[BournePerfect]

Iam happy to say I have a brand new HD800 own the way, moving from HD700 to the HD800 I should have them early next week am very exited.

 
I am very entranced for you.
 
-Daniel

 

[Sonido]

Iam happy to say I have a brand new HD800 own the way, moving from HD700 to the HD800 I should have them early next week am very exited.

The HD700 Appreciation thread would be sad to know of another convert, but it's inevitable...
 
Don't be disheartened if you find that you actually prefer the HD700 over the HD800 at first. There are two types of owners or once owners of the HD800. Ones that gave up early because the immediate pairing with whatever DAC/amp they have made the HD800 sound bad, and ones that went through the journey of finding the right chain for the HD800 for their personal tastes and reaped the rewards. The HD800 is a metajourney in the this audiophile journey.

 

[Dionysus]

The HD700 Appreciation thread would be sad to know of another convert, but it's inevitable...

Don't be disheartened if you find that you actually prefer the HD700 over the HD800 at first. There are two types of owners or once owners of the HD800. Ones that gave up early because the immediate pairing with whatever DAC/amp they have made the HD800 sound bad, and ones that went through the journey of finding the right chain for the HD800 for their personal tastes and reaped the rewards. The HD800 is a metajourney in the this audiophile journey.

I am prepared, I will start with either the HDVA600 and a very good DAC or the HDVD800 and work from there. I figure I will work with what Senn set out to accomplish first and if that doesn't work out, I'll try something else.

 

[ALRAINBOW]

Good choice. You will be happy. If you do not own a dac. I would buy the 800. . As the dac or amp can be used separately. And the dac is not bad. But the amp is great .
Al

 

[pdrm360]

Good choice. You will be happy. If you do not own a dac. I would buy the 800. . As the dac or amp can be used separately. And the dac is not bad. But the amp is great .
Al

 
Do you know how the 800's DAC is in compare to the Bifrost?  

 

[ALRAINBOW]

Sorry I do not have that dac or know about it. I can tell you how the dac in the 800 sounds. It has good detail not Brite but no polite either. It very good imaging. The combo works well with many headphones. , not demanding a Lot of power. It has air about it on recordings. Where it lacks is where the headphones lack. It is a little cold and clinical. But this is a temporary feeling as when you get used to the headphones . This all goes away Nd you get to enjoy every detail there is . Now the other detail the dac misses is what all sacs in this level do the layers in. Recording. Now do not be upset there are 8 k dacs that do not do that well either.
Al

 

[Jon-LF]

 
The HD700 Appreciation thread would be sad to know of another convert, but it's inevitable...
 
Don't be disheartened if you find that you actually prefer the HD700 over the HD800 at first. There are two types of owners or once owners of the HD800. Ones that gave up early because the immediate pairing with whatever DAC/amp they have made the HD800 sound bad, and ones that went through the journey of finding the right chain for the HD800 for their personal tastes and reaped the rewards. The HD800 is a metajourney in the this audiophile journey.

 
I wouldn't say inevitable, many would never want to invest the required $$$ to get the "best" out of the 800s. I maintain that I (subjectively) prefer the sound out of the 700s out of most sources, but now that I have a solid amp/ dac combination which (to my ears) outclasses the 700s on the same setup, in every way except that it's a little too large, it's a no brainer. 
 
The W3000ANVs, HD800s will be the only headphones I'll use going forward I reckon in my primary setup. The rest would be collectors pieces, portables, etc. 

 

[Sorrodje]

Yupp, I have a sabre based DAC with my HD800's.

I love it, especially for electronic music, but it's not a combo I can easily recommend. It's hyper-detailed and a bit like like having the contrast turned up to elven. It requires some EQ'ing and super clean source material or it will be very tiring.

The Wolfson chip is a much safer bet if you want to enjoy music in general.

 
I have the same opinion.  

For a beginner, I think wolfson based dac are better bet because they tend to smooth the inherent nature of the HD800. Indeed, I hope Experienced owners made their own opinon and choosed their favorite dac after a while. 
 
Overally, the best way to begin the travel with HD800 is to purchase well recommended and cheap dac & amp for HD800 and listen listen listen music . Then with more time of listening everyone becomes able to identify if he wants something more (or less) .   

 

[pdrm360]

   
I have the same opinion.  

For a beginner, I think wolfson based dac are better bet because they tend to smooth the inherent nature of the HD800 and. Indeed, I hope Experienced owners made their own opinon and choosed their favorite dac after a while. 
 
Overally, the best way to begin the travel with HD800 is to purchase well recommended and cheap dac & amp for HD800 and listen listen listen music . Then with more time of listening everyone becomes able to identify if he wants something more (or less) .   

 
+1 that's what I'm doing. 

 

[Sorrodje]

Moreover I can say I'm very happy to find the NFB12.1 + Vali sounds as good as my main rig. because it's much lighter an more easy to carry when i'll go testing amp or dacs in meetings or at stores. 

 
 
I'me very curious about how far more expensive gear would sound better thant my current rigs  

 

[pdrm360]

The problem is we don’t know what we should expect until hearing music from a better gear. 

 

[Sorrodje]

Hence the importance of doing A / B testing with its own basic combo as soon as possible .  I organize a french meeting in april and I hope to have an Eddie Current Super 7 to try seriously against my own rig . 

 

[pila405]

How many people here EQ their HD-800?

Anyway, these are the settings I use with the HD-800 (S/N 20K+) with the 'Graphic Equalizer' in Foobar2K and assuming the rest of the set-up is neutral (DAC/Amp).
Based on recordings made in the Concertgebouw and my own experience in the concerts I attended there: http://speedy.sh/gm3Xd/HD800B31.xgeq
A bit warmer yet very natural version: http://speedy.sh/jfDcE/HD800HB32.xgeq
 

 

[frix]

I EQ them with equalizer apo, which is a system wide parametric EQ.
I basically boosted the sub bass by 6dB without affecting mid and upper bass much.
 
Also I reduced a peak at 5300hz by 5db and a peak at 7300hz by 6db.
 
On some records it's hardly noticeable,
on other records it significantly helps to reduce harshness.
 
I prefer this method over buying colored amps.

 

[pila405]

I think the same. 

Do you know how well this APO EQ acts? Is it smooth as Foobar2K's Graphic Equalizer?

For example, Foobar's built-in EQ is horrible:
http://www.hydrogenaudio.org/forums/index.php?showtopic=88505