[GREQ]

I've never heard anything through a tube amp, mostly because in frankfurt there's only one serious hifi shop, and they've only got SS amps. 
There probably isn't a big enough market for them to stock any tubes. 
 
I didn't know tubes could bring so much bass out of an HD800. 
 
Aside from purchasing and returning in post, do any europeans know any good places to try out tube amps? (London or near Frankfurt would be ideal)

 

[uelover]

Quote:

The Momentums are quite bassy and the signature is quite distinctively U-shaped.

 
This is the one thing I have to ardently disagree and I am very interested to unravel the mystery behind the U-shaped sounding Momentum 

 
I don't find the Momentum to sound similar to HD800 though in my limited experience with it.

 

[streetdragon]

Quote:

 
This is the one thing I have to ardently disagree and I am very interested to unravel mystery behind the U-shaped sounding Momentum 

 
I don't find the Momentum to sound similar to HD800 though in my limited experience with it.

im quite surprised too that some state the momentum sounds similar to a HD800, seeing that the momentum is quite warm/dark while the HD800 is universally regarded as neutral bright/just plain bright

 

[uelover]

Quote:

im quite surprised too that some state the momentum sounds similar to a HD800, seeing that the momentum is quite warm/dark while the HD800 is universally regarded as neutral bright/just plain bright

 
The HD800 also sounded much grainier unless the tube amp is able to mask them (which would imply that certain details are lost?)

 

[PolkManiac]

The Momentum is a much closer sound to the HD600 than the HD800.  It doesn't sound exactly like the HD600, but I find the sound signature similar and I really like both headphones.

 

[ADD]

Quote:

The Momentum is a much closer sound to the HD600 than the HD800.  It doesn't sound exactly like the HD600, but I find the sound signature similar and I really like both headphones.

I have not heard the HD800 (or even HD700) but I have heard most of the Sennheiser headphone range. I agree that the Momentum is closest to the HD600. There are some things the HD600 does better (blacker background, better imaging and cleaner upper bass), but in all other sonic aspects I prefer the Momentum, epsecially the airy, clear, smooth, precise and detailed treble which works extremely well with the first violins in an orchestra. The Momentum also has absolutely zero listening fatigue - I could listen all day and my hearing would not be remotely fatigued (though my external ears and head might be from wearing them). This is not something I have been able to say of any other Sennheiser full-sized model, including the HD650. The Momentum has now actually upsurped the HD600 as my favourite headphone, with the added bonus that it is ligher and supresses more external noise.
 
Regarding my cable issue, I recevied a cable today that looks exactly the same as my old one, but measures completely different with the multimeter. As one might suspect, the replacement cable has none of the issues the one I sent back had  - it works perfectly.
 
One gripe I do have - whilst the proprietary cable connector is very secure, it does make aftermarket cables a little difficult to build - unless Sennheiser or another company can make solder plugs of that configuration available. I think the Momentum is easily a good enough headphone to deserve higher quality cabling that it comes with in the box.

 

[carma143]

So I guess only some people have the faulty smart cable that outputs lesser quality sound?

 

[PolkManiac]

Well for me the HD600 is still my favorite Sennheiser can overall, especially with my Cardas Silver cable.  I REALLY like the Momentum, and it may be a better overall headphone but given my musical tastes the one area where the HD600 really wins (soundstage) happens to be one of the most critical.  The Momentum has good soundstage for a closed can, but can't compete with the HD600 especially with really big music like classical or movie scores. 
 
Quote:

I have not heard the HD800 (or even HD700) but I have heard most of the Sennheiser headphone range. I agree that the Momentum is closest to the HD600. There are some things the HD600 does better (blacker background, better imaging and cleaner upper bass), but in all other sonic aspects I prefer the Momentum, epsecially the airy, clear, smooth, precise and detailed treble which works extremely well with the first violins in an orchestra. The Momentum also has absolutely zero listening fatigue - I could listen all day and my hearing would not be remotely fatigued (though my external ears and head might be from wearing them). This is not something I have been able to say of any other Sennheiser full-sized model, including the HD650. The Momentum has now actually upsurped the HD600 as my favourite headphone, with the added bonus that it is ligher and supresses more external noise.
 
