[fapman]

 
new iFi Pro series iCan headphone amplifier (with balanced)
PRO series DAC (balanced?) is on the way too

I'm afraid that i miss something if i go a different route, other than sennheiser's cause really they are designed for HD 800's.  Or i have to spend more than 2000€ for them

Or one reason might be that i'm bit of an sennheiser fanboy but well.

 

[dharma]

  I'm afraid that i miss something if i go a different route, other than sennheiser's cause really they are designed for HD 800's.  Or i have to spend more than 2000€ for them

Or one reason might be that i'm bit of an sennheiser fanboy but well.

 
There are head-fiers who use very successfully other (not Sennheiser) balanced gear too with HD800S...if interested look this thread backwards

 

[dharma]

 
That's VERY interesting! I'm actually a professional musician and although I'm extremely careful with my ears it's sometimes impossible to avoid ear fatigue. Even practising (even with ear plugs) on a daily basis is exposing the ears to far more noise than most other people have to tolerate. I sometimes do exactly what it says above. I go into my studio, lie down on the couch and listen to Jan Garbareks 'Visible World' ECM album (which I've listened to hundreds of times) on my main monitors at very low volumes. There's loads of natural acoustic as well as synthesised ambient sound on that album and I find it very therapeutic and correcting for my hearing. However, I do also listen on headphones at very low volumes - in fact I never listen to headphones at high volumes..........
 
Edit: dharma, would you have any links to those 'suggestions'?

upper mentioned suggestion is buried somewhere few years back in the web matrix
found other here  -   suggestion 7 and 8

 

[Whazzzup]

Heck hopefully next week I'll give the heads up with others on the TT, so far thumbs up as I have read

 

[ubs28]

  I'm afraid that i miss something if i go a different route, other than sennheiser's cause really they are designed for HD 800's.  Or i have to spend more than 2000€ for them

Or one reason might be that i'm bit of an sennheiser fanboy but well.

The HDVD800 / HDVD600 is fine based on my own ears as an amplifier. But that amplifier is tuned specifically for the HD 800 which means it might not work so well for other headphones. 
 
When spending so much money, there are more versatile amplifiers that work better with a wide range of headphones. So unless the HD 800 is your only headphone and have no plans in buying other headphones in the future, the amplifier of the HDVD 800 / HDVD 600 should work pretty good.  This is just my opinion and my set of ears ofcourse. 
 
I haven't heard the HDVD820 yet, but I'll check it out if I know someone that has it 

 

[fapman]

 
The HDVD800 / HDVD600 is fine based on my own ears as an amplifier. But that amplifier is tuned specifically for the HD 800 which means it might not work so well for other headphones. 
 
When spending so much money, there are more versatile amplifiers that work better with a wide range of headphones. So unless the HD 800 is your only headphone and have no plans in buying other headphones in the future, the amplifier of the HDVD 800 / HDVD 600 should work pretty good.  This is just my opinion and my set of ears ofcourse. 
 
I haven't heard the HDVD820 yet, but I'll check it out if I know someone that has it 

That's what i want  

Since the launch of HD800 i wanted those. The HD800/S is the only pair of high-end headphones that really excites me and probably going to be only high-end pair that i have. 

 

[dharma]

Something what is important, not only few years old Sennheiser HD800 or just Sennheiser hp users:
 
'...Just yesterday I tested a 2nd hand HD650, comparing it to a set with newer pads, and I very much preferred the sound with newer pads. Washing the pads actually delivers a similar sound-changing effect too. After you wash them, they will soften and compress easier than brand new pads. Again, this results in a change of effective acoustic space.
So therefore, it seems that the best way to rekindle the acoustic (and hygienic) properties of your headphones is to purchase new pads every once in a while.
 
From what I’ve observed, most headphones begin to sound more ‘forward’ as the pads wear. This may or may not be a good thing depending on the original character of the headphone.
What I dislike the most however, is that instrument separation becomes quite messy, and bass articulation also suffers. This effect isn’t related to burn in or driver variation – I’ve tried swapping drivers and pads to pinpoint the issue – this effect is related to the change in the acoustic space due to old deforming pads. I believe this matters much more than burn-in or driver variations.
 
For the past few months I’ve rarely listened to my HD800s because its qualities have been too unbearable for me. The lower treble was becoming very glary, the overall sound grainy, and the bass articulation muddy. Instrument separation however was still decent (this is the HD800 after all), but it was nowhere as good as I remembered it to be.
I almost forgot how good the instrument separation on a set of brand new HD800s was, had it not been for the guys at the local Jaben offering me an audition on a brand new HD800 unit.
Eventually I couldn’t bear the sound of my old HD800 anymore, so I started looking around for replacement pads.
 
