[pietcux]

I move them around until I find the most balanced sound throughout the frequency ranges where everything sounds well integrated and as natural as possible. It usually ends up being around the same spot every time. They are a little loose on my head, so if I move around I have to adjust them again.

In my test session, I put them in notch 8 like on my HD800 and put them on my head without thinking much about the positioning. It just sat there naturally. But I am from the same German state as Sennheiser, maybe it was made to fit me, lol.

 

[Beagle]

Why do I feel that I should not have to futz about with positioning with a $2400 headphone?

 

[QueueCumber]

Why do I feel that I should not have to futz about with positioning with a $2400 headphone?

I’m not sure that’s a realistic expectation with anything acoustic. I had to futz around for days with my $30k+ home theater speaker positions. I’ve had to futz around quite a bit with the Stax SR-009S and Susvaras to find the best positions on my head for my ears as well. Fortunately, headphones are a much smaller acoustic space to fine tune versus trying to integrate a surround sound speaker setup into a theater room. It just comes with the territory of the acoustic properties of transducers. Sadly, there’s no perfect acoustic coupling with either a room or your head, so it’s always a matter of the best compromise...

Actually, you may get closer to a perfect acoustic coupling with something like a CIEM.

 

[wldcohso]

Why do I feel that I should not have to futz about with positioning with a $2400 headphone?

Is it REALLY that bad or are you still shocked at by the price tag!!! HD820 ear pads are like BUTTER... you gotta let your ears get use to this type of luxury... Try this, give yourself a REAL shot at enjoying your music.. stop complaining, it just keeps you from enjoying why you truly got them... THE MUSIC.. go a full week and get intimate with them, then report back... *that doesn’t sound right but you know what I mean**** lol

 

[Roger Dodger]

Is it REALLY that bad or are you still shocked at by the price tag!!! HD820 ear pads are like BUTTER... you gotta let your ears get use to this type of luxury... Try this, give yourself a REAL shot at enjoying your music.. stop complaining, it just keeps you from enjoying why you truly got them... THE MUSIC.. go a full week and get intimate with them, then report back... *that doesn’t sound right but you know what I mean**** lol

Amen brother. I'm very happy with mine. They sound (and look) like twenty four hundred dollars.

 

[Beagle]

I’m not sure that’s a realistic expectation with anything acoustic. I had to futz around for days with my $30k+ home theater speaker positions. I’ve had to futz around quite a bit with the Stax SR-009S and Susvaras to find the best positions on my head for my ears as well. Fortunately, headphones are a much smaller acoustic space to fine tune versus trying to integrate a surround sound speaker setup into a theater room. It just comes with the territory of the acoustic properties of transducers. Sadly, there’s no perfect acoustic coupling with either a room or your head, so it’s always a matter of the best compromise...

Actually, you may get closer to a perfect acoustic coupling with something like a CIEM.

I get a perfect (or at least consistent) coupling with 95% of my headphones.

Is it REALLY that bad or are you still shocked at by the price tag!!! HD820 ear pads are like BUTTER... you gotta let your ears get use to this type of luxury... Try this, give yourself a REAL shot at enjoying your music.. stop complaining, it just keeps you from enjoying why you truly got them... THE MUSIC.. go a full week and get intimate with them, then report back... *that doesn’t sound right but you know what I mean**** lol

You are telling this to me?

 

[Beagle]

Fit inconsistency aside, when they sit lightly and evenly around the ears, they sound wonderful. A bit more body to the sound and no raspy character to the treble. If I try to "force" a tighter fit, the bass becomes plummy, bloated and lacks definition.

 

[Hifiearspeakers]

Fit inconsistency aside, when they sit lightly and evenly around the ears, they sound wonderful. A bit more body to the sound and no raspy character to the treble. If I try to "force" a tighter fit, the bass becomes plummy, bloated and lacks definition.

So how do you think the soundstage compares to the 800S? And do you also agree that it has smoother treble than the S?

 

[Beagle]

So how do you think the soundstage compares to the 800S? And do you also agree that it has smoother treble than the S?

I never heard the S. I still have the original 800 and treble is smoother and less grainy. It might be the fuller body and bottom soaking it up? I don't know. But is is definitely less grating than the 800. The soundstage is similar to the 800, I hear things way outside the head area. This would have to do with the fact that I listen at medium to low levels. If I crank any closed headphone up, it seems to fill in the head.

