[Sanlitun]

  Doubt anyone would be willing to do such a trade, but is there any chance I could trade in my HD 800 for an HD 800 S somewhere? Mine get little use at the moment due to having to aggressively EQ them (sometimes wasting hours fiddling with the EQ ever so slightly...) to make them less bright and harsh for me.

 
 
I got curious about the HD800S and called up a local place to see about a trade in at a generous loss and the guy said he would think about it but never called me back. 
 
My HD800 have pretty much been in the closet since I got them as I am one of those who finds them to be unlistenable as they are. And actually after thinking about it I feel I may not like the HD800S either.
 
Maybe I will try selling on Craigslist but I certainly dread doing it.
 
Nowadays I am listening to my old HE500, I feel that they may be the best phones I have used including the new HEK which I haven't found to be much better.

 

[iDesign]

Doubt anyone would be willing to do such a trade, but is there any chance I could trade in my HD 800 for an HD 800 S somewhere? Mine get little use at the moment due to having to aggressively EQ them (sometimes wasting hours fiddling with the EQ ever so slightly...) to make them less bright and harsh for me.

Actually a trade isnt that uncommon. When I listed my HD 800 headphones for sale, two HD 800 S owners contacted me to propose a trade. Unfortunately, both owners wanted too much money in exchange to make either deal worthwhile. And after owning the HD 800 S, I can understand the reasons those owners wanted to trade. I still feel the HD 800 with an EQ is better than than the HD 800 S. If you are using an J River I'd encourage you to download an EQ plugin and reevaluate your HD 800 headphones.

 

[pctazhp]

   
 
I got curious about the HD800S and called up a local place to see about a trade in at a generous loss and they guy said he would think about it but never called me back. 
 
My HD800 have pretty much been in the closet since I got them as I am one of those who finds them to be unlistenable as they are. And actually after thinking about it I feel I may not like the HD800S either.
 
Maybe I will try selling on Craigslist but I certainly dread doing it.
 
Nowadays I am listening to my old HE500, I feel that they may be the best phones I have used, I don't feel the HEK is much better.

I've never heard the Classic. To be candid, I wish I liked my new HD800S better than I do. I'll probably be putting it up for sale for around $1300 when I get around to taking pictures of it. I paid $1390 for it from Jan Meier. Don't get me wrong. The S is a great headphone. Just not my particular cup of tea.

 

[BALANCEATOR]

I wrote a review of the hd800s in Spanish. I hope you like it.
 
 
https://auricular.org/2016/04/22/review-nuevos-sennheiser-hd800s-suavidad-y-transparencia/
 
 

 
 
 
https://auricular.org/2016/04/22/review-nuevos-sennheiser-hd800s-suavidad-y-transparencia/

 

[Energy]

  You might not find a taker for that deal, but your HD800 + $1,779 can get you a brand new HE1000: http://store.hifiman.com/index.php/trade-up.html. Me, I'm waiting until they have an HE1000 trade-up deal for my Grado PS1000e. I might have to wait a while.

 
This would be lovely if I didn't colorware my HD800's

 

 

[Christer]

Actually a trade isnt that uncommon. When I listed my HD 800 headphones for sale, two HD 800 S owners contacted me to propose a trade. Unfortunately, both owners wanted too much money in exchange to make either deal worthwhile. And after owning the HD 800 S, I can understand the reasons those owners wanted to trade. I still feel the HD 800 with an EQ is better than than the HD 800 S. If you are using an J River I'd encourage you to download an EQ plugin and reevaluate your HD 800 headphones.

I have only auditioned the HD800S a few hours but A/B'd against my own HD 800 I found it a bit  "warmer" and slightly less open and also not as accurate in the bass as my old HD800.Last week I was really going to pull the trigger and buy the HE1000 because my HD 800 had a tendency to sound a bit hard and  high treble exagerrated .
Impressions this time around of the HE1000 via Hugo were not always as expected.
I had acidentally  left  my HD800 in my hotel room ,but luckily the shop Stars Pickers in KL Malaysia had a pair of HD800 with stock cabling that I could use for over five hours of intensive comparisons in a quiet environment beween the two headphones with my usual reference material hi res acoustic/classical both pcm and DSD up to DSD 128.
To my surprise the differences were not as much in favour of the HE1000 as expected.
I actually ended up buying the burnt in stock cable from the shop's HD800 and fitted them to my own which had a much more  expensive Audioquest cable and now again clearly prefer the cheaper stock cable !
IMHO if you know how things sounded live and at session, the HD800  yes with  its stock cable, is still one of the most accurate headphones on the market for acoustic music!
It could very well be that the HD800S really could partly be  an attempt from Sennheiser to please "audiophiles who can't handle the truth".

