[plonter]

A long thread but I just heard the 800 for the first time yesterday. they sure sound amazing with great soundstage. I am just don't sure if I want to get them or not.
by the way I am really enjoying my HD650 right now, I finally "grew" on them and the sennheiser sound generally.
would you guys say that the 800 has less bass quantity than the 650? I know the graphs say that, but it is not always that simple. i want to get some honest opinions about this. the HD650's bass is right on the spot for me, and I want to improve things but not in the cost of the bass response.

 

[joomongj]

Well as a relatively new owner of HD800 myself which have been in use for about 3 weeks now, I'm really happy w/ the purchase. This is my first high-end dynamic cans so I can't really say anything bad about it. I can see why some people say bass is a little on the light side but the bass punch is astounding, so definitely a quality over quantity approach. Another satisfied owner here.

 

[The Monkey]

Quote:

Originally Posted by plonter /img/forum/go_quote.gif A long thread but I just heard the 800 for the first time yesterday. they sure sound amazing with great soundstage. I am just don't sure if I want to get them or not. by the way I am really enjoying my HD650 right now, I finally "grew" on them and the sennheiser sound generally. would you guys say that the 800 has less bass quantity than the 650?

You tell us; you're the one who just heard the 800. What do you think?

 

[nae45ro]

Now that my EMM Labs CDSA is here I must say I rediscovered the HD800s. Considering my amp for the moment is the modest Bada PH-12 (Sonett is on the way) the difference between Benchmark DAC-1 and EMM was absolutely fabulous. I just can't believe how good this source is. The headphone has even better dynamics and control than on DAC-1 but without being sterile or boring at all. The amount of detail retrieval on both CD and SACD made me listen to all my collection again

The only thing missing now is a better SNR and sub-bass control (wich I hope will come with the Sonett) !

PS : For those who said HD800 is bass shy, you better listen to one after at least 200 hours of burning in because things improve dramatically !

 

[peanuthead]

Quote:

Originally Posted by nae45ro /img/forum/go_quote.gif Now that my EMM Labs CDSA is here I must say I rediscovered the HD800s. Considering my amp for the moment is the modest Bada PH-12 (Sonett is on the way) the difference between Benchmark DAC-1 and EMM was absolutely fabulous. I just can't believe how good this source is. The headphone has even better dynamics and control than on DAC-1 but without being sterile or boring at all. The amount of detail retrieval on both CD and SACD made me listen to all my collection again The only thing missing now is a better SNR and sub-bass control (wich I hope will come with the Sonett) ! PS : For those who said HD800 is bass shy, you better listen to one after at least 200 hours of burning in because things improve dramatically !

You're going to love the HD800 with the Sonett. And the bass will get even better on the Sonett; more fully extended with better detail and control.

 

[Seamaster]

Wow, this thread grows big and fast.

 

[Shahrose]

Quote:

Originally Posted by peanuthead /img/forum/go_quote.gif You're going to love the HD800 with the Sonett. And the bass will get even better on the Sonett; more fully extended with better detail and control.

How does the GS-1 compare to the Sonett with the HD800?

 

[peanuthead]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Shahrose /img/forum/go_quote.gif How does the GS-1 compare to the Sonett with the HD800?

They are both very very good. The Sonett is more "organic" and gives a more cohesive presentation of music in general. But really, I love both amps.

 

[Mark Spitz]

Got a chance to listen to the HD800 a few days back at Magnolia Hi-Fi in Seattle. For what it is worth, they also had the D2000, D7000, an RS-1, an HD600, HD650, and numerous other cheaper phones. After playing my cards right with my nicest smile, the floor manager just handed me the demo HD800 and hooked it up to a Denon source and amp, each of which had a sticker of about $1300. These headphones are pretty fantastic. I am not sure I could ever justify paying the sticker price, but if you can I think they take you the last 10%. I compared them to a Senn HD555, and quite frankly the difference was less substantial than I expected. The HD555 suffered almost imperceptibly in clarity, but what was lacking was the spatial dimension of the HD800. The soundstage on the 800 is simply phenomenal and can only be compared to live music. If you live in the Seattle area, I would highly suggest heading over. Just try not to drool on the carpet too much

 

[pp312]

Interesting comments. The usual comparison is with the 650 rather than 555; I guess that says a lot for the 555. I'd love to hear the 800 for curiousity, but could never justify the price. What I'd like to see is someone introduce an amp specifically for the 650 that boosted the extreme highs sufficient to remove the Senn veil. I'm rather surprised that given the popularity of the 650 and the consensus of a veil, no one has come up with such an amp. I'm a great believer in designed synergy rather than randomly trying to match expensive components and going broke in the process.

 

[Gamerphile]

Quote:

Originally Posted by pp312 /img/forum/go_quote.gif Interesting comments. The usual comparison is with the 650 rather than 555; I guess that says a lot for the 555. I'd love to hear the 800 for curiousity, but could never justify the price. What I'd like to see is someone introduce an amp specifically for the 650 that boosted the extreme highs sufficient to remove the Senn veil. I'm rather surprised that given the popularity of the 650 and the consensus of a veil, no one has come up with such an amp. I'm a great believer in designed synergy rather than randomly trying to match expensive components and going broke in the process.

Without having heard HD650 balanced on my system: Aren't balanced HD 650 drive suppose to [dis]solve that somewhat?

 

[upstateguy]

Quote:

Originally Posted by pp312 /img/forum/go_quote.gif Interesting comments. The usual comparison is with the 650 rather than 555; I guess that says a lot for the 555. I'd love to hear the 800 for curiousity, but could never justify the price. What I'd like to see is someone introduce an amp specifically for the 650 that boosted the extreme highs sufficient to remove the Senn veil. I'm rather surprised that given the popularity of the 650 and the consensus of a veil, no one has come up with such an amp. I'm a great believer in designed synergy rather than randomly trying to match expensive components and going broke in the process.

Stello made such an amp in their HP 100 but since not all ears hear things the same way, why not digitally EQ instead? You will be able to control the amount of boost and fade, and place it where you want/need it.

USG

 

[music_man]

i think the rsa hr-2 is the best amp i ever heard with the hd650. after all he did make it with those headphones as his reference.

music_man

 

[pp312]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Gamerphile /img/forum/go_quote.gif Without having heard HD650 balanced on my system: Aren't balanced HD 650 drive suppose to [dis]solve that somewhat?

I don't know, never heard a balanced, but "somewhat" isn't what I was thinking of. No dedicated amp I've heard makes any impression on the Senn veil and the best success I've had is simply to use a good quality integrated and a touch of treble boost (I have a dislike of equalisers permanently in circuit). Sounds crude, but it's surprisingly effective. I currently use a Yamaha AX396 with treble control at 2.00, which lifts the veil without affecting upper mids (and gives a damn good sound to boot). I basically love the 650 and, after trying every other brand, can't find anything close to it, but the veil is real and bothersome. I currently have a Headphile V2 Blacksilver on order in the hope that will help as well.

 

[mypasswordis]

How do you love a headphone that sounds veiled? And why are you trying to fix something that can't be fixed (other than through EQ)? Just buy an HD600 and be happy.