 

[macbob713]

I’m about 35 hours in on breaking the 820 in, and I’m not hearing anything really different than I heard after 8 hours, maybe a very subtle difference, but I can’t honestly say I do.
I’m running these thru the matching HDV 820 amp in balanced mode. I’ve been listening to all genres of music, from jazz, classical, rock and blues. Everything sounds superb. Wide, detailed soundstage, deep, solid natural sounding bass response and smooth, detailed treble. Vocals are fantastic, like your hearing the direct feed from the mic. Separation and spatiality are all there. My pair fit my head perfectly, snug but not too tight. Extremely comfortable, and they do not warm up with hours of use.
I also have the 800S, which is a wonderful headphone, but the 820 gives me more bass and slam, with nearly all the widescreen sound of the S800.
Both are really phenomenal sets of cans, but to me the 820 is now my reference headphone.

 

[Roger Dodger]

I’m about 35 hours in on breaking the 820 in, and I’m not hearing anything really different than I heard after 8 hours, maybe a very subtle difference, but I can’t honestly say I do.
I’m running these thru the matching HDV 820 amp in balanced mode. I’ve been listening to all genres of music, from jazz, classical, rock and blues. Everything sounds superb. Wide, detailed soundstage, deep, solid natural sounding bass response and smooth, detailed treble. Vocals are fantastic, like your hearing the direct feed from the mic. Separation and spatiality are all there. My pair fit my head perfectly, snug but not too tight. Extremely comfortable, and they do not warm up with hours of use.
I also have the 800S, which is a wonderful headphone, but the 820 gives me more bass and slam, with nearly all the widescreen sound of the S800.
Both are really phenomenal sets of cans, but to me the 820 is now my reference headphone.

Sounds like they are satisfying. Same here and I also have the 800S. I start listening with them early weekend mornings then take them off at night and inbetween the day passed.

 

[macbob713]

Sounds like they are satisfying. Same here and I also have the 800S. I start listening with them early weekend mornings then take them off at night and inbetween the day passed.

They really are fantastic cans, the most natural sounding I have heard to date.

 

[smodtactical]

I’m about 35 hours in on breaking the 820 in, and I’m not hearing anything really different than I heard after 8 hours, maybe a very subtle difference, but I can’t honestly say I do.
I’m running these thru the matching HDV 820 amp in balanced mode. I’ve been listening to all genres of music, from jazz, classical, rock and blues. Everything sounds superb. Wide, detailed soundstage, deep, solid natural sounding bass response and smooth, detailed treble. Vocals are fantastic, like your hearing the direct feed from the mic. Separation and spatiality are all there. My pair fit my head perfectly, snug but not too tight. Extremely comfortable, and they do not warm up with hours of use.
I also have the 800S, which is a wonderful headphone, but the 820 gives me more bass and slam, with nearly all the widescreen sound of the S800.
Both are really phenomenal sets of cans, but to me the 820 is now my reference headphone.

How do they sound compared to LCD 3/4 and ZMF Auteur if you heard those?

 

[Beagle]

I’m about 35 hours in on breaking the 820 in, and I’m not hearing anything really different than I heard after 8 hours, maybe a very subtle difference, but I can’t honestly say I do.
I’m running these thru the matching HDV 820 amp in balanced mode. I’ve been listening to all genres of music, from jazz, classical, rock and blues. Everything sounds superb. Wide, detailed soundstage, deep, solid natural sounding bass response and smooth, detailed treble. Vocals are fantastic, like your hearing the direct feed from the mic. Separation and spatiality are all there. My pair fit my head perfectly, snug but not too tight. Extremely comfortable, and they do not warm up with hours of use.
I also have the 800S, which is a wonderful headphone, but the 820 gives me more bass and slam, with nearly all the widescreen sound of the S800.
Both are really phenomenal sets of cans, but to me the 820 is now my reference headphone.

This kinda sums it up for me as well. With piano, you know when you strike a piano key in the higher registers, it gives an immediate "ping"? That's what I hear with the 820. Lots of inner detail and dynamics but not exaggerated by unwanted brightness. As for the bass, again, depends on the choice of fit and how the fit happens to work out (for me).

 

[monini13]

im interested, what are some of the better amp pairings for the hd820? is it as fickle as the hd800?