[Cruxiaer]

  So Sennheiser lied in their quote about the HD 800 S having more nuances??? And what do you specifically mean by "It's mostly made up by the smoother listing experience. I just want to know why the HD 800 S cost like $600 more than the HD 800. The HD 800 S tamed the 6khz spike on the HD 800, which I didn't even hear when I was renting them from Lumoid. The HD 800 S also has a black paint job and has a frequency response of 4 - 51,000 Hz vs 6 - 51,000 Hz. Nothing else is different between two. Somebody tell me what is exactly better on the HD 800 S vs HD 800 and why the $600 price tag justifies it. 

Google definition said nuance is a subtle difference in or shade of meaning, expression, or sound.
 
First off the $300 balanced XLR cable, which is AU$470. So that actually pretty much makes up the difference in pricing to the HD800 at launch.
 
And yes if you listen to the HD800 and HD800S side by side you can hear a great difference around the 6khz. If you're the type who wont be bothered by the 6khz, then you probably wouldn't need the *upgrade* to HD800S.

 

[swspiers]

So Sennheiser lied in their quote about the HD 800 S having more nuances??? And what do you specifically mean by "It's mostly made up by the smoother listing experience. I just want to know why the HD 800 S cost like $600 more than the HD 800. The HD 800 S tamed the 6khz spike on the HD 800, which I didn't even hear when I was renting them from Lumoid. The HD 800 S also has a black paint job and has a frequency response of 4 - 51,000 Hz vs 6 - 51,000 Hz. Nothing else is different between two. Somebody tell me what is exactly better on the HD 800 S vs HD 800 and why the $600 price tag justifies it. 

Well, for me at least, the 800 S has infinitely more "nuance" and detail than the classic 800. It accomplishes this by the fact that I can stand to listen to them.

And no, I'm not kidding. That spike in the 800 was brutal at times.

 

[Nikorasu]

  Don't think that quote from Sennheiser suggests there are more nuances, just it can be easier to hear them, so, no I don't think they are lying.
 
Where are you getting a $600 difference from? Are you comparing prices from the Sennheiser site or somewhere else? In any case if is that big a gap for you, and you can't hear a difference between the 2 versions then go and buy the 800 and save yourself some money.    
 
In the UK the difference is only £300 at full retail price and the 800S comes with a balanced cable in the box so there goes half the cost difference. 

Well the HD 800 is $978 on amazon's website here in the USA. The HD 800 S is 1,699 on amazon.

 

[Nikorasu]

Some people 

  Google definition said nuance is a subtle difference in or shade of meaning, expression, or sound.
 
First off the $300 balanced XLR cable, which is AU$470. So that actually pretty much makes up the difference in pricing to the HD800 at launch.
 
And yes if you listen to the HD800 and HD800S side by side you can hear a great difference around the 6khz. If you're the type who wont be bothered by the 6khz, then you probably wouldn't need the *upgrade* to HD800S.

Some people don't even have amps that use the XLR connection, so having a extra cable for those individuals is useless for them. 

 

[Whazzzup]

  Some people 

  Google definition said nuance is a subtle difference in or shade of meaning, expression, or sound.
 
First off the $300 balanced XLR cable, which is AU$470. So that actually pretty much makes up the difference in pricing to the HD800 at launch.
 
And yes if you listen to the HD800 and HD800S side by side you can hear a great difference around the 6khz. If you're the type who wont be bothered by the 6khz, then you probably wouldn't need the *upgrade* to HD800S.

Some people don't even have amps that use the XLR connection, so having a extra cable for those individuals is useless for them. 

some people have a balanced amp and were not able to use the old hd800S. Frankly i always get third party cables so i don't need stock at all but i pay for it anyways. 

 

[Whazzzup]

 

  Don't think that quote from Sennheiser suggests there are more nuances, just it can be easier to hear them, so, no I don't think they are lying.
 
Where are you getting a $600 difference from? Are you comparing prices from the Sennheiser site or somewhere else? In any case if is that big a gap for you, and you can't hear a difference between the 2 versions then go and buy the 800 and save yourself some money.    
 
In the UK the difference is only £300 at full retail price and the 800S comes with a balanced cable in the box so there goes half the cost difference. 

Well the HD 800 is $978 on amazon's website here in the USA. The HD 800 S is 1,699 on amazon.

no ones stopping you from buying the old model. You can get it used for even less. Also driver positioning has changed, i like my hd800S, its my go to can. 

 

[Nikorasu]

What do you mean by "driver positioning"? Are the drivers not sitting at the same exact position? Also I have no problem purchasing the HD 800 S. I have the cash. But I don't want to buy the HD 800 S and not hear much difference over the HD 800 that I rented from Lumoid for 2 weeks. As I said before, over the two weeks I had the HD 800, I did not hear of the 6 Khz spike people are referring too. So If I was to purchase the HD 800 S it wouldn't be for the smoother treble, black paint job, and the included XLR cable. I just want the HD 800 S just to sound better overall if I were to get them. Theoretically speaking, kinda like if I purchased a GTX 1080 over a GTX 1070. I want the price to justify the performance and I want that extra FPS! I wouldn't want it to be only a 10 fps difference I would want it to be like over 20. 

 

[Rob80b]

  ...............................As I said before, over the two weeks I had the HD 800 I did not hear of the 6 Khz spike people are referring too. So If I was to purchase the HD 800 S it wouldn't be for the smoother treble, black paint job, and the included XLR cable...................
 

