The (new) HD800 Impressions Thread
Aug 2, 2019 at 5:51 PM Post #27,707 of 28,976
Maybe sennheiser felt they reached the pinnacle of dynamic transducer design with the ring radiator driver in HD800, it would explain why this has been the longest gap between flagships, precisely 10 years and still counting! What could have been a planar side project might now well be the main focus and the next step to releasing a HD900.

Get your banks accounts ready folks I can see this one being in the 3k+ category...

(Speculation post)
 
Aug 2, 2019 at 9:45 PM Post #27,710 of 28,976
Does anyone run their HD800 balanced off a Little Dot MkIII SE?
It is my opinion that actually the specific model LD MKVIIIse amp was literally made for the HD800 headphone in mind.
The HD800 sounds more natural with slight more mid-range on it.

The HD800 also sounds great if not fantastic on speaker amps too (!).
 
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Aug 2, 2019 at 10:21 PM Post #27,711 of 28,976
How many headphones out there already caught up to the 10 years old Hd800 yet ? If not....sennheiser need not to worry. Most of the stuff out there is really just a rip off in comparison to what the Hd800s can really bring

The Utopia was first dynamic to actually catch up to very slightly surpass HD800 in speed, but not soundstage, and at what a higher price.

The Stax009 & raal ribbon also can catch & surpass HD800 in speed/resolve, but need special amps to do so. IMO, neither has shown to be a decisive keeper over an HD800.

IMO, only the Susvara has the combo of full range plus soundstage, plus speed/resolve to be a keeper, over an HD800.
(But at what price and amplification needs..)

A Diana Phi, Abyss, or empyrean would be a slight step down choice from a Susvara, but easier to drive instead of a Susvara and so a decent alternative, but still at a higher cost than an HD800, of course.

All the other new cans out now, (verite, stellia, ether2, etc.)
Do perform at higher level than normal, but still not catch up to the HD800 level resolve and at what a higher price.
Also, the unspoken closed cans that also perform above average in sound, and extremely good for price are Dennon 7200 & Sony MDR-Z7

So to sum up, Sennheiser still has nothing to worry about.
HD800 sets the bar for performance to price ratio.

All is IMO, so your observations may vary.
 
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Aug 3, 2019 at 4:59 AM Post #27,712 of 28,976
The Utopia was first dynamic to actually catch up to very slightly surpass HD800 in speed, but not soundstage, and at what a higher price.

The Stax009 & raal ribbon also can catch & surpass HD800 in speed/resolve, but need special amps to do so. IMO, neither has shown to be a decisive keeper over an HD800.

IMO, only the Susvara has the combo of full range plus soundstage, plus speed/resolve to be a keeper, over an HD800.
(But at what price and amplification needs..)

A Diana Phi, Abyss, or empyrean would be a slight step down choice from a Susvara, but easier to drive instead of a Susvara and so a decent alternative, but still at a higher cost than an HD800, of course.

All the other new cans out now, (verite, stellia, ether2, etc.)
Do perform at higher level than normal, but still not catch up to the HD800 level resolve and at what a higher price.
Also, the unspoken closed cans that also perform above average in sound, and extremely good in price are Dennon & Sony

So to sum up, Sennheiser still has nothing to worry about.
HD800 sets the bar for performance to price ratio.

All is IMO, so your observations may vary.

I could not agree more!

I do think the Susvara ae rather stellar but having done a back and forth between them and 800S in the dcS room at CanJam last weekend I made a comfortable decision that the price difference -for me and my budget- didn't quite make sense. Again from a personal preference perspective I m not a fan of the Utopia and it's tiny soundstage, nor can I handle the Abyss fit as it constantly makes me feel something is wrong with my headshape- and maybe there is lol-.
A Stax 009 though, hmmm, If I had £10K spare , I d love to set up a rig around those so bad!
To the point though, nothing under £1400 beats either the 800 or 800S. For now...

What I am itching to find out right now is how much I would prefer, if at all, the orginal 800 over my 800S. And if a cable under £350 or so would diminish the diffuse feel but not at the expense of soundstage size. If anyone has input please do share :)
 
Aug 3, 2019 at 11:01 AM Post #27,713 of 28,976
I've got a pair of HD800 on the way, and I'm really excited to try them out. I heard them years and years ago at 32 Ohm Audio in Portland, but I remember remarkably little about them. I'm curious to see how they'll compare to the HE-500. I remember people were comparing these two more than any similarly priced headphones, and at the time these were both somewhat flavors of the month. It'll be interesting to see which will stand the test of time better. I can pretty much guarantee I'll see the HE-500 as a better value, though.

I refuse to spend $350 on an official balanced cable, so I went for one of these surprisingly nice chi-fi cables. Of course, it got here before the headphones, because the headphones are being shipped via Fedex. I've decided I'm going to passive aggressively post pictures of the cable as though they were the headphones to entertain myself.
20190803_0747258mk9p.jpg

20190803_0749585mks0.jpg
 
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Aug 3, 2019 at 12:35 PM Post #27,714 of 28,976
@Kukuk , where did you buy that cable? I love the 4.4mm balanced connector for my Sony 1A!
 
Aug 3, 2019 at 1:41 PM Post #27,715 of 28,976
Aug 4, 2019 at 12:40 AM Post #27,716 of 28,976
I'm busting them out after two months away from them in Europe - really enjoying what they do with the Sibelius violin concerto. The Heifetz 1960 performance is quick, natural, and superbly rendered. If I had to go to any one headphone, HD800 might be it.
 
Aug 4, 2019 at 1:13 AM Post #27,717 of 28,976
My latest excursion is trying out a small speaker amp with the HD800. I hooked it up with a little speaker taps to Xlr adapter that I made. It imparted a lot of bass punch and smoothed out the hot treble without losing any sparkle, in line with what has been reported about speaker amps before. Rock, electronica and old albums sound quite good, and the overall sound is more musical, probably due to the added warmth.
 
Aug 4, 2019 at 8:57 AM Post #27,719 of 28,976
Would you mind to explain to us how to make the adapter?

You would need a four pin female xlr plug, solder wire to the pins, and connect banana plugs (or spades, or just leave the wire bare) to connect to an amp.
 
Aug 4, 2019 at 9:44 AM Post #27,720 of 28,976
I could not agree more!

I do think the Susvara ae rather stellar but having done a back and forth between them and 800S in the dcS room at CanJam last weekend I made a comfortable decision that the price difference -for me and my budget- didn't quite make sense. Again from a personal preference perspective I m not a fan of the Utopia and it's tiny soundstage, nor can I handle the Abyss fit as it constantly makes me feel something is wrong with my headshape- and maybe there is lol-.
A Stax 009 though, hmmm, If I had £10K spare , I d love to set up a rig around those so bad!
To the point though, nothing under £1400 beats either the 800 or 800S. For now...

What I am itching to find out right now is how much I would prefer, if at all, the orginal 800 over my 800S. And if a cable under £350 or so would diminish the diffuse feel but not at the expense of soundstage size. If anyone has input please do share :)

I’ve owned them both at the same time. I much prefer the 800S. It has more bass impact and a smoother top end. Everything else is the same.
 

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