[Vamp898]

So, i got a pair of the HD820, I still own my original HD800. The problem i have with the HD820, is that the pads, don't seal on my face. I have to wear them with the head band forward and the pads back, in order to, attempt to put the pads on my head.

If the pads dont completely close, they sound really bad. but if i can find that spot, they sound really, really good. I wish the pads were thicker.

I am actually surprised about the build quality and the pads for the price. Coming from the Z1R, the HD 820 feels pretty cheap to be honest

 

[Uguccione]

I just ordered a Forza Audioworks Noir Hybrid HPC

Interested in these cables too, I'm just afraid they are too bright for the HD820s (just arrived). I think I'll first try the headphones with other aftermarket copper cables I have on the HD800 and then I'll get an idea. Otherwise I would happily ride the Noir HPC mk2

 

[AppleheadMay]

I have those cables on all my phones. They’re not bright.
You think that because they’re partially silver?

 

[Uguccione]

Exactly.

 

[AppleheadMay]

Exactly.

I know what you mean, I had that with AQ silver Sky interconnects once but they are heavily equipment dependant.
The Forza hybrids aren't bright with any headphones I had them on over they years and are priced really good

 

[Uguccione]

Yes, good price compared to the madness of audio cable prices, but what I need (Hybrid, 3.5mt., Furutech jack) costs almost half of what the (used) headphones cost me.
I'll buy them anyway, because I know what it means to save on cables.

 

[AppleheadMay]

I know what you mean, all my cables are 4,5m Furutech jacks where possible, nice splitter …

 

[Uguccione]

So, I'm not bringing you any good news, these headphones are puzzling me.
First of all, a recommendation: the stock cables DO NOT throw them in the water closet, you would risk clogging it. They should be thrown exclusively in the garbage, possibly differentiated.
Having made this important premise of civic sense, let's continue: these are not headphones, they are a surgical instrument, a medical device. They bring out incredible minutiae from music, things that the human ear had never heard before, but then they fall on the consistency of the sound, they lack body, structure, specific weight. While the bass is good, more in evidence than those of the HD800, but equally controlled and transparent, the mid and high frequencies feel cold, brittle and sharp.
Just to give an example, Glenn Gould's piano struggling with the Goldberg variations (which I'm listening to right now) looks like a harpsichord. Do You understand now?
Experience has taught me not to give in to negative first impressions when dealing with a hi-fi product, but I confess I'm a little disappointed; I was expecting something different and better.
This is after the first two / three hours of listening.

P. S .: the headphones fit me perfectly, I also feel the right pressure of the pads on my head. No problem from that point of view.

 

[oniel459]

So, I'm not bringing you any good news, these headphones are puzzling me.
First of all, a recommendation: the stock cables DO NOT throw them in the water closet, you would risk clogging it. They should be thrown exclusively in the garbage, possibly differentiated.
Having made this important premise of civic sense, let's continue: these are not headphones, they are a surgical instrument, a medical device. They bring out incredible minutiae from music, things that the human ear had never heard before, but then they fall on the consistency of the sound, they lack body, structure, specific weight. While the bass is good, more in evidence than those of the HD800, but equally controlled and transparent, the mid and high frequencies feel cold, brittle and sharp.
Just to give an example, Glenn Gould's piano struggling with the Goldberg variations (which I'm listening to right now) looks like a harpsichord. Do You understand now?
Experience has taught me not to give in to negative first impressions when dealing with a hi-fi product, but I confess I'm a little disappointed; I was expecting something different and better.
This is after the first two / three hours of listening.

P. S .: the headphones fit me perfectly, I also feel the right pressure of the pads on my head. No problem from that point of view.

Hey, all we can ever ask for is the honest opinion. No headphone has zero hate out there.

At least you are giving them a legit try, instead of many out there who have never even seen them in person.

 

[Uguccione]

Compared to the HD800, the 820 is less full-bodied, and this surprised me.
Or rather, the HD800 is less aseptic.
The 820 is aseptic, anemic. If the goal was to create a precision instrument that probed the sound message down to the smallest gorges, I would say they succeeded, but on a musical level the headphones are not enjoyable.
I also hear the famous low-end disconnect, because the bass is either there (and they are pretty powerful) or completely hidden. It is as if the designers had said to the low range: "you stay down there good and quiet because you disturb the mid range".
Mind you, this is just what my ears hear after a few hours of listening (headphones bought used, so I assume already run in).

 

[joshnor713]

Compared to the HD800, the 820 is less full-bodied, and this surprised me.
Or rather, the HD800 is less aseptic.
The 820 is aseptic, anemic. If the goal was to create a precision instrument that probed the sound message down to the smallest gorges, I would say they succeeded, but on a musical level the headphones are not enjoyable.
I also hear the famous low-end disconnect, because the bass is either there (and they are pretty powerful) or completely hidden. It is as if the designers had said to the low range: "you stay down there good and quiet because you disturb the mid range".
Mind you, this is just what my ears hear after a few hours of listening (headphones bought used, so I assume already run in).

Man, sounds like it's just not for you. Sorry to hear.

I love mine. Don't hear any of this! We all gots different ears.

 

[Uguccione]

I think we need something more full-bodied and warm upstream; my chain goes all in the direction of detail and analyticity (or at least, I feel that way) and this certainly does not help.

 

[dukeskd]

I think we need something more full-bodied and warm upstream; my chain goes all in the direction of detail and analyticity (or at least, I feel that way) and this certainly does not help.

It is the recessed midrange that is bothering you, unfortunately, intrinsic to the HD820.

 

[Uguccione]

The bass, however, is there when it is there.
I usually listen to headphones in bed, with my head resting against the plasterboard wall. When the first bass hit came I felt the wall vibrate, so much so that I thought my daughter had slammed her bedroom door (lol).

 

[dukeskd]

The bass, however, is there when it is there. I usually listen to headphones in bed, with my head resting against the plasterboard wall. When the first bass hit came I felt the wall vibrate, so much so that I thought my daughter had slammed her bedroom door (lol)

Yes, definitely more in quantity than the HD800. But once you try planar magnetic headphones, you can't listen to the bass on dynamic based phones the same way, especially from the higher echelon of planars.

My first reaction of the HD820 was like yours, it has excellent detail retrieval and good bass. However, the sub-bass is bloated and the midrange is... claustrophobic? Not sure. But it is definitely not right.