[Me x3]

  It's to the HD800's credit that it can be equalized as well as it can. I've attempted to EQ K1000 at length and it does not respond well to EQ. Certainly if anyone has any suggestions there, I'm all ears.

You could demo DMG Equilibrium, one of the very best and most complete EQ-ing tools.

 

[Joeybgood]

I've got a free SD Resonator mod kit for whomever would like it. I sold my HD800 before the mod kit arrived(today) and , obviously , have no use for it now. Just send me your mailing address and I'll send it to you. My treat! Cheers! 

 

[whirlwind]

  I've got a free SD Resonator mod kit for whomever would like it. I sold my HD800 before the mod kit arrived(today) and , obviously , have no use for it now. Just send me your mailing address and I'll send it to you. My treat! Cheers! 

PM sent.

 

[Joeybgood]

The SD mod kit has been claimed.

 

[akatyay]

Just traded my Ether (Open back) for some a pair of HD800 (cork+superdupont mod).
 
Impressions (with XLR cable through an OPPO HA-1)
 
-GREAT Soundstage
-Separation and detail are both top-tier
-Mids are a bit thin but I'm likely just getting used to the sound of these (alternate cans are the HD650s and previously ETHER)
 
 
I'm a fan!
 
Any tips for optimizing performance?  With the XLR cable and the mods, I'm not sure if there's much else to add.  Considering adding a bottlehead crack at some point to my stable.

 

[bosiemoncrieff]

I mean, Yggdrasil and WA5-LE will make them sound very, very good.

 

[ruthieandjohn]

Hi John

To be honest, I haven't followed PiccoloNamek's thread at all. The time it was launched (the CD era) I still wasn't into equalizing. In a later PM exchange with someone mentioning the thread I was confronted with a method consisting of making fixed frequencies sound equally loud to the ears using corresponding sine waves. But that's a problematic approach since it doesn't take note of the intended headphone-compensation curve – either diffuse-field or free-field –, and equal loudness for all tones isn't really desirable. I'm quite sure it was related to said tutorial thread. Nevertheless, using pink noise is a good starting point. And of course the available measuring graphs. And first of all the SonarWorks curves, if available somewhere on the net. SonarWorks seems to be a good product anyway, so if you don't mind to pay for the labor it frees you from, I would go for it.

Apart from that I could offer you the EQ curves I have worked out for the headphones I own (e.g. via PM). These may just serve as a guideline, because other listener's HRTF may require some deviations, add to this my age-related high-frequency hearing loss.

Thanks, JaZZ! I have JUST become interested in parametric equalization when I heard the wonderful improvement, both in sound and soundstage, that it made on my recently-purchased LoToo PAW portable player when using certain combinations suggested by Lotoo or Lotoo experts.

That got me started wondering what the frequency response of the various combinations of parametric equalizers was (by way of graphical plot) which led to trying to compensate for a headphone's frequency response, which then led to discovery of SonicWorks and their equalization package (as well as some parametric filter design routines in MATLAB along the way.)

Unfortunately, neither SonarWorks nor the headphones I see you list include the Grados, where I saw such improvement (I have several DOZEN pairs of Grados, but have been experimenting with their RS1e as a starting point).

So that led me to the idea of figuring out equalization in some structured way.

By the way, the app Accudio from Golden Ears claims to equalize one headphone to another or to ideal, but I have not seen much improvement in using them.

I thank you for your offer of curves! I think that unless they include one or more Grados, I would be most interested in HOW you built the curve, via PM as appropriate. Thanks so much!

 

[johnjen]

Being a proponent of using EQ, and in a variety of ways, here's my 2¢…
 
The one thing you must take into account is digital clipping (even touching 100%)
This is especially true with bass boost let alone using mids and the upper end EQ.
 
Right now I have added +16dB at 12Hz with a rather broad Q.
This bass rocks.
But then I've been dialing in my EQ setup for a while now and I find it indispensable in order to be able to get my 800's to sing.
 
And for 800's as a solid starter EQ package, I'd suggest trying Sonarworks Plug in.
 
It has 2 compensation curves to choose from.
One has no limitations, extending into the very bottom end and the top end, while the other curve is less 'demanding' of power in the bottom 2 octaves and below.
 
This plug-in has 'vu meters' with clipping indicators so you can compensate either upstream or downstream or both and not have to hear digitally clipped music.
And a variety of ways of adjusting its operation to suit your particular needs.
 
And of course there are other approaches to making sure the DSP stack is operating within it's limitations.
 
But when you start bringing the bass, that does exist on some tracks, up to proper audible levels, well the results can be unexpectedly surprising.
A quote from one who heard this bass performance at our last meet was "800's aren't supposed to be able to do this".
 
They can and they do when properly setup.
And EQ, when judiciously applied (along with a few other tweaks), can bring out our 800's full potential and the results are simply wonderful.
 
JJ

 

[Peti]

So after all I gave up and obtained the Sonarworks to see what's all the fuss about. Well, it is impressing indeed. I'm running the trial with the Chord Mojo and the result is pretty pleasant. Mind you, I only use it with my Metal records Right now just listening to Paradase Lost - Draconian Times (needledrop) and Sonarworks overall gives a much nicer presentation fo the music. Soundstage untouched so is clarity, and the whole thing just works to my ears. It's too early to say that I'm a convert, but I'm on the track, definintely. Also, the Mojo is mind-boggling, I can't get enough of it. Will do a shoot-out with my Modi Multibit as soon as my Liquid Carbon comes in (been waiting for nearly 7 months now((). My only gripe is that JRiver will play everything back 44.1Khz no matter what I feed it from. Foobar plays everything back correctly but I couldn't apply the Sonarworks plugin there.
 
P.S.: If anyone has any clue how to make JRiver work properly, please drop me a pm. Thanks.

 

[Rozenberg]

Hmmmmm, this is hard. While I've been enjoying my HD800 + Liquid Crimson combo very much that I lost some sleep, my mind still being burdened to justify it.
The perfect solution would be to get 1000€ amp and allocate the rest of the budget to a nice DAC and call it a day. But that means back to drawing board...
Guess I'll wait til my Liquid Carbon arrives and see how much difference it makes to my HD800.
This is why the topic about HD800 amping is endless.

 

[BobG55]

Zana Deux Super > RCA 5691 Red Base Vacuum Tube > HD800 : sound is : extremely detailed, layered, soundstage depth, bass quite present & not muffled, mids upfront, treble/ highs clear w/ no roll off, voices are great & on some recordings I hear the lyrics more clearly than ever before = best I've ever heard the HD800.

 

[listen4joy]

current setup is hd800+vali 2, this little amp is preety impressive, although i aiming for EC Black Widow in the future.

 

[Rozenberg]

Would love to get Eddie Current Super 7 if possible. It has 4pin XLR out and since I already have such cable on order, why not 

 

 

[Rozenberg]

I guess this is my first time hearing a kinda warmish HD800. Nice bass impact and more bodied low end, but at the cost of clarity and treble extension. A bit muddy, I'd say.
I'm guessing the Carbon would work great with stock HD800, but not so much with HD800SD for my taste.
 
 

 

[icebear]

The mod is easy to remove, isn't it ?