The Sennheiser HD 800: The First Listen, The First Review
Mar 3, 2013 at 11:16 PM Post #5,761 of 5,928
I wonder why a Honda Civic drives just fine with a canoe on the roof, but doesn't seem to pull a 35ft powerboat very well. The canoe only cost $500 vs $300K for the power boat. I don't get it, the canoe was cheaper.
 
Mar 3, 2013 at 11:41 PM Post #5,762 of 5,928
Quote:
Hi guys, so I was fortunate to audit these cans at my local headphone store.

Sadly when I pair up with my MP3 player, the sound coming out from these earmuffs were borderline low. So low to the point that I have to crank it all the way up, but still was pretty low to my ears. Care to explain the reason behind that?

I was mystified since my SE535 have such ample volume that I just crank to volume at 15, and still pretty loud. There's no way in heaven that a pair of flagship headphone priced at a staggering $1499 dollar would be beaten by a 500 dollar earbuds...

so that's my two cent of the day...

 
LOL
 
Mar 4, 2013 at 4:01 AM Post #5,766 of 5,928
Quote:
Not sure if troll..


Why is everyone on the forum thinks this is a troll. I'm dead serious. Well I'm no expert in audio, I'm just a causal listener who enjoys fine quality sound of a music. Well anyway my question is kinda explain from other thread I made. That I need a powerful amp to pump up the sound in order fill up the cans. All due seriousness my experience at the store is real, the sound was in fact miniscule if I just pair up with a weakening device like iPod, MP3 player or any other phone tablet device. All I want to know is why... that's all. You guys might wonder am I seriously that layman with audio equipment. The answer is partly yes and partly no. All I'm saying I can tell the difference between quality sound and ****ty sound just by listening with my ears.
 
BTW I'm not trying to piss off at Westone 4R lovers, but seriously the quadruple drivers aren't that sonically impressive when I compared them with my SE535s triple drivers. My SE535s sounded more immersive and more engaging, more personal and emotional! Also its volume is noticeably higher than W4Rs. W4Rs or WARS sounded flat, weak and downwardly cold. That's how I would describe these cans. So this goes to show that just by having multiple drivers don't necessary mean better or sound better than fewer drivers, sometime it's quite the opposite from the spectrum!
 
Mar 4, 2013 at 10:02 AM Post #5,769 of 5,928
While this is not necessarily the best analogy, in easy layman terms think about how big the drivers are in the HD800 compared to the armatures in the SE535. These drivers need power in order to push air and make sound. The amp is like an engine in a car. If you take the engine from a BMW M5 and put it in an 18-wheeler, you could probably still make it move, but it would not be ideal.
 
I have owned both the W4 and the SE535s and I agree with you that the SE535 was more engaging and emotional. The W4, while impressive on a detail and technical standpoint, was frankly boring and unemotional to me.
 
Mar 4, 2013 at 9:26 PM Post #5,770 of 5,928
Quote:
Hi guys, so I was fortunate to audit these cans at my local headphone store.

Sadly when I pair up with my MP3 player, the sound coming out from these earmuffs were borderline low. So low to the point that I have to crank it all the way up, but still was pretty low to my ears. Care to explain the reason behind that?

I was mystified since my SE535 have such ample volume that I just crank to volume at 15, and still pretty loud. There's no way in heaven that a pair of flagship headphone priced at a staggering $1499 dollar would be beaten by a 500 dollar earbuds...

so that's my two cent of the day...

You're kidding right?
 
Mar 5, 2013 at 4:37 AM Post #5,772 of 5,928
Quote:
Hi guys, so I was fortunate to audit these cans at my local headphone store.

Sadly when I pair up with my MP3 player, the sound coming out from these earmuffs were borderline low. So low to the point that I have to crank it all the way up, but still was pretty low to my ears. Care to explain the reason behind that?

I was mystified since my SE535 have such ample volume that I just crank to volume at 15, and still pretty loud. There's no way in heaven that a pair of flagship headphone priced at a staggering $1499 dollar would be beaten by a 500 dollar earbuds...

so that's my two cent of the day...

 
The HD 800 are high impedance headphones and need a decent amplifier to drive them - almost any MP3 player amp. would be far too weak.
 
They do, however, drive quite nicely from a good battery portable amplifier such as the Graham Slee Voyager.
 
The HD 800 are very revealing headphones and will show up any deficiencies in the recording or the equipment.  They will clearly show up how horrible MP3 compressed files are.
 
Jun 7, 2013 at 9:42 AM Post #5,775 of 5,928
Quote:idespa
When I first heard these, I instantly fell in love. The only thing is that freaking price tag, but maybe someday it will be worth it.

Someday, if your wallet can stand the strain, you can enjoy these sonic jewels daily.
 
Or, you may even go Stax.
 

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