[Law87]

Noticeably less big but not lacking is what I said.

That is of course sound advice but I never had a chance to audition most of the gear I bought as there are no meets or decent shops that I can go to without taking a couple of holidays to do so. A bit of HF-third-world where I live it seems. Beats 'n' Bose all around.
So when I see people looking for info I realise they might be in the same situation.



I suppose this was very helpful then?



Going with cheap stuff is more often than not a bad idea and neither is advising a +$50000 option any good.

There was nothing to read between the lines by the way, I put it right there in the open.
He can save up to 1500 if he gets the full set he wants used and that's what I'd advise him to do as I bought far too many gear new at the insane prices we seem to get nowadays and when you want to sell newly bought expensive gear you lose a really big chunk of the price.

did I missed a post where he state he is in the same situation as you?


I never advise him to buy a $50k headphone, I am merely informing him. If you read my previous post to him, I clearly advise him to listen first before buying. There are plenty of DAC and amp combo that can do 95% or just as good as HDV 820 for less.

He can buy new, if he doesn't like it, return and take the restocking fees. He still comes out better than buying used stuff, he doesnt have to own something he doesnt like and have to think about reselling it.

 

[AppleheadMay]

did I missed a post where he state he is in the same situation as you?


I never advise him to buy a $50k headphone, I am merely informing him. If you read my previous post to him, I clearly advise him to listen first before buying. There are plenty of DAC and amp combo that can do 95% or just as good as HDV 820 for less.

He can buy new, if he doesn't like it, return and take the restocking fees. He still comes out better than buying used stuff, he doesnt have to own something he doesnt like and have to think about reselling it.

No you didn't. Just like I didn't miss a post where he stated that he had ample places where he could audition them.
You just assume he does have that luxury while I realize that might just as well not be the case.

 

[Maelob]

Is the general consensus still that the HD800s’s are still a better overall headphone than the HD820’s? Almost every single professional and personal review I’ve read seems to confirm this. I’m in the market for either headphone and will be pairing it with an HDV 820 DAC. I’m more a “fun” listener person than a “critical” one. I also like to PC game a lot as well (not competitive, just for fun). I’m also more of an EDM listener than a classical one. I’m torn between which headphone I should get and I can’t really afford to make the wrong choice. I’m leaning more towards the HD800s again from what I’ve read. Thank you.

Not to steer you away from getting any of the 8xx series, but i agree with the recommendation of learning the type of sound you enjoy, i think most of us here have started with entry/mid level systems and tried different headphones to figure out what we like. Some like a warmish sound, others like emphasized bass, bigger stoundtage, mid forward, neutral, detailed, analytical, fun, etc etc, no headphone will check all the boxes. I would just listen before I buy or get them from a place where you can return them. While research is great, the best tool you have are your ears, trust them. These days there are so many choices that is mind boggling, but you will find most of the members here like to help (or get into arguments LOL) , welcome to the hobby.

 

[Maelob]

post deleted repeated it by accident LOL

 

[robo24]

I agree that if there is a chance to listen to the options that's the best way to make a decision. I was only able to do so because I was in San Francisco recently and went into their (empty) store and was able to listen to whatever I wanted to without waiting (aside from the Orpheus). I already had the HD700, which I love, especially for its soundstage. Really only did a 5 minute listen with each of the 800, 800S and 820. I liked each more than the one before. As I already had the open HD700, I thought the 800 was very similar. The 800S had the boosted bass and tamed treble and was much more pleasant to me than the 800. I didn't like how loosely they fit. The 820 sounded as good, with a bit more bass and a better fit. I was amazed by the impressive soundstage (which I've come to learn matters most to me in headphone qualities). If you don't really have the need for closed, and will only be using them at home, I'd say get the 800S, which can be found much cheaper used. I may even get them someday.

You can get a grey market 820 (not authorized seller) pair for under $1700 shipped, but will only get a 1 year warranty from the seller in Hong Kong. Throw in a used Mojo and you have a pretty amazing setup for about $2000. Since I got the 820 I use them far more than the rest of my headphones combined. While they're criticized for being pricey, other brands have more than one model in their lineups that are far more expensive. Reviews are all over the place and probably vary greatly based on fit.

