[Sanctuary]

Well, I ordered my pair yesterday morning, and they arrived about two hours ago.  Currently listening to the first Days of the New album (all acoustic).  I've had a Lyr for about a year to power the Alpha Dogs I ended up buying, and it seems to be adequate.  I don't really have anything to compare the Lry to, but at least so far I'm not finding any issues with the way these sound.  They are absolutely "bright" sounding, but they don't sound exaggerated, and nothing like the Ultrasones.  "Clinical" and "Dry" like they've been said to be seems pretty accurate too, and it doesn't bother me.  I actually transitioned from a V shaped, very warm and heavily EQd pair of 280s many years ago to some Phonak 132s, which initially sounded "bad" to me.  But I had just been using some relatively crap (good for the price back then I guess) headphones with an EQ that was all over the place to make music sound good.  On first listen, these remind me quite a bit of the Phonaks.  But better of course.

Before actually listening to music, I ended up cycling through a few movie scenes using Dolby Headphone.  I had seen certain articles claim that these are so out of your head that they were the closest thing to sounding like actual speakers instead of headphones.  First thing I noticed when watching the movies was how much more they really do sound more like speakers, although I'm not sure if it's just these headphones, or the fact that they are open.  I haven't had a pair of fully open yet, and the closest I've come would be the DT880s, but these are way more open sounding.
 
edit: Wow.  Revealing is an understatement.  I just listened to this album yesterday with my DT880s, and it's like I'm listening to a better mixed version right now.
 
edit 2: These really bring out the bass guitar too.  Like by a lot.

 

[Zoom25]

For a year before I had my Amphions, I loved my HD 800. Now I cannot stand the 6k peak at all. I was aware of it before, but I think I had gotten used to it. However, now when I am switching between monitors and headphones daily, it's simply not enough time to get used to it. It's painfully made obvious in stock form. I resorted to using Sonarworks for the past 2+ months. I'm still not fully satisfied. There's something really abnormal about that resonance. I mostly reach for the HD 598 now.
 
Anyone here compare the SuperDupont with the stock and Sonarworks (either stock or with SuperDupont)?

 

[Sennheiser]

jamesino, Yup! Currently Spotify and Tidal! Regarding your song samples, first I want to thank you for taking the time to identify points in the song where you hear the ringing... and also the fresh tunes for the night! Particularly liked your "Closer to Fine" suggestion!

Second, on my current solid-state setup, I didn't hear ringing in the three sections you meticulously identified. On "Emmylou," I think she's actually saying "I miiiight have lied to you" around 2:38, but her pitch is low enough that I don't expect it is your ears being particularly sensitive to that pitch (General PSA: see an audiologist if you feel like certain pitches cause pain or leave a lasting ringing sound, so you can enjoy music longer!). Don't worry about being able to identify pitch from memory; I had to look it up just now. If you PROMISE to turn down your volume all the way to silent and turn it up till you can hear (the video is quite loud), this is a 6 kHz pitch: [video]https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=nyZhQj0k7-s[/video]

So, I don't think it's an issue with 6kHz or your HD800 headphones, and I recommend an audition with different tubes or another amp. I fixed an issue like that once by switching tubes, and another time by using a different USB. Hopefully that's a bit of relief! If you need some musical relief from hearing a pure tone, your music inspired me and I ended up making a playlist with some songs that don't have issues on my setup, but sound totally awesome: https://open.spotify.com/user/evshrug/playlist/5XNxbPkKVGHN6NDaYNeo0S



-----
eeagleDifferent ears definitely have different sensitivities! Whether by the shape of your outer ear, ear canal, or the hairs in your cochlea, minor differences lead to different experiences and thus personal preferences.

Binaural and HRTF science is quite fascinating, difficult to master but worth it for the sense of natural realism. Smyth Research and Creative Labs' efforts are laudable; Sennheiser engineers are also applying their expertise to surround sound products such as our AMBEO VR Microphone for use in conjunction with VR cameras, a personal AMBEO Binaural recorder for use with smartphones, as well as the DSP in our GSX 1000 and 1200 external gaming soundcard. Classic stereo audio is indeed an art, but it is fair to say that the HD800 plus Binaural audio is well suited for Sennheiser's "Pursuit of Perfection."



-----
Sanctuary
My first experience with the HD800 was VERY much like yours! "Master and Commander" and the new "Mad Max" movies sound great in surround, have you tried any games yet?

I found the Bass Guitar to come out too, with tons of "texture" and a physical sensation on my ear, but not in a way that overpowers the rest of the sound. I posted some cool music tracks for jamesino above, if you key into the bass guitar, you have to check out "You Want It Darker." "Heart of the Sunrise" has sweet drumming, lots of ghost beats! For fun, I just have to check out that album that made your first HD800 impression

 

[jamesino]

@Sennheiser, thanks again for your help, it really provides a peace of mind!

 

[MattTCG]

Very nice to see a Sennheiser rep active here. 

 

[MWSVette]

  Very nice to see a Sennheiser rep active here. 

Agreed it is great to have an official voice chime in from time to time...
 

