[elvergun]

They look like the ones Geekria sells. I don't believe those are the same as the Dekoni.

If those are the only ones available for you to purchase I would go for it. I almost bought the Geekria. The reason I chose the Dekoni is that I have a set of their pads on my T5p made from the softest memory foam I have ever touched. Unfortunately, the HD800 pads seem to be made from a different type of foam - still comfy, yet not as soft as the other ones.

Be aware, however, that I recently purchased a set of Accessory House pads for my Denon D2000 and I had to send them back. The AH Fostex/Denon pads are stiff and uncomfortable -- I could only use the D2000 for around 10 minutes or so at a time.

 

[longbowbbs]

I joined the club. Yeah, these blow the LCD-2 out of the water in terms of clarity. Resolution is a bit tricky. Planars have a specific way of rendering texture. I would say the HD800 has a similarly natural sounding timbre.

But they're not hard to drive at all and can be fixed with a fairly simple 5-band EQ. This pair has the SDR mod as well.

Welcome to the club. I keep coming back to the HD800's even though I have several other top end cans. For me there is something special in them. Particularly when paired with a great SET tube amp.

 

[hduong]

Just got the Geekria lambskin pads to replace the stock ones that were worn out. They are not as comfy as the stock ones as there is more pressure being applied. But that better for me as the old ones were a bit loose. Bass seemed improved. Slight more of it that is. Everything else seemed the same.

Would be interested to see a comparison between new stock pads vs the lambskin ones.

 

[491838]

I've recently received the HD800 and I've tested it quite thoroughly by now. Unfortunately, I'm not too convinced that these are the best at $1000.

The positives
The clarity is what separates these headphones from other headphones. I think the thin pads and huge earcups contribute to this sense of clarity. There isn't much between you and the sound (in a way, the way instruments are rendered remind me of IEMs like the ER4) and the stock tuning does aim for a somewhat balanced signature.

Stage width and imaging are good but most of the time it sounds like LCD-2 levels of width and it doesn't render images as big as the Audezes. You need very specific recordings to notice a significant increase in width over a planar.

The upper treble might indeed be better than anything in this price range but I think that's mostly a quirk of the tuning (it's very flat/even sounding above 10K) and not necessarily demonstrating superior "speed" or detail capabilities.

Dynamic range is quite good. Very nice and clear impact on snare drums and stuff like that. Quite good bass impact as well but it lacks extension.

With EQ (I use oratory's 5-band preset) they're fairly decent for music but more enjoyable in video games with that superior clarity though the LCD-2 was similarly immersive if not slightly more immersive with the big "planar wall" sound.

Negatives
Not the best bass for $1000. Good for a DD and it has more clarity than the LCD-2 (seemingly, because Audezes sound a bit resonant in the lower frequencies) but it isn't as tight/detailed or extended as the LCD-2. Plus it sounds a bit thick at 100-200 Hz, which can enhance metal recordings in a way but I would prefer the flatter transition through that range of Audeze planars. In terms of impact, it actually seems to have more impact in some recordings but I attribute that to the general superior clarity (i.e. "unadulterated" sound) of this design.

The mids and upper mids/treble are actually about on par with the LCD-2 if not slightly worse. It's a strange situation. The 5-6K "sharpness" or grain or whatever you want to call it is quite audible on most recordings with or without the SDR mod (which I removed because it basically fixed nothing) and with or without EQ, so whatever strange artifact is causing these headphones to sound grainy or harsh in the upper vocal range kinda negatively impacts the perception of detail in this region. Though I do still maintain that the LCD-2 has its own strange behavior in this range and really the entire frequency range. The honk/ringing at 0.9/1K which made pianos, voices, and some instruments sound aggressive and unnatural even post EQ, but the LCD-2 mids and lower treble were seemingly more forgiving and "smooth" sounding which is why I would almost say the Audezes were more detailed overall but lacked clarity overall if that makes any sense.

Upper treble is where the HD800 shines. It is indeed seemingly more detailed than the fuzzy sounding LCD-2 though I think Audeze planars have the same potential in this range but the treble above 10K has weird peaks that ruin the clarity and ultimately the imaging potential of the LCD-2. The LCD-2 upper treble is so bad that I can actually hear more nuances in that range on the less detailed and more damped ER4 (IEMs), which is ridiculous considering the 3X price difference.

So in conclusion I would say that I'm disappointed, very disappointed, by both the LCD-2 and the HD800. Both have wacky tunings and timbre defects that make them almost unlistenable with a lot of recordings. The sharpness of the HD800 and the ringing of the LCD-2 make them unsuitable for most music in my opinion even with EQ so I can't recommend either of them for $1000.

 

[gimmeheadroom]

What amps and sources are you listening to them on?

 

[491838]

What amps and sources are you listening to them on?

I'll have my Topping A90 next week which is supposed to be a better amp than my current amp/DAC set-up. Honestly, I wish sources would magically fix the HD800 but I really doubt they would fix the sharpness/grain that these have.

I'm not interested in any esoteric stuff like tube amps. I prefer to correct issues with DSP when possible.

