[silversurfer616]

It is fantastic( I have both) but only when your source is of the same quality...and you need to go balanced.
Gruß in die alte Heimat!

 

[x7007]

Would damage to the stock cable, for example, some knots and wear that the inside cable (copper/Silver) is visible would affect the sound and make it worse? because I feel that I lost the SoundStage totally, at first I heard the sound is mechanical on random times and suddenly was fine. it's like every minute that passed the sound quality reduced. I ordered the
Cardas Clear Headphone Cable for Sennheiser HD800 Headphones
Version: HD800 to 6.3mm Jack, Length: 3.0m

I hope it would bring back my HD800s to life.

 

[MIKELAP]

What would be a current serial number for the HD800S ?

 

[E8ArmyDiver]

Finally in a $ position to get as close to end game as I could come & after a TON of reading,thinking & listening I just pulled the trigger on new 800S!Found online new with FULL Factory Warranty & free shipping for $1360.00!
I will burn them in on my Burson C3P a few hundred hours while I shop for a new tube amp..Any suggestions on an amp under $1500.00,it will be fed signal from C3P Dac...

 

[dadracer2]

Finally in a $ position to get as close to end game as I could come & after a TON of reading,thinking & listening I just pulled the trigger on new 800S!Found online new with FULL Factory Warranty & free shipping for $1360.00!
I will burn them in on my Burson C3P a few hundred hours while I shop for a new tube amp..Any suggestions on an amp under $1500.00,it will be fed signal from C3P Dac...

Feliks Audio Elise?

 

[S Crowther]

Finally in a $ position to get as close to end game as I could come & after a TON of reading,thinking & listening I just pulled the trigger on new 800S!Found online new with FULL Factory Warranty & free shipping for $1360.00!
I will burn them in on my Burson C3P a few hundred hours while I shop for a new tube amp..Any suggestions on an amp under $1500.00,it will be fed signal from C3P Dac...

I use Xduoo TA-20 and like it, especially with RCA Black Plates 1950 tubes bought on Ebay. Not expensive: the amp is about USD366 on Amazon. Check the reviews. You’ll be surprised.
It is fed from a Denafrips Terminator DAC costing much more and they are not mismatched.

 

[dadracer2]

Just to add a bit more to the discussion can I say that tubes/valves are the best way to go for the HD800S that I have found. This is not to say that SS amps are poor or don't work but overall from what I have heard for myself then valves are best, more over triodes are king and SETs are the pinnacle for this headphone. If you can also get a amp that aloows balanced use the HD800S will step up in performance and also make sue the amp can be optimised for 300 ohm impedance headphones as not every amp is.

A lot of people say the HD800 and HD800S are tricky to get the best out of and that's only true if you don't take time to try some options but a good SET/300 ohm setting/ balanced output will make them sing. Oh and if you wear specs......take them off and hear the bass arrive!

The Quad PA One + might be worth a look as it is in your price range and offers most of the things I have mentioned above, but I haven't personally heard it. https://www.quad-hifi.co.uk/pa-one-plus/

 

[ToTo Man]

Oh and if you wear specs......take them off and hear the bass arrive!

Sadly I've never heard what my 800S's are capable of in terms of bass. My head is too narrow for the wide headband, so I get lots of gapping between my head and the ear pads, especially near the top of the pads. People thought I was crazy when I said I hear more bass from my HD600 but it's true. The narrower headband, stronger clamp and thicker ear pads of the HD600 simply fits the shape of my head better. I recently bought a miniDSP EARS to test the effect of seal on bass response and was shocked by how big an effect it has. Even breaking the seal slightly can cause as much as 15dB loss of sub-bass. This applies to all the headphones I measured, not just the HD800S, and demonstrates how important fit is when it comes to maximising bass performance. I doubt I'll ever be able to experience what my HD800S's are capable of so am probably going to end up selling them...

 

[muscular]

Sadly I've never heard what my 800S's are capable of in terms of bass. My head is too narrow for the wide headband, so I get lots of gapping between my head and the ear pads, especially near the top of the pads. People thought I was crazy when I said I hear more bass from my HD600 but it's true. The narrower headband, stronger clamp and thicker ear pads of the HD600 simply fits the shape of my head better. I recently bought a miniDSP EARS to test the effect of seal on bass response and was shocked by how big an effect it has. Even breaking the seal slightly can cause as much as 15dB loss of sub-bass. This applies to all the headphones I measured, not just the HD800S, and demonstrates how important fit is when it comes to maximising bass performance. I doubt I'll ever be able to experience what my HD800S's are capable of so am probably going to end up selling them...

