[SONYES]

   
yes I have both on my desk currently and Yes I hear differences but still not much in the lowest range until now even with some Infected Mushroom for example. But honestly I didn"t focused on that during my critical listening sessions. will chek further If I can hear bass differences in direct A/B. As I said previously I hear the HD800s hitting harder than the HD800 but I'm still not convinced the difference sits in bass.  Even bass rendering ( attack, slam) is affected by all harmonics hence the consequences of mids/high mids changes on the whole sound.  
 
To be honest, the first time I heard the 800S i was like " **** it"s more bass light than my HD800" but I was coming from my HD800 WITH the mod but I still think the HD800S is somewhat less mid bassy than HD800. Maybe I'm wrong. 

The difference between the two pairs of my headphones so they sound different
-NO YOU ARE NOT WRONG -  i use to have  3 sets.  all hd800  do sound   differnt as  your NEW HD800S  pass more working the sound well  bater.
new  291XX immediately i  hear sounds louder&full sound  than the old set  159XX.
the bass is much more complete  big and register .of the MID as tall  as the old - iHave more details but the width of the stage a little bit tight Sound Stage

Best are older than  my new .the width of the stage
Bass I have a  on  old 1985 CD of TELARC - which even has a depth of bass on  old I am afraid the whole - drivers
on the old so wel deep when is ther the bass herd al the way deep.
in the new ones 291xx is more full .
The HD800 stand it very well were T1 can not handle this for  so powerfull  load bommm" s
 
the new one 291xx  are so far the most full in all bass mids high. 
 
but the old 159xx  is to stay for ever for its almost flat  sound .like "stax" + bcl very fast in time i can listen for meny cds all day -
 
technics sl-p990+bcl+old hd800 or
sl-p990+ denon dap2500a as pre   or it"s in bord  dac  or as anlog  the  denon dap2500a 
haedphone amp is "wow" more spaciousness +flat sound .
 
or dac out {RCA OUT }from the denon dap2500a to The Lehmann Audio Linear Black Cube.is also wowww 3d sound. deep low/open mids and full very wide sound stage very open. all the spaciousness of the recording is herd.  
 
the  new  hd800  291xx  is best   for luxman p-1u+ marantz sa11 s1 is my best {xlr}.
or 
sony xa50es +old hd800+The Lehmann Audio Linear Black Cube
 
tha new hd800  291xx are more dominenet in all areas.
i  is over joy .
but i cam more and more for the old   159xx for ther almost flat sound i can her all day . and thay also have very to top end    spaciousness.
 
no-2  set sold it has the most open sound  wide  good bass+mids    s/n 122xx  

 

[punit]

 
If you want fantastic bass, try a modded HE6 hooked up to the speaker taps of a power amp. That is mind blowing (and potentially driver blowing) bass. I have not heard anything else that comes close - maybe the Abyss with a beefy amp might get there - I have no idea.

+1. Coincidentally I am listening to HE 6 from the speaker taps of my vintage Marantz  amp as I was reading this.  Sorry for OT.

 

[securitybunny]

Anyone happen to know when the HD800S will be purchasable in the US?

 

[dharma]

  Anyone happen to know when the HD800S will be purchasable in the US?

 
If you are asking not about quick 'overseas' dealers, then it is already said that somewhere in January...
?

 

[Whazzzup]

Looks like Canada by end of January hopefully mid. Looks like North America is in the same boat.

 

[jelt2359]

I find myself undecided, going back and forth between my S and non-S (modded, no dust cover). Today was one of those days, I removed the dust cover on the S as well to try and get back some of the magical energy of the original, and thought I got it to a decent level, but then I put on my non-S again and thought, "game over". Oops.

 

[Whazzzup]

I find myself undecided, going back and forth between my S and non-S (modded, no dust cover). Today was one of those days, I removed the dust cover on the S as well to try and get back some of the magical energy of the original, and thought I got it to a decent level, but then I put on my non-S again and thought, "game over". Oops.

So this 800s s**t is legit. cool.

 

[Mentis]

I find myself undecided, going back and forth between my S and non-S (modded, no dust cover). Today was one of those days, I removed the dust cover on the S as well to try and get back some of the magical energy of the original, and thought I got it to a decent level, but then I put on my non-S again and thought, "game over". Oops.

What serial is your HD800

 

[jelt2359]

What serial is your HD800

41xxx- recent.

 

[Mentis]

A little better on the Ether C, I think. Not a lot in it to my ears. Both go deep and can punch, but the Ether C is just a little bit better textured and defined. It sounds more 'accurate' in the Ether C vs HD800S. It is so close that this effect could easily be from imprecise volume matching on my part. Please keep in mind this is the deepest and most powerful bass I could find - kettle drums being hammered - that sort of thing. On most tracks I struggle to pick much difference in the bass - both are very, very good.

For a dynamic headphone to go (almost) toe to toe with a high end planar on bass reproduction is quite a feat, I think.

If you want fantastic bass, try a modded HE6 hooked up to the speaker taps of a power amp. That is mind blowing (and potentially driver blowing) bass. I have not heard anything else that comes close - maybe the Abyss with a beefy amp might get there - I have no idea.

Ty for the response. Any more impressions of the two as a whole? I am debating between the two for my next phones. Although I'm not getting them soon I still would like to know what's the better one. Sounds to me HD800s is a better upgrade from my HD800 than Ether C from AP.

Ps: I'm digging the planar like bass on the HD800S you just described. That slam and impact I'm looking for is the only thing missing from my HD800.

 

[shabta]

Ps: I'm digging the planar like bass on the HD800S you just described. That slam and impact I'm looking for is the only thing missing from my HD800.

 
On my S at least, the Bass is not LCD 3, HD 6 nor HEK like. It doesn't slam as hard. It just punches enough more than the HD800 that it works really well on rock, hip hop and electronica. I also was grooving pretty nicely to p-funk yesterday... Quite a satisfying ride.

 

[Jawed]

HD 800 S on the head, running in as I type

It's a bit of a shock how big the upgrade is from HD 650 (even if EQ'd to counter some of 650's frequency response foibles). Running HD 800 S without EQ for the time being off Hugo TT.

 

[jelt2359]

   
On my S at least, the Bass is not LCD 3, HE6 nor HEK like. It doesn't slam as hard. It just punches enough more than the HD800 that it works really well on rock, hip hop and electronica. I also was grooving pretty nicely to p-funk yesterday... Quite a satisfying ride.

Agree. Very different from my planars.

 

[AudioLounge]

If anyone is in the London area, feel free to come in for a listen, we're a store called Audio Lounge. I won't post any links as I'm not sure if there are rules against that, but you can find us on google. We also have 2 that we're allowed sell early.

 

[phonomat]

If anyone is in the London area, feel free to come in for a listen, we're a store called Audio Lounge. I won't post any links as I'm not sure if there are rules against that, but you can find us on google. We also have 2 that we're allowed sell early.

I think you need to register as an MOT (member of trade), then you can post your links and whatever.