s are still the king of tonality, but the HD800 is here to stay.

 

[kelvinz]

Just picked mine up off the porch.

Really really really big box, I am actually surprised how much smaller these headphones are in person vs. photos. However the earcups are HUGE. Not incredibly impressed with the build quality the silver mesh on my pair seem to already have a scratch on them. The silver mesh also seems to attract finger prints/body oil quite a bit. You can also hear some sort of spring clicking in each of the ear cups when moving the earcups back and forth.

Initial impressions vs the D7000:

As many people say the D7000 has a coloring similar to a equalization of \__/. The HD800's right out of the box sound like they have a bit of midrange bias but much more balanced than the D7000. The midrange bias I'm hearing could be because I'm used to the d7000, but consider that I primarily listen to ESW9a's in the office.

String instruments on the d7000 still sound more realistic to me as the tone they carry is just much more solid. The HD800's are better a vocals and an overall more balanced sound.

That's it for now will provide more later

 

[RationalGaze]

Quote:

Originally Posted by number1sixerfan /img/forum/go_quote.gif What 5% discount?

Earphonesolutions had a coupon for 5% off. It was mentioned on the website during checkout. Surprising you did not see it?

 

[Gradofan2]

Quote:

Originally Posted by blubliss /img/forum/go_quote.gif With a tube change in my rig yesterday these phones are really starting to shine. I was thoroughly immersed in the music. Having been going between the HE90 and R10 for the past year, my bar was set high. On first listen to the HD800 I was not blown away. At CanJam, it was next to impossible for me to form opinions. But now that I am home and have had time to listen more, I can say that these are truly a top-tier phone. The soundstage is excellent, and I want to say that they have an incredible 3D effect where the music is layered in front of me, of course depending on the recording. I was listening to a Flanger song yesterday and the scratchy record noise in the beginning had a depth I had not heard (or noticed) in the past. I was just really enjoying the musical nature of these phones. They are certainly fast and detailed. Vocals are rich and pleasing to my ear. Bass is very balanced and tight, but definitely not overboard. I do believe that the amp and source play a large part in how this phone performs. I did notice this at CanJam. And the tubes in my rig made a large difference. The R10s are still the king of tonality, but the HD800 is here to stay.

Given that you've got all the "great phones" - perhaps you can rank the HD800s in comparison? And... provide us a sense of the magnitude of the differences - especially with other Senns.

 

[number1sixerfan]

Quote:

Originally Posted by RationalGaze /img/forum/go_quote.gif Earphonesolutions had a coupon for 5% off. It was mentioned on the website during checkout. Surprising you did not see it?

The had a clickable tab to expand options for coupons, but I didn't expand it because I had no coupon. Oh well, I will email them and see what happens.

Question to everyone who has used them with various amps.

I need an amp that powers cans and speakers(as well as the K1000). The WA5 seems like an obvious choice and is one I am kind of set on. Did anyone try them at Canjam? And is there any reason to think that another amp may be a better choice?

 

[IPodPJ]

Quote:

Originally Posted by The Monkey /img/forum/go_quote.gif Absolutely fair. I just happen to dislike those phones, but it's all a matter of taste. I also note that you are using the K701 with HR gear. I've found that when I have personally heard the K701 with HR amps, I can finally understand why someone would like the K701. Good synergy there, imo. I still hope the 800 sounds nothing like it to me. And if we all liked the same headphones, what the hell would we argue about all day?

Have no fear. The HD800s sound absolutely nothing like the K701/702. The K702 have more in common with my modded D5000 than they do with the HD800.

And for those asking, they don't only sound better on tubes. It makes no difference tube or solid state, it just depends on the amp itself. Some amps it sounded like absolute garbage through, for example, single ended through Blubliss' SDS-XLR, whereas his balanced R10 through the same amp was the best performer in all of CanJam. I also mentioned I thought it sounded pretty poor through the Zana Deux, but was the best with the Donald North Audio Sonett, followed by the B52, Apache, WA6SE, WA22, and Amphora.

 

[thathertz]

Quote:

Originally Posted by vai-777 /img/forum/go_quote.gif Listen....this headphone after about 25-30 hours of burn in is Ridiculous. Throw the rest of your crap out...sell it...ebay it...give it away...whatever. Buy the 800 and never look back, this is without question "THE" headphone to own. NOTHING (in the dynamic world) comes close...you van mod a Denon till your eyes and ears bleed and you will still have a "Denon" which in my opinion shouldn't even be allowed to be mention with the Sennheiser.

Apologies for dredging this up and re-posting it at the end of the thread -
I've only read up to page 32 so far.

I'm convinced at this point (page 32) that the HD800's are not for me.
Posts like yours are not instilling confidence in people that have yet to make
up their minds.