 

[gimmeheadroom]

I'll have my Topping A90 next week which is supposed to be a better amp than my current amp/DAC set-up. Honestly, I wish sources would magically fix the HD800 but I really doubt they would fix the sharpness/grain that these have.

I'm not interested in any esoteric stuff like tube amps. I prefer to correct issues with DSP when possible.

I have a pair of 800s and don't have any similar impression to yours except for the point about the hot treble, and then only on certain female vocals. I don't have the LCD-2 but I have the 2C and 3F and they're polar opposites of the 800 for me. The 800 is notoriously intolerant of bad sources and lousy recordings.

With the new amp you mentioned I expect it will improve for you on both cans you mentioned. I have no experience with it but taking a quick look at the specs it should swing enough voltage to make your 800s sing. Make sure you run them balanced. DSP only goes so far. For some headphones you need quality power, and plenty of it.

 

[Fegefeuer]

You should try the felt mod.

 

[491838]

I had all of those mods but removed them subsequently. You can't EQ properly (based on popular EQ profiles) with mods installed.

I have a pair of 800s and don't have any similar impression to yours except for the point about the hot treble, and then only on certain female vocals. I don't have the LCD-2 but I have the 2C and 3F and they're polar opposites of the 800 for me. The 800 is notoriously intolerant of bad sources and lousy recordings.

With the new amp you mentioned I expect it will improve for you on both cans you mentioned. I have no experience with it but taking a quick look at the specs it should swing enough voltage to make your 800s sing. Make sure you run them balanced. DSP only goes so far. For some headphones you need quality power, and plenty of it.

Yeah, definitely on vocals that are heavily processed or have more information in the upper range. Vocals with a lot of reverb tend to sound very smooth due to the clarity and detail of these headphones in the upper treble.

But I do notice the treble sharpness even on good acoustic and orchestral (stuff with strings/violins) recordings which contributes to this artificial character of those instruments. Though the clarity is definitely on point.

 

[gimmeheadroom]

I had all of those mods but removed them subsequently. You can't EQ properly (based on popular EQ profiles) with mods installed.


Yeah, definitely on vocals that are heavily processed or have more information in the upper range. Vocals with a lot of reverb tend to sound very smooth due to the clarity and detail of these headphones in the upper treble.

But I do notice the treble sharpness even on good acoustic and orchestral (stuff with strings/violins) recordings which contributes to this artificial character of those instruments. Though the clarity is definitely on point.

FWIW I used the parametric EQ on my RME to kill the 8 KHz peak and it helped a lot for some Joni Mitchell albums that really did get a bit hard to take. But I did not notice stridency on strings or flute. IIRC I was listening to Mahler and then a few Hubert Laws albums on Tidal.

Edited: I should have mentioned that I was running the RME into a Valhalla 2 with the 800s. I don't use my Sennheisers out of the RME except for HD 25s once in a while.

 

[491838]

Well... I might have to sell them because the headband kills the top of my head. It's so bad that it literally makes me nauseous. I had a very similar experience with the HD600. Sennheiser hates my head.

Edit: I will buy new pads for the next owner as a bonus.

 

[gimmeheadroom]

Well... I might have to sell them because the headband kills the top of my head. It's so bad that it literally makes me nauseous. I had a very similar experience with the HD600. Sennheiser hates my head.

Edit: I will buy new pads for the next owner as a bonus.

Hah, interesting. There was a thread saying the 800 was the most comfortable pair of headphones and I didn't agree. The earcups seem to sit on my ears and the headband hurts. I think you're the first person I saw with the same experience.

But I find the 600s ok except for the jaws of death skull clamp. Maybe it hurts my face so much I didn't notice the headband

They do get better. But it takes a while.

 

[JamieMcC]

I'll have my Topping A90 next week which is supposed to be a better amp than my current amp/DAC set-up. Honestly, I wish sources would magically fix the HD800 but I really doubt they would fix the sharpness/grain that these have.

I'm not interested in any esoteric stuff like tube amps. I prefer to correct issues with DSP when possible.

Hi very curious as to your current amp and source which gave you these results as it really seems at odds to the norm here.
What's your current chain consist of?

 

[491838]

Hi very curious as to your current amp and source which gave you these results as it really seems at odds to the norm here.
What's your current chain consist of?

Currently a cheap Roland audio interface but I do have the Topping amp on the way which is very powerful. Not that I had problems driving these with my basic amp/DAC. The 800s are fairly easy to drive. Even easier than the LCD-2 and HD600.

The treble isn't so bad. Honestly I will probably just keep them for the clarity. It's very good. I especially noticed that when I played with them in my DAW with some sounds and surround effects. The imaging is quite natural and almost 3D.

 

[JamieMcC]

HD 800 can be quiet merciless on upstream kit good synergy is of prime importance they can scale really well. Get it right and the hd800 can be pretty spectacular. Get it wrong and you have sibilant wailing banshee that can physically make you wince and cringe.

Hopefully moving to the topping will help start to unlock the hd800's performance.

Good luck with Topping