[3602]

Headphone.com seems to like them. Too bad they don't ship to Canada. Worse, I can't get 1'400$!

 

[rogue]

I've got about 100 hours (1/2 muzak, 1/2 pink noise) on these puppies now, and they've definitely opened up a good amount. Even with a low-end amp and Zhaolu 1.x DAC, they sound amazing on good recordings. Can't wait to hear them with a decent amp and the ECD-1.

 

[achristilaw]

PEOPLE...experiment with the wearing position of the Headphones. Don't wear to low...or to far forward. Makes mucho difference in my experience.

JVC's (xrcd2) of John Coltrane's "Settin' the pace" Made me puddle in the middle (not my britches). John's Sax rich, sonorous so intimately textured was an awakening to what is possible in playback. Red Garlands Piano on lesser playback will sound distant and indistinct, now it assumed it's rightful place in the mid-ground with unusual dexterity. Paul Chambers up-right bass, sometimes plucked..occassionally bowed was in perfect balance. You could hear the finger "slip" off string after string with great dexterity. And all orbited around Arthur Taylors snazzy tempo. His brushing on the snare was a lot more grit n' gravel than I remember (a good thing)! Striking the high-hat had the correct position in space and time with a magic tizz that made the mouth salavate....

I think these phones were left accidentally by a future race and contaminated our headphone culture. If not...welcome to the Future!

Now back to burning in!!

 

[vai-777]

Quote:

Originally Posted by PeeeMeS /img/forum/go_quote.gif Not acceptable on 1400$ headphones IMHO Either everyone's HD800s has the squeak on the same consistent side(s) or no one's should

whats the difference if it doesn;t make the sound when they are on your head?....

 

[vai-777]

Quote:

Originally Posted by pabbi1 /img/forum/go_quote.gif First, the hd800 sound shockingly good at low volume on my balanced amp. Ok, here is a heretical post for all the naysayers. I listened to Allison Krause, Radiohead, Neil Young, etc last night, and all were better as previously described... but, then I put on Godsmack (Best Of)... and... It sounded remarkably the same as the hd600, maybe hd650 - I really could not tell. The observation, I think, is that lean, crunchy, compressed music tends to sound the same, where the source material has no upside - like darn near any old AC/DC - it will just sound the same. Maybe that is some of the discontent those with Grado Syndrome find lacking, and I see that. Not so surprising on 'Good Times, Bad Times', 'I Stand Alone', etc, but I was shocked on 'Serenity' and 'Touche' - just nothing else there. So, a mystery - the hd800's first neutral to me - but, in NO way WORSE than any of my other Senns - just not any better. Tonight is challenge match - Virgil Fox and 'Fantasia & Fugue in G minor', maybe Beethoven's 9th, and a roll through 'Pretty Hate Machine', 'Joe's Garage' and 'Sheik Yerbouti', where there are millions of hidden treasures. then, off into DEVO, where PRaT is measured in square waves.

really? no difference between the 650 and the 800 on those songs you mentioned....I think that is the perfect reason why people interested in these phones should try them for themselves....I hear a "MAJOR" difference on every song when comparing the 600 / 650 and the 800....Poorly recorded or not....there is a big differenc to my ears.

 

[madmax7]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Hopstretch /img/forum/go_quote.gif Business.

HA! Well played sir! Well played!

 

[gregeas]

Quote:

Originally Posted by RedBull /img/forum/go_quote.gif anybody has tried 800 with lehmann can share impression? from the first page till page 63 i've never seen anyone asking about impression with lehmann.

Two hours ago I unwrapped the HD800s and a Lehman amp, in fact. Listening to my first album -- Radiohead's In Rainbows -- right now. My temporary source at work is a Pico amp/DAC, but tonight I'll connect the Lehman to my DAC1 Pre.

So far three things have struck me: the air/separation, the soundstage, and the detail. I've never had headphones remind me of speaker listening like the HD800s do. But then again, I'm only familiar with the basic Grados and Senns; I've never tried any electrostats or the K1000s.

 

[johnwmclean]

Quote:

Originally Posted by pabbi1 /img/forum/go_quote.gif Well, it is a cold, almost brittle source, which I needed with my warm tube amp(s). The hd800 scales up even better than does the he60, but my weakness right now is the Bijou. Once the Raven (trafo coupled) comes online, the amp will no longer be the limiting factor, then I can better talk about the source. The balanced Bijou introduces it's own soundstage - the hd6x0 open up with an excellent sense of instrument seperation and placement with this amp, so, it seems to step on the hd800 soundstaging - almost a crossfeed effect. So, I need to resolve that variable. The hd800 will respond exactly to what you give it, having heard the Azur with a variety of amps, which all seem to be the limitation long before the source, as I continue to hear different things as the other components improve, so I'm not sure yet where source is the limitation. But, I'm now at $1300 source, $1400 headphones and $600 (parts) amp (Bijou), where the raven is a $1300 (parts) amp, so we'll see if the Azur then becomes the limitation.

