The (new) HD800 Impressions Thread
Feb 21, 2013 at 1:10 PM Post #181 of 28,989
No argument here.  I have the LCD-2.2 and HD800 right now and when I listen the the LCD-2.2 I notice fairly quickly that it's dark though bass presence is good the definition is rather poor.  The HD800 immediately after the LCD-2 sound a little thin and grainy but within a song or two the brain adjust/accepts it and all is well.
 
Feb 21, 2013 at 1:10 PM Post #182 of 28,989
No argument here.  I have the LCD-2.2 and HD800 right now and when I listen the the LCD-2.2 I notice fairly quickly that it's dark though bass presence is good the definition is rather poor.  The HD800 immediately after the LCD-2 sound a little thin and grainy but within a song or two the brain adjust/accepts it and all is well.
 
Feb 21, 2013 at 1:16 PM Post #183 of 28,989
Quote:
No argument here.  I have the LCD-2.2 and HD800 right now and when I listen the the LCD-2.2 I notice fairly quickly that it's dark though bass presence is good the definition is rather poor.  The HD800 immediately after the LCD-2 sound a little thin and grainy but within a song or two the brain adjust/accepts it and all is well.

 
Yeah, I think I would agree with this... On the other hand, are HD800 a little thin, or LCD-2 a little full? I don't think I have the answer but I can definitely say that HD800 sound significantly more natural than LCD-2 because of their imaging, separation, soundstage and detail as well. Based on frequency response only, I would maybe prefer LCD-2 but the abilites of HD800 to render a realistic scene just beat LCD-2 to my ears...
 
IMHO, of course.
 
Feb 21, 2013 at 1:22 PM Post #184 of 28,989
Quote:
 
I think there is no official new version... However, my pair (s/n 19008) has more than enough bass for modern music along with non-abrassive treble. I haven't experienced any painful peak or even a moment of HD800's treble hitting my ears uncomfortably.
 
I would say that with my LCD-2 (newest revision), treble is very calm but can sometimes be a bit uncomfortable to ears (only to treble-sensitive people like me and only with certain recordings/moments, because of their peak around 9-10 khz). But with HD800, I haven't experienced any trouble with highs AT ALL, even with neutral SS amp and with modern music. Not a single moment of pain or bad feeling. With brightly-mastered metal recordings, you can feel that overly bright sound but it's nowhere near what people normally say about HD800 (extremely unforgiving, unbearably bright with neutral amps, painful treble peak around 6khz, not enough bass etc.).
 
My pair sounds great with almost everything I throw on them... Female vocals started to sound really nice after some sort of burn-in (I guess I currently became a believer...). Electric guitars are still rather a bit analytic and overall signature is still significantly "heavier" with LCD-2 in comparison to HD800 but I must say that I actually prefer the bass of HD800 because it's very nicely defined as well but MUCH MORE separated and therefore a lot more real and enjoyable to my ears.
 
I must say that I now agree with David's opinion that these headphones are a NEUTRALITY KING. Yes, after burn-in, these definitely are very neutral... So "musicality" seekers should definitely reach for appropriate amplification.

 
I agree with you about the high frequencies. Although my model number is earlier than yours, I think the highs sound great on it (as does the entire sound spectrum really), I really haven't experienced any problems in that regard. Some of that may be due to the amp I'm using, supposedly NuForce designed the DAC-100 with the HD 800 in mind (which was part of the reason why I bought it).
 
Feb 21, 2013 at 2:30 PM Post #185 of 28,989
I'm back to joining team HD800. Have to wonder how long it'll be before they're in my hands though.
 
Feb 21, 2013 at 2:49 PM Post #187 of 28,989
Quote:
You go colorware?

Not this go around. If I like them and decide to keep 'em, I'll sell 'em and buy a ColorWare pair.
 
Feb 21, 2013 at 2:50 PM Post #188 of 28,989
Quote:
I'm back to joining team HD800. Have to wonder how long it'll be before they're in my hands though.

 
Really? What makes you wanting them once again?
smily_headphones1.gif

 
Feb 21, 2013 at 2:53 PM Post #189 of 28,989
Quote:
 
Really? What makes you wanting them once again?
smily_headphones1.gif

Anecdotal reports of newer pairs sounding different. 
 
Feb 21, 2013 at 2:54 PM Post #190 of 28,989
Ah, I figured when you said you had no idea when they would arrive that you had gone colorware.
 
Feb 21, 2013 at 2:56 PM Post #191 of 28,989
Quote:
Ah, I figured when you said you had no idea when they would arrive that you had gone colorware.

Where ever Jan ships from.
 
Feb 21, 2013 at 6:39 PM Post #193 of 28,989
Anyone else vouch for the BHA-1 and Concero DAC?
 
Feb 21, 2013 at 6:45 PM Post #194 of 28,989
So I think the BHA-1 will be my amp. What about the Eastern Electric MiniMax DAC+? Or would be getting a tube DAC with a SS amp not go so well?
 
Feb 21, 2013 at 6:58 PM Post #195 of 28,989
Dont know about the combo. A nearby friend has the Concero but as we will be attending a big meet in a week we won't be meeting up to test DACs in particular. There probably will not be opportunity to do it at the meet either. I have the show to run and a lot of things on my plate I want to try already. We may do a micro meet soon after but you probably don't want to wait that long. I have the Matrix X-Sabre coming in to try as well.
 

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