[Swiftfalcon]

Hi how can you say it can't give enough power to the HD800S?

It has enough power no doubt.
Sometimes I feel the combo presents too much microdetail for certain moods. This sheer resolution can give a rawness to the sound that could be interpreted by some listeners as underpowered.

 

[ljperez84]

You could buy a Schiit Gungnir Multibit DAC and Mjolnir 2 amp and run balanced. The Mjolnir 2 is one of the better amps for HD800S if you use balanced mode. $2100 and you could be done for a few years.

Would you say there is a benefit on running them in a full balanced chain? I have a MJ2 on the way and right now my dac is a well fed mimby (hifiberry digi pro w dual clocks > mimby using coaxial ). Of course I’m planning to use the balance output of the MJ2, but I was wondering if there would be a noticeable difference by using a dac with balanced outputs, I’m thinking about denafrips Ares, which is also an R2R ladder dac. Apparently all the comments around this dac are quite positive, some consider it’s performance at the level of Gustard X20 pro, holo spring or even Gumby, and there is a significant difference in the price.

FWIW I don’t care about DSD, anything above 16 bit / 44.1 kHz is somewhat irrelevant to me.

 

[exdmd]

Would you say there is a benefit on running them in a full balanced chain? I have a MJ2 on the way and right now my dac is a well fed mimby (hifiberry digi pro w dual clocks > mimby using coaxial ). Of course I’m planning to use the balance output of the MJ2, but I was wondering if there would be a noticeable difference by using a dac with balanced outputs, I’m thinking about denafrips Ares, which is also an R2R ladder dac. Apparently all the comments around this dac are quite positive, some consider it’s performance at the level of Gustard X20 pro, holo spring or even Gumby, and there is a significant difference in the price.

FWIW I don’t care about DSD, anything above 16 bit / 44.1 kHz is somewhat irrelevant to me.

There is a synergy between Gungnir Multibit and Mjolnir 2. To gain best sound from the Mjolnir 2 you should be running balanced in and balanced out.

 

[EagleWings]

Hey guys, this post is intended for people who are not happy with the stock tuning of the HD800S.

Please check out this software (for both PC and Mac) called the True-Fi from the company Sonarworks. This software is a plug-in, which has EQ correction for many popular headphones, including HD800S. With the EQ applied, the HD800S has a more balanced sound with more bass, and smoother treble, as the software adds more low-end and removes the peaks in the highs. You lose a tiny bit of details in the process, but then it offers a fatigue-free sound.

While using Jriver, I use my own EQ setting on the PMEQ. But then it doesn't allow me to use my EQ outside the app. That's where the advantage of the True-Fi truly lies, because, it is a System-Wide audio plug-in. Meaning, you could listen to Spotify or watch a video on YouTube, and the plug-in will apply EQ correction for your HD800S.

They offer a 10 day trial and, they are currently running a CanJam special until the end of Feb, that you could buy it for $50 with the coupon code: "canjammy". At $50, the software is not cheap. But it might be worth it if you use the HD800S extensively on your PC/Mac. I was initially skeptical about Sonarworks. But reading Tyll's article on the company on Innerfidelity.com was a vote of confidence.

 

[chungjun]

I'm using HD800S mostly for my listening and I am intrigued by Sonarworks True-Fi...

Although logically I'm struggling to understand what Sonarworks True-Fi is actually offering... not sure if everyone sees it this way... so here goes:-

• Sonarworks is trying to offer "studio sound". That is their aim and anchor, i.e. "studio sound" as the ultimate reference point;
• they have profiles of many different headphones and these headphones, by design, sound different so they yield / output sound differently;
• apply Sonarworks True-Fi and all these "different" headphones now should yield / output the "same" or "as close as they could ever be" to the "studio sound" (i.e. all headphones should now yield the same sound)? Example given in the interview video with innerfidelity.com, Marshall headphones have the "tonality" of Senn HD650.

