[Relaxasaurus]

Just an excellent review. Well done sir.

Thanks for the kind words!

 

[sennfan83261]

I love this headphone, wondering why it took me so long to pick one up. It's my current go-to, usually with a tube amp, though the V280 is also an amazing pairing. I compared it to some other headphones in the same price range here:

Tip for the connectors. In my experience, I found that mine loosen up a bit if you angle your pull towards the notch rather than straight away. The former pull tends to loosen the magnetic attraction of the connectors enough so that you can then pull the connectors out relatively safely. The latter straight-away pull requires much more force and runs the risk of scraping the connector against the nice silver mesh(?), which often leaves a mark.

Really nice review BTW. I hope the HD800S feels as comfortable wearing it backwards as it does when wearing it forwards, . Personally, part of the HD800S' earpad rests near my TMJ and provides a slight bit of clamp force due to the thinness of its pads. Normally it is fine, but when I wear my HD800S for a long duration, like say while I'm doing WFH, I do notice a bit of soreness on my TMJ that I don't get with my other cans when wearing them for just as long. Taking off my HD800S from time to time and messaging my TMJ seems to solve this issue for me. For my Arya and HEXv2 (essentially the same headband), they are my most comfortable headphones. The adequately plush earpads of the Arya distributes the clamp force of its headband and the weight of the cans quite nicely as does the comfort strap when it comes to the latter. I can wear the Arya all day without any fatigue.

As for the sound comparison, particularly between the HD800S and the Arya, I largely agree (I haven't heard the other two cans). My HD800S are my go-to classical music cans, bar none, and the Arya for almost everything else, although the Arya is no slouch when it comes to classical music. For rock, I think I prefer my HE-6 or HE-500 because the Arya tends to spread things out a little too much for that genre and that its mids are slightly recessed compared to the HE-6 and HE-500, so vocals on the Arya are a bit further back in the mix.

 

[vlach]

Tip for the connectors. In my experience, I found that mine loosen up a bit if you angle your pull towards the notch rather than straight away. The former pull tends to loosen the magnetic attraction of the connectors enough so that you can then pull the connectors out relatively safely. The latter straight-away pull requires much more force and runs the risk of scraping the connector against the nice silver mesh(?), which would often leaves a mark.

Really nice review BTW. I hope the HD800S feels as comfortable wearing it backwards as it does when wearing it forwards, . Personally, part of the HD800S' earpad rests near my TMJ and provides a slight bit of clamp force due to the thinness of its pads. Normally it is fine, but when I wear my HD800S for a long duration, like say while I'm doing WFH, I do notice a bit of soreness on my TMJ that I don't get with my other cans when wearing them for just as long. Taking off my HD800S from time to time and messaging my TMJ seems to solve this issue for me. For my Arya and HEXv2 (essentially the same headband), they are my most comfortable headphones. The adequately plush earpads of the Arya distributes the clamp force of its headband and the weight of the cans quite nicely as does the comfort strap when it comes to the latter. I can wear the Arya all day without any fatigue.

As for the sound comparison, particularly between the HD800S and the Arya, I largely agree (I haven't heard the other two cans). My HD800S are my go-to classical music cans, bar none. The Arya for almost everything else, although it is not slouch when it comes to classical music. For rock, I think I prefer my HE-6 or HE-500 because the Arya tends to spread things out a little too much for that genre and that its mids are slightly recessed compared to the HE-6 and HE-500, so vocals on the Arya are a bit back further in the mix.

What is TMJ?

Edit: i think i figured it out; towards my jaw?

 

[sennfan83261]

What is TMJ?

Edit: i think i figured it out; towards my jaw?

Right. It is the temporomandibular joint (TMJ): https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Temporomandibular_joint

 

[jbarrentine]

Went back and read through a good part of the thread. Disappointed I don't have a kitchen audio system in my life now

 

[angelus55]

if i love everything about the hd 800 s but on certain edm songs the bass is just a tad lacking, is it ok to apply a low shelf filter of +6db at the 150hz range iyo? will that mess with the rest of the sound in bad way iyo?

 

[Relaxasaurus]

if i love everything about the hd 800 s but on certain edm songs the bass is just a tad lacking, is it ok to apply a low shelf filter of +6db at the 150hz range iyo? will that mess with the rest of the sound in bad way iyo?

