Sennheiser HD800 S Impressions Thread (read first post for summary)
Nov 26, 2017 at 2:48 AM Post #2,716 of 8,574
I don't feel the bass lacking when listening to them either but comparing them with the HE560 on (sub) bass heavy music makes the HD800S feel anemic in comparison. HD800S, in all their greatness, would not be my choice as my only headphones if my main listening were to bass driven music. Just my 2c.....
 
Nov 26, 2017 at 4:52 AM Post #2,718 of 8,574
I don't feel the bass lacking when listening to them either but comparing them with the HE560 on (sub) bass heavy music makes the HD800S feel anemic in comparison. HD800S, in all their greatness, would not be my choice as my only headphones if my main listening were to bass driven music. Just my 2c.....
I am sure 560 is a step up from 400i, which has a clean deep bass but not a whole lot in quantity. I usually pair the 400i with ifi micro ican se which has bass boost to enjoy the bass. Hifiman bass has zero distortion or bleed even with boost or eq. One interesting thing about 400i is the bass has no physical aspect to it while the 800S has this. Therefore while you hear deeper bass with the hifiman, the 800S tends to produce short taut bass notes with a soft rumble and I love that quality of the senns.
Of course if I wanted pounding bass then I throw the dt770pro80 on my head /wink
 
Nov 26, 2017 at 1:02 PM Post #2,719 of 8,574
Long time lurker here. I have the Beyerdynamic A2 amp and was wondering if the HD800 S would be a mismatch. Also, do you consider the HD800 S a priceworthy stepup from the T1 v.2 - especially in regards to classical/orchestral music?
 
Nov 26, 2017 at 2:35 PM Post #2,720 of 8,574
Nov 26, 2017 at 2:38 PM Post #2,721 of 8,574
I am sure 560 is a step up from 400i, which has a clean deep bass but not a whole lot in quantity. I usually pair the 400i with ifi micro ican se which has bass boost to enjoy the bass. Hifiman bass has zero distortion or bleed even with boost or eq. One interesting thing about 400i is the bass has no physical aspect to it while the 800S has this. Therefore while you hear deeper bass with the hifiman, the 800S tends to produce short taut bass notes with a soft rumble and I love that quality of the senns.
Of course if I wanted pounding bass then I throw the dt770pro80 on my head /wink

Yeah, the HE560 is a good step up from the HE400i but with more deep bass slam and less mid bass.

To keep things on topic I can add that I prefer the HD800S as an all round performer over all my other headphones, the HE560 included :wink:
 
Nov 26, 2017 at 4:20 PM Post #2,722 of 8,574
My HEKv2 edges out the HD800S for me, but not by much. Considering the price difference that is pretty high praise for the HD800S.

Also changes a bit depending on source. From my 300B tube amp I find the HD800S to be my best performer, while from the M9 SS amp the HEKv2 takes first place.

With 20/20 hindsight, I could easily have lived with just the HD800S as my "go to" open headphone and saved the 3K spent on the HEKv2.
 
Nov 26, 2017 at 7:34 PM Post #2,723 of 8,574
My HEKv2 edges out the HD800S for me, but not by much. Considering the price difference that is pretty high praise for the HD800S.

Also changes a bit depending on source. From my 300B tube amp I find the HD800S to be my best performer, while from the M9 SS amp the HEKv2 takes first place.

With 20/20 hindsight, I could easily have lived with just the HD800S as my "go to" open headphone and saved the 3K spent on the HEKv2.

This is good feedback, thank you. As an HD800 and HE-500 owner i have been drooling over the HEKV2 mainly to combine the strenghts of both headphones; that is retaining the full bodied bass impact of the HE-500 while keeping the airiness, separation and soundstage of the HD800. Every time i heard the HEKV2 i thought it was as close to perfection as i ever heard, however it was never in a context where i could directly do an A/B comparison with my headphones mentioned above and also not in my system.
Based on your experience i wonder if i should look elsewhere, like the Audeze LCD-XC which by all accounts sounds rich & lush while still having a large soundstage for a closed headphone. And significantly cheaper than the HEKV2. Choices, choices...
 
