[jerhowe]

I was able to listen to the 800S and Clear MG side by side without EQ. The 800S sounded warm from the upper mid-recession. Quite full and easy going actually! Clear MG sounded more neutral in the mids but was definitely subdued up top and felt very flat for that reason. I listened to the Utopia's next and it was like a veil was lifted! There was some noticeable peakiness though.

I've just always wondered how much EQ would help with bringing out transient tactility in the 800. I've found out I don't really care that much about low end punch, but do care a lot about tactile drum kits, transient guitar strumming, and feeling the attack of the hammer hitting the strings on a piano. When I tried the LCD-X next to all the before-mentioned headphones, it had the most tactility up top beside the Utopia. But it didn't really get much better with EQ as I thought it would.

 

[longbowbbs]

I never worry about EQ. If it works for you then great. The Utopias are a great pair of cans. I found mine needed some break in time before the highs smoothed out.

 

[flaxton]

I never worry about EQ. If it works for you then great. The Utopias are a great pair of cans. I found mine needed some break in time before the highs smoothed out.

My Elear went dead in the left ear a few weeks ago. Only had them three years.

 

[gimmeheadroom]

Side note: I just wish Topping products were more reliable... I've had two DX7 Pro DAC/amp units die in the same manner. It starts with no audio or being unable to adjust the volume via the knob or remote, and when you turn the unit off, it will no longer turn back on. My original DX7 Pro was repaired under warranty and is on the way back to me, but a second-hand unit I purchased now needs the same repair. I'm highly unlikely to buy another Topping product based on this experience.

Topping and Sennheiser go together like cats and maple trees. Get a Violectric amp if you like solid state, or a mid-range or better tube OTL amp, and you'll see what the 800/800 S are capable of.

 

[blokosss]

How is the tactility of percussive attacks on the hd800?
I have had the 600's for many years (8?) and have recently been trying various planar headphones like the Ananda and LCD-X. One thing I've been bothered by is no matter how I EQ these planars, they never produce the same tactility of symbols, guitar strumming, and other high frequency transients as the ole HD600. On the 600's I really get that sense of physicality and the attacks really jump out from the texture before subsiding down. While on Planars they always feel stuck behind other instruments.
Would the HD800 improve on the 600 soundstage while maintaining that sense of tactility given they would be EQ'd?

I tried the 800S once, but couldn't mess with EQ. The midrange dip really blunted things. Curious to hear thoughts on how they respond after EQ

I have HD800, and Clear OG + HD600 to compare.
Nothing new but here's my opinion :
- HD800 well equed is, to me, a global step-up from HD600, and has enough bass and slam for my taste, at the sacrifice of ~7db of volume. I use this profile + Foobar + Convolution plugin + topping A90 (balanced)-D90.
HD800 has good precision in the bass registry, well controled and separated from the mids.
HD800 is able to produce sub-bass, but not much quantity.
HD800, although very detailled, will feel more distant than HD600, so tactility and strumming that you mentioned will be less obvious.
- HD600 is more alive, perfect for music focused on midrange (I love voices and classical guitar with these), but no subbass & high distorsion of bass < 100Hz at high volume.
- Clear OG has way more grunt and rumble, but it suffers from clipping at high voume.
Clear OG remains a better choice for any kind of music, and my pick if I had to take only one.

 

[AgentXXL]

Topping and Sennheiser go together like cats and maple trees. Get a Violectric amp if you like solid state, or a mid-range or better tube OTL amp, and you'll see what the 800/800 S are capable of.

My cats have no aversion to maple trees - they climb them as much as they do any other tree. I also don't read German - Violectric's website doesn't have all pages available in English and Google Translate failed miserably. Regardless, Violectric is out of my budget so I didn't want to waste time finding reviews/specs in English.

I'm not the only HD800 owner that thinks they pair very well with the Topping A90. The DX7 Pro is only being used as a DAC now, using its balanced XLR outputs to connect to the A90. I've tried tube amps with the HD800 at some past local meets but I didn't really find them 'better'. Part of that is meets are too limited in time for a more thorough evaluation.

My initial DX7 Pro unit has returned from repair and so far it's working fine. I did talk to the Topping support folks and rather than me sending the 2nd failed unit back to them for repair, they were willing to send me a couple of the MCU controllers that have been the cause of the fault for units with the same type of failure. I haven't been able to attempt the repair yet as it's a surface mount part and the hotplate on my rework station needs to be repaired 1st.

It's still unlikely that I'll buy another Topping product, but I hope the current ones I own last me at least another 5 years or so. By then I'll have replenished the 'toy' funds set aside for my next purchase.

 

[kingoftown1]

When I re-joined the hobby after nearly 10 years away and got the HD800 I'd always used to want, the a90 nearly sent me right back out. It was so congested & muddled. I'm so glad I was able to sell it (before its value tanked), and explore other options.

 

[gimmeheadroom]

My cats have no aversion to maple trees - they climb them as much as they do any other tree. I also don't read German - Violectric's website doesn't have all pages available in English and Google Translate failed miserably. Regardless, Violectric is out of my budget so I didn't want to waste time finding reviews/specs in English.

I'm not the only HD800 owner that thinks they pair very well with the Topping A90. The DX7 Pro is only being used as a DAC now, using its balanced XLR outputs to connect to the A90. I've tried tube amps with the HD800 at some past local meets but I didn't really find them 'better'. Part of that is meets are too limited in time for a more thorough evaluation.

