[amham]

Any of the Woo's or Littledot IVSE, a great budget amp.

 

[raypin]

Yup, it is. I have not found a poor genre. The spatial representation is the hd800S strong suit coming from Mids with sufficient bass slam. This detail is the magic of not having the bass overrun the soundstage. But being an th900 owner, appreciate the latter as well.
Just listened to hadouk trio hadouk air, jazz, and amazed at the roundness of the note presentation through the TT and 800S.
S/S works just fine for 800S.

 
mmmm.....ditto. Love the TT and 800S pair  as well. As for genre, I prefer to use my 800 and 800 S for classical music.

 

[Topspin70]

I'm getting some unexpected sizzling 'S' and 'CH' after swopping to some 'premium' cables, despite having a tube still in the chain. Just thought worth mentioning this as I had the general notion that tubes tames things down.

 

[Whazzzup]

 

Yup, it is. I have not found a poor genre. The spatial representation is the hd800S strong suit coming from Mids with sufficient bass slam. This detail is the magic of not having the bass overrun the soundstage. But being an th900 owner, appreciate the latter as well.
Just listened to hadouk trio hadouk air, jazz, and amazed at the roundness of the note presentation through the TT and 800S.
S/S works just fine for 800S.

 
mmmm.....ditto. Love the TT and 800S pair  as well. As for genre, I prefer to use my 800 and 800 S for classical music.

 

 

Yup, it is. I have not found a poor genre. The spatial representation is the hd800S strong suit coming from Mids with sufficient bass slam. This detail is the magic of not having the bass overrun the soundstage. But being an th900 owner, appreciate the latter as well.
Just listened to hadouk trio hadouk air, jazz, and amazed at the roundness of the note presentation through the TT and 800S.
S/S works just fine for 800S.

 
mmmm.....ditto. Love the TT and 800S pair  as well. As for genre, I prefer to use my 800 and 800 S for classical music.

Looks like you have some options to boot. 

 

[DWbirdseye]

  I sold my HD650. Even with poorly recorded material I preferred the HD800. The S is even better in general.

I agree. The 650 may be able to render poorly recorded/mastered material more listenable but at a big expense. What I've found is that the clarity, sound stage, imaging and and tonal accuracy offered by the 800S make it difficult for me to enjoy the 650. So in the end the S just sounds better. For me the S has raised the bar, making it more difficult to enjoy phones that I previously liked. In addition, a really good tube amp with good tubes can lesson the effect of a poorly recorded/mastered song while retaining the 800S's attributes.

 

[sheldaze]

I get where you guys are going regarding HD650 versus HD800S, and music choice.
 
I still feel I get more enjoyment from HD650 on more equipment than the HD800S. You can listen to HD650 on Magni/Mod, Asgard/Bifrost, etc. whereas the Valhalla/Lyr/Bifrost, Mjolnir/Gungnir is more the entry point for HD800S.
 
I will plug HD650 into a more diverse array of stuff, and be happy. Whereas I'm still much more picky with the equipment used for HD800S. I feel there is a larger scaling effect to HD650, from entry level to the point where you're not likely to benefit by moving further up the ladder. I think you need to start higher on the ladder with the HD800S - and can ultimately end at a higher point.

 

[GearMe]

I get where you guys are going regarding HD650 versus HD800S, and music choice.

I still feel I get more enjoyment from HD650 on more equipment than the HD800S. You can listen to HD650 on Magni/Mod, Asgard/Bifrost, etc. whereas the Valhalla/Lyr/Bifrost, Mjolnir/Gungnir is more the entry point for HD800S.

I will plug HD650 into a more diverse array of stuff, and be happy. Whereas I'm still much more picky with the equipment used for HD800S. I feel there is a larger scaling effect to HD650, from entry level to the point where you're not likely to benefit by moving further up the ladder. I think you need to start higher on the ladder with the HD800S - and can ultimately end at a higher point.

TBH...you can even use the HD650 on an LG V10 (ESS9018 w/Adaptive Amp); best I've ever heard my phone sound. Of course, who in their right mind would wear their 650's around when they're on-the-go?

Sure as I ask that question, someone will chime in and say they do...gotta love Head-Fi.

BTW...I think the V10 actually removes the infamous veil

 

[potkettleblack]

Hi,

I'm thinking of getting a pair HD800S headphones but have a particular aversion to pronounced 's' and 'ch' sounds in songs. Unfortunately, I have recently bought a Stax SR-L700 and am disappointed with the borderline sibilant sound, especially compared to my old faithful HD650 and recently sold SR-404. Other than the Woo 22 which isn't available in the UK, which tube amp would you recommend? Is Schiit's Valhalla 2 a good choice?

