Not to jump on the "I'm not an audiophile" bandwagon that seems to be going on in this thread... but I'm not. I spent a lot of time on the forums a decade ago reading about the FotM headpone, peoples opinions on the latest and greatest, and trying to be "analytical" when listening to music, blah blah blah, but I had a lot more time on my hands than I did money at the time. When I got a pair of AKG K-701s, they were the most expensive piece of gear in my setup, and I thought they were the bees knees. Then I got my license, got a fun car, started college, turned 21, and headphones were ancient history. Fast forward to 2014 and I meet some speaker guys who get me curious and I end up with a DS Gungnir and love every minute of it. Then this year I gave into the devil on my shoulder who kept poking me with a stick saying "what if the newer headphones sound way better?" and bought a pair of HE-560s... Then a Ragnarok... Then a Yggy... Then it was black friday and I thought "I wonder if there are any headphone deals?". I always dreamed of owning a TotL Sennheiser headphone, and when I found a good deal on a pair of b-stock HD800s, I almost immediately pulled the trigger... But oh wait, hey, Hifiman has a sale too! I wonder what a HEX sounds like?! A few beers later, I decided the cost of an open box HD800S was totally justified, and the deed was done.
Since I had done exponentially less "research" than I would have in my teenage years, I wasn't quite sure what to expect. I listen to mostly rock/metal, genres that were never very fondly associated with Sennheisers... And after reading numerous reviews saying something along the line of how my HE-560s were "near top of the line at a fraction of the price", I'd be lying if I said I wasn't nervous about my latest purchase. I was a bit disappointed at first, as always have been with new headphones, but I grew to like them quicker than I ever have a new headphone. It wasn't long before I was picking out things I had never heard before. Tonight I plugged my HE-560s back in and A/B'd a few songs. I had been missing how aggressive and in-your-face I had remembered the HE-560s sounding (in comparison), and I wasn't wrong. But detail and soundstage? WOW. The HE-560s are no slouch, but they sound like every instrument is piled on top each other when compared to the HD800S. Very impressive. Oh, and I've noticed I can enjoy the HD800S at a considerably lower volume than the HE-560. Definitely a good thing.
Only negatives I have to say about the HD800S is that they aren't very comfortable compared to, well, everything else I've ever owned (Grados with HD414 pads, DT770, K701, HE-560). I've tightened up the headband a bit so that my earlobes are almost touching the bottom of the pad, and at least they don't fall off as fast if I tilt my head back, but they still feel odd... And I'm now even more curious about what a HEX sounds like... The sickness never ends does it?
... always envied but with height comes many other problems ~_~"...