What is your opinion when you try it? I usually crank up the low shelf to 3-4.5 db of boost with the 800s and get great results.

 

[Sonic Defender]

if i love everything about the hd 800 s but on certain edm songs the bass is just a tad lacking, is it ok to apply a low shelf filter of +6db at the 150hz range iyo? will that mess with the rest of the sound in bad way iyo?

I think that would be too much of a boost. I owned and loved the 800S and because I listen to a lot of electronica/EDM I boosted up the low bass by maybe 3 db at 80Hz and I think about 2 db at around 40Hz. Less is more for sure. You have to consider that the headphone is a mechanically balanced mechanism so anytime you make an adjustment it will have the potential for unintended consequences so the least amount of boost that gets you to where you need to go the better. You could also in combination equalize some higher energy down a little as that will shift the tonal balance as well. Love the 800S and I am pretty darn sure I will grab a set again. I could kick myself for selling mine, but at the time I needed the funds to try another headphone. Shame. Enjoy the 800S, it is pretty darn special I think.

 

[angelus55]

What is your opinion when you try it? I usually crank up the low shelf to 3-4.5 db of boost with the 800s and get great results.

Thanks, i forgot to mention i dont own them yet, i have only tried them out before, so when i get them this week i will try it and also what you said for your bass boost amount, i have not acutally used eq before so i dont know if +6db is considerd too much

I think that would be too much of a boost. I owned and loved the 800S and because I listen to a lot of electronica/EDM I boosted up the low bass by maybe 3 db at 80Hz and I think about 2 db at around 40Hz. Less is more for sure. You have to consider that the headphone is a mechanically balanced mechanism so anytime you make an adjustment it will have the potential for unintended consequences so the least amount of boost that gets you to where you need to go the better. You could also in combination equalize some higher energy down a little as that will shift the tonal balance as well. Love the 800S and I am pretty darn sure I will grab a set again. I could kick myself for selling mine, but at the time I needed the funds to try another headphone. Shame. Enjoy the 800S, it is pretty darn special I think.

thanks, would you say a boost is needed at all? since you listen to edm type music also like me? i will try without boosting it at first to see how it goes for a while

 

[Lay.]

I use +5db for the sub bass with my HD800S (and HD660S). That is how I personally like them and they can handle it just fine with AutoEq. Just experiment and fine tune if desired.

With Sony wh-1000xm3 I use about -5db for the low end. Too much is too much even for me

 

[Arniesb]

I use +5db for the sub bass with my HD800S (and HD660S). That is how I personally like them and they can handle it just fine with AutoEq. Just experiment and fine tune if desired.

With Sony wh-1000xm3 I use about -5db for the low end. Too much is too much even for me

Because drivers are highly capable and can produce bass effortlessly... Only thing hold driver bass output is very open enclosures and eardpads that dont give any seal.

 

[Sonic Defender]

...
thanks, would you say a boost is needed at all? since you listen to edm type music also like me? i will try without boosting it at first to see how it goes for a while

For me I liked the boost, but was it necessary? Likely not, it just depends. I love the agility and tactile bass texture that the 800S had so as you increase the amplitude of the bass some detail tends to become obscured. As others have mentioned, the 800S is well engineered and can handle boosting, but that does not mean it is optimum and comes at no penalty. Generally speaking it is always best to do the least amount of attenuation possible that gets you what you need. I am quite sure the engineers and testers at Sennheiser looked at various design parameters and settled on the stock signature for a combination of reasons, one reason for certain being that the overall performance of the driver unit and housing was optimal as stock. You can boost away, and I do when I feel I need to, but that does not mean there isn't a sonic penalty elsewhere. There may not be any penalty, but personally I suspect that because people focus on what they are adjusting they may not be as sensitive to downstream effects on the rest of the signature. I think it is a perfectly defensible and best practice to suggest that you boost and cut from stock the least you need to.

 

[acguitar84]

Lots of good reviews on these headphones (HD800s). I bit the bullet and ordered a set, should be fun!!

 

[Sonic Defender]

Lots of good review on these headphones (800s). I bit the bullet and ordered a set, should be fun!!

Depending on what one gravitates to in a sound signature, if it is what the 800S brings to the table they are in for a treat.

 

[jbarrentine]

How many people here are using the HD800S as their daily? I see a lot of "I use it for x" but I want one headphone to use without switching out all the time.