 

[Sennheiser]

Thanks for the encouragement guys!

Sennheiser really values the community, and that's why I'm here. Thank YOU! Did you see my announcement?
http://www.head-fi.org/t/841044/sennheiser-meet-greet#post_13368021

 

[randyb]

Delete

 

[inertianinja]

I just performed the SuperDupont mod, thought I'd record a video to help others with the hardest part - getting the fabric off the driver housing:



If you pull the fabric back slowly enough, the glue will detach from the fabric and stay on the driver frame. In the video you can see how slow I'm pulling, and how the glue just pops off the fabric and stays intact on the frame. This makes it easy to re-attach. Hope it helps someone out there.

 

[Moochibond]

I was pretty sure I was going to pop for a Senn HD800S when I received my Symth Realiser 16 but nit after the "laughable" comment.

 

 
The Sennheiser poster did not write laughable, they wrote: "Smyth Research and Creative Labs' efforts are laudable"
 
Laudable meaning: (of an action, idea, or aim) deserving praise and commendation.
 
You can buy your HD800S now 

[size=small] [/size]

 

[mcteague]

  @Sennheiser, thanks a lot for reaching out to me!
 
1) & 2) Nope, the ringing is not throughout the song. It usually occurs during vocals as a singer is holding a long note or belting out a loud note, but I don't think it's a natural vibrato. I want to say that it's usually only certain notes that are affected, but I'm poor at identifying pitch. I'm currently using a USB port on my computer, and the ringing still persists after trying different ports. The ringing is worse when I switch from the BHC Crack + Speedball to the Valhalla 2.
 
3) I hear the ringing with multiple tracks, but not every track, do you have Spotify? Here are some examples:
 
Emmylou by First Aid Kit: https://open.spotify.com/track/3UzvFIyu5qdRepwJViDwjN
At 2:38 when she holds the long "Hoowww"
 
Something About the Way You Look Tonight by Elton John: https://open.spotify.com/track/5LjSxAIKwyZvQqJ04ZQ0Da
At 0:14 when he holds the word "One." I think this tone is a bit lower than the one above, yet the ringing still happens. 
 
Closer To Fine by Indigo Girls: https://open.spotify.com/track/7rKyITVLEwldhdXIy7P6Vw
0:21 when she holds the word "Me." The ringing is especially prominent here. 
 
Thanks so much for your help. 

I have that Indigo Girls CD and listened to it with my HD800 headphones and do not hear any ringing. So, not the recording nor the HD800's fault I would think.
 
Tim

 

[Moochibond]

 
I have that Indigo Girls CD and listened to it with my HD800 headphones and do not hear any ringing. So, not the recording nor the HD800's fault I would think.
 
Tim

Nope, no ringing here either. A little bit of sibilance....
 
No ringing on the First Aid Kit song either. She has a lovely voice 

 

 

[Moochibond]

  Nope, no ringing here either. A little bit of sibilance....
 
No ringing on the First Aid Kit song either. She has a lovely voice 

 

 
 

 
I have that Indigo Girls CD and listened to it with my HD800 headphones and do not hear any ringing. So, not the recording nor the HD800's fault I would think.
 
Tim

 
 

  @Sennheiser, thanks a lot for reaching out to me!
 
1) & 2) Nope, the ringing is not throughout the song. It usually occurs during vocals as a singer is holding a long note or belting out a loud note, but I don't think it's a natural vibrato. I want to say that it's usually only certain notes that are affected, but I'm poor at identifying pitch. I'm currently using a USB port on my computer, and the ringing still persists after trying different ports. The ringing is worse when I switch from the BHC Crack + Speedball to the Valhalla 2.
 
3) I hear the ringing with multiple tracks, but not every track, do you have Spotify? Here are some examples:
 
Emmylou by First Aid Kit: https://open.spotify.com/track/3UzvFIyu5qdRepwJViDwjN
At 2:38 when she holds the long "Hoowww"
 
Something About the Way You Look Tonight by Elton John: https://open.spotify.com/track/5LjSxAIKwyZvQqJ04ZQ0Da
At 0:14 when he holds the word "One." I think this tone is a bit lower than the one above, yet the ringing still happens. 
 
Closer To Fine by Indigo Girls: https://open.spotify.com/track/7rKyITVLEwldhdXIy7P6Vw
0:21 when she holds the word "Me." The ringing is especially prominent here. 
 
Thanks so much for your help. 

Although (First Aid Kit) same album (The Lion's Roar), song; The Lion's Roar, there is a very high pitch frequency (very prominent) right at the very start of the song (it fades up at 0:02) - in fact it carries on all the way through, although I can only hear it during the quiet passages of the song. EDIT: Can't hear this high frequency sound at the very end of the song.
 
Is this the sort of ringing you can hear in the other songs?

 

[randyb]

Oh my, my bad!!!  Sorry about that. 

 

[jamesino]

Maybe sibilance is what I am hearing and I'm just doing a poor job of describing it. It's kind of this "un-naturesness" that, to me, sounds like ringing/vibrato/sibilance. Do you have any songs with very clear and obvious examples of sibilance that I can compare to?