Regarding my cable issue, I recevied a cable today that looks exactly the same as my old one, but measures completely different with the multimeter. As one might suspect, the replacement cable has none of the issues the one I sent back had  - it works perfectly.
 
One gripe I do have - whilst the proprietary cable connector is very secure, it does make aftermarket cables a little difficult to build - unless Sennheiser or another company can make solder plugs of that configuration available. I think the Momentum is easily a good enough headphone to deserve higher quality cabling that it comes with in the box.

 

[Lan647]

Quote:

Well for me the HD600 is still my favorite Sennheiser can overall, especially with my Cardas Silver cable.  I REALLY like the Momentum, and it may be a better overall headphone but given my musical tastes the one area where the HD600 really wins (soundstage) happens to be one of the most critical.  The Momentum has good soundstage for a closed can, but can't compete with the HD600 especially with really big music like classical or movie scores. 
 

 
The HD 600 is lovely. If it was more practical I would buy it to use as my everyday-can. But hey you can't have it all in life

 

[sonance]

There's more to headphones than equalization - i.e. whether they have a bass emphasis or a treble emphasis - in reality, the HD800 has amongst the tightest and highest resolution bass and it goes deep, but not emphasized. The HD800 is much more resolving and the soundstaging ('headstaging') is tremendous. It's also more leaky than a sieve. Hard to compare, really.

 

[ADD]

Quote:

So I guess only some people have the faulty smart cable that outputs lesser quality sound?

As mentioned previously, my faulty cable was the standard one with the 3-pole plug - not the 4-pin plug cable with the integrated controls and mic (the latter cable working perfectly out of the box).

 

[adhoc]

There is no way on God's green earth that the Momentum sounds "like" the HD800 - they are completely different, chalk and cheese, summer and winter, black and white, etc. 
 
The HD800's strengths are its imaging and detail retrieval. It has a piercing treble to some, me included. The Momentum strengths are its plump slamming bass and relaxed easy presentation, neither of which the HD800 have. The Momentum highs can most kindly described as relaxed, less charitably as recessed, and they are definitely not piercing sounding in any way shape or form. 
 
When it comes to audiophile headphones I am a non-believer in the IMO often quite esoteric discussions about whether headphones have "tight" bass or "high resolution" bass - i.e. my k701 has incredibly tight and high resolution bass when amped with a $10,000 amp - you either play bass loud... or not. 
 
My k501 can play low bass, just at oh maybe -35dB c/w 1000Hz. All modern headphones from the big companies can play low bass. Not all headphones can play these same bass frequencies loud. Simple as that in my books.
 
For the guy running the HD800s with tubes, check them  (do you have a tube tester?) - when tubes are on their way to the great amp in the sky (i.e. dying) their HF goes first. I speak from personal experience.

 

[imackler]

Are there any good deals to be found on these? Sennheiser seems to be watching the MSRP more on these than the HD650!

 

[streetdragon]

Quote:

Are there any good deals to be found on these? Sennheiser seems to be watching the MSRP more on these than the HD650!

probably cause they are a new release so they are keeping prices (and their premium-ness of the price) strict

 

[RPGWiZaRD]

Quote:

As mentioned previously, my faulty cable was the standard one with the 3-pole plug - not the 4-pin plug cable with the integrated controls and mic (the latter cable working perfectly out of the box).

 
So maybe I had the same experience when demoing in the shop? It was the cable without integrated controls. I thought honestly it sounded like a 100~$150 headphone tops, in comparision HD25-II and HD598 sounded like a significant upgrade sound quality wise. I really wanted to like them so would be nice to get it confirmed that it was just a "dud" cable/headphone sample or whatever. I remember even enjoying a AKG K272 HD more so I was pretty shocked and couldn't believe what I was hearing.