[Beagle]

Quote:

Originally Posted by davidhunternyc /img/forum/go_quote.gif We ended up leaving early and going to my truck, where I had a killer system installed. In the parking lot, we drank wine and listened to the Police.

I assume your truck has a trailer hitch?

 

[plonter]

Quote:

Originally Posted by John Willett /img/forum/go_quote.gif Mmmmmmm - do you realise what you have actually said? The concert is real life and no hi-fi system can be "better". .

It can...if you like the sound of your hi-fi system more than in real life.
He actually said that he likes the sound of his system ("un natural") more than in a concert, which is legitimic. better is what is better for you.

except..there are probably a lot of live concerts (halls, not open space) where the equalization wasn't done properly.

anyway, I didn't listen to the HD800 myself, but I will love too if I get the chance. from the overall comments It looks like they will not be my cup of tea, because in general I prefer more coloured and fun sound than neutral and dry sound.
I just moved from the AHD5000 to the HD650 (which i think are amazing cans)
and they sound pretty much neutral to me (well...maybe a tiny bit more bass hump than absolutely neutral).
I don't think i will enjoy a can that has less bass than the HD650. this is the minimum bass quantity for me to enjoy my music.

 

[chuck123]

I just listened to the 800s for about 20 minutes through this and this.

I have to say it's not what I thought it would be. I was expecting to be absolutely blown away by the detail and quality of the sound and...well, I just wasn't.

Don't get me wrong, they sound nice. But they're not spectacular - at all. Granted the amp wasn't the best in the world and the music I sampled the cans with is not my usual listening material, but still, it's a $600 amp and more to the point, we're talking about the 800s.

I'm feeling a little confused - maybe I'm expecting too much from the 800s. I'm starting to think that breathtakingly brilliant sound can only come from expensive loudspeakers.

 

[wink]

If the material you're listening to isn't very detailed you can't expect the phones to add detail. If it does it is either distortion or colorisation.
The idea of HiFi is to reproduce the recorded information as faithfully as possible.
The more neutral a headphone is, the more faithful to the source.
I had a listen to a Beyer DT531 (the groovaliser) and just about everything that was played through them made your feet tap. They were mid-fi in quality.
My HD800's sound the most natural of all my headphones, and on the right material they have an infectious charm. I get the same result when I listen to a five piece dixieland jazz band live.
A silk purse should feel like a silk purse, ditto the sow's ear.
the same for music. BAD recordings should sound BAD. Get a copy of the Chesky Ultimate Demonstration Disk and use track 3 to do all your comparisons with, and you won't go far wrong.

 

[Uncle Erik]

Quote:

Originally Posted by chuck123 /img/forum/go_quote.gif I just listened to the 800s for about 20 minutes through this and this. I have to say it's not what I thought it would be. I was expecting to be absolutely blown away by the detail and quality of the sound and...well, I just wasn't. Don't get me wrong, they sound nice. But they're not spectacular - at all. Granted the amp wasn't the best in the world and the music I sampled the cans with is not my usual listening material, but still, it's a $600 amp and more to the point, we're talking about the 800s. I'm feeling a little confused - maybe I'm expecting too much from the 800s. I'm starting to think that breathtakingly brilliant sound can only come from expensive loudspeakers.

You just experienced one of the weird paradoxes of audiophilia. The good gear rarely grabs you at first listen.

It's always the highly colored gear that grabs your ears and makes you buy. Which is why most gear is completely colored.

I found the Grado RS-1 unbelieveably engaging within the first few seconds and obsessively listened to them for well over a year. I just loved them. Then I got used to their tricks and gravitated more and more to neutral gear. The RS-1 got less and less head time until it ended up in the closet and then was sold to a kind gent in Washington.

Most people cycle through various colored gear for years. You get tired of the coloration and then "upgrade" to a more expensive piece of colored gear.

What makes the HD-800 special is what it doesn't do. It doesn't addcoloration to the music and just plays what's on the recording. It's not perfect, but the HD-800 is one of the best out there for this.