Same here….never did have anything that really bothered me in the upper frequencies with the 800s, I just found them just a bit too analytical (cold?) with some recordings which distracted me from delving into the music.
And although not radically different and maybe for many no difference at all,  the “S” IMHO just makes longer listening sessions a little more enjoyable due to bit more naturalness to the treble, everything else appears almost the same with a touch more base, so if you’re content with the 800s and find nothing distracting….they’re fine...unless of course you wanted it served in black with a balanced  cable.

 

[chuckwheat]

I've listened to the HD800S for a total of maybe an hour. I definitely like it a lot. I'm wondering if it would be a good idea to purchase it, and if I don't quite like the sound for some genres I like, could I sell it for pretty close to the original price?

 

[Nikorasu]

I've listened to the HD800S for a total of maybe an hour. I definitely like it a lot. I'm wondering if it would be a good idea to purchase it, and if I don't quite like the sound for some genres I like, could I sell it for pretty close to the original price?

I'm planning to buy it on Amazon and if I don't it like better over the HD 800, I could just send it back and get a refund.

 

[chuckwheat]

I'm planning to buy it on Amazon and if I don't it like better over the HD 800, I could just send it back and get a refund.

Amazon lets you do that? for how long?

 

[ezekiel77]

  I've listened to the HD800S for a total of maybe an hour. I definitely like it a lot. I'm wondering if it would be a good idea to purchase it, and if I don't quite like the sound for some genres I like, could I sell it for pretty close to the original price?

 
Used HD800S go for $1200 to $1450 here, so yeah take the Amazon returns option.

 

[Gamergtx260]

  What do you mean by "driver positioning"? Are the drivers not sitting at the same exact position? Also I have no problem purchasing the HD 800 S. I have the cash. But I don't want to buy the HD 800 S and not hear much difference over the HD 800 that I rented from Lumoid for 2 weeks. As I said before, over the two weeks I had the HD 800, I did not hear of the 6 Khz spike people are referring too. So If I was to purchase the HD 800 S it wouldn't be for the smoother treble, black paint job, and the included XLR cable. I just want the HD 800 S just to sound better overall if I were to get them. Theoretically speaking, kinda like if I purchased a GTX 1080 over a GTX 1070. I want the price to justify the performance and I want that extra FPS! I wouldn't want it to be only a 10 fps difference I would want it to be like over 20. 

I'm sure nobody can convince you that the 800S is better than the 800 other than yourself.
 
If you don't hear the 6khz spike, then it could a few reasons.
1. You have a very nice tube amp/high end SS amp setup. I didn't hear the spike on my Rag/Yggy
2. You are not treble sensitive. Could be that you are naturally not treble sensitive or maybe you are old (No offense)
3. You are listening to really well recorded music.
 
The HD 800S, is really an end game headphones for many since, it has a lot of musicality and still retains the detail retreival of the 800. Surely, the price can never justify the performance. To me, I think the HD 800S is well worth the price and definitely an upgrade. Of course It doesn't mean that they are 2x the performance of HD 800, but they are just "better". It is my subjective opinion and I can also understand why people like the older better.

 

[Nikorasu]

I'm sure nobody can convince you that the 800S is better than the 800 other than yourself.

If you don't hear the 6khz spike, then it could a few reasons.
1. You have a very nice tube amp/high end SS amp setup. I didn't hear the spike on my Rag/Yggy
2. You are not treble sensitive. Could be that you are naturally not treble sensitive or maybe you are old (No offense)
3. You are listening to really well recorded music.

The HD 800S, is really an end game headphones for many since, it has a lot of musicality and still retains the detail retreival of the 800. Surely, the price can never justify the performance. To me, I think the HD 800S is well worth the price and definitely an upgrade. Of course It doesn't mean that they are 2x the performance of HD 800, but they are just "better". It is my subjective opinion and I can also understand why people like the older better.

I'm not old I'm 21. Maybe I'm just not sensitive to the treble spike. Also the amp/dac I'm using is the Creative Sound Blaster X7 with the stock amps replaced with the Burson Supreme Sound Opamp V5i.

 

[Dulalala]

  So Sennheiser lied in their quote about the HD 800 S having more nuances??? And what do you specifically mean by "It's mostly made up by the smoother listing experience. I just want to know why the HD 800 S cost like $600 more than the HD 800. The HD 800 S tamed the 6khz spike on the HD 800, which I didn't even hear when I was renting them from Lumoid. The HD 800 S also has a black paint job and has a frequency response of 4 - 51,000 Hz vs 6 - 51,000 Hz. Nothing else is different between two. Somebody tell me what is exactly better on the HD 800 S vs HD 800 and why the $600 price tag justifies it. 

Just a gut feeling, but it seems to me like if you bought the HD800S you would be disappointed. Judging from your comments, you probably won't find the price difference justifiable. Price difference between any headphone really is only really "justifiable" by how much you're willing to pay for the "experience". Sound is really subjective and what one person experiences is different to another so what someone may find better may not be better for you.
 
Quote:

  But I don't want to buy the HD 800 S and not hear much difference over the HD 800 that I rented from Lumoid for 2 weeks. As I said before, over the two weeks I had the HD 800, I did not hear of the 6 Khz spike people are referring too. So If I was to purchase the HD 800 S it wouldn't be for the smoother treble, black paint job, and the included XLR cable. I just want the HD 800 S just to sound better overall if I were to get them.

The HD800S compared to the HD800, in my opinion is better overall. It doesn't have that 6 kHz spike and has a better tonal balance. If you don't need the XLR cable, don't care for the smoother treble then the only thing remaining is a better tonal balance. If you think $600 is worth that, then get it. If not, get the HD800.