The (new) HD800 Impressions Thread

[gimmeheadroom]

Any tips on the EQ I could use? I mostly use Spotify, but I do have some lossless stuff in FooBar.

I lower the area between 6 and 10 KHz with a -3 dB shelf (maybe a bit more depending on what I'm listening to) and it's enough to tame Joni Mitchell. Other than some female vocals I don't EQ my 800s (plural, not S) at all

 

[cscales]

I know about 10 hd800 owner irl half of them have the cardas clear or one of the moon audio cables so im just kinda curious.

Most of my time with my hd800 has been Tidal HiFi>Mojo/Hugo>silver dragon>hd800SDR because historically I prefer a portable set up. All along I've had a nice tube amp available but only lately have I started to use it as part of a bedroom setup: Tidal>Hugo>Cayin Ha1a+Expensive Old Mullards>Silver Dragon>hd800SDR.

I never did use my stock cable much and only lately, after owning the hd800 for 5 years, have I become interested in testing the difference between my 2 cables.

All the changes I've been making lately are to max out my hd800 experience. I've learned 2 things:

First, the Moon cable does improve the experience. It's worth the improvement at the used price I payed but I'm not sure I would pay retail because...

...adding the tube amp made a bigger difference. This is the second thing I learned. If I had to start over with building a system around the hd800 I would concentrate on the amp/dac/tubes part first.

The stock cable sounds fine to me. Even though I enjoy what the dragon adds, when I put it away for awhile my ears "forget" and become accustomed to the stock cable.

**Something I read recently about cables: the higher the quality of the gear, the more discernable the difference between cables. I agree.

The difference between stock and silver dragon is greater when Hugo is part of the chain. When I use ONLY the Cayin, the difference is less noticeable.

As for what exactly is different between cables, I couldn't tell you precisely. I decided early on in my headphone journey that I was simply going to enjoy the music rather than analyze. Therefore, all I can say, using songs I know well as a reference, is that I "enjoy" the songs more with the silver dragon. Again, I'm undecided if the added enjoyment is worth the retail price. 5 years ago I paid $150 used. Retail today is $400. Ouch. I think I would rather hunt some nice tubes, instead.

BTW, I ended up learning all of the above because I wanted a Focal Utopia. After hearing the Utopia, it became a bit of a unicorn for me. Nice to dream about but not very realistic. Instead I turned to maxing out my hd800 setup. I have no regrets. The hd800 is truly endgame worthy for me because it scales up so nicely and in such a noticeable way as I add to or alter the chain.

I'm happy with what I've got and my only question is: do I like the silver dragon because it's a higher quality cable or because I like the silver cable vs the stock copper? Hmmm.....

 

[networkn]

I have a number of Amp's I think I'll go back and compare a couple back to back with this new one. I don't recall the same sibilence with the others but perhaps I'm being romantic. Amps I have include Crack Amp with Speedball and o2 amp.

 

[johnjen]

The crack amp and 800's are usually a good pairing.

JJ

 

[Shahrose]

Most of my time with my hd800 has been Tidal HiFi>Mojo/Hugo>silver dragon>hd800SDR because historically I prefer a portable set up. All along I've had a nice tube amp available but only lately have I started to use it as part of a bedroom setup: Tidal>Hugo>Cayin Ha1a+Expensive Old Mullards>Silver Dragon>hd800SDR.

I never did use my stock cable much and only lately, after owning the hd800 for 5 years, have I become interested in testing the difference between my 2 cables.

All the changes I've been making lately are to max out my hd800 experience. I've learned 2 things:

First, the Moon cable does improve the experience. It's worth the improvement at the used price I payed but I'm not sure I would pay retail because...

...adding the tube amp made a bigger difference. This is the second thing I learned. If I had to start over with building a system around the hd800 I would concentrate on the amp/dac/tubes part first.

The stock cable sounds fine to me. Even though I enjoy what the dragon adds, when I put it away for awhile my ears "forget" and become accustomed to the stock cable.

**Something I read recently about cables: the higher the quality of the gear, the more discernable the difference between cables. I agree.

The difference between stock and silver dragon is greater when Hugo is part of the chain. When I use ONLY the Cayin, the difference is less noticeable.

As for what exactly is different between cables, I couldn't tell you precisely. I decided early on in my headphone journey that I was simply going to enjoy the music rather than analyze. Therefore, all I can say, using songs I know well as a reference, is that I "enjoy" the songs more with the silver dragon. Again, I'm undecided if the added enjoyment is worth the retail price. 5 years ago I paid $150 used. Retail today is $400. Ouch. I think I would rather hunt some nice tubes, instead.

BTW, I ended up learning all of the above because I wanted a Focal Utopia. After hearing the Utopia, it became a bit of a unicorn for me. Nice to dream about but not very realistic. Instead I turned to maxing out my hd800 setup. I have no regrets. The hd800 is truly endgame worthy for me because it scales up so nicely and in such a noticeable way as I add to or alter the chain.

I'm happy with what I've got and my only question is: do I like the silver dragon because it's a higher quality cable or because I like the silver cable vs the stock copper? Hmmm.....