You'll fimd yourself falling hard for certain colorations at first. You will absolutely love them - I did, too. But when you wise up to the various sonic tricks, you'll eventually want a piece of neutral reference gear. It won't have a special flavor that pulls you in. The tradeoff is that you won't get bored with it a few years down the line and you'll be off the upgrade merry-go-round.

What struck me on first listen to the HD-800 was how little they did wrong. They reminded me of my K-1000, DT48 and Quad ESL-63s. None of those are particularly impressive at first. But all of them won me over in the long term. And it took a few years before I could appreciate just how good this gear is.

Listen to other gear and give it a chance. When you eventually realize that the sound is being tweaked to taste better, you will understand why some of us are fanatical about neutral gear.

You'll discover that most gear out there is colored quite a bit. That's because colored sells. Audiophilia is, after all, a business.

 

[john53]

Quote:

Originally Posted by chuck123 /img/forum/go_quote.gif I just listened to the 800s for about 20 minutes through this and this. I have to say it's not what I thought it would be. I was expecting to be absolutely blown away by the detail and quality of the sound and...well, I just wasn't. Don't get me wrong, they sound nice. But they're not spectacular - at all. Granted the amp wasn't the best in the world and the music I sampled the cans with is not my usual listening material, but still, it's a $600 amp and more to the point, we're talking about the 800s. I'm feeling a little confused - maybe I'm expecting too much from the 800s. I'm starting to think that breathtakingly brilliant sound can only come from expensive loudspeakers.

The x can v8(p) needs to be on all the time to sound at it's best.Otherwise,you have to leave it playing for at least 2.30-3 hours to start sound good.

If you listened to an x can v8(p) which was connected to the wall socket only for a few minutes(even 1-2 hours of playing are not enough for this amp to sound at it's best)then you came to wrong conclusions.

 

[Currawong]

Quote:

Originally Posted by chuck123 /img/forum/go_quote.gif I have to say it's not what I thought it would be. I was expecting to be absolutely blown away by the detail and quality of the sound and...well, I just wasn't.

Quote:

Originally Posted by wink /img/forum/go_quote.gif The idea of HiFi is to reproduce the recorded information as faithfully as possible.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Uncle Erik /img/forum/go_quote.gif It's always the highly colored gear that grabs your ears and makes you buy. Which is why most gear is completely colored.

^^^ This ^^^

The purpose of truly good hi-fi gear is to allow the beauty and artistry in the MUSIC to grab your ears.

 

[hh83917]

I agree with Uncle Erik as well. I've tried the grados as well and loved it, but I guess I grew tired of it after some time and now preferred something clean and simple. I found I can tolerate the HD800s on my ears for many hours, unlike the grados, I'll have ear fatigue after an hours or so...

 

[chuck123]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Uncle Erik /img/forum/go_quote.gif What makes the HD-800 special is what it doesn't do. It doesn't addcoloration to the music and just plays what's on the recording. It's not perfect, but the HD-800 is one of the best out there for this. You'll fimd yourself falling hard for certain colorations at first. You will absolutely love them - I did, too. But when you wise up to the various sonic tricks, you'll eventually want a piece of neutral reference gear. It won't have a special flavor that pulls you in. The tradeoff is that you won't get bored with it a few years down the line and you'll be off the upgrade merry-go-round.

That was it Erik - thinking back, I was expecting colouration and got very little.

 

[kool bubba ice]

This is the very reason the DT48 are controversial.. They are even less forgiving then the HD800.. No angled driver, hot treble, large & spacious sound stage. & people listen for less then 10 minutes & regard them as the worst headphone they ever heard cause they don't make the music sound more then what it is.. Erik is always right in this regard.. Audiophile is meant to sell.. people want to hear magic & be amazed rather then hearing closer to the 'truth' of the recording.

