[Alexalder]

   
That is odd. I was lead to believe the HD800s had very few faults.  Please explain in detail please.

Sybilant highs, anemic bass ecc

 

[jsgraha]

It's not even remotely precise when it's cutting the bass completely. If you say i must compensate this with dark amplifiers that's the opposite of what you're saying

Imo, maybe just buy a used schiit vali and geek out. If you still don't like it, they can be sold at minimum loss. After that, maybe consider to move to other phone, such as th900. Even though, I still prefer the bass impact of hd800 to either lcd or th900, but th900 have more quantity which you might like

 

[Alexalder]

Imo, maybe just buy a used schiit vali and geek out. If you still don't like it, they can be sold at minimum loss. After that, maybe consider to move to other phone, such as th900. Even though, I still prefer the bass impact of hd800 to either lcd or th900, but th900 have more quantity which you might like

Why the vali? I don't really like bass in my ears, and went in thinking of buying the Senns as i pretty much liked everything from them, in-ears, HD600, Amperior, Momentum. But i could not forgive half of my library sounding pretty bad in exchange for some limited gain in the other half.
I also loved how much they are comfortable, but i already knew that

 

[TonyNewman]

 
Sybilant highs, anemic bass ecc

 
Modding the HD800 fixed the highs for me. With the right amp/DAC combination the HD800 scales into something very special with plenty of bass.
 
It is a picky beast to drive. Partnered with gear that it likes this headphone will sing.
 
For me, the Auralic Vega DAC feeding a Simaudio 430HA or WA5 make the magic happen with the HD800.

 

[Mr Rick]

 
Sybilant highs, anemic bass ecc

 
With the exception of a mild peak at 6Khz I see no other deficiencies on a FR curve.

 

[jsgraha]

Why the vali? I don't really like bass in my ears, and went in thinking of buying the Senns as i pretty much liked everything from them, in-ears, HD600, Amperior, Momentum. But i could not forgive half of my library sounding pretty bad in exchange for some limited gain in the other half.
I also loved how much they are comfortable, but i already knew that

I enjoy the combo of vali and geek out, including its bass. I also think both source and amp important for hd800. These combo can be had at minimum cost used, and can be sold at minimum lost. I listen to these combo, even with my daughters kpop album (EXO and 2pm) and found the bass is great (never try asgard). But if you still don't like it, feel free to move to other phone.

 

[akhyar]

Sybilant highs, anemic bass ecc

If you don't like what you hear, move on to other headphones as you will save tonne of money in the long run

 

[johnjen]

 
What is a proper DAC for you? Are we talking balanced?

My gear is listed in my sig line.
 
Yes I'm running all balanced but for decent SQ it isn't required.
In my opinion if you want to explore the 800's in a SotA situation balanced is the best way to go.
 
JJ

 

[koiloco]

 
Sybilant highs, anemic bass ecc

 I have a perfect solution for you.  Go buy one of the Beats HPs.  They don't have sibilant highs and have great bass.  They are also very colorful in design.
On top of all mentioned benefits, you will save a lot of $.

 

[preproman]

Jeopardy question:
 
What is it about a balanced amp the beats a SE amp SQ wise?
 
Answer:
 
What is nothing.    
 
Correct..
 
Now if you have inherently balanced amp and use the SE output, then yes SQ may be compromised.  However, is you have SE amp by design - SQ wise it's just as good as an inherently balanced amp.  

 

[ruthieandjohn]

TOWARD PORTABLE HD 800 USE

After nine months of reverently putting on my tuxedo, sitting in a fine leather chair, and listening to Classical Music with my HD 800 and HDVD 800 DAC/amp, I realized that if I were able to carry my HD 800 system around with me, I would be able to meet my need for a full-bandwidth headphone as I worked around the house. I use Grados (12 of 'em) and while I love them, I sometimes miss the bass power, a frequency band where the Grados are rather light. I was considering first a HiFiMAN HE-500, then the HE-560, and upon auditioning the HE-560, it sounded so close to my HD 800s that I starting thinking about how to carry the HD 800s around without too much sacrifice in sound quality from my excellent HDVD 800.