...After installing the new pads on my HD800s, the low treble returns to its proper place and the glare is mostly gone; the background is nice and black; bass articulation presents itself once again and instrument separation improves. Everything is just as impressive as when I auditioned the HD800s for the first time. This improvement however, is not strictly limited to the HD800s –
I’m very familiar with Sennheiser’s HD580, 600 and 650 line up, as well as the Grados and Alessandros, and the same thing happens on those headphones too!... '
more here http://www.headfonia.com/what-happens-as-the-cushion-pads-ages/
_______________________________________________________________________
 
and cushion/earpad wear-in effects (the measurement with new and old cushions):
 
'...This time the focus is on HD650's ear cushions.
...everything makes sense: While the physical transformation of a transducer is occurring very slowly in an almost inaudible fashion, the ear cushions age relatively faster, thus making more noticeable change in the tonality. The still-firm new cushions sink deeper into the head's shape with repeated usage, and consequently, bring the transducer closer to the listener's ear.
This is such an ingenious fine-tuning technique, almost like of a musical instrument. As HD650 ages, its timbre will turn from a pronounced treble to a laid-back bass, which is a well-known sonic signature of Sennheiser. Now I can never say HD650 does not break-in...'
more http://rinchoi.blogspot.com/2012/04/introduction-it-is-generally-known-that.html
 
EDIT: it seems, that wear-in effects are described differently on both cases...but sadly, 'real world' effect is real

 

[sheldaze]

  Has anyone noticed any sibilance with the HD800S? I have a pair of HD650 headphones which are quite dark / warm with my Chord Mojo, but I detest sibilance (an excessively emphasised 'sss' sound) which seems to aggravate my tinnitus. The new HD800S look good and may perhaps replace my Stax SRM-006T / SR-404 set. The much reported treble peak deterred me from buying the HD800. In my experience the HD700 had a terrible treble peak too so any progress by Sennheiser is good news. I'm hoping for an extended bass without the HD650's 'veil' and the Stax's clear and unintrusive 
 
Unfortunately, there's nowhere around East Sussex, UK, with HD800S headphones to demo. Has anyone replaced their HD650 headphones with an HD800S or are they chalk and cheese?
 
Thanks,
 
Martyn

This thread moves quickly - I take my time 

 
No question - the same issues I had with the HD800 and Mojo are still there with the HD 800 S. It may not have the same piercing attack on my nervous system, but the sibilance is there in a quantity that I do not like. And, immediately following I listened to my HD650 and reaffirmed I like its sound paired with the Mojo.
 
The changes to the HD 800 S do not make it something that is no longer an HD800.

 

[Mike F]

  This thread moves quickly - I take my time 

 
No question - the same issues I had with the HD800 and Mojo are still there with the HD 800 S. It may not have the same piercing attack on my nervous system, but the sibilance is there in a quantity that I do not like. And, immediately following I listened to my HD650 and reaffirmed I like its sound paired with the Mojo.
 
The changes to the HD 800 S do not make it something that is no longer an HD800.

I think it's very clear that Sennheiser think the same. That's why, I strongly suspect, it still says 'HD800' and not 'HD800S' on the headband. It's still an HD800 - it's just tuned slightly differently.

 

[dharma]

  This thread moves quickly - I take my time 

 
No question - the same issues I had with the HD800 and Mojo are still there with the HD 800 S. It may not have the same piercing attack on my nervous system, but the sibilance is there in a quantity that I do not like. And, immediately following I listened to my HD650 and reaffirmed I like its sound paired with the Mojo.
 
The changes to the HD 800 S do not make it something that is no longer an HD800.

 
could you suggest some specific commercial recordings(preferably in different styles) of music, which is not so hard to find, for testing (have found so far only few from 'publicly open' sources and so far non from commercial production)... ... ...
EDIT: I'm not sensitive for 'sssss'ing, but it seems that I don't like few 'completely oversauced' (specifically made or spoiled?) mixes

 

[sheldaze]

   
could you suggest some specific commercial recordings(preferably in different styles) of music, which is not so hard to find, for testing (have found so far only few from 'publicly open' sources and so far non from commercial production)... ... ...
EDIT: I'm not sensitive for 'sssss'ing, but it seems that I don't like few 'completely oversauced' (specifically made or spoiled?) mixes

When I started writing a couple of reviews late last year, I chose a set of songs that I could listen to - pretty quickly, to identify qualities in amps, DACs, headphone(s) that were important to me. I really did not have to go far into my first track, which has a xylophone that can either echo terribly or sound glassy (or just sound like a xylophone) and the singers voice that can either sound like a soothing whisper or an irritation. I was using Buzzcut Season by Lorde.
 
