[obsidyen]

I have had the pleasure to get about 2 hours of play time with these new hd800s hp's and i might have to say they are one of the best spundibg headphone I have heard in a while. The more I listen to them its like that perfect steak that is perfected when cooked Its like butter that melts in your mouth. The flavor just becomes better each time you take a bite.

Thats my redneck review

The best spundibg headphone? Wow, that's high praise.

 

[Jimmy6]

Mmmm.. Smokey.

Definitely appreciating it more

I have had the pleasure to get about 2 hours of play time with these new hd800s hp's and i might have to say they are one of the best spundibg headphone I have heard in a while. The more I listen to them its like that perfect steak that is perfected when cooked Its like butter that melts in your mouth. The flavor just becomes better each time you take a bite. Thats my redneck review

 

[moreps]

I have had the pleasure to get about 2 hours of play time with these new hd800s hp's and i might have to say they are one of the best spundibg headphone I have heard in a while. The more I listen to them its like that perfect steak that is perfected when cooked Its like butter that melts in your mouth. The flavor just becomes better each time you take a bite.

Thats my redneck review

My ears are already watering 

 

[iBrian]

Lol. Well ill try to remember never be on the forums when i just took Ambien CR lol

 

[dxanex]

 
I have. The HEX and the HD 800 S are complimentary headphones rather than competing headphones. Despite the frequency response of the HEX you see in the Charts, the HEX is a fun sounding headphone ( I'd say a HD 650 on steriods basically) while the HD 800 S is a neutral headphone. 
 
In my opinion, the HEX + HD 800 S is probably one of the best headphone combinations. You can leave head-fi after buying these two headphones
 
But I can't justify the price of the HEX over the $320 Sennheiser HD 650 so I didn't buy it in the end. If it was $1000, then I might have bought it.  

Thanks for your input. From what I'm gathering, the HD 800S is more musical than the classic HD 800 but the HEX is more musical than both. I'm really enjoying my time with the HEX demo pair I have right now and I may even prefer it to the HD 800. I definitely prefer the HEX liveliness to the laid back nature of the HE-1000. If only it were built as solid as the HD 800. I've always been hesitant on Hifiman's build/QC issues. Anyway, don't want to stray too OT.

 

[Whazzzup]

I'm digging the s good balance but man th900 rocks. These two beasts are not in the same camp. It sounds like s and he may overlap, but th900 brings a whole new tasting to the menue.

 

[jibzilla]

Absolutely. Different strokes for different folks, but the difference is absolutely night and day to my ears. A song playing at say 820kps to 1Mhps as opposed to 320kps is not even close. Anyway ABX LOGS? I don't know how to do that, but my hi res music player tells me my bit rate and file size for every track I have in detail, so I kind of go with the assurances of that. All I can tell you straight up. There is a huge difference and I hope you can discover the same for yourself.

Sorry for the late reply. Nice talking with you though.

Maybe perhaps you can fill me in on how to look into the ABX logs. Are they all in code?? Like computer programming language? I know how to access my music files that way but I don't know what the heck I should be looking for. Lol

 
You not alone and I used to be firmly in the camp of no dif. between 320 and flac. Takes a very revealing system to notice it but I prefer the bass with flac. I would say that is the only area where I notice a difference and I would describe it as subtle

 

[Christer]

  No cable can possibly remove the earcup resonance nor give better bass extension. In fact no amp or Dac is gonna fix the fundamental problem with the treble on an HD800. All those things (except maybe a cable) can mitigate the problem to a certain extent, but they can't overcome the laws of audio physics... A hemholtz absorber or some of the other mods along with eq can make a significant difference. 

Wise words based on logic instead of the many baseless speculations I read too often on this forum.
 