 

[Christer]

Actually a trade isnt that uncommon. When I listed my HD 800 headphones for sale, two HD 800 S owners contacted me to propose a trade. Unfortunately, both owners wanted too much money in exchange to make either deal worthwhile. And after owning the HD 800 S, I can understand the reasons those owners wanted to trade. I still feel the HD 800 with an EQ is better than than the HD 800 S. If you are using an J River I'd encourage you to download an EQ plugin and reevaluate your HD 800 headphones.

I have only auditioned the HD800S a few hours but A/B'd against my own HD 800 I found it a bit  "warmer" and slightly less open and also not as accurate in the bass as my old HD800.Last week I was really going to pull the trigger and buy the HE1000 because my HD 800 had a tendency to sound a bit hard and  high treble exaggerated .
Impressions this time around of the HE1000 via Hugo were not always as expected.
I had acidentally  left  my HD800 in my hotel room ,but luckily the shop Stars Pickers in KL Malaysia had a pair of HD800 with stock cabling that I could use for over five hours of intensive comparisons in a quiet environment beween the two headphones with my usual reference material hi res acoustic/classical both pcm and DSD up to DSD 128.
To my surprise the differences were not as much in favour of the HE1000 as expected.
I actually ended up buying the burnt in stock cable from the shop's HD800 and fitted them to my own which had a much more  expensive Audioquest cable and now again clearly prefer the cheaper stock cable !
IMHO if you know how things sounded live and at session, the HD800  yes with  its stock cable, is still one of the most accurate headphones on the market for acoustic music!
It could very well be that the HD800S really could partly be  an attempt from Sennheiser to please "audiophiles who can't handle the truth".
 
 
 
 

   
This would be lovely if I didn't colorware my HD800's

 

Good as it is the HE1000 is very overpriced indeed!
Ridiculously overpriced!
The HD800 or HD800S  are in some respects even better than the HE1000 IMHO!

 

[daltonlanny]

I have only auditioned the HD800S a few hours but A/B'd against my own HD 800 I found it a bit  "warmer" and slightly less open and also not as accurate in the bass as my old HD800.Last week I was really going to pull the trigger and buy the HE1000 because my HD 800 had a tendency to sound a bit hard and  high treble exaggerated .
Impressions this time around of the HE1000 via Hugo were not always as expected.
I had acidentally  left  my HD800 in my hotel room ,but luckily the shop Stars Pickers in KL Malaysia had a pair of HD800 with stock cabling that I could use for over five hours of intensive comparisons in a quiet environment beween the two headphones with my usual reference material hi res acoustic/classical both pcm and DSD up to DSD 128.
To my surprise the differences were not as much in favour of the HE1000 as expected.
I actually ended up buying the burnt in stock cable from the shop's HD800 and fitted them to my own which had a much more  expensive Audioquest cable and now again clearly prefer the cheaper stock cable !
IMHO if you know how things sounded live and at session, the HD800  yes with  its stock cable, is still one of the most accurate headphones on the market for acoustic music!
It could very well be that the HD800S really could partly be  an attempt from Sennheiser to please "audiophiles who can't handle the truth".






Good as it is the HE1000 is very overpriced indeed!
Ridiculously overpriced!
The HD800 or HD800S  are in some respects even better than the HE1000 IMHO!

After auditioning a borrowed pair of Hifiman HE-1000 from The Cable Company, and comparing them to my Sennheiser HD800 S, and modded Hifiman HE-6, I agree with this statement 100%.

 

[Energy]

 
Good as it is the HE1000 is very overpriced indeed!
Ridiculously overpriced!
The HD800 or HD800S  are in some respects even better than the HE1000 IMHO!

