First, I would like to thank White Lotus and Sennheiser Australia for including me in the Australian review tour!
 
 
Background:
 
If you’re reading this review, I would imagine that you already know all about the Sennheiser HD-800S. The company’s new top-of-the-line production dynamic-driver headphone is an update of the veteran HD-800, which has long been considered the “king of clarity”.
 
While I only have limited experience demoing the original HD800 in the past, I have been using an HD-650 for many years. Other headphones I used for comparison was a modded Hifiman HE-500, and an Oppo PM-1. The HE-500 has been my personal favourite headphone for a number of years now, with the focus pads, headband padding and cable upgrades, this headphone has a winning combination of neutral sound signature with excellent dynamics. I personally prefer the HE-500 over a number of pricier headphones I had a chance to try, including the LCD-3.
 
The Oppo PM-1 was received at the same time as the HD-800S demo unit, and was provided another good reference to the comparison and general impressions. I have been using the PM-3 as a portable headphone, and I was so impressed with the PM-3’s performance I ended up getting its “big brother” for a try.
 
For this test, I used both tube and solid-state amplifiers. The tube amp is a Bottlehead Crack OTL with speedball, which goes very well with driving high-impedance headphones like the Sennheisers. The solid-state amp used is a Meier Audio Corda Concerto, a high-powered single-ended design that drives both high-impedance dynamics and lower-impedance planars with excellent clarity and authority. The source used is Schiit Bifrost Multibit DAC, fed music files (both lossless and lossy) via an AK240, a Denon CD transport, or a computer.
 
Fit, comfort
 
First, some words about comfort. The HD-800S has absolutely huge earcups. They don’t so much cover the ear and completely engulf it, and then some. The comfort was very good, except for some pressure on the bones under the year which was mildly uncomfortable after some time. Compared to the other headphones, it feels much lighter than the HE-500 both in the hand and on the hand, however the PM-1 and the HD-650 are both a bit more comfortable than the HD-800S, as these two are shaped just right to cover the ear and feel gentle / pillow-like pressed against the head.
 
Accessories:
 
I must say this is a pet peeve of mine to see a tremendous headphone with an after-thought of a cable, as was the case with the HE-500 and the HD-650. Not so with the HD-800S. True to its TOTL status, the cables supplied seem to be of very high quality, made of soft materials that was just perfect for prolonged uses. This is how a cable in a TOTL headphone should feel. Top marks also the Oppo PM-1 for having very good quality cables supplied.
 
Sound:
 
In order to get a good evaluation of the sound, played a large number of tracks through all headphones, stopping on selected passages and switching back and forth between the headphones and the amplifiers. After a few days, some things became apparent to me:
 

1. Clarity: The HD-800S didn’t lose a beat with its complete authority over the minute details in any recording you’ll throw at it. As others have commented on their reviews, the main difference with the HD-800S seems to be the fuller bottom end, which is very apparent. However, this doesn’t detract from the fact that these headphones are perhaps the most detailed I have ever tried – certainly more than its competitors here. To compare, I would say that the PM-1 were next in line, having surprisingly detailed sound. The HE-500 follows very closely, with the HD-650 slightly lagging behind.

 

1. Bass: The HD-800S’ main improvement over the HD-800. While significantly dependent on the amp, out of the Bottlehead, the bass was clear, detailed, yet still punchy and very much present. It is more detailed than the bass of the HE-500, but perhaps not as dynamic. The PM-1’s bass is very detailed but slightly disappointing in its impact.

 

1. Mids: Despite the superior detail retrieval of the HD-800S, I think it’s very hard to topple the HE-500 when it comes to fluent, musical mids. This is especially the case in rock, blues, and soul music. The HD-650 with the Bottlehead produces some excellent mids as well, but its performance in this instance is seriously overshadowed by the 800S.

 

1. Highs: I feel that this is the category that most clearly distinguished between all 3 headphones. The HD-800S is clearly at the top, with clear and vivid details, accentuating nuances that I never heard before in some of my music. It makes the sound really crisp and airy. On the other end of this scale are the HD-650 and PM-1, both with more of a rolled-off treble. The PM-1 still has more clarity in the treble over the HD-650, but both headphones come across as very smooth, compared to the crisp HD-800S. Right in the middle between these extremes sit the HE-500. It definitely has more treble than the smooth headphones, giving it nice space and airiness, but it is not quite as dominant as in the HD-800S. Personally, I like this type of balance, even though the details are a couple of steps behind the HD-800S.