 

[HONEYBOY]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Uncle Erik /img/forum/go_quote.gif You just experienced one of the weird paradoxes of audiophilia. The good gear rarely grabs you at first listen. It's always the highly colored gear that grabs your ears and makes you buy. Which is why most gear is completely colored. I found the Grado RS-1 unbelieveably engaging within the first few seconds and obsessively listened to them for well over a year. I just loved them. Then I got used to their tricks and gravitated more and more to neutral gear. The RS-1 got less and less head time until it ended up in the closet and then was sold to a kind gent in Washington. Most people cycle through various colored gear for years. You get tired of the coloration and then "upgrade" to a more expensive piece of colored gear. What makes the HD-800 special is what it doesn't do. It doesn't addcoloration to the music and just plays what's on the recording. It's not perfect, but the HD-800 is one of the best out there for this. You'll fimd yourself falling hard for certain colorations at first. You will absolutely love them - I did, too. But when you wise up to the various sonic tricks, you'll eventually want a piece of neutral reference gear. It won't have a special flavor that pulls you in. The tradeoff is that you won't get bored with it a few years down the line and you'll be off the upgrade merry-go-round. What struck me on first listen to the HD-800 was how little they did wrong. They reminded me of my K-1000, DT48 and Quad ESL-63s. None of those are particularly impressive at first. But all of them won me over in the long term. And it took a few years before I could appreciate just how good this gear is. Listen to other gear and give it a chance. When you eventually realize that the sound is being tweaked to taste better, you will understand why some of us are fanatical about neutral gear. You'll discover that most gear out there is colored quite a bit. That's because colored sells. Audiophilia is, after all, a business.

It's advice like this that I truly value and keep in mind.

 

[Uncle Erik]

The DT48s and ESL-63s were important in choosing the HD-800 for me. I was looking for the same detail, neutrality and transparency with more bass extension. The HD-800 has that, which is why I ate crow and bought a pair.

 

[Albinoni]

Quote:

Originally Posted by moonboy403 /img/forum/go_quote.gif I took a K1000 over HD800 and I'll gladly take the R10 over the HD800 too.

is the K1000 a AKG, I think these came out many yrs ago if I recall.

 

[Mink]

Quote:

Originally Posted by kool bubba ice /img/forum/go_quote.gif people want to hear magic & be amazed rather then hearing closer to the 'truth' of the recording.

Yes, me included.
And this will be the reason I do not plan to upgrade ever again.
For me enjoying music is more important than analyzing the recording.

The Denon 5000's I only recently own do not sound better with 50% of the music I have.
In most cases they sound even worse than my A500's, simply because the only really good recorded music I own is classical, all the other stuff is indie/alternative and pop.
The A500's are much more easy and supple with poor recordings and most pop records I own, this includes well recorded Beatles albums as well.
True, the Denons always sound more realistic, but with pop I like a hifi sound better than a 'live' sound (with all the nasties and edges included)

The only reason I am keeping the Denons is because they sound better with classical music.
Not even a night and day difference but instruments sound authentic and instrument separation is better.
But the A500's come close, they have a very similar tonal character.
I am not kidding.
Differences aren't big at all.
So I always have to laugh when people respond in topics (about which cans should I choose) like "brand nr X will blown them away"

 

[ford2]

Well, Well, surprise,surprise,this thread turned into another you hold mine and I will hold yours thread on how utterly fantastic the plastic fantastics are.

So now if anyone puts them on and says that they are not fantastic he is informed that they are the most neutral phones available on planet earth and they will grow on him [after spending $3000 on an amp that will we hope be just as neutral].
Well I prefer to spend a third of there price and get a set of phones with some life in them.

And I have noticed a few alluding to the fact that the SA5000 [The design forerunner to the HD800 but made of better material]is an OPEN phone;the SA5000 is not an open phone in the true sense of open,there is a membrane enclosing the back of the driver.

And for those of you who hold shares in Senn the au dollar is now running above 90 cents us, BUT we still pay $2400 for them.

Shame on you Senn,Shame.