Good insight, I agree. I have the the Silver Dragon for the HD800s. It made the imaging sharper, clearer and more upfront (a good thing considering the stock HD800 can sound distant/uninvolving at times). The bass tightened up and impact became noticeably more prominent. Other than that, I'd say there was a slight smoothening of the peaky treble but without actually a reduction in treble quantity. I've often noticed this effect with good silver cables (owned many).

Overall, in my setup, the original HD800 with a SD cable is not brow-beaten by any of my other cans. In certain areas, the HD800 is better. Amazing value in the high-end world.

 

[gimmeheadroom]

I'm listening to my 800s tonight. Haven't heard them for a while and really enjoying them!

 

[twiceboss]

I want to share an almost accurate warmth DF tuning for HD800 P.equalizer, it works best so far with my cheap ES100 as it is meatier but airy at the same time.

Here is the setup:
Hz/Gain/Q
1. 35/3.5/0.71 Low Shelf
2. 220/1/0.6 Peak
3. 1150/-0.5/3 Peak
4. 1800/3/1.4 Peak
5. 2950/-3/3 Peak
6. 3500/1.7/3 Peak
7. 5750/-8.9/3.5 Peak
8. 7930/-6.4/7 Peak
9. 11000/-4/5 Peak
10. 13000/-3/0.71 High shelf

Let me know what's your take on this. Crank that volume and hear those details with superb imaging and soundstage without any peak.

 

[descloud]

I want to share an almost accurate warmth DF tuning for HD800 P.equalizer, it works best so far with my cheap ES100 as it is meatier but airy at the same time.

Here is the setup:
Hz/Gain/Q
1. 35/3.5/0.71 Low Shelf
2. 220/1/0.6 Peak
3. 1150/-0.5/3 Peak
4. 1800/3/1.4 Peak
5. 2950/-3/3 Peak
6. 3500/1.7/3 Peak
7. 5750/-8.9/3.5 Peak
8. 7930/-6.4/7 Peak
9. 11000/-4/5 Peak
10. 13000/-3/0.71 High shelf

Let me know what's your take on this. Crank that volume and hear those details with superb imaging and soundstage without any peak.

On a personal note, I find this too warm on the HD800 Probably good for those looking for this particular type of tonality.

 

[twiceboss]

On a personal note, I find this too warm on the HD800 Probably good for those looking for this particular type of tonality.

Yes, this is warmth DF. Just reduce the gain on number 2 to thin the note.

 

[descloud]

Yes, this is warmth DF. Just reduce the gain on number 2 to thin the note.

Actually the huge negative gains at number 8 and 9 are the factors to my ears that make it too dark for my ears

 

[GraveNoX]

I prefer the HD800 stock sound without EQ but 1 month ago I discovered a new way to apply EQ for people who want EQ:
I install Equalizer APO, I go to install folder and create desktop shortcuts for config folder, for Editor.exe, for config.txt, for Configurator.exe
On desktop I create a new file called config2.txt where I put all the entries as a backup if I install audio/video drivers in the future, the config.txt might be reset and you need to copy-paste from config2.txt into config.txt.
On desktop I create a folder Graphic_EQ for backup of all txt files.
I go to https://github.com/jaakkopasanen/AutoEq/tree/master/results and find my headphone, then I choose Graphic EQ, I create a txt file on desktop and copy-paste the very long row of numbers (it's 127 steps of EQ). Then rename the file to HD800_Oratory_Sample1.txt
Into config.txt I write # Include: HD800_Oratory_Sample1.txt and then put HD800_Oratory_Sample1.txt into config and Graphic_EQ folders.
I open Editor.exe and on down left corner I set resolution to maximum of 8388608.
I click on an EQ row and click on black power button to activate the EQ.
When using multiple rows, make sure to activate 2 EQ lines and then deactivate the previous one. If you deactivate 1 EQ, the preamp will be back to 0 db so it may become too loud when switching EQs around.
You can close Editor.exe at any time, you can modify .txt files without Editor.exe, the changes will be loaded instantly after saving .txt file. Actually you don't need Editor.exe anymore to enable/disable filters, just use config.txt and then save. Remove # in front of a line to enable that specific .txt file.

The sound won't become rolled off like using 10 band EQ and fatigue won't be an issue anymore. Also the sound will be more detailed because you can listen louder.

It made wonders on my L700 and on DT1990.

 

[rmx36]

Anyone ever find out how to touch up the paint on the HD800? I have some small scratches on them and I know that someone discovered how to fix this a while back

 

[gLer]

Anyone ever find out how to touch up the paint on the HD800? I have some small scratches on them and I know that someone discovered how to fix this a while back

You can take it apart and respray it. There's a good video on YouTube (search 'turn your HD800 into an HD800s'). Personally I just ordered replacement plastic parts from Sennheiser and had them refit them for me. Wasn't exorbitant and my HD800 look like new.

 

[Thenewguy007]

You can take it apart and respray it. There's a good video on YouTube (search 'turn your HD800 into an HD800s'). Personally I just ordered replacement plastic parts from Sennheiser and had them refit them for me. Wasn't exorbitant and my HD800 look like new.

Do they even still sell parts for the HD800?

 

[gimmeheadroom]

Do they even still sell parts for the HD800?

The HD 800S is pretty much identical so most of the parts should be available even if they had no 800 parts left, which seems unlikely.