Sorry, but the sample at Wikipedia is terrible - she does say a line within the first 30 seconds, "it kissed your scalp and caressed your brain" - has few "ssssssses" in that line 

 

 

[dharma]

  When I started writing a couple of reviews late last year, I chose a set of songs that I could listen to - pretty quickly, to identify qualities in amps, DACs, headphone(s) that were important to me. I really did not have to go far into my first track, which has a xylophone that can either echo terribly or sound glassy (or just sound like a xylophone) and the singers voice that can either sound like a soothing whisper or an irritation. I was using Buzzcut Season by Lorde.
 
Sorry, but the sample at Wikipedia is terrible - she does say a line within the first 30 seconds, "it kissed your scalp and caressed your brain" - has few "ssssssses" in that line 

 

OK, I try to find this 'PURE ...' album, and give it a listen ))

 

[dharma]

Originally Posted by sheldaze /img/forum/go_quote.gif
[...] singers voice that can either sound like a soothing whisper or an irritation. I was using Buzzcut Season by Lorde.
Sorry, but the sample at Wikipedia is terrible - [...]

 

 
I didn't gave to Wikipedia's sound-file a try (64Kbps for modern stereo music is quite nonsense)...
 
Lorde 'Pure Heroine'
 
Boringly same all over the album or effortlessly/naturally flowing all over the album or aggressive ?
 
 
It depends, and not what supposedly feminist (now?) is talking about:at her 16-th, so tired from:
'spreading legs' or 'drinking what is spilled over face'...
 
No, it's about album's dreamy electro-pop irritating or not irritating HD800(S) sound now  -
[tsit. from web:] 'Built around producer Joel Little's deep bass rumbles, lilting loops and programmed beats, the album evokes the shadowy sonics of Massive Attack and the XX'.
'Many of the song hooks are well-placed, but by the time Pure Heroine gets to “Still Sane”, the album’s most forgettable track, a lot of the production tricks and elements that we’ve heard before start to feel a bit tired and used, the textures and colors sounding a bit homogenous by album’s end; which, for a disc that clocks in at barely over 37 minutes, is not a good sign'.
 
Almost seems, that reviewers have listened this album through completely different audiosystem: those who are more critical have listened with strictly neutrally sounding systems and those like it, have used lush or fun sounding systems (both are well understandable in headphone world too)
 
my own short impression or experience with this recording -

First: listened with HD800 (non-modified) - compressed, irritating, but not boring (the only way to tolerate better was 'let it be as, background and not to listen')
Second: with AKG K701(original: made in Austria) - compressed, boring and irritating (the only way to tolerate better was 'let it be as, background and not to listen')
 
so I was ready to write here, that this mix is deliberately filled with compressed sound-tricks not having anything to-do with 'message intended'...
 
BUT forgiveness recalled in my mind, that 'give it another chance' with lush/smooth/fun ('V-shaped more deep bass-oriented') sounding DENON D5000... and that was a pretty bassy-smooth, flowed and almost non-troubled ride (if not to care still pronounced 'sibilant-sss'ing throughout the album).
 
So with HD800(S?) (and 'neutral' or 'middle'-or 'top'-weighted, like some Sennheier, Beyer, AKG, Shure, Grado, STAX and also maybe some more neutral planar hps) it seems 'no' for this album.
With DENON 2000/5000/7000 (and some fun and lush sounding or bass-weighted planars, HD650, FOSTEX etc) it seems 'yes'.
 
again from web: 'And while it’s no masterpiece, Pure Heroine is unique and engaging enough to keep the conversation going'.
 
links:
https://rateyourmusic.com/release/album/lorde/pure_heroine/
http://www.metacritic.com/music/pure-heroine/lorde/critic-reviews
http://www.abc.net.au/triplej/review/album/s3853467.htm
 
EDIT: bottom line - not every recording/mix is good with HD800S (and many other hp -s  too...). I would not 'turn it the other/opposite way' now

 

[stevemiddie]

I'm totally confused      

 

[dharma]

  I'm totally confused      

?
 
[looked into your profile: HD800, TH-900]