[ruthieandjohn]

Plus, for the price of a sub+HD800, you could pick up a damn nice pari of speakers.  Then again, if you had a decent speaker amp to drive the speakers, you could run the HD800 off the speaker taps and you wouldn`t need the sub.  

Anyway, as has been said many times : those people who claim the HD800 is bass-light have simply not yet heard them driven well.  

My HD 800s are driven by the Sennheiser HDVD 800, and I would never say they are lacking in bass. There is just the right amount, just as strong, but not more strong, than miss and treble. Also, there are no overemphasized trebles as some have found with other amps.

The right amp makes such a difference.

 

[RRod]

  Plus, for the price of a sub+HD800, you could pick up a damn nice pari of speakers.  Then again, if you had a decent speaker amp to drive the speakers, you could run the HD800 off the speaker taps and you wouldn`t need the sub.  
 
Anyway, as has been said many times : those people who claim the HD800 is bass-light have simply not yet heard them driven well.  

 
I hear plenty of bass just through a Magni. If there is bass, it comes out just fine through the HD800s.

 

[Blackmore]

guys, how many hours your HD800 got, before you start listen more critical? My are just passed 300 hours and still going, thinking of 500 hours to be sure of it.

 

[Sorrodje]

  "If people don't like the HD800 from a Modi/Vali or a Dacmagic/Corda Jazz, then the best way to go is to find another headphone."
 
Well, I for one am sure glad I don't take advice like this.  
 
Those low end rigs are not the bar for some.  There are always something better, not saying magic but still better.  If your not willing to put the effort in to get really good SQ out then yes get antoher headphone.  If you are willing to give some effort and have a higher buget that you can play with - you will get better results.  Plain and simple, the HD800 will sound better with better gear.

 
Sorry but you misunderstood what I said. English is not my native language so I presum it's my fault so I apologize for that.
 
I don't say those rigs are good enough to benefit from the HD800 at its best. What I'm saying is even best rigs do not transform the HD800 in something fondamentaly different . If people don't like the HD800 with a modi/vali , I don't think they'll like it much more from a totadac/EC Balancing Act rig.  If people like the HD800 from entry level amps or dacs, they will surely like it much more from a perfectly matched rig.
 
Sorry for the misunderstanding.

 

[Sorrodje]

  guys, how many hours your HD800 got, before you start listen more critical? My are just passed 300 hours and still going, thinking of 500 hours to be sure of it.

 
I think I'm between 1200 and 1500 hours with mine.  I listen to at least 2 or 3 hours of music a day every day of every week and the HD800 is my primary headphone . I own it since July 2013 I never had any problem with what I could call a lack of bass. I had problems with overall harshness for pop/ rock and some electronic music until I found my curent rig. since I have the Sonett/Octave I sold all my other phones and lost most of my interest to purchase other headphones except stats.
 
I thought the Sonett/Octave was my end game rig but I'm not so convinced I'm happy enough. I need to be sure that I wouldn't prefer a SR007 or SR009 or even a HE-6 before investing more money in my HD800 rig.

 

[Eee Pee]

0.25 hours

Passed 300 and going where?

 

[Dopaminer]

   
Sorry but you misunderstood what I said. English is not my native language so I presum it's my fault so I apologize for that.
 
I don't say those rigs are good enough to benefit from the HD800 at its best. What I'm saying is even best rigs do not transform the HD800 in something fondamentaly different . If people don't like the HD800 with a modi/vali , I don't think they'll like it much more from a totadac/EC Balancing Act rig.  If people like the HD800 from entry level amps or dacs, they will surely like it much more from a perfectly matched rig.
 
Sorry for the misunderstanding.

I thought you were clear enough first time (and English is my native language) 

 

[GardenVariety]

The absolute only way to get any headphone to sound like speakers is through a Smyth Realiser with a tactile transducer. If you have this combo it sounds 98% like any speakers you can find. 

 

[Justin_Time]

  Sorry for the stupid question, but is it possible to use the HD800 with a sub?

Perljam50000,
 
Sorry I just saw the (not-at-all stupid) question and may be too late to help.
 
Yes, absolutely, you can use a sub with the HD800.  You sit on say a 12-inch sub and let the bass reverberate from your butt to your stomach, and up toward your head.
 
Now, if you actually meant a sandwich like a 12-inch sub from Subway, then I strongly recommend that you reverse the direction.   

 

[kothganesh]

  Perljam50000,
 
Sorry I just saw the (not-at-all stupid) question and may be too late to help.
 
Yes, absolutely, you can use say a sub with the HD800.  You sit on say a 12-inch sub and let the bass reverberate from your butt to your stomach, and up toward your head.
 
Now, if you actually meant a sandwich like a 12-inch sub from Subway, then I strongly recommend that you reverse the direction.   

Must be Friday. TGIF  

 

[rgs9200m]

  people should stop complain[ing] about weak bass or else and get decent and most important, matched system for HD800. all you read how lifeless and such they are, well, not here.
 
 

He is right. For me, the bass is actually one of the best HD800 features: the bass is strongly connected to the rest of the spectrum, not an amorphous blob or an separate background noise like you may get with a  bad subwoofer.
A musical instrument that generates bass tones will sound like a single instrument, with the bass as part of it.
And it's very thrilling to hear this affect, and the depth and quantity does not subjectively feel lacking or inadequate in any way. I never even think there is something about the bass that I would change when listening deeply to the 800.
That's a quality I hear in the Stax 009, too.
As much as like the Audeze LCD3 (which I admit is my main go-to phone these days, even though I still use my 800 a lot), the Audeze bass, while very satisfying and resonant, is more hall-ambient than instrument specific.
So while I wouldn't say the HD800 is a phone where it's all about the bass, it's so well integrated, it's a major plus for the phone.

 

[pearljam50000]

Can u do a mini comparison with the 009? Thanks.

 

[rgs9200m]

The 009 to me is in a class by itself with speed, attack, and internal details, and it's a cliche I know, but it's like an open window vs. a shield compared to all phones I have known, even other Staxes.
It's even more naturally open and insightful than the Orpheus (from memory). I own the 009, and this just with a lowly Stax 007t amp (retubed). 

 

[pearljam50000]

Thanks.
Damn, I was hoping you would say they are pretty close because I can't afford the 009 lol
But its great to know such an amazing phone exists.

 

[rgs9200m]

Well, I actually hesitate to say that the the 009 is better in all ways than other phones, and I don't think I could live with them as my only phone, so don't feel bad. The 009 and HD800 and e.g. the LCD3 are different experiences,
and at times one is preferable to the other. The 009 is more highlighted, and that's a plus and minus depending on my mood, the music I listen to (even good old northwest grunge from time to time), and just the fact that the same
great music deserves different musical environments and I really like variety. I often will play a favorite album multiple times on different phones to hear different things. I love doing that.