[gimmeheadroom]

I just received my HD800. I'm not 100% sure where people are getting this 6khz peak fatigue from. I don't even think I wanna SDR mod this. The bass is clean and fast.
I originally got the HD820 because my original purchase of HD800s took forever to get to me and they just ended up providing me the HD820 instead.

After 4+ months of reading about the HD800 having a peak and fatiguing, I don't really see where people get how it is OVERWHELMINGLY terrible to the point where don't like it. I even tested with really high pitch 8-bit music to most Nintendo game soundtracks and don't hear it. I can kind of see on some songs it may be harsh for some people but honestly, when I first got my HD820, the treble on those were more piercing than my HD800.

I played both from my SMSL M200 + SMSL SP200 and I enjoy the HD800 better, granted my dog isn't freaking out then I swap to HD820.

Is there something wrong with me?

EDIT: I also thought I was gonna have to Tube these but I don't think I need to. Just wow.

It is not overwhelmingly terrible or it would never have developed such a fanbase and critical acclaim. It is just more resolving and sometimes very clinical compared to more generally musical headphones. And I think the balance and smoothness (well, aside from the treble issue) throws some people off. I have read many complaints that the 800s don't have bass. That's just nuts. Listen to some cello or stand-up bass on a pair of 800s and it sounds exactly like it should.

There is a treble spike but depending on your source material and ears it may or may not bother you. I can happily listen to most music I would choose to listen to on 800s (namely classical orchestral, big band jazz, some acoustic) without EQ just fine. On the other hand Joni Mitchell out of my 800s is like icicles through my brain without reducing the 6-10 KHz area somewhat.

If you have a good OTL amp or other appropriate tube amp it will likely sound a lot better than it does on your SMSL gear. Not because the treble is affected, but that the kind of power tube amps provide drives 300 ohm Sennheisers much better than usual.

 

[ruinedx]

Um, perhaps it's just a syntax discrepancy, but "the ear/brain hears open backs differently than closed backs" is incorrect.
The the ear/brain hears open backs in the same way as closed backs, but the acoustic pressure presented will be different, which is true for every HP.

And as for "There is obviously more sound pressure with a closed back" again I would disagree since a driver firing into a cavity that is 'closed' will have a 'harder' time delivering an acoustic pressure wave than an open cavity.
This can be compared to a sealed speaker vs a ported speaker and the relative efficiency differences between them.

Just my 2¢

JJ

Regardless how hard the driver needs to work, air being moved in a sealed/partially sealed cavity in which your eardrum is a part of should create more pressure on your eardrum than air being moved in a cavity that is not sealed - as in the unsealed cavity the sound pressure has better means to escape. And yeah your first point is just semantics.

 

[johnjen]

Um, a sealed cavity acts like an air pressure resistor, which is why sealed cavities are less efficient, but more importantly it will reduce the peak acoustic pressure 'non-linearly', as the pressure rises, and unevenly between a positive vs negative pressure wave, at that.
And it affects the low freq's more so than higher freq's due to the excursion differences.

And while you can crank up the volume to overcome the drop in efficiency, it means greater excursion is applied, and so the greater the deformation of the peak of the waveform will be.

And while the entire cavity will build pressure as you describe, it's the dynamic character of the pressure wave not the absolute pressure that gives us the musical information (waveform shape which includes the waveform peak etc, along with all of it's harmonics which also have their own peaks).

Just a few more thoughts to ponder…

JJ

 

[bagwell359]

Back to the mundane. I'm running down a used one - you know driven by an old lady to a house of worship once a week. Also some sort of aftermarket cable, but not bleeding edge technology/cost. What's the range for that sort of an HD-800?

Thanks

EDIT: The one I was watching went for $820ish. Impressive given the possible years on it. How come everyone says they were "seldom used". It's essentially a meaningless phrase.