 

1. Dynamics: The HD-800S comes across as very dynamic, the strong top-end creates a great sense of space, drums and percussions come across with a realist conviction, as well as pianos and acoustic guitars. The HE-500 is stronger than the other two in this category, and I felt it is the best of all 4 when it comes to reproducing wind instruments and electric guitars.

 
Conclusion
 
To conclude, I would say that the HD-800S deserves the accolades it has received, and is more than a worthy update to the HD-800. I enjoyed testing it thoroughly, and in particular the level of detail and the clarity of its sound should be heard to be believed. However, its tonal balance may not fit each and every musical preference – in particular, for rock music I would still prefer the tonality of the HE-500. But for acoustic and classical music, or any music with a large number of instruments and complex passages, the HD-800S is a real joy to the ears.

First, I wish to acknowledge that I received a demo unit as part of the Australia and New Zealand world tour. I wish to thank FiiO and Brooko for organising the tour, and for allowing me to demo the unit. It should be noted however that there was no expectation communicated for this to influence the review in any way.
 
This review is divided to 2 main parts: Physical appearance / UI, and the sound quality. The main device used for comparison is the Astell & Kern AK100ii, which has been my main portable DAP in the last year, and occupies a similar price range (in Australia, at the time of writing, the X7 can be had for about 900-950 AUD, while the AK100ii can be had for about 1,000 AUD).
 
Physical appearance and UI

Out of the box, I immediately noticed a similarity to the feel of the AK100ii. Both share a similar metallic frame with a washed pattern and a similar colour. The X7 appear slightly larger and slightly heavier (220g vs 170g). Both devices present nice touch screen, with the FiiO screen being slightly larger (4” vs 3.31”), both with 480X800 resolution. The AK100ii has a nice round volume attenuator, while the X7 opted for a two-button attenuator, is not as nice to operate.
 
The controls show further similarities. In addition to the touchscreen, both devices have 3 physical control buttons on one side (forward, back, play/pause) and the volume control on another side, and a power button. Both devices respond to the physical buttons even when the screen is locked.
 
A further look at the specs show further similarities: both include internal flash memory (64gb for the AK100ii compared with 32 for the FiiO X7), expandable via a single msd slot. The msd slot on the X7 is less recessed, and does not require an additional item to take the msd card in or out – an advantage over the AK100ii for people who change cards often. The X7 includes a separate line-out which doubles as coax out, while the AK100ii lacks a true line-level output (the “line out” setting simply maximises and locks the volume), and its headphones out doubles as optical out.
 
While the X7’s inclusion of a separate line-level output is to be commended, its placement on the top of the device while the headphones out is located at the bottom is quite confusing. When I first got the device and plugged my headphones at the top of the device, I was surprised to find that I am unable to alter the volume using the volume slide. Upon further investigation I realised that the actual headphones out was located at the bottom of the device.
 
Regarding the UI, both devices sport a fully-customised android-based UI, and on both devices the UI is relatively easy to use. The UI of the X7 is a significant improvement compared to the previous FiiO DAP I reviewed (X5ii), and is comparable to the easy UI of the AK100ii. I still found a couple of small things not as intuitive as the AK100ii, for example when viewing the list of artists, and then choosing an artist to reveal the list of albums, one would expect to choose an album to reveal the track list in the same way, however it operates on a slightly different menu.
 
One significant difference of the devices is that the X7 allows for the installation of apps. This makes the X7 as potentially including more functions and one can use the X7 for more applications than just music. However, the X7 can also operate on a “pure music mode”, which makes the X7 a “pure” music player. The AK100ii can only operate on that mode, so the X7 offers the added benefit – for those users who wish for it – to install other apps and use the X7 for other applications.
 
To conclude, in terms of physicality, the X7 has a nice touch and feel to it and it includes a separate line-level output, which the AK100ii is lacking. However it is slightly larger and heavier than the AK100ii, the location of the headphone port is not ideal, and the two-button attenuator has a slightly satisfying feeling compared to the AK100ii’s.
 
