Sennheiser HD800 S Impressions Thread (read first post for summary)
Jul 30, 2019 at 11:16 PM Post #4,832 of 8,481
So I've been A/Bing the benchmark dac1 and dac2 side by side with the 800 and 800S, and I honestly cannot hear the difference between dacs. Others on the forum claim this 'difference' between the two, stating the dac2 is so much better SQ wise, but I cant hear it. They're both excellent.

Quick AB doesnt work well for me i have to spend a week with one then move to another. Differences are small with DACs depends how much your willing to spend on that last bit of refinement. If you already have a decent well measuring DAC i would say focus all your efforts on the source files and the headphones, thats where all the difference is imo.
 
Jul 31, 2019 at 6:32 AM Post #4,833 of 8,481
Quick AB doesnt work well for me i have to spend a week with one then move to another. Differences are small with DACs depends how much your willing to spend on that last bit of refinement. If you already have a decent well measuring DAC i would say focus all your efforts on the source files and the headphones, thats where all the difference is imo.
Makes good sense.
 
Jul 31, 2019 at 12:30 PM Post #4,834 of 8,481
For me, quick A/B highlights frequency response differences, while longer term listening brings out many important attributes, such as true timbre, touch & texture, and the (perceived) space the instruments, voices, and sounds occur in. That's where digital front-end differences shine in my comparisons.
 
Jul 31, 2019 at 12:32 PM Post #4,835 of 8,481
I have some really expensive Kimber Kable chords, and I can't hear the difference with those vs normal cables either, but they sure look cool.
And you never will:wink:
 
Jul 31, 2019 at 12:42 PM Post #4,836 of 8,481
For me, quick A/B highlights frequency response differences, while longer term listening brings out many important attributes, such as true timbre, touch & texture, and the (perceived) space the instruments, voices, and sounds occur in. That's where digital front-end differences shine in my comparisons.
I just sold the element dac as there is not a noticeable difference that justifies keeping it when compared to the benchmark dacs.
 
Jul 31, 2019 at 9:37 PM Post #4,838 of 8,481
Hi,

I have the hd800s for some quiet time ( that's how it's written, I forgot ).

does the headband move very easy for you? because I can't seem to lock it down, every time I move or put it on the headband holder it moves quiet a bit.

How can I lock the headband so it doesn't move by itself or by the slightest movement?
 
Jul 31, 2019 at 9:39 PM Post #4,839 of 8,481
How did it get loose? I have had mine since it’s launch, still tight.
 
Aug 1, 2019 at 7:59 PM Post #4,841 of 8,481
Hi,

I have the hd800s for some quiet time ( that's how it's written, I forgot ).

does the headband move very easy for you? because I can't seem to lock it down, every time I move or put it on the headband holder it moves quiet a bit.

How can I lock the headband so it doesn't move by itself or by the slightest movement?

It's a 2 part problem.

The first part is the headband, it itself helps keep the earpads from falling down by itself. Make sure on the underside of the headband that all clips have been pushed in and go click.

If after doing that you find the earpad still keeps falling down, then you have to take the headband off, do it carefully, it's designed to be pulled on and off but not with lots of force or many times.

Once the headband is off, turn the headphones upside down, on the side that keeps falling down, look for a small clip holding a ball bearing holding in place. There is one for each side of the headphones, Left and Right.

Once you find that, all you need to do is push on the piece of metal thats holding the ball bearing down, push on the top part that looks like it can be pushed down a little. Don't do it with lots of force.

Once done, put the headband back on, line up the middle and make sure the R for Right is on the right hand earpad and L for the left earpad. Snap all clips back on and double check that all clips are snapped into place as the headband helps keep the earpads up also, hopefully your headphones should now be better at keeping your earpad from falling down.

It's only a temporary solution, it will eventually start to slide down again, but the less you slide the earpads up and down, the longer the fix will stay. Just to add, if you do this alot you will need to buy a new headband as the plastic breaks after lots of clipping on and off.

Headbands are £26.
 
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Aug 6, 2019 at 4:45 PM Post #4,842 of 8,481
Just got the Accessories House earpads for my HD800S. The stock pads have been on my headphones since I bought them from someone on Head-fi, so they've been in use for almost 4 years. So far, I think there's a bit more bass, and the soundstage is more centered (but the width hasn't changed by any detectable amount). They're a bit thicker, but not by much, and since they're squishier, they only expand the distance between my ears and the earcups by just a bit. No real changes to the isolation, and I don't think the seal has changed much either. All in all, a good change from the stock pads.
 
Aug 8, 2019 at 10:52 AM Post #4,843 of 8,481
I'm looking at my next headphone purchase in the 2k range . As you can see by my signature I have a decent selection but I don't have anything from audeze or zmf. I'm wondering what you all would recommend? It doesn't have to be from those two brands as I really like hifiman.
 
Aug 8, 2019 at 11:26 AM Post #4,844 of 8,481
Is that 2k in $CAN? In which case I have not heard anything better than the HD800S at that kind of price. Mind you I've not heard the MrSpeakers Ether2 which seems well regarded by a bunch of folks and would be in your price range. I have not liked any Audeze headphone partly due to their sound signature and their weight. ZMFs are better in both respects but still have that rolled off planar top end. I recently heard the Empyreans which were one of the best sounding planars I have heard and very comfortable too but they are outside your budget I guess. Anyway that's just MY thoughts and does not constitute a reality or an ideal scenario for you! I am very happy with my HD800S and new Cayin HA300 which I believe to be a perfect pairing and one which gives me the sound signature I like and yet with comfort too.
 
Aug 8, 2019 at 11:32 AM Post #4,845 of 8,481
Is that 2k in $CAN? In which case I have not heard anything better than the HD800S at that kind of price. Mind you I've not heard the MrSpeakers Ether2 which seems well regarded by a bunch of folks and would be in your price range. I have not liked any Audeze headphone partly due to their sound signature and their weight. ZMFs are better in both respects but still have that rolled off planar top end. I recently heard the Empyreans which were one of the best sounding planars I have heard and very comfortable too but they are outside your budget I guess. Anyway that's just MY thoughts and does not constitute a reality or an ideal scenario for you! I am very happy with my HD800S and new Cayin HA300 which I believe to be a perfect pairing and one which gives me the sound signature I like and yet with comfort too.

The Ether 2 can’t touch the 800S.
 

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