 

[gimmeheadroom]

Back to the mundane. I'm running down a used one - you know driven by an old lady to a house of worship once a week. Also some sort of aftermarket cable, but not bleeding edge technology/cost. What's the range for that sort of an HD-800?

Thanks

I don't know but I would recommend customcans for the cable. I read that you did buy at least one from them in the past.

 

[bagwell359]

I don't know but I would recommend customcans for the cable. I read that you did buy at least one from them in the past.

I have two of them so far, fine wires for cheap.

 

[Nooborghini]

What would you guys recommend to grab a tube amp for the HD800?
I currently have the Little Dot Mk 2 w/ Mullard CV4010.

Was thinking either WA22 or Little Dot MK VIII SE.
Any other recommendations?

I enjoy them more on my SMSL SP200 more than my LD MK2 currently

 

[gimmeheadroom]

The WA2 would be better for the Sennheiser 800 than the WA22. What other headphones do you have?

If you like the 800s with a THX amp then maybe consider the Benchmark HPA-4?

 

[S Crowther]

The WA2 would be better for the Sennheiser 800 than the WA22. What other headphones do you have?

If you like the 800s with a THX amp then maybe consider the Benchmark HPA-4?

The WA2 would be better for the Sennheiser 800 than the WA22. What other headphones do you have?

If you like the 800s with a THX amp then maybe consider the Benchmark HPA-4?

What would you guys recommend to grab a tube amp for the HD800?
I currently have the Little Dot Mk 2 w/ Mullard CV4010.

Was thinking either WA22 or Little Dot MK VIII SE.
Any other recommendations?

I enjoy them more on my SMSL SP200 more than my LD MK2 currently

I am happy with the Xduoo TA-20 hybrid and RCA Black Plates 1950 tubes with the HD800s.

 

[Nooborghini]

The WA2 would be better for the Sennheiser 800 than the WA22. What other headphones do you have?

If you like the 800s with a THX amp then maybe consider the Benchmark HPA-4?

I currently only have the HD820 and the HD6XX that I often drive.
I wanted a balanced Tube amp, what would make the WA2 more special over the 22?

Thank you for your recommendation, I will look into that one as well.

I am happy with the Xduoo TA-20 hybrid and RCA Black Plates 1950 tubes with the HD800s.

Thank you for your recommendation, I will look into that one as well.
How does it sound?

 

[gimmeheadroom]

I currently only have the HD820 and the HD6XX that I often drive.
I wanted a balanced Tube amp, what would make the WA2 more special over the 22?

Thank you for your recommendation, I will look into that one as well.



Thank you for your recommendation, I will look into that one as well.
How does it sound?

The WA2 is a better impedance match for 300 ohm Sennheisers. If you ask Woo they will tell you the WA2 is better than the WA22 for those cans.

 

[Nooborghini]

The WA2 is a better impedance match for 300 ohm Sennheisers. If you ask Woo they will tell you the WA2 is better than the WA22 for those cans.

Ahhh okay thank you very much for that clarification.
Have you heard any good things about the Little dot Mk8?
I was hoping to have a balanced tube amp as I have almost everything balanced in the first place

 

[S Crowther]

See my reply below

 

[S Crowther]

You ask how the Xduoo TA-20 sounds.
In my system using the stock balanced cable and fed from Terminator DAC it sounds naturally warm with a fuller bass while maintaining the clarity and expansion of the treble.
But everyone hears differently, sound is highly subjective as everyone’s brain interprets the sound waves coming into the ears a little differently and we never “hear” the sounds only the brain’s interpretation of them.

 

[gimmeheadroom]

Ahhh okay thank you very much for that clarification.
Have you heard any good things about the Little dot Mk8?
I was hoping to have a balanced tube amp as I have almost everything balanced in the first place

No, I'm sorry I don't know anything about Little Dot. I'm sure somebody here does. You can ask in the fullsize amps section. And I think there is also a separate thread here for amps for HD 800.