[carb0mb]

Don't worry about the gaps, lots of us get them and they don't seem to alter the sound at all. You don't need a good seal with open back headphones. After all, they are "open"

Well my main deal isn’t necessarily having a seal, but feeling like the headphone is secure on my head and isn’t going to fall off if I look down at my phone in my lap or something.

 

[Minimyna]

Well my main deal isn’t necessarily having a seal, but feeling like the headphone is secure on my head and isn’t going to fall off if I look down at my phone in my lap or something.

Both Clampforce/Comfort and Soundsignature are very individual and almost equally important i think. For me, most headphones hurt my head after half an hour to an hour becouse of the clampforce so it does not matter how good they sound but with the HD800S i can listen for hours without feeling any discomfort whatsoever. Especially after swappin to the MF Pilot Pad headband. No more hotspot on top of the head. Almost forget i have them on
They do slip a little if i look down but that is a small price to pay for having the comfort for me.

I dont think any headphone fits equally good on everyones head unfortunaly.

 

[MattTCG]

Well my main deal isn’t necessarily having a seal, but feeling like the headphone is secure on my head and isn’t going to fall off if I look down at my phone in my lap or something.

I've seen a replacement strap before that snugs up the clamp but I forget where nor can I say whether it works. I'll see if I can find it. Also, the 800S is loose on my head, so I took the normal position of the headband and moved it one click smaller on each side. Now, I've got a little more clamp.

 

[gonintendo]

Well my main deal isn’t necessarily having a seal, but feeling like the headphone is secure on my head and isn’t going to fall off if I look down at my phone in my lap or something.

you have to be careful but you can bend the steel part of the headband a bit.

also if your pads are super worn out new pads might help.

 

[Arniesb]

Sounds super good on HD800S allowing to show all its strengths.

 

[skhan007]

If there isn't one already, we should have a thread of great tracks to hear with the HD800S.

 

[IXOYE]

If there isn't one already, we should have a thread of great tracks to hear with the HD800S.

Try this one...sounds wonderful with Oratory EQ

 

[SonnyBurnett88]

This also sounds good on 800s

 

[jamesjames]

They are very different sound signatures, as you likely know already. The 2C is a very good iteration of a darkish, deep-reaching sound signature. It's a taste of the sound that makes the LCD-4 so amazing. On the other hand, I haven't heard anything that sounds quite like the 800S. It is superlative in soundstage width and in its general openness of sound. It's the only headphone that I've found that actually lives up to that cliche of sounding like speakers in a well-treated room instead of speakers strapped to your head. Completely unique in that regard. And the sound is unique because of its excellence and not because of its unusualness. I can't tell you that the 800S will give you everything that you want out of an openback, but I can say that no other headphone will give you what the 800S gives you.

I think this is very well said. After many years of buying and selling phones I now have only two sets: the HD800S and the ADX5000. I generally use the HD800S and would undoubtedly choose it if I could keep only one.

 

[CFGamescape]

Are there any aftermarket pads for these that do not change the OEM sound quality, but may hold up better to wear?

 

[IXOYE]

Are there any aftermarket pads for these that do not change the OEM sound quality, but may hold up better to wear?

ZMF has Suede pads for the HD8XX that should be close to the original pads in sound, but I don't know if they work for the 800S

 

[CFGamescape]

ZMF has Suede pads for the HD8XX that should be close to the original pads in sound, but I don't know if they work for the 800S

Thanks! Looks like they fit all 800-series. I see he has the leather ones, too, which tame the treble and add a bit of bass. Not sure that’s what I want, but it’s cool to have options.

 

[jamesjames]

I thought I might add here that the HD800S is very unusual in my experience in that it doesn't seem to need crossfeed to the same extent as other phones. Crossfeed is something that I often use - and I feel that some phones benefit greatly. It's not at all clear to me what's going on here - as crossfeed addresses a basic constraint of headphone listening - and I don't understand how the HD800S seems to escape it to the extent that it does. That hasn't been my experience, for example, with other angled-driver phones. Whatever, it counts for me as yet another fine attribute of the HD800S!

EDIT
I thought I might just add that I do generally prefer to use crossfeed - even with the HD800S. In fact, perhaps surprisingly, I find the HD800S delivers the best results with crossfeed that I've encountered. I speculate that the natural forward projection by the HD800S of a performance space works particularly well with the tendency of crossfeed to narrow the image and apparently project it further forward. This seems an inherent part of dismantling the super-stereo effect otherwise produced by all phones (even the HD800S). I've written more about this on the crossfeed thread if interested.

 

[chesebert]

You don't need crossfeed with most well made open backs when you pair them with quality electronics. The proviso is that the music does not have hard left or right pan like some old 60s recordings.

 

[jamesjames]

You don't need crossfeed with most well made open backs when you pair them with quality electronics. The proviso is that the music does not have hard left or right pan like some old 60s recordings.

Suffice to say I think this is wrong. I've said a little more on the crossfeed thread if interested.