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Nov 27, 2017 at 6:46 AM Post #2,724 of 8,574
Long time lurker here. I have the Beyerdynamic A2 amp and was wondering if the HD800 S would be a mismatch. Also, do you consider the HD800 S a priceworthy stepup from the T1 v.2 - especially in regards to classical/orchestral music?

I can only compare to T1.1, to which the HD800S was a priceworthy upgrade for me. The soundstage of the HD800S gives you the feeling of really being in the opera or in the concert hall. Well, the experience is even BETTER than in the concert hall... I've been in the Berliner Philharmonie recently, not one of the worst concert halls in the world – and back home I noted how much more detail I could hear on life recordings that bring you all the detail nicely mixed by the sound designers.
That said, I remember that I slightly missed the sharp trumpet sounds in some orchestral pieces as presented by the T1.1, because in comparison to the T1.1, the HD800S surely has somewhat recessed heights (probably less so in comparison to T1.2 that I never heard though). But to me, the HD800S is much better suited for long listening sessions, and it is more impressive due to the wide soundstage. It gave me sort of a feeling of listening to all my recordings for first time again.
 
Nov 27, 2017 at 6:41 PM Post #2,725 of 8,574
Hi guys! New to Head-fi after reading posts for so long i thought i would join in the fun! I just ordered a pair of HD 800S for myself as a holiday gift after eyeballing them for the last year or so. After everything i have heard about them i really can't wait to try them out! Got a bit of a situation though, so i'm a bit worried. Most of my hifi gear including my O2 amp/dac combo is sitting overseas and i won't pick it up for another month. I was hoping the O2 Amp/dac combo from jds labs will be enough to run these cans, what do you guys think?
At the moment the only amp i have is a Dragonfly Red through a jitterbug, do you think it will be okay to run the HD800S on this for a month? Will it handle it, or will i go insane? Real pity i don't have my O2 once again....
 
Nov 27, 2017 at 7:03 PM Post #2,726 of 8,574
Hi guys! New to Head-fi after reading posts for so long i thought i would join in the fun! I just ordered a pair of HD 800S for myself as a holiday gift after eyeballing them for the last year or so. After everything i have heard about them i really can't wait to try them out! Got a bit of a situation though, so i'm a bit worried. Most of my hifi gear including my O2 amp/dac combo is sitting overseas and i won't pick it up for another month. I was hoping the O2 Amp/dac combo from jds labs will be enough to run these cans, what do you guys think?
At the moment the only amp i have is a Dragonfly Red through a jitterbug, do you think it will be okay to run the HD800S on this for a month? Will it handle it, or will i go insane? Real pity i don't have my O2 once again....

My advice; get yourself a vintage receiver on Craigslist or eBay, there are tons to chose from at almost any price point depending on condition. The HD800s benefit from higher output impedance amps. A lot of SS vintage gear sound similar to tube amps, again, very agreeable to the HD800.
 
Nov 27, 2017 at 9:41 PM Post #2,727 of 8,574
I don't feel the bass lacking when listening to them either but comparing them with the HE560 on (sub) bass heavy music makes the HD800S feel anemic in comparison. HD800S, in all their greatness, would not be my choice as my only headphones if my main listening were to bass driven music. Just my 2c.....

I think HD 800S has a decent amount of bass, given the right amp.
 
Nov 27, 2017 at 9:59 PM Post #2,728 of 8,574
I think HD 800S has a decent amount of bass, given the right amp.

No doubt. My other 2 phones are the Fostex TH-900's and Audeze XC's and I never feel the bass is lacking when I listen to my HD 800S'.
 
Nov 27, 2017 at 10:51 PM Post #2,729 of 8,574
When it comes to waking up the bass of the HD800 or S, I fined the current Yamaha integrated amps very similar to vintage gear. Pricing starts at $350.00 for the A-S301 and that includes a factory warranty.
 
Nov 28, 2017 at 1:09 AM Post #2,730 of 8,574
i had the 800s. 60% of my music it lacked bass. 40% it was perfect. When owning the 800s. A nice planar to compliment them like 400i 560 just something reasonbly priced when your playing music that needs bass thumps. With violectric amp.
 

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