After having auditioned the new HD800S and compared it to my HD800, I am reluctant to pay full price  for the improvements I heard considering that I already own a pair of HD800. Mainly tamed treble spike and a bit fuller in the bass otherwise very simliar to the old HD800.But I would like to try some of the damping,absorber mods  that probably actually inspired the new model in the first place. 
For new headphones I am more tempted to return to electrostatic headphones or buy the  HE1000 or Audeze LCD4 if it is even better than the HEK on large scale acoustic music like symphonic and opera.
I have quite a few hours with the HE1000 which can sound "oh so sweet and alluring" but tends to get a bit confused and less open than even my old HD800 in really busy  complex very loud parts of symphonic works with layer upon layer  upon layer of instrumental  sounds to sort out.
Full scale classical is imo the only way to really sort the" wheat from the chaff".
No other genre can really compare in complexity.
I am still on the fence though. But one thing is clear the HEK is not twice as good as the HD800S. But roughly twice the price price. The price of the HEK would need to come down considerably for me to bite.
At the current pricing I expect nothing less than  State of the Art SQ.
But both measurements from Inner Fidelity and the issues I have heard  with it, indicate: very  good indeed most of the time. But  also very overpriced indeed.

 

[shabta]

 
Wise words based on logic instead of the many baseless speculations I read too often on this forum.
 
After having auditioned the new HD800S and compared it to my HD800, I am reluctant to pay full price  for the improvements I heard considering that I already own a pair of HD800. Mainly tamed treble spike and a bit fuller in the bass otherwise very simliar to the old HD800.But I would like to try some of the damping,absorber mods  that probably actually inspired the new model in the first place. 
For new headphones I am more tempted to return to electrostatic headphones or buy the  HE1000 or Audeze LCD4 if it is even better than the HEK on large scale acoustic music like symphonic and opera.
I have quite a few hours with the HE1000 which can sound "oh so sweet and alluring" but tends to get a bit confused and less open than even my old HD800 in really busy  complex very loud parts of symphonic works with layer upon layer  upon layer of instrumental  sounds to sort out.
Full scale classical is imo the only way to really sort the" wheat from the chaff".
No other genre can really compare in complexity.
I am still on the fence though. But one thing is clear the HEK is not twice as good as the HD800S. But roughly twice the price price. The price of the HEK would need to come down considerably for me to bite.
At the current pricing I expect nothing less than  State of the Art SQ.
But both measurements from Inner Fidelity and the issues I have heard  with it, indicate: very  good indeed most of the time. But  also very overpriced indeed.

I can understand how you wouldn't want to bite the bullet for moving to the S, especially if you only listen to classical. The imaging in complex symphonic music is best on the classic, almost as good on the S (where the instrument separation is just a hair less good). The HEK isn't at that level and it is more expensive. Also the relaxed sound of the HEK while lovely doesn't quite render as accurate tonal response as the S. I guess if you really believe that Audeze has eliminated the variability between pairs, can handle the weight on your head, the discomfort on your ears, and that any headphone is worth 4k, than yeah, I guess it is worth a try. Personally, I think it is the Senns or Stax, though.

 

[dharma]

If to go step up with top line hp-s, then there is also JPS Labs Abyss AB-1266, but again, for the same budget you get best STAX hp-s, again.
All is up to listener needs and pocket... and better to demo all of those in best possible configuration on some Head-Fi big 'meeting'...

 

[JeffMann]

 
Wise words based on logic instead of the many baseless speculations I read too often on this forum.
 
After having auditioned the new HD800S and compared it to my HD800, I am reluctant to pay full price  for the improvements I heard considering that I already own a pair of HD800. Mainly tamed treble spike and a bit fuller in the bass otherwise very simliar to the old HD800.But I would like to try some of the damping,absorber mods  that probably actually inspired the new model in the first place. 
For new headphones I am more tempted to return to electrostatic headphones or buy the  HE1000 or Audeze LCD4 if it is even better than the HEK on large scale acoustic music like symphonic and opera.
I have quite a few hours with the HE1000 which can sound "oh so sweet and alluring" but tends to get a bit confused and less open than even my old HD800 in really busy  complex very loud parts of symphonic works with layer upon layer  upon layer of instrumental  sounds to sort out.
Full scale classical is imo the only way to really sort the" wheat from the chaff".
No other genre can really compare in complexity.
I am still on the fence though. But one thing is clear the HEK is not twice as good as the HD800S. But roughly twice the price price. The price of the HEK would need to come down considerably for me to bite.
At the current pricing I expect nothing less than  State of the Art SQ.
But both measurements from Inner Fidelity and the issues I have heard  with it, indicate: very  good indeed most of the time. But  also very overpriced indeed.

