[Hirsch]

Quote:

Originally Posted by brat /img/forum/go_quote.gif It's funny to spit on k701 in a HD800 appreciacion thread

True. Spitting on a K-701 in a forum thread is both rude and ineffective. Spitting on the K-701 is much more effective if it's right in front of you in person. If someone is wearing it at the time, get ready to duck.

 

[Hopstretch]

Further undermining Mr. Phillips's credibility, surely, is his risible claim that the HD800s are "the fastest dynamic headphone I have ever heard", when it's been well established around these parts -- I believe -- that without a Jena Labs recable they are "sloooooooooooooooooooow."

 

[Duggeh]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Skylab /img/forum/go_quote.gif The midrange is terrific, and the soundstaging is amazing. But the treble...ummmm...well, I am worried. And I am using a tube amp.

Wait. So you aim for a treble roll-off by standard by utilisation of this amp?

If the answer is yes, then why?

If the answer is no, then why are you using an amp with a design flaw?

Both of my options, btw, contain deliberate oversimplifications, but no more oversimplified than the mantra that tube amps have softer treble than solid state ones...

 

[number1sixerfan]

Quote:

Originally Posted by The Monkey /img/forum/go_quote.gif If you don't like it now, then I don't think you're going to like it at some future point in time.

I don't think that is necessarily true. I didn't like them(I could tell they had potential and could be special, but I didn't really like them that much) the first two days. I let them play for 48hrs nonstop after that. Whether it was "burn in" or I simply got adjusted to them psychologically, I don't know(I'm completely open to it being the possibility of either). But without a doubt they are much better than what I heard originally.

 

[sillysally]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Skylab /img/forum/go_quote.gif I sure hope that is true (and I *definitely* believe burn-in is necessary), for I am finding the treble in the HD800 too hot, and emphasizing sibiliance on recordings that it should not be. The midrange is terrific, and the soundstaging is amazing. But the treble...ummmm...well, I am worried. And I am using a tube amp. There are about 50 hours (approx) on the pair I have now, so I won't panic for another 100 hours or so...what are people finding is the point where the break-in benefits tail off?

I am not crying fire yet, but I have hit the 100 hour mark last night. The sibiliance is still there, and If anything the treble has gotten hotter.
But that may be caused by the static I was feeding the HD800 prior to using them last night. I changed from static to music when I was done using them last night, so tonight when I use the HD-800 should tell me a lot more.

ss

 

[kelvinz]

Quote:

Originally Posted by IPodPJ /img/forum/go_quote.gif That's funny. While I thought that album sounded kind of compressed and "old,", the soundstage was absolutely remarkable through the HD800.

Which version are you listening to? I have a copy of the MFSL and the recording does not sound old at all.

 

[johnwmclean]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Skylab /img/forum/go_quote.gif I sure hope that is true (and I *definitely* believe burn-in is necessary), for I am finding the treble in the HD800 too hot, and emphasizing sibiliance on recordings that it should not be. The midrange is terrific, and the soundstaging is amazing. But the treble...ummmm...well, I am worried. And I am using a tube amp. There are about 50 hours (approx) on the pair I have now, so I won't panic for another 100 hours or so...what are people finding is the point where the break-in benefits tail off?

I’m hoping they don’t soften, loving the treble - and I’ve got NO tubes in the path.
I had a problem with my 840c, it had been powered down for 2 weeks instead of left in standby mode. The HD800 let me know this, I had a very forward, edgy and hyped presentation. After being left on for a couple of days it’s sounding terrific now.
I’m finding them very revealing, and they’ll definitely let you know about it.

 

[kelvinz]

Quote:

Originally Posted by johnwmclean /img/forum/go_quote.gif I’m hoping they don’t soften, loving the treble - and I’ve got NO tubes in the path. I had a problem with my 840c, it had been powered down for 2 weeks instead of left in standby mode. The HD800 let me know this, I had a very forward, edgy and hyped presentation. After being left on for a couple of days it’s sounding terrific now. I’m finding them very revealing, and they’ll definitely let you know about it.

John I agree with you the treble is perfectly fine on my pair perhaps it has something to do with our amplification.

