[DC5Zilla]

Hello fellow head-fiers..

I worked my butt off during this summer to collect some of the fine headphone rig and it happened to do so. After 3 month of part-time jobs, I was able to become a proud owner of HD800 along with nice pico dac, DNA Sonett, and APS cables. My first experience through listening them was... well... pretty darn good but didn't reach my expectation, maybe because I was expecting too much at first. After about 2 weeks of casual listening, I started to think that maybe HD800 is not my taste after all. Although they have very large soundstage, detail, and transparency, I think they are just tad too polite sounding to me. I needed more bass impact to enjoy toe-tapping with music. So I've thought about selling the HD800 here and go with PS1000 balanced or perhaps sell all the gear I have and go with portable rig + UE11.

But after looking at my own pics, I thought.. "damn these are so sexy looking... their sound must be sexy too...Maybe I'm missing something so I should sit back down and re-evaluate it." As now I'm doing critical listening through them with my favorite track, my mind started to change yet again. They sound good.... they sound darn good. Whats up with me

Oh well, I've decided to keep them for now after all. But I would like to audition PS1000 in local sooner or later... they might suit me better.

just a bit of advice to others from my own experience... Everyone have different ears. Trust your own ears instead of others. Go out and listen to the actual headphones before making decision!!!

 

[devin_mm]

I think quite a bit of the sound has to do with your mood. I've always found if I take the 'pressure' off of the gear and just put the headphones, on turn off all of the lights, and let the music flow I can find something to love in all my gear.

 

[Uncle Erik]

Give the HD-800 and Sonnet a few more months before you sell. It's a terrific combination. The bass is there, but it's not exaggerated. Most people come into this hobby wanting lots of bass and, eventually, wind up craving the mids. Maybe that will happen to you and maybe it won't. But since you already have the gear, give it a try.

 

[DC5Zilla]

Quote:

Originally Posted by devin_mm /img/forum/go_quote.gif I think quite a bit of the sound has to do with your mood. I've always found if I take the 'pressure' off of the gear and just put the headphones, on turn off all of the lights, and let the music flow I can find something to love in all my gear.

I think that is very true... I had quite negative feeling/perception about the HD800 after first listening and I dragged it along this past 2 weeks. I will try to relax more and loose all the negative feeling about it so its not going to affect the music.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Uncle Erik /img/forum/go_quote.gif Give the HD-800 and Sonnet a few more months before you sell. It's a terrific combination. The bass is there, but it's not exaggerated. Most people come into this hobby wanting lots of bass and, eventually, wind up craving the mids. Maybe that will happen to you and maybe it won't. But since you already have the gear, give it a try.

Thanks! Maybe I got crave for bass more than others because I used to be a denon fan. I will give this gear little more time.. Maybe the burn-in will help the musical aspect some way or another. I sincerely hope..

 

[myk7000]

I've gone through a lot of headphones to come to this point. The HD800 is most definitely the best headphone I have ever had the pleasure of listening to.

You might want to give it a chance- you'll start to appreciate its amazingness. Maybe compare it to other cans as well once in a while to realize how great it is

 

[johnwmclean]

I occasionally have a bad session, too tried or just not in the mood.

Please don't flame me for this but how good is the Pico DAC for the level of sound quality your expecting? It's a well repected DAC in it's price class, I have no doubt about that - but you should try a higher end source to see if that's where improvements might be found.

BTW your photography is really excellent!

 

[Redcarmoose]

Maybe your build-up did not equal the reality you experienced. I have gone threw it too. You need to take time and there maybe an extra change in just one part of your gear that will get you there sound wise. Just rotate stuff in to see what the new sound will be.

 

[pearljam5000]

Just sell everything to me for half what you paid for it and be done with it

 

[DC5Zilla]

Quote:

Originally Posted by myk7000 /img/forum/go_quote.gif I've gone through a lot of headphones to come to this point. The HD800 is most definitely the best headphone I have ever had the pleasure of listening to. You might want to give it a chance- you'll start to appreciate its amazingness. Maybe compare it to other cans as well once in a while to realize how great it is

Thanks! These comments really help me feel better

I see that you own D7000 as well.. How does the two compare? I like the Denon sound but not sure if both are in the same league

Quote:

Originally Posted by johnwmclean /img/forum/go_quote.gif I occasionally have a bad session, too tried or just not in the mood. Please don't flame me for this but how good is the Pico DAC for the level of sound quality your expecting? It's a well repected DAC in it's price class, I have no doubt about that - but you should try a higher end source to see if that's where improvements might be found. BTW your photography is really excellent!

I've thought about swapping Pico DAC for different source but not sure since some folks here claim that Pico are comparable to sub $1000 dac. I seriously don't want to spend anything more that a grand for DAC. More research needed I guess..

Regarding the pic, its my first time using lightroom software and boy this software ROCKS!! I recommend this to everybody who is in photography

Quote:

Originally Posted by Redcarmoose /img/forum/go_quote.gif Maybe your build-up did not equal the reality you experienced. I have gone threw it too. You need to take time and there maybe an extra change in just one part of your gear that will get you there sound wise. Just rotate stuff in to see what the new sound will be.

Thanks!! I might consider changing DAC to a better one! Its good (or bad

) to see that I'm not the only who miss the track someway or another.

Quote:

Originally Posted by pearljam5000 /img/forum/go_quote.gif Just sell everything to me for half what you paid for it and be done with it

lol! What should I buy with $1700 then? I can buy PS1000 but no amp!

 

[SleepyOne]

Maybe worth borrowing a DAC from friend or shop to see whether it makes any differences before you sell.

 

[Graphicism]

Quote:

Originally Posted by DC5Zilla /img/forum/go_quote.gif So I decided to take pics of the gear I have before selling But after looking at my own pics, I thought.. "damn these are so sexy looking... their sound must be sexy too...Maybe I'm missing something so I should sit back down and re-evaluate it." As now I'm doing critical listening through them with my favorite track, my mind started to change yet again. They sound good.... they sound darn good. Whats up with me

It's all in the mind. Go with your instinct, sell them, buy something better.

 

[Blackmore]

Not sure which tubes are you using, but rolling some may change the presentation.

 

[usinare]

it sounds like the denon d7000 is what will suit your musical taste. go audition one. i did listen to both the denon d7000 and sennheiser hd800 using the headroom micro amp and an ipod with apple lossless files. the d7000 is surely very inviting and exciting. the bass presence is better than the hd800. the hd800 is very flat and natural sounding. the hd800 is like having a cake. the d7000 is like having a cake with icing on it. you have to decide which taste better.

 

[krmathis]

I highly suggest you give it a bit more than 2 weeks before concluding.
The gear need to fully burn in and you probably need to adapt to the sound. So a few more weeks would not hurt.

 

[ical]

DC5Zilla, all your gears are completely new. They do need some burn in time to show their true color. Be patience. It worth the wait.

Btw, your DAC seem to be the weak link. You might want to consider a CD player instead as source. It usually better than a DAC of the same cost.