I also only listen to classical music and opera. I owned the HD800 for 5 years and I am therefore very familiar with its sound (unmodded or Anax-modded). I have recently replaced it with a HE 1000, which I much prefer. The HE1000 is much more musical-sounding to my ears (which means that it better reminds me of the sounds of "real life" acoustical instruments), and I never have any problem with its treble sounding too smooth or too veiled. It also resolves complex orchestral passages with greater micro-detail resolution than the HD800 and it never gets "confused".
 
Note that my comments only apply to running the HE1000 in balanced mode from my Vioelectric V281 amplifier. I wonder whether you have any problems with your headphone amplifier or sound source (my sound source is a PS Audio Perfect Wave Transport => Anedio D2 DAC).
 
Jeff.

 

[dharma]

'Nine time measure, one time cut'
Sometimes I just simply read again overviews, to 'reset'
http://www.head-fi.org/a/head-fi-buying-guide-ultra-high-end-headphones-summit-fi
http://www.innerfidelity.com/content/innerfidelitys-wall-fame-full-size-open
etc
etc
I always try to understand and remember reviewers 'known individual/subjective preferences, manner of reviewing and hinting', and I always compare different reviews, online 'audio magazines'  on different countries (with different 'audiophile traditions, habits, preferences' etc)... then it's easier to pick about '5' contenders with most possible 'setups' and then dig into deeper with them....
and then just calculating...

 

[nephilim32]

You not alone and I used to be firmly in the camp of no dif. between 320 and flac. Takes a very revealing system to notice it but I prefer the bass with flac. I would say that is the only area where I notice a difference and I would describe it as subtle

Absolutely! I should have mentioned in another post above, that having more high end, sensitive and analytical gear will allow you unleash the major sonic differences where a glaring statement of 'night and day' is very alive and true. Their is NOTHING subjective about it. I'm glad to hear you've proven those differences for yourself.
Even on my more modest pairing ( ak jr with either sony MDR z7's and the blue Mofi headphones, I can STILL hear and feel the differences in SQ. 320kps bit rate has nothing on a 780kps and above bit rate. It's like someone saying that there is no difference between cd quality and studio master quality.
Also, I would NEVER make bogus and outlandish claims about audio on here! I really respect this site and the people. I would never steer anyone in the wrong direction. My experiences are very real and truthful.
If one isn't getting the differences then I do have to question the person's audio gear they are using.
However, most on here are very savvy and a headphone like the HD 800 S is a great freakin start to unleash the full potential of your sources.

 

[WraithApe]

Absolutely! I should have mentioned in another post above, that having more high end, sensitive and analytical gear will allow you unleash the major sonic differences where a glaring statement of 'night and day' is very alive and true. Their is NOTHING subjective about it. I'm glad to hear you've proven those differences for yourself.
Even on my more modest pairing ( ak jr with either sony MDR z7's and the blue Mofi headphones, I can STILL hear and feel the differences in SQ. 320kps bit rate has nothing on a 780kps and above bit rate. It's like someone saying that there is no difference between cd quality and studio master quality.
Also, I would NEVER make bogus and outlandish claims about audio on here! I really respect this site and the people. I would never steer anyone in the wrong direction. My experiences are very real and truthful.
If one isn't getting the differences then I do have to question the person's audio gear they are using.
However, most on here are very savvy and a headphone like the HD 800 S is a great freakin start to unleash the full potential of your sources.

 
Proven how? Sighted A-B comparisons are not proof of anything. If the differences are as obvious as you claim, it should be a simple matter to provide objective proof of that, but it seems you're not interested in putting your convictions to the test. The burden of proof rests with the claimant and claims remain subjective until proven otherwise.

 

[Sonic Guild]

Can NOT wait for Tyll's review 

 
I am sick of waiting 

 
I just want to know which one to buy this or the HE1000