 
Thank you for your feedback. It is indeed pricey however that's just how some companies profit.
Make some summit-fi cravers impulsively buy them and in this case, trade other higher end headphones for them.
 
In your opinion, what does the HD800 do better than the HE1000? I'm guessing accurate articulation.
 

After auditioning a borrowed pair of HE-1000's, and comparing them with my Sennheiser HD 800 S, and my modded Hifiman HE-6, I agree with this statement 100%!

 
Appreciate the further reinforcement on the HD800/S.
 
In your opinion, what does the HD800S do better than the HE1000?
 
Personally having tried the HD800S myself and comparing it to my HD800, I do like the tame on the 6-7kHz peak, but the distorted lower harmonic really kills it for me which is why I use my HD800 with the Super Dupont Resonator. Doesn't tame the peak as well but at least my lower end and everything else doesn't take a hit. You should really look into it.
 
Source: http://www.innerfidelity.com/content/sennheiser-hd-800-s-tweaked-and-delightfuland-french-diy-response-page-2#5tPqrWwVmxUG37R0.97

 

[daltonlanny]

The 800 S has a somewhat wider deeper soundstage, more clarity, transparency, and top end extension, imho.
Definitely better transient response, and better leading edges on 800 S.
The 1000 requires quite a bit more power to drive than the 800 S as well.
The advantages aren't huge by any stretch of the imagination, but they are there.
1000 is softer, less impactful, slightly narrower soundstage that is more diffused, and has an annoying peak, to my ears, around 7k.
Now, the 1000 does have more bass and bass extension though, more soundstage height, and a somewhat warmer, slightly thicker sound, and would probably appeal more to folks who listen to brighter recordings, like more bass, and a more relaxing sound.
The 800 S is slightly thinner, brighter, and less euphonic sounding than the 1000.
The 1000 is a top notch headphone, no doubt, but is over priced.
The 1000 should realistically go for less than $2 grand, imho.
I am also borrowing a pair of normal HD800 from The Cable Company lending library next week, and will be comparing them to my 800 S and modded HE-6 as well.

 

[Whazzzup]

It's very interesting, now don't get me wrong here, but soo glad I stepped into hd800S from outside the senn familly. For lurkers in the same boat, who don't care as much about the "truth", rest assured S is my favorite can now. Just listen to prince "art official age" album and from bass to dynamic range the 800S is as pleasing and comfortable as it gets.

 

[daltonlanny]

After listening to the HE-1000 the last couple of days, and comparing it head to head, I keep thinking, what is all the rave about when it comes to the 1000?
Its a great headphone, don't get me wrong, and it will no doubt perfectly suite alot of peoples tastes, but it really isn't doing anything great for me right now.
Right now, I'm liking both the 800 S and the modded he-6 better, and they both cost alot less.
There is no way that I could live exclusively with just the 1000 as my go to can.

 

[zardon]

After listening to the HE-1000 the last couple of days, and comparing it head to head, I keep thinking, what is all the rave about when it comes to the 1000?
Its a great headphone, don't get me wrong, and it will no doubt perfectly suite alot of peoples tastes, but it really isn't doing anything great for me right now.
Right now, I'm liking both the 800 S and the modded he-6 better.

More than likely the amplifier pairing. The he1000 is without question one of the finest headphones you can buy.

 

[daltonlanny]

More than likely the amplifier pairing. The he1000 is without question one of the finest headphones you can buy.

Well lets see here, I have tried it with three different amps, and three different sources, and the overall results are the same. My buddy agrees as well.
Just not my cup of tea I guess.
Not bashing them, just stating my personal opinion

 

[zardon]

Well lets see here, I have tried it with three different amps, and three different sources, and the overall results are the same. My buddy agrees as well.
Just not my cup of tea I guess.
Not bashing them, just stating my personal opinion

Ive tried them with 42 amplifiers, they need to be driven properly to truly sing. Its not really a debate with you or an attack on your opinions -- i like (and own) the other headphones you mention ... however to dismiss the he1000 so out of hand seems rather niave. The he1000 are a superior headphone to the he6 in every way. Hifi man are one of the handful of companies out there who do make progress, every time. Well so far.