[LugBug1]

  Thank you for the reply.
 
A big part of me is still considering this headphone.
 
If I can somehow curb enough I still might buy it. It just angers me a little that you have to work around things like this.

Hey, nothings perfect right?
 
For a lot of folks the HD800 can be a real eye ear opener, especially when you think you know a recording well. But thats what hifi is all about. And unfortunately there isn't an hp out yet that can make bad recordings sound good and at the same time make great recordings sound as they should. 
 
But there are a lot of options for taming the HD800's transparent ( treble. So I wouldn't give up on them just yet. 

 

[ToddTheMetalGod]

Well, the same could easily be said for any headphone at this price point. The LCD-2/3 are usually considered darker than neutral, so a bright amp suits them (yet nobody complains because nobody is annoyed by darkness, only brightness). The Stax 007 is considered warmer than neutral, much like the HD800 is considered brighter than neutral.

I don't know why so many people pick on the HD800 specifically. No it's not perfect, but neither is any other headphone at this price point (or any for that matter).

If you don't like the HD800 that's fine, nobody is claiming everyone needs to like it. If you find the HD800 sibilant and bright simply buy an LCD-3/LCD-X/007.

 

[Canadian411]

SOLUTION for you :

Buy few other headphones, HD800 for classic, HE6/Audeze for female vocale, TH900 for fun headphone.

Not sure beat's solo will do enough.

 

[joe]

Guys -- Let's stay on topic and stop the attacks. 

 

[preproman]

Has anyone heard the HD800 on the Schiit Ragnarok yet?

 

[BleaK]

  Has anyone heard the HD800 on the Schiit Ragnarok yet?

 
I think purrin did try it. You can ask him. Seems like a nice match.

 

[Hopup]

I have experienced that hd800 is veeery demanding about the quality of recordings. I have also experienced that there really aren't many top quality recordings at any genre of music. If the recording is even little bit less than top quality hd800 can make you hear that.

 

[Somphon]

SOLUTION for you :

Buy few other headphones, HD800 for classic, HE6/Audeze for female vocale, TH900 for fun headphone.

Not sure beat's solo will do enough.

 
About right. My HD800 is for classical except violin concerto. LCD-3f for vocals.
Sometime switch them around for variety in sounds.
 
Looking for a fun headphone for pop, R&B - mainly mp3s.

 

[LugBug1]

  I have experienced that hd800 is veeery demanding about the quality of recordings. I have also experienced that there really aren't many top quality recordings at any genre of music. If the recording is even little bit less than top quality hd800 can make you hear that.

Depends on how anal you are with recording quality But even recording quality is subjective. Some think ECM have the greatest SQ going... I on the other hand think it can be a little too soft and warm. 
 
Are you predominately a music lover or audiophile? Your favorite songs may not be recorded perfectly and so a coloured hp may make them sound better to you. An audiophile will most likely be after transparency as that is the ultimate goal regardless if it makes their favorite song sound like what it is....
 
Sometimes it can be nice to have a 'fun' hp for some music and an audiophile tool like the HD800 for the appreciation of SQ over the art itself. Having said that, my love is for classical music and I've not heard another hp that comes close to the realism and dynamic required to send shivers up my spine with my favorite pieces.  

 

[koiloco]

^ well said!  especially the last paragraph.

 

[Canadian411]

 
About right. My HD800 is for classical except violin concerto. LCD-3f for vocals.
Sometime switch them around for variety in sounds.
 
Looking for a fun headphone for pop, R&B - mainly mp3s.

 


I think for mp3, you can give a try to TH600, I never heard TH600 but I think it's close to TH900.
And I really wanted to like LCD2/3/x/xc but not a big fan of an angle pad, just to uncomfortable for me and the weight.

Somehow HE6 works for me and it's heavy as lcds.

 

[bearFNF]

Has anyone heard the HD800 on the Schiit [COLOR=3B3B3B]Ragnarok yet?[/COLOR]

There are a few general comments on the Ragnarok beta thread. I also listened to my HD800 on the prototype last year and really liked it. It was also the first amp that made me feel like the LCD3 might be worth the money.

 

[Taowolf51]

A good EQ makes fixing frequency response issues so easy, I'm really surprised more people don't use them.

 

[ToddTheMetalGod]

A good EQ makes fixing frequency response issues so easy, I'm really surprised more people don't use them.

I would, but I'm terrible at it and am never satisfied with the equalizer I make. For me, it's easier to buy an amp that changes the response and makes the soundstage/imaging more accurate at the same time. Also it reduces distortion, which can be relevant for high frequencies where it is higher.

 

[zhenya]

Honestly, the solution is a coloured amp. Even though that goes against objectivism, an amp with body/weight to the sound and a bit of bass emphasis can really fix the sound of pop and other exciting genres.

My Nuforce HA200 made the HD800 lose soundstage width and made the sound a bit too forward, but it added the perfect amount of body, bass, and soundstage depth... so for me it is now enjoyable for all genres. Of course it took away some of the good about the HD800, but it more than made up for it by fixing it's flaws. I never found the HD800 annoyingly bright even off of my O2, but it is slightly less bright on this amp (probably just due to the increase in volume on the low end tilting the overall frequency response).

Obviously I do find it bright, but nothing to complain about. I noticed a tiny bit of sibilance in pianos and female vocals, but nothing that immediately jumps out (except on awful recordings). I actually have to focus to hear it, I can't imagine being bothered by it. Then again, I'm bothered by the 10kHz peak on the HE-400 which many people aren't.

I'm not sure I agree that a colored amp is the best solution, although it may be an inexpensive one. I haven't heard the hdvd800 amp, and potkettleblack doesn't mention what his source was, but the consensus with the HD800 seems to be that it is both very revealing of source and amp. My HD800's are still relatively new to me, but my initial impressions with my old DACMagic was that sometimes I could tame the recording by using my Woo amp, but since switching to the DA8 as a source so far I much prefer sticking with the GS-1, even for recordings that I've always thought of as bright. That tells me that the source was to blame, not the HD800's.
 
On the other hand, has anyone NOT had the experience of hearing live music that was ear-piercingly bright? Totally dependent on the genre and venue, but I'd say that has been my experience quite regularly so I'm somewhat of the opinion that us trying to 'tame' these recordings is for our own pleasure, not because it is more realistic.