Good to hear
If there are any classical musical listeners out there who own or have heard both the TC version and the HD800, would love to hear a comparison with symphony orchestras in mind (if that is not off topic here). Or PM me.
I was watching the Abyss channel with Joe Skubinski and his sons. While I have enjoyed their conversations, I get the impression (and correct me if I'm wrong) that they do not have classical music in mind when they develop their headphones. In contrast, the way I have heard it described, the original HD800 seems to be designed specifically for classical. Currawong says that’s why a lot of listeners have a problem with it. About the 6.3 kHz peak, he says that ”with acoustic music it’s absolutely lovely. You get a sense of space, of detail with the instruments.” But switching to other kinds of music, like the Cowboy Junkies, he ran into problems. He says that is why Sennheiser developed the somewhat overly damped (his description) HD800S, I suppose trying to cater to more of a mass audience. It sounds like the original HD800 is somewhat of a special headphone for those of us who mostly listen to classical. I think having owned the HD650, which some people recommended to me for classical, biased me against the 800, since I did not end up thinking that the 650 were good for classical at all. What they did best in my opinion were vocals. But the more I research headphones, the more I think the 800 is the real deal. The problem is, I don't like to buy used headphones and the original 800 is out of production, which is why I’m still looking beyond the 800 to stuff from Stax, Abyss, and others. My HE560 actually do quite well with classical but I have had them for a few years now and like to have a second pair on hand. The 95X didn't handle classical that badly either, but the pair I got from Drop suffered from too many issues.
Anyhow, I would still love to hear impressions of the TC specifically from classical music lovers.
Hello Brahmsian, I mostly listen jazz and classic music, lately I have been listening to a lot of chamber and orchestral music. I’d say the TC is great for all these genres and particularly for orchestral music. It is very detailed, it has a wide and deep soundstage, a neutral sound profile which is important to reproduce acoustic instruments and, importantly, it has the “slam/weight” to convey the feeling or orchestral sections in action. However it needs to be well amplified. I used it for some months amplified with a Dave and it is pretty good in general but severely lacking for music with high dynamic range.
Since I moved to my current set up (see the first posts in the thread about Riviera AIC-10) I practically only listen to classic music also because it is reproduced in such an engaging, lively way.
In this thread you will find many suggestions at all price points to amplify well the TC.
I also have an Utopia which is very good for classic thanks to the great instrument separation but cannot really compete with the TC for symphonic music.
Regarding the HD800(S) (I tried both versions), I didn't do a direct comparison with the TC but heard it a few times in the past. It needs to be well amplified as well to deliver. Out of a Hugo2 it was not particularly impressive (except soundstage width), much better with a small but more powerful tube amp.
It is an excellent headphones but I'd say the TC is better in many ways and probably similar only in terms of soundstage width. For me the key advantage of the TC is the feeling of impact, body conveyed which is missing from the Senn. Also the Senn places you a bit further away from the scene, the TC more in the middle of it, maybe less realistic but it contributes to a more visceral listening experience.
I hope it helps
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