[kfki]

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...

 

[third_eye]

No offense, but I think people were wondering whether this was a serious question or not. But to answer your question:
 
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Headphones
 
Check the section labeled "Impedance" (Section 3.1)

 

[CrocsRock]

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...

Okay...because I'm a nice guy. Think of it as a steam-powered car (the Shures) facing off against a rocket ship (HD800).  If you use coal (an iPod), then your steam-powered car is going to kick the ass of the rocket ship. Every time. The Shures might be fine with the juice they're getting from the iPod, but it's not nearly enough to power the HD800. Throw some rocket fuel (a kick-ass amplifier) into your rocket... the Shures won't touch the HD800. You say you're in a headphone store, talk to someone and have them hook the HD800 to an amp and throw on a CD (as opposed to, I'm assuming, lossy MP3s). 

 

[kfki]

Quote:

No offense, but I think people were wondering whether this was a serious question or not. But to answer your question:
 
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Headphones
 
Check the section labeled "Impedance" (Section 3.1)

Hey I'm very serious on this thread... yes maybe an amplify will fire up the fuel to push the sound from these cans...

 

[TwinQY]

Quote:

No offense, but I think people were wondering whether this was a serious question or not. But to answer your question:
 
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Headphones
 
Check the section labeled "Impedance" (Section 3.1)

Aww, why ruin the fun 

Quote:

Hey I'm very serious on this thread... yes maybe an amplify will fire up the fuel to push the sound from these cans...

I hope you mean that figuratively because usually we don't recommend putting diesel or gasoline in headphones or amps.
 
But honestly, an iPod will not drive these to listening levels. Make a nice home rig.

 

[iamthem]

My sides hurt.

 

[extrabigmehdi]

The hd800 is 300 ohms, and hence your ipod cannot deliver enough volume to your hd800.
Try to buy an amp, but I don't think you need to buy crazily expensive amp to run them (that's just me)

 

[myc]

HD 800 is quite big compared to ipod.
 
So you need bigger source/amp such as one in this thread may be
 
http://www.head-fi.org/t/417493/best-looking-tube-amp
 

 

 

[TheKillerPiglet]

 

 

[LCfiner]

So, assuming this thread isn't a joke, did the guy at the headphone store who let you audition the HD800 warn you in any way that an iPod does not have enough juice to power those bad boys? Seems like you should have been given some advance warning from the staff.
 
The HD800 sounds best when paired with a good quality, dedicated amp and a better DAC than what's found in the iPod.

 

[kfki]

Quote:

Aww, why ruin the fun 

I hope you mean that figuratively because usually we don't recommend putting diesel or gasoline in headphones or amps.
 
But honestly, an iPod will not drive these to listening levels. Make a nice home rig.

Duh! Of course figuratively, you silly goose!

 

[kfki]

Quote:

So, assuming this thread isn't a joke, did the guy at the headphone store who let you audition the HD800 warn you in any way that an iPod does not have enough juice to power those bad boys? Seems like you should have been given some advance warning from the staff.
 
The HD800 sounds best when paired with a good quality, dedicated amp and a better DAC than what's found in the iPod.

Nah.. he just handed me the headphone with 3.5 mm jack connector and that's it. He didn't warn me or anything. Later listening to a couple of minutes, I turn to him and ask why, he then told me that an iPod is not strong enough to amplify the cans. He say I should pair up with a PC or the iMac from the store. But sadly, all the stations were preoccupied, so no luck with trying them out. I might go back there for a another try, because I'm curious to hear them in its full glory....

 

[kfki]

The other way around with SE535s hooking up with a full size stereo, will the sound be low or loud?
Because these earbuds are tiny cans versus to a large home stereo equipment.
 

 

[extrabigmehdi]

Quote:

He say I should pair up with a PC or the iMac from the store.

Well if you test them from an onbaord soundcard, it might sound even worse than your ipod.
I suggest you test them in any good hifi stereo around in the store (with headphone jack) , if you can see any of them.

 

[LCfiner]

Quote:

Nah.. he just handed me the headphone with 3.5 mm jack connector and that's it. He didn't warn me or anything. Later listening to a couple of minutes, I turn to him and ask why, he then told me that an iPod is not strong enough to amplify the cans. He say I should pair up with a PC or the iMac from the store. But sadly, all the stations were preoccupied, so no luck with trying them out. I might go back there for a another try, because I'm curious to hear them in its full glory....

 
if it's just hooked up to the iMac or PC headphone port, it won't be the "full glory" of the headphone. far from it. They would need a really good headphone amp (think something over 500 bucks, at least) to give you a good idea of how they can sound.
 
Complicating this further, the hd800 are more "picky" than some other headphones and can sound harsh on some amplifiers that might make other headphones sound fine.
 
Good luck but it sounds like this store isn't really setup to demo the HD800 properly. you might still like them but they're designed for connections to much better equipment.