[AlanU]

It sure would be great when I finally take a listen to these new HP's. 
 
Since there is such a "subjective" factor in the enjoyment in music I do wonder how this new black Mk2 version will do.
 
Currently CDN prices of the HD800 is about $1499.  I do wonder if everyone can  justify the slightly modified sound of the very unique HD800 sound signature.
 
There are some that can enjoy the HD800 with solid state equipment. I'm needing tubes to make the HP less analytical and add some musical merits.
 
I'll change the sound signature by adding Audeze or Hifiman to my evil hobby.
 
Adding a balanced cable $$ has no benefits to my current gear. Rolling tubes with my modded HD800 can do substantial changes to the sound signature.....many ways to skin a cat  

 

[inseconds99]

   
I found the original hd800 great for EDM. My guess is that the 800s would only be better. 

Have to agree with Matt, found the hd800 very good with EDM and pretty much all different types of music. What you wont find in the hd800 is powerful rumbling low end, if you want that I'd recommend the TH900's.

 

[obsidyen]

  Have to agree with Matt, found the hd800 very good with EDM and pretty much all different types of music. What you wont find in the hd800 is powerful rumbling low end, if you want that I'd recommend the TH900's.

Sadly I can't stand the treble of TH900/600 even though I very much respect their low end. I was hoping the new TH-X00 would be the answer but apparently the low end has been decreased in favour of mids with that model. I just hope HD800S has some powerful rumbling low end. I'm probably going to buy it anyway though. LCD-4 and other TOTL planar magnetics are so expensive despite their apparent flaws. HD800S has no flaws, fixed the small problems of regular HD800 and is still priced reasonably. This is the TOTL headphone to get.

 

[plakat]

I want to ask you a 3 questions 1. Does bass impact is comparable to HD650? Nice sub bass whitout much midbass would be good. 2. Does soundstage shrink a bit compared to original? 3. Can you make original to sound similar to HD800S with dark amp? Thank you.

 
Sorry, but I can't comment much on these questions... I never liked the HD650 so I did not compare them directly to the HD800S and I did not like the original HD800 either, so I never cared about suitable amp pairings for them.
To me the soundstage is about the same between the two models, but the S gives me the feeling of being more in there instead of standing in front and looking.
 

800s sounds indeed much better than 800
But the new orpheus is two classes better - for my ears
You can test them currently in vienna

 
To me the Orpheus was completely uninteresting... not involving, bass completely unsuitable for my taste (and I'm not a basshead despite my musical preferences). Build quality was far away from its asking price as well (OK, its still a prototype and some things might be changed). for 50k vs. 1.5k they ought to be more than 2 classes better  (which is really hard of course...), even when accounting for diminishing returns
 

  Yes. The name of the model is: HD 630VB (according to the show catalogue). And they look really fantsastic. The quality is first class.

 
I don't like their plasticky look, they are big and heavy and completely unsuitable for mobile use (their intended target use case...). Plus their sound is not even mid-fi to me as I remember from hearing them at High-End in Munich. So I did not even touch them yesterday
 

  Is the HD800S good for EDM (house, trance, dub etc.)?

 
Of course that depends very much on taste... To me they are, otherwise I'd not consider getting them. But they are *far* away from TH900 et al, so if you're skipping the THX00 because the bass might be a bit less than TH600/TH900... the HD800S will disappoint you.
But you're correct, its a very competitive offering now, given the shifting price range of TOTL cans (which is just sad to me).

 

[obsidyen]

   
Of course that depends very much on taste... To me they are, otherwise I'd not consider getting them. But they are *far* away from TH900 et al, so if you're skipping the THX00 because the bass might be a bit less than TH600/TH900... the HD800S will disappoint you.
But you're correct, its a very competitive offering now, given the shifting price range of TOTL cans (which is just sad to me).

 
I have completely different reasons for purchase regarding these 2 headphones. If I were to buy a Fostex, I'd expect it to be a bass monster so I wouldn't accept a balanced bass. If it's not a bass monster, and considering that it's closed back, it's not worth a buy. With HD800S, however, I would gladly accept a full, deep reaching bass that is still in the neutral realm. Also it's open back, so it wouldn't be fair to hope for a TH900 level bass. I'm not hoping to get a bass monster with HD800S, I'm hoping to get a TOTL headphone that has respectable bass while listening to EDM.

 

[plakat]

   
I have completely different reasons for purchase regarding these 2 headphones. If I were to buy a Fostex, I'd expect it to be a bass monster so I wouldn't accept a balanced bass. If it's not a bass monster, and considering that it's closed back, it's not worth a buy. With HD800S, however, I would gladly accept a full, deep reaching bass that is still in the neutral realm. Also it's open back, so it wouldn't be fair to hope for a TH900 level bass. I'm not hoping to get a bass monster with HD800S, I'm hoping to get a TOTL headphone that has respectable bass while listening to EDM.

Ok, your expectations are clearer now to me. I checked the HD800S with some electronic music yesterday (of course) and liked the presentation.
I expect to have one with me not too far in the future and be happy to let you try it out.

 

[Arniesb]

Sorry, but I can't comment much on these questions... I never liked the HD650 so I did not compare them directly to the HD800S and I did not like the original HD800 either, so I never cared about suitable amp pairings for them.
To me the soundstage is about the same between the two models, but the S gives me the feeling of being more in there instead of standing in front and.

Last question.
Maybe HD800S is more forgiving to average quality recordings? Thanks.

