Sennheiser HD800 S Impressions Thread (read first post for summary)
Aug 29, 2016 at 5:47 PM Post #1,351 of 8,573
  Quick question - Anyone has HD800 S with silver tipped single-end and XLR cable? The stock cables of my HD800 S (sold as new) have silver rather than black plugs, which is a little bit wired... 

 
the part going into the ear cup is silver but the amp end is black for both cables with my 800 S
 
Aug 29, 2016 at 8:13 PM Post #1,352 of 8,573
  Quick question - Anyone has HD800 S with silver tipped single-end and XLR cable? The stock cables of my HD800 S (sold as new) have silver rather than black plugs, which is a little bit wired... 

 
All HD800S cables are silver at the headphone end; a decent number of people (myself included) have also reported getting silver XLR connectors.
 
Aug 29, 2016 at 10:23 PM Post #1,353 of 8,573
  To fellow HD 800S owners, any of you heard the Focal Utopia ? What do you think of them compared to the HD800 S ?

 
The HD800S were my favourite dynamic headphones and they only bested their predecessors (HD800). I still own my HD800S and won't be getting rid of them for a long time. Their sound staging is magnificent and the best I've heard from any pair of headphones. Their detail extraction is simply among the very best. That said (I've noted this in the other HD800S thread), the Utopias beat the HD800S in every other possible way (and tie them for comfort with my noggin). The detail extraction is SR-009-like, the precise location of each player in that soundscape is also among the very best I've heard and overall the Utopias have me very, very impressed. Now they are 2X the price and like all things in this range, the price-to-performance ratio isn't linear, but after 5 days with them, I'm ready to put them in my top 3 headphones of all time (with the LCD-4s and SR-009s). 
 
 
Skip that Focal Utopia. It is not as comfortable as the HD800 or 800S. Besides if you watch all those reviews, the materials used doesn't match well creating a lot of noises when shaking it a bit.
Sound wise it may be better. Although personally if I had the money I would go for the Audeze LCD-4 or Hifiman HE1000 V2. Putting the Hifiman HE1000 V2 probably in favor. The LCD-4 is a bit heavy on the head. Other option is to go for  HD800S and buy a good proper aftermarket-cable. 

Stax-SR-007 and SR-009 are very good too. But you need some really good equipment (dedicated amp) to drive them. The Hifiman HE1000 V2 could be even driven by portable devices. 

 
Something must be up with Tyll's pair. Mine don't make any noise (and neither did the second pair I've seen either). Likely an initial pair out for reviewers. In terms of construction quality, only the LCD-4 and SR-009 are in this category for outstanding build quality. And the HE-1000s can't be properly driven by a portable amp...I found they were on par with the HE-X when I ran them through either my Mojo or AK240SS. It wasn't until I got them onto my GS-X MK2 that they pulled ahead. The Utopia's on the other hand sound amazingly good from those 2 portable players. That said, if you're looking for a great pair of headphones for portable use that can run with the big boys, the HE-X would be my recommendation. 
 
Aug 31, 2016 at 8:33 AM Post #1,355 of 8,573
Well my wallet is safe for now because many of these other  high end headphones have leather which I don't buy. Sticking with my 800 S which I love and will in the future upgrade my amp+dac which is a burson conductor SL 9018.
 
:)
 
Sep 3, 2016 at 2:26 AM Post #1,358 of 8,573
For me the HD800 S is the best value for money . Even it is beaten out in every way by the UTOPIA ! But it is 4000 versus 1400 Euros ! My HD 800 S pairing with the AUDIO GD NOS11 sound SUBLIME !
 
Sep 3, 2016 at 4:17 AM Post #1,359 of 8,573
For me the HD800 S is the best value for money . Even it is beaten out in every way by the UTOPIA ! But it is 4000 versus 1400 Euros ! My HD 800 S pairing with the AUDIO GD NOS11 sound SUBLIME !
I love HD 800S not just because of the sound, HD 800S to me is the best looking summit fi headphones out there. They are better looking the Focals, at least to me.
 
Sep 4, 2016 at 12:07 AM Post #1,360 of 8,573
I just purchased a pair of HD 800 S. I never had the opportunity to listen to the HD 800. I recently purchased a NuPrime DAC-10H to replace separate pre-amplifier and DAC. I wanted them combined for easier use and less room in my rack. I also wanted balanced headphone capabilities. There are not many full function pre-amplifiers with top notch DACs and balanced headphone amplifiers out there, as I found out. Anyway, several friends in forums own HD 800. Since i wanted a balanced cable the new S version just made a ton of sense.

I just started reading this thread... 91 pages... argg... but it should be interesting...
 
Sep 4, 2016 at 2:12 AM Post #1,361 of 8,573
Ok, got through the thread... Interesting.  I would say the general opinion is that the HD 800 S are a very competitive headphone and would rank among the best in the world.
 
I am very happy with mine so far!  The NuPrime drives them wonderfully!  I have only used them with the balanced cable so far.
 
Sep 4, 2016 at 3:26 AM Post #1,362 of 8,573
How good are the HD 800S not just for music, but for movies and video games as well? I want to know because I'll be purchasing them hopefully in the next 2 weeks. My current DAC/AMP is the Sound Blaster X7.
 
Sep 4, 2016 at 8:28 AM Post #1,364 of 8,573
  Ok, got through the thread... Interesting.  I would say the general opinion is that the HD 800 S are a very competitive headphone and would rank among the best in the world.
 
.........

Yep they are excellent headphones but you only read the sequel, you need to start here.
http://www.head-fi.org/t/785577/sennheiser-hd800s-unveiled   only 348 pages.
biggrin.gif
 
 
Sep 4, 2016 at 9:12 AM Post #1,365 of 8,573
  Yep they are excellent headphones but you only read the sequel, you need to start here.
http://www.head-fi.org/t/785577/sennheiser-hd800s-unveiled   only 348 pages.
biggrin.gif
 

 
AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH   :)...  So is that the thread where current "talking abut the HD 800 S" is.  I guess this would lead me to ask, why are there two threads anyway.  Shouldn't this really be combined into one?
 

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