The (new) HD800 Impressions Thread

[Rozenberg]

Eh but cleaning does make you feel better.

 

[ColtMrFire]

  Nice case of autosuggestion 

 
Yes, placebo is a real thing in audio.  One of the tricks is to know yourself well enough to know when you could be suffering from it.  I've had enough experience with placebo to know the difference pretty well.  Usually placebo with me is more vague... I will going back and forth wondering if I'm imagining it.  And even then it may not be placebo.  When the difference is real, it tends to be unquestionable, I don't go back and forth wondering, I just know because it is so obvious.
 
At any rate, it matters little since there is no truth beyond measurable data in audio.  If you can't measure a change, it shouldn't exist, but we all know it is more complicated than that.

 

[MattTCG]

  I'm sort of thinking about sending my HD800 in for individual calibration, just to see the difference having it done with my own HD800 would make (s opposed to the average of 10 HD800s).  If I do that, another consideration is having the calibration done with the SDR mod in.  This would allow me to have the natural balance of the SDR mod when I'm not able to use sonarworks (source other than my laptop) but still get the benefit of sonarworks.  Anybody done this?

I would have already done it but the shipping cost to Latvia is pretty steep. Let me know if you want to send a box with multiple headphones and share the shipping cost.

 

[bigfatpaulie]

If anyone is considering hardwiring their HD800's...  Here's how.

 

[ColtMrFire]

Man, poor recordings sound absolutely abysmal...
 
Even stuff I thought was well mastered using my T90s (which are very revealing), turn out to have flaws I previously could not hear.  Such as Duke Ellington's 'Blues in Orbit'... always thought it sounded amazing, and it does, but it is not perfectly mic'd and you can hear it now.  It makes enjoying it a little harder now.
 
The gap between listenable and unlistenable shrinks even further...

 
 
The upside is well mastered stuff I thought sounded great on the T90s sound exponentially better, like Frank Sinatra's 2 Disc 'Best Of'.  I am still rediscovering my music collection and it is full of surprises.  
 
The HD800 is totally unforgiving, really puts a microscope on the entire mastering process.  And anything less than perfect will be shoved in your face.  I may have to start doing some serious detective work to track down the best masters of recordings now...

 

[MattTCG]

  Man, poor recordings sound absolutely abysmal...
 
Even stuff I thought was well mastered using my T90s (which are very revealing), turn out to have flaws I previously could not hear.  Such as Duke Ellington's 'Blues in Orbit'... always thought it sounded amazing, and it does, but it is not perfectly mic'd and you can hear it now.  It makes enjoying it a little harder now.
 
The gap between listenable and unlistenable shrinks even further...

 
 
The upside is well mastered stuff I thought sounded great on the T90s sound exponentially better, like Frank Sinatra's 2 Disc 'Best Of'.  I am still rediscovering my music collection and it is full of surprises.  
 
The HD800 is totally unforgiving, really puts a microscope on the entire mastering process.  And anything less than perfect will be shoved in your face.  I may have to start doing some serious detective work to track down the best masters of recordings now...

 
This is pretty much right on the mark. The hd800 is a truth teller, for better or worse. Just depends on whether or not you want to hear the truth. 
 
I find it's best to keep another more forgiving option around to listen to lesser recorded material. 

 

[Hansotek]

If anyone is looking for a decently-priced amp for the HD800, I just noticed the Arist Audio Heron 5 is on MassDrop for the lowest price I've ever seen it: $699 and to drops to $599 if they sell five.

I heard this one at CanJam SoCal, and it is pretty impressive with the HD800. Spacious, smooth and well controlled. A good piece for sure. At either price it's a steal.

Only 8 hours left on the drop, but that price is very nice for the performance level. Cheers!

 

[FLTWS]

  Man, poor recordings sound absolutely abysmal...
 
...

 
And that's why I have several different headphones, one size will never fit all. My position; source material is the weakest link in my chain with few exceptions and unfortunately it comes at the front end. The second weakest is always the transducer.

 

[MattTCG]

If anyone is looking for a decently-priced amp for the HD800, I just noticed the Arist Audio Heron 5 is on MassDrop for the lowest price I've ever seen it: $699 and to drops to $599 if they sell five.

I heard this one at CanJam SoCal, and it is pretty impressive with the HD800. Spacious, smooth and well controlled. A good piece for sure. At either price it's a steal.

Only 8 hours left on the drop, but that price is very nice for the performance level. Cheers!

 +1 I'm actually tempted after hearing it at a meet. 

 

[ColtMrFire]

My poor T90, sitting in the corner feeling neglected.  I've barely looked at it since I got the 800.  Probably going to sell it and put the money toward the Gumby.

 

[MattTCG]

  My poor T90, sitting in the corner feeling neglected.  I've barely looked at it since I got the 800.  Probably going to sell it and put the money toward the Gumby.