 

[headblid]

For all the bad press that the HD820 get, I have to say that I've been listening to mine more than my 800S lately - every once in a while when I know\feel that the track I'm listening to can get a little more refined with the 800S, I switch but I'm definitely liking the sound of the 820 - I still believe it's vastly overpriced though ... -
@Seyumi, not sure how new you are to the hobby but I found through the years that the only way you can fairly appreciate different cans is if you have experience with other ones. Prices are completelly out of wack in this hobby and 3 or 4x the price definitely doesn't mean better.
For all you know you may be completely satisfied with an HD650 or a philips SHP9500 - there are so many variables to play with before finding a sound you like, I would say that spending a ton of money from the get go is the worst way to go about it.
The diminishing returns hit extremely heavily beyond 300 to 400$ if you ask me and unless you get to points where you can easily identify specific things that you can't live without in those multi thousand dollars cans, I would steer clear of them.
I'm obviously not trying to discourage you from buying the 800S or 820, just saying that without trying other stuff, you're still going to be wondering what else is out there because you'll be hanging out on headfi and someone will always be writing so eloquently about their favorite cans that you'll be sitting there always wondering ...
Of course this is all assuming you've got a limited budget list most people, if not and you're free to get whatever you want, go nuts .

 

[Law87]

Went to the DC pre-meet today, not sure if people were being nice but needless to say most were very surprised about the HD820 in a good way (I hope). I confirmed that selling my HD800s wasnt a mistake but rather a necessary means to get a better headphone for my gears. Also confirmed that the Focal Utopia isnt worth the big hype, mids are forward compare to HD800s, can definitely be fatiguing after a while.

 

[up late]

i thought that the hd820 sounded okay when i auditioned it and found its presentation to be more balanced than the z1r that i was comparing it to. i intend to audition it again. as far as the hype for the utopia goes, i'll just say that i had auditioned the hd800s a couple of times and while i preferred it to the hd800, i liked the utopia more when i compared them and eventually bought one. nor do i find the utopia fatiguing. different strokes...

 

[javertim]

I've really been enjoying the HD820 since getting it a few weeks back, but have noticed, as have others, that pressing in on the cups and creating a tighter seal drastically affects isolation and bass quantity. The problem for me was the part of my head/face between the cheekbone and temple was just depressed enough to allow for a gap between skin and pad.

Recently, I've added some folded/stacked stiff felt into two different spots between the cups and gimbals. This has allowed me to angle the cups slightly inward at the front and effectively enclose the gap.

Much more impactful bass now! Isolation has improved modestly at best, but the sound is so much more full. Best of all, I can remove the felt pieces whenever I wish.

 

[bflat]

Are you the same person that designed those clips that prevent airlplane seats from reclining?



LOL, innovative solution you did for the HD820!

 

[javertim]

Ha! Nice -- and apt -- analogy!

I originally wanted to tighten the gimbal screw but had no idea how to go about doing that. This should work, though.

I also have some Dekoni sheepskin pads coming soon, so maybe those will also help?

 

[Law87]

man you guys are bass head, I never ever once thought the HD820 lack in bass. sometimes its too much.

 

[javertim]

I'm not a bass-head at all... The pads just weren't sealing for me.

 

[bflat]

Ha! Nice -- and apt -- analogy!

I originally wanted to tighten the gimbal screw but had no idea how to go about doing that. This should work, though.

I also have some Dekoni sheepskin pads coming soon, so maybe those will also help?

It's all personal preference IMHO. It's my belief that the HD820 are not meant to have air-tight pads because the leather does a much better job of sealing than the plush surface of the HD820 stock pads. The pads are not memory foam as far as I can tell which would have also help seal instead of the rather stiff stock foam. Given the price, I highly doubt that design decision was based on material cost. Lastly, I think the use of glass and thin outer shells with no dampening material plays a bigger part in the lack of sound isolation.

Pressing on the cups with your hands may not be the best way to judge seal since your skull and body can reflect low frequencies to amplify them. Given, there certainly will be cases where seal is definitely not sufficient.

In my personal case, I think I have a good enough seal which I achieved with adjusting the yokes and position forward/back relative to my ears. What made a big different to me in terms of low end (other than pressing agains the cups) was choice of amp.

iCan Pro - with or without tube mode, the low end was rather strong, liquid, and physical which is more than I cared for.
Holo Audio Azure - less physicality, tighter, and can hear all the low end textures and details much better. This is what I want and have now.

Side note - my Utopias paired differently with the same amps. iCan Pro needed tube mode to bring out the low end where Azure were perfectly fine. Just goes to show, all amps will measure flat, it is how they pair with your headphones where the tonal differences come out. No doubt 300 ohm input of HD820 versus 80 ohm input of Utopia has a lot to do with this. Cables perhaps to a lesser extent.

 

[javertim]

Sadly, there was a fairly substantial gap between the pads and the area between my cheekbones and temples (my face has a pretty big indentation there)... roughly 1/4 cm. With this, I'd consider them semi-open.