I have the ifi zen dac, I use the analogue bass boost and find it complements the HD800s very well, you might want to try before giving up on this excellent pair of can.

 

[squeakez]

I picked up a pair of these excellent headphones about 6 weeks ago and fully expected to have to buy a higher end amp to accommodate them. However, I hooked them up to my Emotiva Bas-X A-100 amp/Bifrost combo (with speaker taps installed) and was shocked at how great they sounded. I also use a Schiit Loki to tweak the sub and mid-bass. Wow! What an engaging combination for EDM. I no longer feel like I have to get a high-end amp for them. The imaging is spectacular with these and the bass is deep and rumbly when the track calls for it. These are keepers for sure.

 

[E8ArmyDiver]

"Just to add a bit more to the discussion can I say that tubes/valves are the best way to go for the HD800S that I have found. This is not to say that SS amps are poor or don't work but overall from what I have heard for myself then valves are best, more over triodes are king and SETs are the pinnacle for this headphone. If you can also get a amp that aloows balanced use the HD800S will step up in performance and also make sue the amp can be optimised for 300 ohm impedance headphones as not every amp is."
I've been burning up Google & find no SET or any tube amps with Balanced operation except OVER my $1500.00 budget....Any recommendation?ALL the OTL's I find are Single Ended only...

 

[ToTo Man]

I have the ifi zen dac, I use the analogue bass boost and find it complements the HD800s very well, you might want to try before giving up on this excellent pair of can.

I appreciate the help but I don't think an electronic bass boost is going to be enough to cure my problem. To get an idea of how much bass I'm losing, lift your HD800S a few mm's off your ears while music is playing, - the bass almost disappears. That's the size of problem I'm facing! I've read that its possible to bend the headband to make it narrower by tying shoe laces around it for a few days. This might make the ear pads seal better around my ears. However I don't want to do anything that might affect re-sale value as the headphones are in absolutely mint condition at the moment.

 

[headphonesQC]

Just to add my two cents, I recently bought the SPL Phonitor 2 and I find it to be a great match with the HD800S. I tried these headphones with an Audio-Space AS-3i and the Ray Samuels Audio "The Raptor" and both had noise floors way too high with the HD800S. And even sound quality on almost all aspects is better with the SPL in my opinion. I'll have to try other tube amps in the future, but since I must still keep a solid state one for the summer, it's an expensive proposition!

 

[dadracer2]

"Just to add a bit more to the discussion can I say that tubes/valves are the best way to go for the HD800S that I have found. This is not to say that SS amps are poor or don't work but overall from what I have heard for myself then valves are best, more over triodes are king and SETs are the pinnacle for this headphone. If you can also get a amp that aloows balanced use the HD800S will step up in performance and also make sue the amp can be optimised for 300 ohm impedance headphones as not every amp is."
I've been burning up Google & find no SET or any tube amps with Balanced operation except OVER my $1500.00 budget....Any recommendation?ALL the OTL's I find are Single Ended only...

How about the Quad PA One+ which runs 6SN7 dual triodes (so not SET) but has a balanced headphone out and I think it retails for $1600 depending on the exchange rate. It also has a DAC onboard.

 

[E8ArmyDiver]

How about the Quad PA One+ which runs 6SN7 dual triodes (so not SET) but has a balanced headphone out and I think it retails for $1600 depending on the exchange rate. It also has a DAC onboard.

Waiting on confirmation from Quad that it will drive the almost 600 ohm load of the 800S.I had a VA-One & I know the PA-One+ will sound amazing & I could flip my Burson to recoup half the cost of the Quad..I also put a few not often worn watches up for sale & the Dennis Had Dragon Inspire is well within budget reach,especially since I wouldn't need the fancy transformers(+$400.00) for low impedance cans.Truly stunning hand built SET with Balanced out..
UGHHHH there is also 3 other highly regarded amps I could consider but they do not have balanced out..2 of the Feliks Audio SET amps & the MicroZTOL MZ72 is also in budget range,all are regarded as borderline end game but I would have to use my Burson as DAC,adding another piece of gear & cable...TOOO many choices & money in the bank is a bad thing waiting to happen hahahaha...