Sennheiser HD800 S Impressions Thread (read first post for summary)
Sep 10, 2019 at 6:53 PM Post #4,921 of 8,574
I don’t disagree with this comparison, but let’s be very clear when you say the 800S bass is diffuse. It may not be quite as nimble as the 800

More quantitative and not so fast.
This creates a sense of amorphous bass.
 
Sep 10, 2019 at 8:43 PM Post #4,922 of 8,574
Bigger? Probably not.

Sure there are, K1000, Abyss AB-1266 Phi & Phi TC, Susvara, and the RAAL SR1a to name some. :) But the HD800/800S have some VERY impressive sound staging...even after all of these years, they still very much impress me.
 
Sep 11, 2019 at 6:20 AM Post #4,924 of 8,574
No surprise there! I wish the Sennheiser booth had the original HD 800 there to sample alongside the S. They seemed to be selling very well as they didn't have anymore on hand and were only taking orders. Is there anything the non-S model does better?
I prefer the non S version for most music. The original 800 is outstanding.
 
Sep 11, 2019 at 6:24 AM Post #4,926 of 8,574
Not at all. The S does still have elevated treble, but it doesn’t have any narrow peaks and valleys, so it’s a very high quality treble without any sibilance. It also has a higher quantity of bass than the 800, so you don’t need to throw gobs of power at it to try and bring that out.

I think the S sounds good from a multitude of amps and it doesn’t matter if they’re tubes or solid state.

The most recent eye opener for me was how good the S sounds directly from the Audioquest Cobalt. I 100% know that the Cobalt is under-powering them, based on its specs, but it still sounds great! In fact, I prefer it to my Ifi Micro BL which is tremendously more powerful. Go figure.
I find that the original 800 has better bass compared the the S.
 
Sep 11, 2019 at 6:25 AM Post #4,927 of 8,574
I don’t disagree with this comparison, but let’s be very clear when you say the 800S bass is diffuse. It may not be quite as nimble as the 800, but that is also because the 800 bass is so anemic. The 800S bass is not wooly or loose in any sense. It is very tight and articulate but more meaty than the 800 for sure.
I disagree. The 800 bass is not anemic.
 
Sep 11, 2019 at 6:48 AM Post #4,929 of 8,574
I disagree. I find this comment that I've heard over and over to be an exagerration. The 800 is much more engaging to me versus the S, and I own them both. This is my opinion of course as this is all subjective.

You can prefer whatever you want, but it’s not an exaggeration. If what you just said was factual, then Sennheiser wouldn’t have had a reason to make the 800S. The 800S was designed to improve upon the flaws of the 800 that bothered and still bothers so many people; with the the number one reason being the 6K treble peak.
 
Sep 11, 2019 at 7:01 AM Post #4,930 of 8,574
You can prefer whatever you want, but it’s not an exaggeration. If what you just said was factual, then Sennheiser wouldn’t have had a reason to make the 800S. The 800S was designed to improve upon the flaws of the 800 that bothered and still bothers so many people; with the the number one reason being the 6K treble peak.
Like I said, this is subjective, and I prefer the 800. People here asked for opinions about the two models, and that's mine. It's all good.
 
Sep 11, 2019 at 7:02 AM Post #4,931 of 8,574
Evidently lots of hp are bigger
 
Sep 11, 2019 at 7:20 AM Post #4,932 of 8,574
From my experience with both, the 800 has a cleaner/tighter mid-bass and crisper treble. The 800S has a more diffuse bass (causing a noticeably warmer tonality) and more depth in upper mids and treble. Mids/vocals are presented a bit more forward/intimate with the 800S.

800sdr has less treble and bit more warmth than the 800 but at a significant reduction in soundstage and some transparency.

Me too, who think 800 has a tighter and cleaner bass.
It's bass real as comes from an open bafle speaker.
 
Sep 11, 2019 at 7:53 AM Post #4,933 of 8,574
Me too, who think 800 has a tighter and cleaner bass.
It's bass real as comes from an open bafle speaker.
No thinking involved It does have cleaner & tighter bass. HD800s has a dirty distortion sound to it's bass that's clear as day, you can hear it go through the whole sound signature with a A/B test of nearly any other headphone.
There's some other noticeable differences that the HD800 outshines the HD800S, Small But noticeable. Only time it doesn't & that treble peak is an issue that i've found is for Rock & Metal music, HD800s wins here no Question. Jazz & some electronic is debatable by preference.

When i see people say "Boo Hoo Treble Peak" without specific reference to Rock or Metal that's a reg flag!
(Although the Massdrop THX does actually work ok with rock/metal from experience Vs the NFB1 which makes it Horrible.)
 
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Sep 11, 2019 at 8:06 AM Post #4,934 of 8,574
No thinking involved It does have cleaner & tighter bass. HD800s has a dirty distortion sound to it's bass that's clear as day, you can hear it go through the whole sound signature with a A/B test of nearly any other headphone.
There's some other noticeable differences that the HD800 outshines the HD800S, Small But noticeable. Only time it doesn't & that treble peak is an issue that i've found is for Rock & Metal music, HD800s wins here no Question. Jazz & some electronic is debatable by preference.

When i see people say "Boo Hoo Treble Peak" without specific reference to Rock or Metal that's a reg flag!

This is complete BS. The distortion in the bass for both models is never greater than 1%. And the difference between them is less than .5%. They both have great bass for a dynamic driver. The only audible difference is quantity.

Second of all, the Helmholtz resonator doesn’t just reduce the 6K peak, it also reduces and eliminates SEVERAL resonances and ringing issues with the 800.

And a treble peak at 6K is a treble peak period. It doesn’t matter what genre of music you are listening to. The genre isn’t going to change the frequency response of a headphone.

Again, you all can prefer whatever you want, but objective facts aren’t debatable.
 
Sep 11, 2019 at 8:29 AM Post #4,935 of 8,574
This is complete BS. The distortion in the bass for both models is never greater than 1%. And the difference between them is less than .5%. They both have great bass for a dynamic driver. The only audible difference is quantity.

Second of all, the Helmholtz resonator doesn’t just reduce the 6K peak, it also reduces and eliminates SEVERAL resonances and ringing issues with the 800.

And a treble peak at 6K is a treble peak period. It doesn’t matter what genre of music you are listening to. The genre isn’t going to change the frequency response of a headphone.

Again, you all can prefer whatever you want, but objective facts aren’t debatable.
Really? I wonder where i got my Facts From?
j9xkmtA.jpg

Now show me yours.
 
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