Skylab what source/amplifier are you listening with?

 

[Currawong]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Skylab /img/forum/go_quote.gif I sure hope that is true (and I *definitely* believe burn-in is necessary), for I am finding the treble in the HD800 too hot, and emphasizing sibiliance on recordings that it should not be. The midrange is terrific, and the soundstaging is amazing. But the treble...ummmm...well, I am worried. And I am using a tube amp. There are about 50 hours (approx) on the pair I have now, so I won't panic for another 100 hours or so...what are people finding is the point where the break-in benefits tail off?

I'm in a similar situation, on some tracks there is horrid sibilance, the worst I've ever heard on headphones.

Quote:

Originally Posted by sillysally /img/forum/go_quote.gif I am not crying fire yet, but I have hit the 100 hour mark last night. The sibiliance is still there, and If anything the treble has gotten hotter. But that may be caused by the static I was feeding the HD800 prior to using them last night. I changed from static to music when I was done using them last night, so tonight when I use the HD-800 should tell me a lot more. ss

I'm not sure it should matter whether pink noise is used or music. I'd be interested to know what amp you're using, and if the music makes a difference though.

When I mentioned the sibilance to some people, they said they'd not heard any sibilance with the HD-800, so I'm not entirely going to discount my C2C as being a partially bad match, but it's not sibilant with any other cans, and it's certainly not under-driving them (though obviously it's not in balanced Beta-22 territory).

It's a shame though, as the comment about them being fanatastic all-rounders is true, they keep on delivering. It was, for example, it took HF-1's with a Yamamoto amp to best them on Chesky's The Body Acoustic (jazz).

 

[IPodPJ]

Quote:

Originally Posted by kelvinz /img/forum/go_quote.gif Which version are you listening to? I have a copy of the MFSL and the recording does not sound old at all.

Beats me. It's my girlfriend's CD and I just ripped it with EAC. But I can check when I get home. I can guarantee you that she purchased it within the last 3 years, if that helps any.

 

[Beagle]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Uncle Erik /img/forum/go_quote.gif Have you been through the K-701 love/hate threads? It gets some sharply negative reactions. Personally, I find unnatural and incorrect sounds in the upper mids. They might be perfectly adequate in every other respect, but if vocals are consistently off, they're pretty much unlistenable.

I don't have this problem with my K701 at all. Bad recordings (and equipment) sound bad. Great stuff sounds great. Maybe the truth is hard to handle for some?

 

[kool bubba ice]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Hopstretch /img/forum/go_quote.gif Further undermining Mr. Phillips's credibility, surely, is his risible claim that the HD800s are "the fastest dynamic headphone I have ever heard", when it's been well established around these parts -- I believe -- that without a Jena Labs recable they are "sloooooooooooooooooooow."

A cable can influence a headphones transient speed? how so?

 

[Hopstretch]

I've found the HD800s quite sibilant, too, after never really noticing the issue at all with any of my prior headphones (HD600, HD650, RS-2, HF-1, HF-2). In large part, I think, this is likely because the 800s are so much more resolving. I've noticed that the phenomenon can vary widely -- from genuinely painful to quite imperceptible -- on different songs by the same artist on the same album. That, to me, suggests an artifact of the recording itself. Live performances also show this quite well. Try "Misguided Angel" off the original Trinity Session and then off Trinity Revisited. Same singer, same venue, same arrangement, different recording, very different results.

I'll also say that sibilance in general is bothering me less and less the more time I spend listening to these headphones. Whether that should be attributed to burn-in, or ongoing adjustments by my ears and brain, is up to you.

 

[peanuthead]

Quote:

Originally Posted by kool bubba ice /img/forum/go_quote.gif A cable can influence a headphones transient speed? how so?

I think he was being facetious...

 

[rangen]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Hopstretch /img/forum/go_quote.gif I've found the HD800s quite sibilant, too

My brow is furrowing. I just don't hear that. What's going on here? This should be really easy to agree on, so I doubt it's subjective. Phone variation? Amp? I don't have the recordings you mention, so I can't align with your experience that way.