So I grabbed what I had... the Sony PHA-1 portable DAC/amp that has a direct connect to the digital output of both the old 30-pin iPod and the more recent 8-pin iPod connector. It has Wolfson DAC and what claims to be 1.5W of power output, though their more detailed info puts them at 26 mW per channel into 300 ohms (the HDVD 800 can place 480 mW per channel into 600 ohms, for comparison).




I removed the balanced cable from my HD 800 and went back to the original single-ended cable that came with it. In part, this is because of the single-ended nature of the Sony amp, but also I had a custom balanced cable that is at least four times the cross sectional area of the Sennheiser and is a heck of a lot to carry around 10 feet of! I now really appreciate the lightness of the Sennheiser-provided cable. (Now if I could only find a 3' version instead of a 10' version.)

I compared the Sennheiser HD 800 through my HDVD 800 amp and through the PHA-1, both driven by digital input (HDVD 800 from my PC, PHA-1 from my iPod). Both were using lossless CD-quality files of the same music.

Wow!

The bass and other frequencies of both were (to me at least) indistinguishable. The volume was fine, particularly when I switched the PHA-1 to the High Gain position (was adequate even at the low). The sound through the Sony PHA-1 did lose some of the soundstage and imaging as compared to the HDVD 800, which was able to add a vertical extent to the soundstage as well.

But other than that, for a portable system... great!

I know that the PHA-1 is not what one would normally pick for portable use with the HD 800... it was what I had. But it comes so close to the reference HDVD 800 standard that I am quite satisfied. Still looking at other amps, but this is great for now.

Since I only did about 50% of my listening in a sitting, wired-to-the-wall position, and used the Grado PS1000 primarily for that, I only listened about 10% of the time with my HD 800s. But now, carrying around this HD 800 / PHA-1 / iPod portable system, I'm rediscovering new sounds and details in the vast bulk of my music that I listened to on the move. Right now, I am getting head-vibrating bass (yes, it vibrates my head slightly!) with this system on High Gain at 60% volume on "Love In This Club" by Usher, something that I only experienced with the HE-500 in the past (and the HE-500, as I learned in comparative listening, misses a LOT of detail as compared to the HE-560, and I conclude, as compared to the HD 800!)

 

[JamieMcC]

 
Sybilant highs, anemic bass ecc

 
As others have chimed in this really is down to your chain and most specifically your amp. Don't believe if you wish but many owners I expect have heard the hd800 sound the same as you describe at some point and are speaking from experience gained.

 

[zephex]

How would these pair with a Little Dot Mk IV?

 

[lojay]

  How would these pair with a Little Dot Mk IV?

 
Utter crap. I had that combo before. It was muddied, closed-in and just ... bad. The HD800 can do a lot more better than this. 
 
 
On a side note - I am going to try the following combo:
 
Source:               Schiit Modi 2 Uber + Wyrd / Audiophillieo 1 PP
Dynamic amp:     Eddie Current 4-45
Dynamic cans:    Senn HD800
E-stat amp:         KGSSHV
E-stat cans:        Stax SR009
 
While my MSB Analog died on me and is undergoing repairs, my Emotiva has been sent home for use with my Teton. That leaves my office-rig DAC-less. Perhaps this $150 DAC that is the Modi 2 will give me some enjoyment while I wait for the Yggy? Time will tell.

 

[Hun7er]

   
Utter crap. I had that combo before. It was muddied, closed-in and just ... bad. The HD800 can do a lot more better than this. 
 
 
On a side note - I am going to try the following combo:
 
Source:               Schiit Modi 2 Uber + Wyrd / Audiophillieo 1 PP
Dynamic amp:     Eddie Current 4-45
Dynamic cans:    Senn HD800
E-stat amp:         KGSSHV
E-stat cans:        Stax SR009
 
While my MSB Analog died on me and is undergoing repairs, my Emotiva has been sent home for use with my Teton. That leaves my office-rig DAC-less. Perhaps this $150 DAC that is the Modi 2 will give me some enjoyment while I wait for the Yggy? Time will tell.

 
Which combo did you like the most ?