Hmm... the one "EQ software" to rule all headphones and there will be no need for another headphones (cause they're all gonna sound the same)? Oh well... that's a dent to justify our never ending quest to collect more headphones (though we never let only having a pair of ears be a good enough reason to stop )

 

[EagleWings]

@chungjun , long story short and highly over-simplified:

For ages, music was recorded to be reproduced on speakers. Somewhere along the line, headphones came into existence. Headphone manufacturers wanted to tune their headphones to sound like, how a set of neutral-stereo-speakers would sound, because music were after-all recorded with speakers in mind. Headphone manufacturers started developing their own headphone-target-curve, that was derived based on their philosophy & definition of neutrality. Due to variations in headphone-target-curves between manufacturers, a reference headphone from one company, would not sound the same as a reference headphone from another company. Apart from the lack of a universally accepted standard for a headphone's neutrality, there is also the difficulty of designing a headphone that can accurately reproduce the intended frequency response. Just another one of those things that is easy on paper, than in practice.

Now what Sonarworks did was, they arrived at a headphone-target-curve, based on, what they think is how a set of neutral studio monitors actually sound. Then they measured the FR of many popular headphones and derived EQ correction curves for each headphone, which then applied, would match the Frequency Response of SonarWork's headphone-target-curve.

So, True-Fi should not be seen as a tool that aims to make all headphones sound the same in terms of FR. But, rather a tool to correct the stock frequency response of a headphone, that is widely considered not-correct. But that doesn't mean that SonarWork's frequency response is the right one. Its just their version of what they think is correct. And its upto to the users' preference as to, whether they like the tuning of True-Fi or not. So its better to test the water using the trial version, before purchasing it.

Hope that helps!

 

[swspiers]

So far, I'm extremely impressed with the Sonarworks Reference 4. I just did a session with the 800S's, and the results were excellent. Nothing too extreme, and they still sound like the 800S's. For the record, I also own the HE-400i, Grado SR-60e and Senn/MassDrop 6XX, all supported by the algorithms. NO, it does not make the 60e sound anything like the 800S.

But I can tell you this, the effects of the software on the 400i's is stunning. Totally different headphone with the calibration on. But... they still sound NOTHING like the 800S. IMHO, of course!

 

[smodtactical]

Hey guys I have had my HD800S for about 1 year and they are awesome. The only problem is the ear pads keep popping off no matter how many times I click them back in place. Any idea how I can fix this? Thanks!

 

[Thenewguy007]

Trim the clear plastic inner circular liner.

It's too wide & doesn't fit properly into the slotted hole.

 

[smodtactical]

Trim the clear plastic inner circular liner.

It's too wide & doesn't fit properly into the slotted hole.

Should I trim all around the inner border?

 

[Thenewguy007]

Try doing only it for the side that keeps popping out first. If that still makes it pop out, then trim it all around.

 

[Audiofiend1]

4 months in with these 800s and oh man i can't say enough good things. I recently started listening to a lot of classical music again, and i am starting to think these shine better then any other headphone with classical i have ever listened to before. Beethoven's Symphony 7 literally had me in waves of raw emotion. I actually turned around once or twice because i thought i had heard something behind me only to realize it was an instrument that was so superbly separated i simply could not believe it was placed within the confines of the sound-stage.

 

[Snowpuppy77]

4 months in with these 800s and oh man i can't say enough good things. I recently started listening to a lot of classical music again, and i am starting to think these shine better then any other headphone with classical i have ever listened to before. Beethoven's Symphony 7 literally had me in waves of raw emotion. I actually turned around once or twice because i thought i had heard something behind me only to realize it was an instrument that was so superbly separated i simply could not believe it was placed within the confines of the sound-stage.

That is the key thing I noticed with mine. Excellent separation of instruments and musical lines. Distinct yet cohesive. I got mine to specialize in playing classical music mainly orchestra. However I have also found that these attributes work great with progressive rock.

 

[bobbyblack]

3 months with mine,they are amazing but still looking to improve my chain and i've found a good deal on Bryston BHA-1,somebody who has it can share some impressionsb,thanks.

 

[Rob80b]

3 months with mine,they are amazing but still looking to improve my chain and i've found a good deal on Bryston BHA-1,somebody who has it can share some impressionsb,thanks.

Neither the HD800/S nor the Bryston BHA-1 will go out of their way to flatter a recording, they’ve been designed so as to pass the original signal as purely as possible… so if you’re one who likes their Scotch served “neat” they’ll work quite well together..... you’ll have a sense of having an unimpeded view of the original recording....... if you prefer to be romanticized or having a bad recording made palatable they may not be ones cup of tea but good recordings will shine. : )