My initial DX7 Pro unit has returned from repair and so far it's working fine. I did talk to the Topping support folks and rather than me sending the 2nd failed unit back to them for repair, they were willing to send me a couple of the MCU controllers that have been the cause of the fault for units with the same type of failure. I haven't been able to attempt the repair yet as it's a surface mount part and the hotplate on my rework station needs to be repaired 1st.

It's still unlikely that I'll buy another Topping product, but I hope the current ones I own last me at least another 5 years or so. By then I'll have replenished the 'toy' funds set aside for my next purchase.

Power Holdings is the American distributor and they have product fact sheets and manuals for all the current Violectric offerings in English.

Other A90 owners think it pairs well? Did they try anything else?

 

[roskodan]

Really, one must go with some pretty different options to feel a real difference between amps. Think from a Topping to a juicy Audio-gd or tube amp. Topping vs Violectric or Schiit, once there is enough power, the biggest difference is a nice bass boost with a low shelf PEQ. I can live with the HD800 stock out of the box tuning... for most music at least.

 

[gimmeheadroom]

On the other hand since the HD 800 is so revealing, I find it more sensitive to amping than the HD 600 for example. The HD 600 sounded great out of a Valhalla 2, but the HD 800 revealed a lot of midrange slop. Seems to me the point of the HD 800 is to pick up a lot of detail at the expense of some coldness. So the whole chain is important and it doesn't make sense to spend the money for these headphones and then pair them with junk commodity gear. You will never regret buying the best.

 

[AgentXXL]

When I re-joined the hobby after nearly 10 years away and got the HD800 I'd always used to want, the a90 nearly sent me right back out. It was so congested & muddled. I'm so glad I was able to sell it (before its value tanked), and explore other options.

When I 1st bought my HD800 I ended up going with the Ray Samuels Audio 'The Intruder'. While it did a fair job of powering the HD800, it still felt lacking to me. I tried various amps over the years from Fiio to Bryston and for my needs and hearing, the mid-fi products were sufficient. I have modded my HD800 with the SuperDupont Resonator mod and am very happy with the results from it and the Topping DAC/Amp combo. Each of us is unique in our ear anatomy and our neural processing, so what sounds great to me might not to others.

Power Holdings is the American distributor and they have product fact sheets and manuals for all the current Violectric offerings in English.

Other A90 owners think it pairs well? Did they try anything else?

I'm sure some have done the same as me, evaluating other DAC/Amps when we can. I would probably have gone with a Burson Conductor had I not become one of the victims of the LH Labs fiasco with over $6300 US in non-delivered product, but I'm using it as a learning moment. Just because a unit measures better doesn't mean I'd be able to tell the difference. This is especially true now that I'm on disability income, so I found something I was happy with in the Topping combo.

 

[jerhowe]

Well, after being consistently irked by various planars (Ananda and LCD-X) I will be trying the HD800. I tried the S before and found it to be too warm to warrant the extra cost (and I plan to EQ anyways)

Planar negatives from my experience:
Uneven decay - Higher frequencies decay much faster than low frequencies, causing a dry sound that's flat and unnatural. This cannot be EQ'd. If you look at waterfall plots for planar vs dynamic headphones you'll see this behavior.
Unnatural dynamics - This is only perceptible when listening to classical, jazz, or other forms of music with sections of music that vary between quiet and loud. When things get really loud, sounds get squashed, like there isn't any room left. Loud starts to sound compressed with missing nuance. With dynamic headphones or speakers, loud is just louder. I thought this was a limitation of my amp, but after trying totl amps, I still hear this.

Yes they can have low distortion bass, but bass quality doesn't make up for these annoyances to me, especially the decay that can't be EQ'd out.
I sincerely hope this is the one for me. Where I dont feel the need to climb any higher and can instead play around with amps (especially tubes)

 

[gimmeheadroom]

Well, after being consistently irked by various planars (Ananda and LCD-X) I will be trying the HD800. I tried the S before and found it to be too warm to warrant the extra cost (and I plan to EQ anyways)

Planar negatives from my experience:
Uneven decay - Higher frequencies decay much faster than low frequencies, causing a dry sound that's flat and unnatural. This cannot be EQ'd. If you look at waterfall plots for planar vs dynamic headphones you'll see this behavior.
Unnatural dynamics - This is only perceptible when listening to classical, jazz, or other forms of music with sections of music that vary between quiet and loud. When things get really loud, sounds get squashed, like there isn't any room left. Loud starts to sound compressed with missing nuance. With dynamic headphones or speakers, loud is just louder. I thought this was a limitation of my amp, but after trying totl amps, I still hear this.

Yes they can have low distortion bass, but bass quality doesn't make up for these annoyances to me, especially the decay that can't be EQ'd out.
I sincerely hope this is the one for me. Where I dont feel the need to climb any higher and can instead play around with amps (especially tubes)

You could take a listen to the LCD-3F. I listen to 90% or more jazz, and the set I have is fast and the timbre is very accurate.

I mostly agree with what you said in general, but there are numerous exceptions.

 

[trollbearpig]

Can MacBook Pro power the HD 800s ?_? Already have a full stack dac/amp but looking for some cans that are portable

 

[gimmeheadroom]

Can MacBook Pro power the HD 800s ?_? Already have a full stack dac/amp but looking for some cans that are portable

You might be able to get sufficient volume but you will not hear what they're capable of.

HD 800s are not in the portable category. Consider Focal or some of the efficient Hifimen depending on your preferences.