Thanks,

Martyn

I found the L700 to be a bit harsh with poorly recorded material - more so than with other headphones like the 650. This ultimately made my decision on getting the HD800S first. I have to say though I think the L700 is stunning and I'll be hearing it with other amps later in the year. I am very confident that it will sound different with the other Stax amps. Heard it briefly with the 007amp but not long enough to make an assessment. It was definitely smoother.

 

[shabta]

  I get where you guys are going regarding HD650 versus HD800S, and music choice.
 
I still feel I get more enjoyment from HD650 on more equipment than the HD800S. You can listen to HD650 on Magni/Mod, Asgard/Bifrost, etc. whereas the Valhalla/Lyr/Bifrost, Mjolnir/Gungnir is more the entry point for HD800S.
 
I will plug HD650 into a more diverse array of stuff, and be happy. Whereas I'm still much more picky with the equipment used for HD800S. I feel there is a larger scaling effect to HD650, from entry level to the point where you're not likely to benefit by moving further up the ladder. I think you need to start higher on the ladder with the HD800S - and can ultimately end at a higher point.

Yeah sure. Except why bother, I have an amp that pairs really well with the HD800 S and so I don't care that the HD650 sounds better on  Magni/Mod than the S on the same. You don't need a end game amp DAC for the S to sound waaaaaay better than the HD650 on any music you want to play.

 

[rgs9200m]

Does the 650 scale up well to better equipment and still remain more tolerant of more harsh-sounding recordings?

 

[Quinto]

  Does the 650 scale up well to better equipment and still remain more tolerant of more harsh-sounding recordings?

yes

 

[rgs9200m]

OK, thanks for that succinct answer. I'll give them a try.

 

[martyn73]

I'm getting some unexpected sizzling 'S' and 'CH' after swopping to some 'premium' cables, despite having a tube still in the chain. Just thought worth mentioning this as I had the general notion that tubes tames things down.

I have the same problem with my Stax SR-L700 and SRM-006t which is a hybrid solid state and valve amplifier. Sounds such as 'th' and 'ch' seem unnaturally prominent to the point of irritation. I had only one audition with the HD800S which was far more sibilant through a Chord Mojo and iPhone 6S with tracks by Pulp and Jamiroquai than my HD650 (also with Mojo and iPhone 6S). I used to have a Cardas cable but after getting my brother to blind test it compared to a Sennheiser stock cable my interest in after market cables ceased; there isn't any discernible difference. 

 

[Topspin70]

I'm getting some unexpected sizzling 'S' and 'CH' after swopping to some 'premium' cables, despite having a tube still in the chain. Just thought worth mentioning this as I had the general notion that tubes tames things down.

I have the same problem with my Stax SR-L700 and SRM-006t which is a hybrid solid state and valve amplifier. Sounds such as 'th' and 'ch' seem unnaturally prominent to the point of irritation. I had only one audition with the HD800S which was far more sibilant through a Chord Mojo and iPhone 6S with tracks by Pulp and Jamiroquai than my HD650 (also with Mojo and iPhone 6S). I used to have a Cardas cable but after getting my brother to blind test it compared to a Sennheiser stock cable my interest in after market cables ceased; there isn't any discernible difference. 

Talk about cables can get pretty ugly on head fi for some reason, so I'll state the following as strictly my experience:

Cables I had past and present have made a difference. But I needed painfully big bucks to hear a big difference. And whether I like that difference is the big question. I use crystal cable power cords on my Yggy and Taurus and they open up a world of airiness clarity, detail and texture. I simply cannot go back to the stock power cords after that (despite the logical claim that the Schiit guys made about power cords in their manuals). When I added Crystal cable XLR between the components, another big jump but this time things are starting to get too resolving, even through my LCD3 which is less resolving than the HD800S. It's like standing in front one of those mega size TVs at a store playing one of those ultra high def demo videos. Ever seen that? They show a city from afar but you can yet see every car every house every dog in every corner. It's fascinating but it is too much.

I now use the copper stock cables that come with my ifi gear when listening to the HD800S and they are very musical, thank goodness. But because different batches shipped with different stock cables, and the newer blue ones sounded better, I decided to try the premium OFC cables that came with the iRack. And I fell into the trap again. More resolving but leaner and brighter. I'm letting them burn in to see if they will settle down, but in my experience cables can get less harsh but never change their sonic signature.

So if you are worried the HD800S might be too sibilant, I'd say it can be and it can be not. It's down to how you mix things around in the chain and provided you want to of course. Mine sounds most musical and natural with a certain combo, and it will stay that way as long as I don't touch anything, change anything or 'upgrade' anything. -kick myself-

 

[izzard1982]

I got my HD800S yesterday and the two cables that came with it don't have the black connectors on the amp side, they are silver just like HD800's, is this normal?