[claud W]

Anyone here using custom cables on their 800S? If so , which ones?

 

[Whazzzup]

Dhc prion 4 balanced also had c4 se, both top notch

 

[csglinux]

Anyone had some A/B time with the Aeon open vs HD800S and want to share their thoughts?

I had a chance to listen to Aeon open/closed and HD800S together last weekend. I love both the Aeons. I'd been warned that the open-back version might have been a bit bass-light (by a friend of mine who's a bass-head!), but I didn't find that at all. I couldn't really hear any loss of low-end in comparison to the closed-back Aeon. It has a somewhat similar gentle v-shape to that of the HD800S, with the bass impact a little stronger, and the treble maybe not quite as detailed, but awfully close. It's a great headphone. For the price, it's a really great headphone. The only real downside for me (both open and closed-back Aeons) is they tend to clamp your mastoids pretty tight. For me, they're certainly not as comfortable to wear as the HD800S - but then, not much is.

Both Aeons are certainly up there amongst my favorites.

 

[endgame]

I had a chance to listen to Aeon open/closed and HD800S together last weekend. I love both the Aeons. I'd been warned that the open-back version might have been a bit bass-light (by a friend of mine who's a bass-head!), but I didn't find that at all. I couldn't really hear any loss of low-end in comparison to the closed-back Aeon. It has a somewhat similar gentle v-shape to that of the HD800S, with the bass impact a little stronger, and the treble maybe not quite as detailed, but awfully close. It's a great headphone. For the price, it's a really great headphone. The only real downside for me (both open and closed-back Aeons) is they tend to clamp your mastoids pretty tight. For me, they're certainly not as comfortable to wear as the HD800S - but then, not much is.

Both Aeons are certainly up there amongst my favorites.

Wow! That’s a pretty hefty compliment to the Aeon’s to say they’re really close to the 800 in detail retrieval. So which did you prefer open or closed? Also, how does the soundstage compare to the 800?

 

[csglinux]

I prefer the new open-back version. I didn't find the soundstage quite as wide as that of the HD800S. But they're definitely worth checking out.

 

[MacedonianHero]

Just to chime in my 2 cents...

I have both the HD800S and Utopias. Had both for quite some time and neither headphone is going anywhere anytime soon. They are both outstanding headphones and truly "flagship" worthy. Yes, the HD800S sounds bigger than the Utopia (in fact maybe only the Abyss headphones sound that big), but the Utopias are more coherent to my ears within that sound stage. A few things I've learned about the Utopia over the past year:

1.) They are very sensitive of your source and I've found them to be more and more revealing as I've improved my DAC and now with the Chord DAVE, they are VERY transparent and open sounding.
2.) The stock cable is really holding them back sonically. The Dana Cables Lazuli Reference cable really kicked things up a few notches and both transparency and openness improved almost immediately.

I do prefer the Utopias as they get a large amount of my head-time. They have almost perfect tonal balance (to my ears anyway). Yes, they have more bass and their mids are as good as it gets for dynamic headphones. The treble is what I consider neutral and that may not be for all folks, but if you're after neutral, these cans are for you. Overall I find the Utopias more transparent and in the end a more enjoyable listen.

Now back to the HD800S, I freakin' love these headphones and for under $2k, it's hard to recommend any other dynamic headphone over them. Yes they too can be picky of amplification and sources (though less than the overly bright HD800), but get that right and they will reward you for a very long time.

Both are outstanding headphones and the solution is simple if you can swing it...get both.

 

[koven]

Anyone here using custom cables on their 800S? If so , which ones?

Norne Draug is a pretty popular pairing.

 

[EagleWings]

Hey guys, I picked up a 800S last week. Currently driving it out of my LPG. While the LPG is totally capable of driving it, the synergy is not the best as the LPG is also bright.

Planning on introducing a tube amp into the chain. I am new to the HP game. Could you please give me some tube-amp recommendations under $500.

 

[MacedonianHero]

Hey guys, I picked up a 800S last week. Currently driving it out of my LPG. While the LPG is totally capable of driving it, the synergy is not the best as the LPG is also bright.

Planning on introducing a tube amp into the chain. I am new to the HP game. Could you please give me some tube-amp recommendations under $500.

Sorry, LPG?

 

[EagleWings]

LPG = Lotoo Paw Gold

 

[MacedonianHero]

LPG = Lotoo Paw Gold

Gotcha...thanks! It's a powerful little player...it drove the power hungry Abyss and sounded pretty good too!

 

[Brooko]

I’ll start with the obvious - Little Dot MK IV. I’ve definitely heard it with the HD800S and in a lot of ways wish I hadn’t sold mine. Plenty of tube rolling options.

 

[swspiers]

I’ll start with the obvious - Little Dot MK IV. I’ve definitely heard it with the HD800S and in a lot of ways wish I hadn’t sold mine. Plenty of tube rolling options.

Wow. It’s been a long time since I read about the LD MK IV. Totally forgot about it, lol.

 

[vlach]

Hey guys, I picked up a 800S last week. Currently driving it out of my LPG. While the LPG is totally capable of driving it, the synergy is not the best as the LPG is also bright.

Planning on introducing a tube amp into the chain. I am new to the HP game. Could you please give me some tube-amp recommendations under $500.

Are you looking for portable or desktop?

 

[EagleWings]

Are you looking for portable or desktop?

Doesn't have to be portable exactly. But something of transportable size would be nice. Also for power supply it would be nice if it used a stepped down power from a wall wart rather than AC direct.. So something like the iFi Pro iCan, in terms of size and power supply, but at a price around $500.