I'm going to say the HD800S and the orignal HD800 are a disappointment for me. I managed to demo them at a local Sennheiser store. The sound felt...off? like putting a bucket over your head and listening to music. That's when I realized I prefer a more full bodied sound in my music, not bassy, not boomy, commanding. I wouldn't consider my self a bass head per se, since I also value details and instrument separation. However, I definitely prefer headphones that; when called upon, can shake your jaw off with bass.
My ideal sound signature is the Campfire Vega running balanced on my Sony WM1A, high gain, with a +2 in middle, +3 on Treble in tone control, no turntable effects, no upsampling, no sound normalizer and with Type A-Low Phase linearization. Please don't judge me. I'm waiting to be in a better financial spot and just go for the Fostex TH-900 and just be done with this hobby.
Well you can atleast talk about amp and dac that were used? HD800 i can agree it is lacking in bass and have sharp highs, but not HD800S. It can sound bassy with right amp and anemic with underpowered amp.
I'm going to say the HD800S and the orignal HD800 are a disappointment for me. I managed to demo them at a local Sennheiser store. The sound felt...off? like putting a bucket over your head and listening to music. That's when I realized I prefer a more full bodied sound in my music, not bassy, not boomy, commanding. I wouldn't consider my self a bass head per se, since I also value details and instrument separation. However, I definitely prefer headphones that; when called upon, can shake your jaw off with bass.
My ideal sound signature is the Campfire Vega running balanced on my Sony WM1A, high gain, with a +2 in middle, +3 on Treble in tone control, no turntable effects, no upsampling, no sound normalizer and with Type A-Low Phase linearization. Please don't judge me. I'm waiting to be in a better financial spot and just go for the Fostex TH-900 and just be done with this hobby.
Well you can atleast talk about amp and dac that were used? HD800 i can agree it is lacking in bass and have sharp highs, but not HD800S. It can sound bassy with right amp and anemic with underpowered amp.
Of course. I tried them on the old Cayin HA-1A MK1 and on the Sennheiser HDVD 800. Frankly...the sound just wasn't for me. I must admit that was like 3 years ago, my ears are more trained/ruined now and my tastes have shifted. But that..."head inside a bucket" feeling is still with me.
You walk into a new fancy restaurant you’ve never been to before. Stuff feels nice....the furniture is swanky. You sit down and start to look around. You notice this huge 12 foot painting that’s a big wash of color. It isn’t a painting of any one thing just some abstract design that probably has some golden-ratio theory of balance, who knows? But it looks cool and gives you that funny impressed feeling. You know those trendy people must visit the place......and they can be stylish and trendy together.
These are the TOTL headphones here. They have that color and do something different, rather audio artistry of sorts. Only most at Head-Fi believe this all should be some kind of scientific method where graphs should show some nice correct curve. Only TOTL life isn’t really like that. This is 100% subjective and there is no right or wrong. The only right or wrong comes from our personal ideas when listening.
Obviously the end goal of flagship ownership should be to get lost in the music, the equipment should fall away and we should become one with whatever music file we are studying. For that to happen the response needs to address our personal hearing but still have that 12 foot painting thing going on. The color so to speak. A nifty new take on some tuning which the developer has sold us on being new technology.
This process does work and folks make new purchases, and of course there are many good headphones out there. Head-Fi is filled with minions of buyers; some liking their gear and others selling. But......it can be said that there are many expensive TOTL headphones in use.
The past Sony R-10 was an expensive flagship even by today’s standards. The AKG K1000 was a lot of cash. There is just more manufacturers today and lots of expensive headphones and IEMs. Hopefully time and competition will sort stuff out. The truth is we have lots of choice, but most importantly we need to address our knowledge of our own personal sound signature and the possibilities of the next headphone or IEM fitting it. But the confusion is everyone has different gear and we need to look at whole systems and not singular headphones. We have all witnessed a so-so headphone get beautiful behind the right DAC/Amp/cable.
Probably top IEMs and headphones should be priced at $900. The problem is flagships are different and you need $1800 to get em!
And remember a thread like this has a 100% chance of people reporting in on flagships which simply are not their sound choice. Another poster posts about the same “bad” flagship and before you know it we have a reverse hype thread going on. Of course there are competent and more competent headphones. Then there are competent headphones which are your sound. Then that headphone can get nursed up to a better level with the right extra gear. But the big problem is you really can’t find the truth out unless you demo stuff.
This Head-Fi place is a little like a gossip colony where people love reading bad reviews from trusted writers about new $4000 IEMs being junk. It’s fun to read this style of drama. I can write about my own TOTL disappointments, but maybe most of the time I’ll be defining my sound signature. Regardless if we are at endgame or not, audiophile curiosity is a strong force of nature here. The reviews, the build-up, the hype......only to discover “What were they thinking?”
And remember a thread like this has a 100% chance of people reporting in on flagships which simply are not their sound choice. Another poster posts about the same “bad” flagship and before you know it we have a reverse hype thread going on. Of course there are competent and more competent headphones. Then there are competent headphones which are your sound. Then that headphone can get nursed up to a better level with the right extra gear. But the big problem is you really can’t find the truth out unless you demo stuff.
Keep a thread like this running long enough, and eventually somebody's gonna complain about every single headphone.
My biggest disappointment was probably the Taket H2. The tech behind it was fascinating but the tuning was godawful, boomy bass, murderous highs, and mids so distant they might as well have been across the border.
Think the problem is companies just throwing tech into them, thinking that's what will make the IEM. Same goes for dacs/daps. Tuning (and plentiful experience in it) is probably the most important factor.
Think the problem is companies just throwing tech into them, thinking that's what will make the IEM. Same goes for dacs/daps. Tuning (and plentiful experience in it) is probably the most important factor.
I think it's more like set a big price tag, sell a few and get loads of $$$ back. (Of course, there are many manufacturers that does make really nice IEMs.)
What would you say are the TOTL IEM that are worth their price tag, all things considered I mean. I also doubt that 4 digit IEMS cost more than 70 bucks to make...but hey!
What would you say are the TOTL IEM that are worth their price tag, all things considered I mean. I also doubt that 4 digit IEMS cost more than 70 bucks to make...but hey!
What would you say are the TOTL IEM that are worth their price tag, all things considered I mean. I also doubt that 4 digit IEMS cost more than 70 bucks to make...but hey!
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