nigeljames
Headphoneus Supremus
- Joined
- Feb 19, 2007
- Posts
- 1,824
- Likes
- 56
Quote:
Thanks for your insight, I am assuming it was in reply to my post.
I have always been a fan of silver cables but I know the HD800's might be best with a copper cable. One of the reasons I prefer silver is I like a deep, tight, fast bass in preference to a fuller bass, although I would not say no to both!
I don't have any issues with stridency but the Audio-gd gear is known for it's smooth treble and sibilance is only an issue if it's already on the disk. I have spent most of my time with the HD800's burrning in on my PC playing MP3's of various quality and don't really have any serious sibilance or stridency issues.
I would like to point out that all those people who say the HD800's are not good for rock have got it totally wrong. Been rocking some great tunes for the last few days.
I can't see why you would not keep the HD800 even if you have the HE-6 and LCD-2! Unless of course you have a pair of Stax 007 or 009 or you like a huge amount of bass.
I kept all three because they do different things and suit different music. The HD does not have the bass of the HE-6 or the immediacy of the LCD-2 but it gives you the inner details and gigantic soundstage that no other headphones I am familiar with can give.
This leads me to the cable suggestion: the HD800 has serious sibilance issue and some stridency in the treble when driven hard that are quite annoying. These cans are a very poor match with most silver cables, even Frank's superb Silver Poison, which tend to let through even more treble and tighten the bass, both negatively impacting the HD800.
I got by far the best results with Frank's Copper Venom. This cable tames the HD800 sibilance with the added benefit of a fuller bass , which the HD800 could certainly use. I also got the best results when the HD800 is paired with a tube-hybrid amp like the RWA Corvina or to a lesser extent a very smooth solid-state amp like the V200. Finally a simple mod shown elsewhere on this forum--a judicious damping of the the peripheral area inside of the HD800 ear cups--eliminates the problem completely albeit with a small loss in the soundstage size, which the HD800 can afford.
When hooked up to the RWA Corvina via Frank's Copper Venom, I find the HD800 to be my best all around headphone, especially with long listening sessions, among some pretty stout competition (Hifiman 500/HE-6, Audeze LCD2/3, Grado PS1000 and Beyerdynamic T1).
I hope this brief discussion is of some use to you in your cable choice and I also hope you keep the HD800..
Thanks for your insight, I am assuming it was in reply to my post.
I have always been a fan of silver cables but I know the HD800's might be best with a copper cable. One of the reasons I prefer silver is I like a deep, tight, fast bass in preference to a fuller bass, although I would not say no to both!
I don't have any issues with stridency but the Audio-gd gear is known for it's smooth treble and sibilance is only an issue if it's already on the disk. I have spent most of my time with the HD800's burrning in on my PC playing MP3's of various quality and don't really have any serious sibilance or stridency issues.
I would like to point out that all those people who say the HD800's are not good for rock have got it totally wrong. Been rocking some great tunes for the last few days.