Sound quality:
 
I chose to address the sound quality last, because of the inherent subjectivity of the matter. When comparing the devices, I had no way of conducting a truly blind comparison, so placebo effect cannot be ignored. Having said that, I feel that both devices present a clear and detailed sound, with some very small perceived differences which may or may not be real.
The headphones used for this review are, in order of importance:
 

1. PSB M4U2 – my main portable headphone, very balanced sound, which I often use as a benchmark to testing portable equipment.
2. Ultrasone Performance 880 (modified with HM5 hybrid pads) – a recent purchase, an excellent over-ear with exceptional soundstage and dynamics.
3. HE-500 (modified) via Meier Audio Corda Classic amplifier – my main home setup. I don’t usually connect my portable audio to my desktop gear directly (usually I would use my reference DAC) but the direct connection to extremely clean and balanced Corda Classic amplifier allows to test the output from a more detailed, open-back headphone.

 
For this comparison I have used a variety of the genres I mostly listen to, including: rock, funk, soul, blues, jazz, and country/folk. Apologies for fans of other genres that were not used for this review (EDM, classical), as well as users of IEMs, as I only use over-ear headphones.
 
I find that both amplifiers present a very clean sound, with a low noise floor. I do find that the noise floor is slightly lower on the AK100ii, which is evident in some acoustic/quiet track (for example, Guinneviere by Crosby Stills and Nash). The X7 appears to my ears to have slightly better lower-end dynamics, with a very nice punch around the mid-bass regions. The AK100ii, however, seems to have a slightly more elevation in the treble, which makes tambourines for example sound a bit clearer and more present. However, both devices seem to produce very crisp mids, that are a joy to listen to. The X7’s sound is full, rich, and detailed, and generally sounds very similar to the AK100ii.
 
While I couldn't find or generate measurements of the actual power output, I would venture a guess that the X7 has slightly more output power compared with the AK100ii. This appears more noticeable with the Ultrasone P880, which seems to be driven better by the X7 without an external amp. The PSB M4U2m with their internal amplifier sounded great with both devices, as did the M100.
 
To conclude, while both devices offer similar sound quality, the X7 seems to me to have a slightly elevated low-end, while the AK100ii has slightly elevated treble. Apart from those small differences the sound is rich, detailed, and open. The X7 seems to have slightly stronger amplification, which can be especially beneficial to those who use it with over-ear headphones. Another difference in the amplification section is that the AK100ii comes with a balanced output, while the X7 comes with a detachable amp section, which can be upgraded to higher power and balanced modes. I didn’t try any of the upgrade modules.
 
Overall, the X7 is an excellent DAP that is comparable with the AK100ii, and even holds some advantages over it (higher power output, proper line level output, ability to install apps, ability to upgrade amp module), and some disadvantages (lower internal memory, lack of stock balanced output, location of headphones socket, lesser attenuator).

Introduction
 
Disclosure: I received a demo unit of the FiiO X5ii as part of an “Australian tour”. I’d like to thank Brooko for organising the tour and including me in it.
 
Background
 
10 years ago, shortly after it was released, I bought the iPod video 60gb, and it fundamentally changed the way I consumed music. I used it (and its larger capacity relatives) constantly for the next 8 years. The ease of use and the UI was incredible, as were the many playback features.
 
Then, early in 2013, I decided to finally take the leap and get a new DAP altogether. I did this for several reasons, including the need for expandable memory (I’m a bit of a digital music hoarder) and the ability to play a wider variety of files. I was also hoping for possible improvements in sound, although I think the sound from the ipod was good.
 
My first stop after the ipod was the iBasso DX90. I really enjoyed all of the extra features of the DX90, and I think it’s an excellent DAP. However, the UI, while functional, is a significant downside. Especially after the ipod, it felt like a downgrade in terms of UI. Then, about six months ago, I decided to upgrade from the DX90, mainly because of the UI. It might sound a bit insignificant, but I find that with poor UI, I also tend to listen to a smaller selection of artists and albums.
The upgrade came in the form of an AK100ii, after a long period of lurking the “for sale” section for a decently priced unit. The AK’s UI is really miles beyond, and I’ve been enjoying this nifty little machine ever sense. However, the DX90 does have some advantages and extra features which makes it still a very good DAP. As I still own the DX90, I was able to compare the FiiO to both the DX90 and the AK100ii.
 
