[erikfreedom]

I have had mine for more than 2 years and they are better than ever. yeah they have your typical minor paint chipping. I could have taken care of them a bit better. but 12 hours listening sessions a day does just that. I listen to them in my bed too and I fall asleep with them on my head too ah ah.  I recently upgraded my dac and they have surpassed my he-6. I had an asus xonar essence stx. for the past 3 years as my main source. I plugged all my amps into it. I liked it because I could play with equalizer. on that setup he-6 had better sound. but it was not worthy of hd 800 as dac.
 
now I have hegel hd25 dac. sound quality has increased dramatically. and I d'ont need to play with eq anymore. sound is incredible. what I have discovered is that hd 800 scale more than any headphones I own. I have not heard the stats like sr 009 but my hd 800 has increased in sound quality more than my he-6. that dac upgrade was the missing link of my setup.
 
now I want to upgrade amplifier for hd 800. but I fear it might not be worthwhile. ef-6 does a tremendous job as amplifier with hd 800. it gives weight to the sound and keep treble in check.
 
I have removed the inner liners inside the cups a long time ago. 

 

[62ohm]

  In person, I would agree with this. But the QC issues for the T1s aren't the greatest...then there's the actual sound quality. And with the right setup, the HD800s are technically superior. I owned the first pair of T1s sold in Canada and enjoyed my 3 years with them, BUT, my HD800s are still here. 

 
I don't think we need a monster setup to see the superiority of the HD800 against T1 / K812. Even on WA7 & Soloist SL it was easy to see which one was the better headphones in term of technicality. Musicality may be subjective, but IMO technicality is absolute. This is all just my opinion, no offense intended to the owner of mentioned cans.

 

[Dillan]

I obviously feel that other headphones are more durable, but it isn't a large enough issue to where it takes anything away from them.
 
Besides all of that, the sound quality is good enough to make that aspect outshine any other issue anyway.
 

 

[MacedonianHero]

   
I don't think we need a monster setup to see the superiority of the HD800 against T1 / K812. Even on WA7 & Soloist SL it was easy to see which one was the better headphones in term of technicality. Musicality may be subjective, but IMO technicality is absolute. This is all just my opinion, no offense intended to the owner of mentioned cans.

No you don't...but the gap does continue to widen. 

 

[koiloco]

Let's stop patting ourselves on the back, shall we?  

 but yeah, I even enjoy my HD800 off Fiio E17/E9K at the office.

 

[62ohm]

  No you don't...but the gap does continue to widen. 

 
So here I am sitting, wondering how does the HD800 sounds with your HeadAmp GS-X Mk.2 & BDA-2 

 

[MacedonianHero]

   
So here I am sitting, wondering how does the HD800 sounds with your HeadAmp GS-X Mk.2 & BDA-2 

Too bad you're so far away...if you're ever in the Great White North, drop by!

 

[magiccabbage]

  In person, the T1 seems like a much better built headphones than the HD800. But from the reports, the T1 seems to be plagued by inconsistent QC problem, whereas the HD800 is a quality consistency phenomenon. IMO in person the K812 seems to also possess better build quality than HD800, but I guess looks can deceive 

hd800 is the better build, the leather on my t1's have come away from the binding and the logo is faded - all in less than 1 year. I take care of them  extremely well, they are never left on a hard surface, always in their cases. I think i will have to send my T1's back and maybe i will sell them when they are repaired. Might sell the WA2 as well. 
 
I plan on getting DNA Stratus and Schiit YDD for HD800, i just have to wait on reports of how good the YDD is but i think that will be a my journey over for headphones and hopefully this will happen by the end of the year. 

 

[Maxvla]

I obviously feel that other headphones are more durable, but it isn't a large enough issue to where it takes anything away from them.

Besides all of that, the sound quality is good enough to make that aspect outshine any other issue anyway.

 

Do you have some kind of vendetta going on? You keep on and on about durability not being up to snuff on the only headphone on the market that has almost zero physical faults. No blown drivers, no cracked plastic, consistent driver matching, consistent sound from unit to unit.. what else are you expecting? The only physical fault is thin paint that can flake. Then again, that does nothing to the performance of the headphones.

Drag your cable's plug across the metal screen like a dolt and complain about it being scratched? Be more observant. Complain about fingerprints on an item that is manipulated solely by... fingers? Be more realistic.