Ok, we bang heads here, the 840 through my balanced Beta22 sounds anything but cold or brittle. But like yourself I’m not sure where the limiting factor lies with this source, it does upscale well.

HD800’s/Buffalo Sabre32 are coming so I do some impressions soon.

 

[RedBull]

Quote:

Originally Posted by vai-777 /img/forum/go_quote.gif really? no difference between the 650 and the 800 on those songs you mentioned....I think that is the perfect reason why people interested in these phones should try them for themselves....I hear a "MAJOR" difference on every song when comparing the 600 / 650 and the 800....Poorly recorded or not....there is a big differenc to my ears.

ya, i hear major difference between 650 and 800 where i feel 800 has lack of body in the sound.

 

[Snuggles]

Poor Earphone Solutions got smashed by the Sennheiser one strike pricing thing, I emailed Headroom about the 5% discount Earphone Solutions had via promotional code and I got this back:

Quote:

No discounting of any sort is being allowed by Sennheiser for their authorized dealers and we can regrettably not price-match on the HD800 headphone. Earphone Solutions will not be receiving any more HD800 headphones, or so we are told by official Sennheiser representatives.

Grats to anyone who got it at the low-low price of $1330

 

[RedBull]

Quote:

Originally Posted by gregeas /img/forum/go_quote.gif Two hours ago I unwrapped the HD800s and a Lehman amp, in fact. Listening to my first album -- Radiohead's In Rainbows -- right now. My temporary source at work is a Pico amp/DAC, but tonight I'll connect the Lehman to my DAC1 Pre. So far three things have struck me: the air/separation, the soundstage, and the detail. I've never had headphones remind me of speaker listening like the HD800s do. But then again, I'm only familiar with the basic Grados and Senns; I've never tried any electrostats or the K1000s.

finally, someone with lehmann to discuss to.
what senn/grado headphones did you primarily listen to before 800?

 

[spinali]

The price is really hard to resist...

The official "reduced" price seems to be somewhere 3 - 4%, not much less. I'm not sure if you'll be able to find a pair much cheaper used, either.

 

[The Monkey]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Snuggles /img/forum/go_quote.gif Poor Earphone Solutions got smashed by the Sennheiser one strike pricing thing, I emailed Headroom about the 5% discount Earphone Solutions had via promotional code and I got this back: Grats to anyone who got it at the low-low price of $1330

Stupid move by earphonesolutions. Senn has already shown it is serious about this issue. I have mixed feelings about it myself, but earphonesolutions should in no way be surprised if indeed it is cut off.

 

[IPodPJ]

Quote:

Originally Posted by n_maher /img/forum/go_quote.gif Bwaaaaaaaaaaaahahahahaha! That's the funniest thing I've read in a while, thanks. I'd guess Ray listens a good 10 to 15db louder than I do (which typically averages ~70db). Medium to low volume is not how anyone I've ever met would describe his preferred range. I learned early on that when Ray hands you headphones the first thing you do (before putting them on) is lower the volume 30% or more.

Well then maybe I just misunderstood. There was so much going on in his room at the time. Maybe I just interpreted what he said as something to the effect of him listening to medium to low, but maybe he meant medium to low compared to me. I'm not blowing my eardrums out by any stretch, but I do like it loud. However, what I've noticed with the HD800 is that they perform extremely well at low volumes so I have no need to listen loud anymore.

 

[Beagle]

Quote:

Originally Posted by 3602 /img/forum/go_quote.gif Headphone.com seems to like them. Too bad they don't ship to Canada.

Since when? They sold me an HD650 and HD595 last summer.

Quote:

Originally Posted by vai-777 /img/forum/go_quote.gif I hear a "MAJOR" difference on every song when comparing the 600 / 650 and the 800

That's what makes me skeptical. Everybody is saying "MAJOR" differences but not describing those differences or if the differences are really preferable in the long run because it is too soon to tell. I mean, the HD600 and 650, arguably two of the top dynamics, are suddenly "blown away"? Yeah, I'm skeptical. I need an audition. I think I'll ask my dealer to bring one in to the store.