[Justin_Time]

I am very grateful for your assistance and impressions. I have done everything I want at this point in my sound chain except replace my 800's stock cable. I am weary, but I will read your post for the help. I also have to face facts that it'll be expensive because I need a 13 to 15 foot cable length. Have my eye on this one from ALO AUDIO. 16 individual stage copper conductor cable. 8 silver and 8 copper with classic copper. Then again I've heard silver be an enemy to the treble and sibilance of the 800's make up.



1262$ cause I need a 15 footer. Lol.
Anyway. Thank you Justin. Tomorrow morning I'm gonna go through your post.

With such a long lead, I suggest you either buy bulk OCC copper cable and terminate it yourself--I did for most of my trial cables--or get your OCC copper cable from an outfit like Charleston Cable which has a very reasonable price, at least ACL did when I purchased it from him on ebay.    I needed that extra warmth and smoothness in the mid-range and a touch more volume in the bass for more impact from the HD800 with the Copper Venom but you are 95% there with most OCC copper cables.  Save the money for the amp, which makes a bigger difference.
 
My experience is that we do get used to the sound of the headphones with any cable after a while and find nothing wrong with it--which is great for the pocket book, When you switch cable, you immediately hear a difference, but an immediate "improvement" may not necessarily be an improvement in the long run.  I typically need long-term listening with each cable and a few switches to be able to tell which is the better match for the headphones.     

 

[PleasantSounds]

If I go with this cable I swear it shall be done. Be happy to relay my thoughts and impressions on the v2.

I tell you one thing that is for sure, I'm not spending $1000 + on an aftermarket cable. No way.

 
I made most of the cables I use myself, with the exception of HD800. The headphone connectors are so small and finicky I don't feel confident soldering them. My first thought was to butcher the stock cable to convert it to balanced, but I also want to have a SE cable in a single piece.
In the end I gave in and got the ZY Cable (probably Chinese) off ebay. It does the job, but is very stiff and unpleasant to touch (I guess you get what you pay for). So I'm considering something more human friendly, but it has to be wallet friendly too.

 

[Justin_Time]

  I've been happy with my Black Dragon V2 cable - it appears to have successfully tamed the highs without adversely affecting anything else about the 800's sound.
 
@Justin_Time - what did you like better about the Copper Venoms compared to the Black Dragon?

More warmth in the midrange--the HD800 can use that--and more depth in the sound-stage. We are talking about small differences here.  As I said in another post recently:
 
My experience is that we do get used to the sound of the headphones with any cable after a while and find nothing wrong with it--which is great for the pocket book, When you switch cable, you immediately hear a difference, but an immediate "improvement" may not necessarily be an improvement in the long run. So I typically need long-term listening with each cable and a few switches to be able to tell which is the better match for the headphones.
 
Trying so many cables will do some damage to your pocket book.  My trick:  I made adaptors that allow me to swap cables between different headphones.  Thus, the Silver Poison/Widow cables I tried and did not like with the HD800, I ended up using, very successfully I might add, with the LCD2 and LCD3.   

 

[Somphon]

I will probably get beaten up for this, but I'm happy with my HD 800 with cardas clear eventhough i can't stand it with certain music.
But it will not make me to try to modify it to change it to somethingi its not. I rather change headphones.

I find a lot of discussion in head-fi and other forum about how much HD800 owners love their hp but constantly trying change its sounds with mods or other equiptment, which i find quite strange. I don't see nearly this much discussion in this manner with other headphones. So why buy HD800 if you want to change it?

I may still try different cables and amps to find the sounds i like best and stick with it, as i found my sweet spot with my LCD-3, Hugo with USB isolator and Heimdall2. I would not think about changeing the sounds further but rather, what else can I change in my set up to bring out more from my HD800, if assuming it has more to deliver but other factors are limiting its full potentials and capabilities. Example, i change cables because i know my headphone has more to deliver, but stock cables were not living up to it, i change my amp becasue it was not complimenting my headphone sound signatures and details and sound stage (aka sub quality amp with higher quality headphones), I spend 20$ on USB isolator to get rid of ground noise for improved sq instead of spending 500$ on USB cables which didnt do much, etc. All to get more out of my headphone.

Certainly it would not be to change the sounds it was designed to make. Its like telling Madonna to sing in an opera with Andrea Bocelli. Just my 2 cents, IMO and all other disclaimers blah blah blah...

 

[froger]

Since no headphone is perfect, I don't see any wrong modding the HD800 or changing equipment to make HD800 more to our liking. As I found out myself, having multiple/other headphones don't solve the problem at all. We love HD800 for its details, soundstage, imaging and ability to keep scaling as you improve your gears. Changing to another headphone just because of a few things that HD800 doesn't do as well is just too much of a compromise. By the way, even Lady Gaga is doing jazz now

 

[thune]

The clarity of the HD800 is beguiling until the moments of involuntary acoustic reflex occur, apparently due to a treble peak. Hard to blame people for wanting to fix the problem rather than persist in a possibly endless and futile search.

 

[ToddTheMetalGod]

I will probably get beaten up for this, but I'm happy with my HD 800 with cardas clear eventhough i can't stand it with certain music.
But it will not make me to try to modify it to change it to somethingi its not. I rather change headphones.

I find a lot of discussion in head-fi and other forum about how much HD800 owners love their hp but constantly trying change its sounds with mods or other equiptment, which i find quite strange. I don't see nearly this much discussion in this manner with other headphones. So why buy HD800 if you want to change it?