 

[62ohm]

Do you have some kind of vendetta going on? You keep on and on about durability not being up to snuff on the only headphone on the market that has almost zero physical faults. No blown drivers, no cracked plastic, consistent driver matching, consistent sound from unit to unit.. what else are you expecting? The only physical fault is thin paint that can flake. Then again, that does nothing to the performance of the headphones.

Drag your cable's plug across the metal screen like a dolt and complain about it being scratched? Be more observant. Complain about fingerprints on an item that is manipulated solely by... fingers? Be more realistic.

 
This. At first glance HD800 might seem to have a rubbish build quality, but ironically it's one of very few cans out there that I am yet to find a report of "bad unit". Many company claims to have a strict quality control, and Sennheiser is one of them. But in this case, it seems that their claim is not simply marketing bollocks.

 

[BournePerfect]

The HD800s to me have the best build quality and aesthetics of any headphone in my profile. Easily. If anything, the Ultrasones could probably be the only ones to withstand a hard throw or two against a wall-and the Pro 900s will make you WANT to.

-Daniel

 

[paradoxper]

The QC control on the HD800 is unmatched. You ever hear of a driver failure? I have not. However the paint chipping is a PITA.

 

[Dillan]

Do you have some kind of vendetta going on? You keep on and on about durability not being up to snuff on the only headphone on the market that has almost zero physical faults. No blown drivers, no cracked plastic, consistent driver matching, consistent sound from unit to unit.. what else are you expecting? The only physical fault is thin paint that can flake. Then again, that does nothing to the performance of the headphones.

Drag your cable's plug across the metal screen like a dolt and complain about it being scratched? Be more observant. Complain about fingerprints on an item that is manipulated solely by... fingers? Be more realistic.

 
What are you talking about, I didn't mean to make you angry.
 
If I were against the HD 800's, I wouldn't still have a pair.
 
I am just OCD about things I like and use, especially when they are a little pricey.
 
Trust me, if I didn't like them, I would sell them. 
 
Also I didn't "drag my cable plugs across the metal like a dolt".. the cable end barely touched the outer flimsy mesh and created a small scratch.
 
Try not to pretend things are made perfectly, I love the HD 800's the same or more than you do, but I am not on a high horse pretending everything is perfect.
 
Besides, the design "flaw" is still subjective, your comment could have been your opinion without the negativity..
 
Thanks.
 

 

[HeadNroll]

I was really surprised after realising that paiint of the HD800 I own (19xxx pair) is very durable... I have zero scratches even though I use the headphone every day.
 
 
That said, I have two complaints:
 
1) They are not very compact... I mean - HD800s are not fragile but they do NOT feel solid or built like a tank. I am always careful when manipulating with them - not intentionally, it's just how I react every time. On the other hand, with headphones like AKG Kxx or Hifimans, manipulating with them is very care-free - they just feel more compact and solid so I am not worried about anything.
 
2) My pair started to squeak quite early after acquiring them... Like a month or two after. It squeaks occasionally when adjusting them on my head (rotating the cups). To put things into context, I am extremely careful with every headphone I own and therefore I don't think it's my fault that they squeak.
 
 
Comfortwise and soundwise, they are the very best I have ever seen... The best up to 2000USD at least, IMHO. But the built quality could be better.

 

[Dillan]

  I was really surprised after realising that paiint of the HD800 I own (19xxx pair) is very durable... I have zero scratches even though I use the headphone every day.
 
 
That said, I have two complaints:
 
1) They are not very compact... I mean - HD800s are not fragile but they do NOT feel solid or built like a tank. I am always careful when manipulating with them - not intentionally, it's just how I react every time. On the other hand, with headphones like AKG Kxx or Hifimans, manipulating with them is very care-free - they just feel more compact and solid so I am not worried about anything.
 
2) My pair started to squeak quite early after acquiring them... Like a month or two after. It squeaks occasionally when adjusting them on my head (rotating the cups). To put things into context, I am extremely careful with every headphone I own and therefore I don't think it's my fault that they squeak.
 
 
Comfortwise and soundwise, they are the very best I have ever seen... The best up to 2000USD at least, IMHO. But the built quality could be better.

 
+1
 
I have heard that some people have problems with the paint chipping, but I have not at all had this happen to me.  I think the paint job is very durable, at least in my case as I am also very careful with them.
 
I also agree with the comparison to the Hifimans.  Also the comfort and sound (I too think they are unmatched almost).
 
I haven't had any squeak issues however, but that is pretty unfortunate.  
 
Sometimes it doesn't matter how careful you are, situations can happen.
 
The important thing like I keep saying is.. the sound quality and comfort.