About the review:
This review is my first ever experience with a FiiO DAP – I never owned one, or even listened to one. Right out of the box, it pushed my nostalgia button with the ipod-reminiscent look. I then loaded some micro SD cards with some of my favourite testing tracks. These include rock (Black Crowes), soul (Donny Hathaway), funk (Funkadelic), country (John Hartford), and jazz (John Coltrane).
My favourite portable headphone is the PSB M4U2, which I use daily, on public transport, at work, and even walking around. I mainly used this headphone to test the FiiO and to compare it to the other devices.
 
Sound
 
First, I enjoyed listening to all 3 devices and the differences were not very substantial. Having said that, I found the X5ii to have a generally neutral tone with perhaps a small hump in the mids. I think that the DX90 has excellent detail but it can also sound a bit sterile at times. The AK100ii brings in a similar amount of detail, but all those details seem to come together more smoothly and organically. Compared to these two, the FiiO held its own well. I thought it sounded a bit more neutral than the DX90. It had similar bass to the DX90, but the AK100ii has noticeably better textures in the bass department. It is hard to say anything definitive about the sound though, given that I didn’t do a proper blind testing, but I would say that the differences are not that big. Winner: Inconclusive without proper blind testing.
 
 
UI
 
In this category, the hierarchy for me is clear. The UI is the “Achilles heel” of the DX90, with fonts that are hard to read and many of the functions are not intuitive. The FiiO is definitely a step up from the DX90 with a more intuitive use, and a much easier to read fonts. However, the AK100ii is on a league of its own here. A huge improvements on both the DX90 and the FiiO. Winner: AK100ii
 
Power output
 
In this category, the more expensive DAP in the group is actually the weakest. DX90 seems to be the most powerful to high gain (3 gain settings), then the FiiO not far behind (2 gain settings) The FiiO should have enough power to drive every portable you can throw at it. Winner: DX90 and X5ii
 
Memory
 
Here, the FiiO has the advantage, with two micro SD card slots. The second slot, for me, more than compensate for the lack of internal memory. The AK has 64gb internal storage + 1 micro SD, while the DX90 has 8gb + 1 micro SD. Winner: FiiO X5ii.
 
Features
 
The FiiO and the DX90 both have some very useful features such as a separate line out port, multiple gain options, and OTG. While the AK lacks those, it does have its own unique features, including Bluetooth and wifi connectivity, although I don’t think that the AK utilises these well enough (the wireless file transfer is still unnecessarily clunkier than via cable. The X5ii does not have a touch screen, but I didn’t feel it was necessary because the wheel worked just fine for me. Winner: DX90 and X5ii.
 
Form and looks
 
The X5ii has a very nice metallic casing, which us similar to that of the AK100ii. The DX90 seems plainer, but it feels smooth and light. However, the AK has the best case out of the 3, and the large colourful screen makes it the winner for me. Winner: AK100ii.
 
Conclusion
 
The FiiO X5ii is a very good DAP with a simple but easy to use UI, and includes many helpful features. It has some significant advantages on similar DAPs in its strong output and dual micro SD. However, the file/folder – based UI still cannot compete with a well-executed android software and a big touchscreen such as on the AK100ii. However, given that the UI of the X5ii is significantly better than the DX90, I may have waited a bit longer before upgrading.

Here's a mini review for all those who are interested in these headphones but don't listen predominantly/ mostly to hip-hop. This is the first time I'm writing a headphones review, so it might not get as detailed as some of the other ones on this forum, but hopefully it'll give you an idea of the pros and cons of these headphones.
 
I listen to quite a few different genres, so I thought I'll add my 2c. I got interested in the JVCs because I wanted to add a good bassy headphone to my collection, I have some very good headphones which I thoroughly enjoy, but none of them have that real thumping bass that I want every now and then. I stumbled across this thread, and the curiosity-to-price ration was enough to let the curiosity win and I ordered these from amazon.
 