 

[obsidyen]

 
Ok, your expectations are clearer now to me. I checked the HD800S with some electronic music yesterday (of course) and liked the presentation.
I expect to have one with me not too far in the future and be happy to let you try it out.

Thanks mate... I'll buy when I'm in Vienna if the price is lower than in here.

 

[jibzilla]

 
Sadly I can't stand the treble of TH900/600 even though I very much respect their low end. I was hoping the new TH-X00 would be the answer but apparently the low end has been decreased in favour of mids with that model. I just hope HD800S has some powerful rumbling low end. I'm probably going to buy it anyway though. LCD-4 and other TOTL planar magnetics are so expensive despite their apparent flaws. HD800S has no flaws, fixed the small problems of regular HD800 and is still priced reasonably. This is the TOTL headphone to get.

 
The hd800 is the king of rock, not electronic. King of electronic to me is the Lcd-x. 007mk1 is the best all arounder I have ever heard but I have only had it for a few days.
 
My personal favorite is the hd800 with rock and I'm more of an electronic fan, though the 2 are close along with rap. Oldschool, none of this modern day crap. The hd800 has this goosebump inducing quality that the other 2 headphones do not. There is just so much speed, detail, realism and layering that it just let's the song take you away and its so comfortable you feel like you aren't wearing headphones.
 
I'm just pissed that sennheiser did not offer up an upgrade package for original owners first, they would not be able to build this if it was not for original owners buying 40,000 units at a profit of around $500 for them. That's allot of people and money to turn your back on imo. I do not care about the black paint and I already have btg cable so neither cable is going to do me any good.
 
I guess the headphone has not been released yet so sennheiser has some time to correct this. I would be willing to shell out $199, $299 if they replace the earpads. That is $100 more than Lawton charges so I think it is more than fair. Getting raped for $6-700 selling my original hd800 for the hd800(s) is just something I'm not going to do, nor should sennheiser put me in that situation. I bought the original 2 times now, that should more than enough.
 
I can't imagine what someone who bought the original hd800 and then the balanced cable for a whopping $380 is felling like right now. $380 down the toilet and that is before they get raped another $600 selling off the hd800. $1k in the hole before they even buy the hd800(s).

 

[Mr Rick]

   
The hd800 is the king of rock, not electronic. King of electronic to me is the Lcd-x. 007mk1 is the best all arounder I have ever heard but I have only had it for a few days.
 
My personal favorite is the hd800 with rock and I'm more of an electronic fan, though the 2 are close along with rap. Oldschool, none of this modern day crap. The hd800 has this goosebump inducing quality that the other 2 headphones do not. There is just so much speed, detail, realism and layering that it just let's the song take you away and its so comfortable you feel like you aren't wearing headphones.
 
I'm just pissed that sennheiser did not offer up an upgrade package for original owners first, they would not be able to build this if it was not for original owners buying 40,000 units at a profit of around $500 for them. That's allot of people and money to turn your back on imo. I do not care about the black paint and I already have btg cable so neither cable is going to do me any good.
 
I guess the headphone has not been released yet so sennheiser has some time to correct this. I would be willing to shell out $199, $299 if they replace the earpads. That is $100 more than Lawton charges so I think it is more than fair. Getting raped for $6-700 selling my original hd800 for the hd800(s) is just something I'm not going to do, nor should sennheiser put me in that situation. I bought the original 2 times now, that should more than enough.
 
I can't imagine what someone who bought the original hd800 and then the balanced cable for a whopping $380 is felling like right now. $380 down the toilet and that is before they get raped another $600 selling off the hd800. $1k in the hole before they even buy the hd800(s).

 
Is someone forcing you to buy the 800S ? I own the standard 800 and purchased an aftermarket balanced cable for much less then $380.  I'm perfectly happy and have no intention to buy the 800S. The way to avoid all the pain you seen to be feeling is to be happy with what you have.

 

[plakat]

Is someone forcing you to buy the 800S ? I own the standard 800 and purchased an aftermarket balanced cable for much less then $380.  I'm perfectly happy and have no intention to buy the 800S. The way to avoid all the pain you seen to be feeling is to be happy with what you have.

Exactly. If one liked the original HD800 enough to buy one, there's no need for an immediate upgrade. As I understand both will be available in the future, the S does not replace the older model.
I did not like the old model and the S may have enough changes to win me over. And that's the point I guess...

 

[jibzilla]

Exactly. If one liked the original HD800 enough to buy one, there's no need for an immediate upgrade. As I understand both will be available in the future, the S does not replace the older model.
I did not like the old model and the S may have enough changes to win me over. And that's the point I guess...

 
Just me but the point is that original hd800 owners gave sennheiser over $20 million and no upgrade option as of yet. No pain here, just not a fan of getting ripped off. If you like getting ripped off than to each his own.

 

[plakat]

Just me but the point is that original hd800 owners gave sennheiser over $20 million and no upgrade option as of yet. No pain here, just not a fan of getting ripped off. If you like getting ripped off than to each his own.

I'm sorry, but I just can't see any ripoff here... It's not that the original product had a fatal flaw that was corrected by a revision. Yes, there's a new version becoming available -- it does not devalue the older model. It's not even cheaper (to the contrary actually).

 

[plakat]

Last question.
Maybe HD800S is more forgiving to average quality recordings? Thanks.

I can't say for sure since I only listened to a few titles, but it may be a bit better suited as the treble seems a bit tamed compared to the older version.

 

[TokenGesture]

Genuinely intrigued. The HD800 is so good with classical that I have no idea if I want the S or not...