I may still try different cables and amps to find the sounds i like best and stick with it, as i found my sweet spot with my LCD-3, Hugo with USB isolator and Heimdall2. I would not think about changeing the sounds further but rather, what else can I change in my set up to bring out more from my HD800, if assuming it has more to deliver but other factors are limiting its full potentials and capabilities. Example, i change cables because i know my headphone has more to deliver, but stock cables were not living up to it, i change my amp becasue it was not complimenting my headphone sound signatures and details and sound stage (aka sub quality amp with higher quality headphones), I spend 20$ on USB isolator to get rid of ground noise for improved sq instead of spending 500$ on USB cables which didnt do much, etc. All to get more out of my headphone.

Certainly it would not be to change the sounds it was designed to make. Its like telling Madonna to sing in an opera with Andrea Bocelli. Just my 2 cents, IMO and all other disclaimers blah blah blah...

Well it's about finding a good compromise to make it sound like itself while taking away it's "bad" qualities. Bad being in quotes because of subjectivity.

People generally agree that overall across the whole treble region the HD800 is a bit bright, which also makes it seem more lean in the bass. So, the obvious solution is to equalize it or colour your equipment to give it more body and authority. Some people do go overboard in this quest to make the HD800 into a totally different sound signature though, probably because it images so well compared to the headphones with the tonal balance they like.

 

[SP Wild]

Since no headphone is perfect, I don't see any wrong modding the HD800 or changing equipment to make HD800 more to our liking. As I found out myself, having multiple/other headphones don't solve the problem at all. We love HD800 for its details, soundstage, imaging and ability to keep scaling as you improve your gears. Changing to another headphone just because of a few things that HD800 doesn't do as well is just too much of a compromise. By the way, even Lady Gaga is doing jazz now

No kidding. Too late to revive a failing career, failing ever since theb feud with Madonna...should know better than to come in the firing line of the queen of pop herself.

But is it me, or are the latest batch of hits drawing on from the history of recorded music itself? So much variety in the charts today.

 

[whirlwind]

  Personally, I've tried to EQ and tried different variations with negative EQ working the best. In the end, I could hear distortion (even with a max of 2-3db EQ) so I gave up on it.  Enjoying the HD800 un-EQ'd but tailored to my taste with tubes (HW EQ?). YMMV.

Negative EQ is basically what worked best for me also....mainly in the treble area not so much anything ever worked for me on the bass.
 
After I got my new dac ...I have never EQ anything......I feel no urge to what so ever.

 

[LugBug1]

Yes, as has been said many times, if you are going to EQ:  then take away - don't add anything. There are some decent EQ's out there where you can pinpoint and area of annoyance and lower it. Nothing is going to eliminate some distortion when you are manually distorting frequencies but an EQ is the best option imo. I personally think it will be an impossible task to pinpoint a certain frequency annoyance when modding hp's without affecting them all.  I don't use EQ with the HD800 but I would advise anyone who does to limit it to 2-3 db lower on the affected area. Digital ointment rather than bandaging your headphones hahah.. Hahaha. HAHAHAH!! *cough* 

 

[whirlwind]

 

  Yes, as has been said many times, if you are going to EQ:  then take away - don't add anything. There are some decent EQ's out there where you can pinpoint and area of annoyance and lower it. Nothing is going to eliminate some distortion when you are manually distorting frequencies but an EQ is the best option imo. I personally think it will be an impossible task to pinpoint a certain frequency annoyance when modding hp's without affecting them all.  I don't use EQ with the HD800 but I would advise anyone who does to limit it to 2-3 db lower on the affected area. Digital ointment rather than bandaging your headphones hahah.. Hahaha. HAHAHAH!! *cough* 

 

[Currawong]

Some of the damping mods out there are supposed to evenly increase the bass response a few dB. There are at least half-a-dozen threads now with them from 2011 and onwards. They also have the effect of tightening up the imaging to some degree.

 

[BleaK]

I feel ya. However, I've got my eye on the V2 Black Dragon from Moon audio. It's a nice looking cable in a straight forward sense.

I am very happy with mine. I don't know how, but it seemed like the cable tamed the high and brought some more "omph" to the bass without sacrificing soundstage. It might all be placebo of course, I just wanted a nice and shorter cable than stock 

Happy with the effect nonetheless!

 

[Somphon]

  Yes, as has been said many times, if you are going to EQ:  then take away - don't add anything. There are some decent EQ's out there where you can pinpoint and area of annoyance and lower it. Nothing is going to eliminate some distortion when you are manually distorting frequencies but an EQ is the best option imo. I personally think it will be an impossible task to pinpoint a certain frequency annoyance when modding hp's without affecting them all.  I don't use EQ with the HD800 but I would advise anyone who does to limit it to 2-3 db lower on the affected area. Digital ointment rather than bandaging your headphones hahah.. Hahaha. HAHAHAH!! *cough* 

 
That's why I will not venture in to modding my HD800 as it affects frequency across the board. It doesn't feel right to love 90% of the headphone, so I will improve the 10% with mod while compromising the 90% that I loved. Saying this, I'm all for finding a good cable and amp that satisfy your preference sounds or to get it to where I want it. (I dp admit, there is a side of me that want to mod it just for the sake of cutting crap up and taking things apart! 

)
 
For EQ, there are some good software at pro level but there are no universal settings for every song. So, for me anyway, I like to sit back, relax and enjoy my music and not be bothered with technology. For me, a good music machine, is the one that disappeared when the play is pressed.
 
Again, my 2 cent.

 

[LugBug1]

  I like to sit back, relax and enjoy my music and not be bothered with technology. For me, a good music machine, is the one that disappeared when the play is pressed.
 
 

Well said.