Listening setup: At home: Laptop -> Tubemagic D1 dac -> Meier Audio Corda Concerto -> JVC. On the go: ipod -> v-moda Vamp Verza -> JVC.
 
Comfort and build quality: These are very big and bulky headphones but with a very nice design, very firm, mostly plastic with but of the high quality kind, some metal parts, with a nice mesh padding for the headband. Overall a very well constructed headphones, heavy but to me feel very comfortable on the head, especially with the replacement pads (see next paragraph).
 
First listen out of the box with stock pads, I was surprised that these sounded quite nice throughout the scale (I was expecting the worst given what I've read about stock pads and the need to burn these in). The stock pads however are too shallow, with not a poor seal. With the stock pads, listening fatigue starts pretty quickly. Once I played around with the pads, the HM5 pads were deemed the best fit (Alpha Pads slightly too big and don't form sufficient isolation, 770 pads too firm for my taste but others use them on the JVCs with good success). 
 
These headphones are really great at giving you a feel for the bass. I have other headphones in which the bass is very articulate, yet doesn't really kick very strongly. On the ATH-W5000 and the Alessandro Alumod/ MS1000 (modded MS1), the bass is very articulate, but really lacks any true punch. It is like admiring it from a distance. Both of these headphones articulate the highs beautifully, and in that department, the JVC has little to offer. The JVC's still have some sparkle in the highs, but overall, the mids and highs are quite veiled, and a bit grainy. My other dark sounding headphones (Mad Dogs 3.2, HD650) still have clearer highs and mids than the JVC's.
 
These are definitely dark-sounding headphones. Listening to these headphones really feels like listening to a concert in a club with a really good sound system. The bass is full, rich, and pumping (on properly recorded tracks). The club is dark and smokey, so you can't see the band on stage very clearly, but the sound is very immersive.. and really, who can concentrate on the fine details of the music when you're dancing and having a ball?
 
The bass... it's fantastic. It gives a new dimension to it, which is often missing in other headphones. On these, I mostly listen to rock, funk, and soul. These headphones are great at revealing good (and bad) music engineering - they can really reveal whether the bass is recorded properly or not. Before getting these, there were some songs/ albums that I was particularly looking forward to listening to - and some of them disappointed, as it was revealed that their bass isn't recorded well enough to produce true punch from these headphones. Some other albums however surprised with the power and quality of their recorded bass.
 
Here are some examples of rock/ funk tracks which I think bring the best out of these headphones. Please note that, for best impact, listen to a high-quality source rather than the youtube links below, but these would give you a rough idea:


 
Aerosmith's Living On The Edge has some very good quality bass sound, the drums really kick throughout the whole Get A Grip album. On this song in particular, around the 3:30 mark, there is a real thunderous sound of drums that I always use to test the bass limits of headphones. Some headphones fail miserably at this test - the JVC's are marvelous at this, the whole headphones vibrate and the sound is huge.
 

 
Parliament/ Funkadelic are what I listen to more than anything on these headphones, for a complete club-like feeling. My idea of a party, and these are definitely party headphones. This track is also good to showcase that the JVC can even have some nice sparkle on the highs on the right track.
 

 
The Black Crowes' Virtue & Vice has very nice thunderous intro, which is another track I use to test bassiness of headphones.
 

 
This recording from Humble Pie is just spectacular, and is probably the only track here that sounds better on this particular youtube version than the album version (the album Eat It is quite controvertial due to its sub-par sound recording - which is very unfortunate, as it has some truly great music). Bass player Gregg Ridley is featured here.
 

 
The Who - Live At Leeds album. Features perhaps the bass bass/drum duo in classic rock. This album might be my favorite sounding live album, and the bass just sounds truly spectacular with the JVC's. You can just focus on John Entwistle's utter brilliance. 
 
 
To conclude, I would definitely recommend these as a special-missions headphones for all people who enjoy some bass every now and again. Personally I disagree that these are strictly for hip-hop, but keep in mind that these will reveal which albums recorded their bass properly and which didn't. I wouldn't recommend them as your only set, but would strongly recommend them as a party headphones for those who, once in a blue moon, have ants in their pants and they need to dance (in the comfort of their homes...)