 
That would be a good call. I love my Gumby  The warmer tone plays better to the hd800 than yggy for my preferences. 

 

[ColtMrFire]

Yes I hear Gumby is warm, with Bimby being warmer still.  Mimby is the most neutral of the Schiit multibit DACs.  I got to demo Yggy through my Jotunheim and it was definitely warmer than my Mimby by a good amount.  Warmer and more dramatic/flamboyant, more resolution, slam, depth, etc... differences were subtle though which is amazing considering the $2K price difference between the two.  Mimby is a game changer.  
 
Still, if I had the money I would spring for Yggy no question and be done with DACs.  But Gumby is more affordable.  I would love to demo it.

 

[MattTCG]

I just took an hour or so to go through some of my favorite blues albums. On tap tonight...John Lee Hooker "Hooker n Heat." And then one of my all time favorites Muddy Waters "Folk Singer." 
 
Hooker n Heat is a real toe tapper. I can't stop from the head waggle when listening to this one. John Lee can just groove his @ss off and this live performance is laid open with the 800 to enjoy every morsel. It's not the best recording and sometimes even a little rough, but the engagement factor is off the charts. 
 
And then there is Folk Singer. I have listened to this album in it's many iterations and remasters for many, many years. It is, IMO, one of the finest recordings of all time. If the blues genre ever had it's perfect day, this has to be it. The quality of the recording is so good it's spooky when listening with the hd800. You feel as if you've snuck in the back door of the recording booth and that you're there as Muddy is laying down the tracks. The minutiae of fine detail that resonate from that man's guitar is other worldly. The room that this album was recorded in was not cavernous by any means. But you can make out the stage with wonderful clarity. 
 
Folk Singer on the hd800 with good upstream gear is breathtaking in it's reproduced form. And cathartic for the audiophile who chases the unobtainable promised land in this hobby. 

 

[bigfatpaulie]

  I just took an hour or so to go through some of my favorite blues albums. On tap tonight...John Lee Hooker "Hooker n Heat." And then one of my all time favorites Muddy Waters "Folk Singer." 
 
Hooker n Heat is a real toe tapper. I can't stop from the head waggle when listening to this one. John Lee can just groove his @ss off and this live performance is laid open with the 800 to enjoy every morsel. It's not the best recording and sometimes even a little rough, but the engagement factor is off the charts. 
 
And then there is Folk Singer. I have listened to this album in it's many iterations and remasters for many, many years. It is, IMO, one of the finest recordings of all time. If the blues genre ever had it's perfect day, this has to be it. The quality of the recording is so good it's spooky when listening with the hd800. You feel as if you've snuck in the back door of the recording booth and that you're there as Muddy is laying down the tracks. The minutiae of fine detail that resonate from that man's guitar is other worldly. The room that this album was recorded in was not cavernous by any means. But you can make out the stage with wonderful clarity. 
 
Folk Singer on the hd800 with good upstream gear is breathtaking in it's reproduced form. And cathartic for the audiophile who chases the unobtainable promised land in this hobby. 

 
I tip my hat to your taste in blues.  Some of the best right there!

 

[fjrabon]

I just took an hour or so to go through some of my favorite blues albums. On tap tonight...John Lee Hooker "Hooker n Heat." And then one of my all time favorites Muddy Waters "Folk Singer." 

Hooker n Heat is a real toe tapper. I can't stop from the head waggle when listening to this one. John Lee can just groove his @ss off and this live performance is laid open with the 800 to enjoy every morsel. It's not the best recording and sometimes even a little rough, but the engagement factor is off the charts. 

And then there is Folk Singer. I have listened to this album in it's many iterations and remasters for many, many years. It is, IMO, one of the finest recordings of all time. If the blues genre ever had it's perfect day, this has to be it. The quality of the recording is so good it's spooky when listening with the hd800. You feel as if you've snuck in the back door of the recording booth and that you're there as Muddy is laying down the tracks. The minutiae of fine detail that resonate from that man's guitar is other worldly. The room that this album was recorded in was not cavernous by any means. But you can make out the stage with wonderful clarity. 

Folk Singer on the hd800 with good upstream gear is breathtaking in it's reproduced form. And cathartic for the audiophile who chases the unobtainable promised land in this hobby. 

This thread has been so bizarre lately. Yesterday I read mrcoltfire's post about Radiohead right as I'm listening to Kid A. Today I read Matt's post about Folk Singer right as I'm listening to it. Great album to point out details with the HD800. Hearing muddy's metal slide grind against the strings independent of the actual note being played is fun. And get that kick pedal some WD40, lol. You can also hear muddy's fingertips snap off the string when he played in that album. There's a couple of places where the ribbon mic distorts, but luckily ribbon mic distortion is euphonic most of the time.