Thinking of buying sennheiser HD800s

ViRuS2k

ViRuS2k

ViRuS2k

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has anyone had any experience with these audiophile headphones. ?
as i currently have a pair of hd650s.

and for the outlay of £999 that its going to cost me for these will the sound be that much better compared to my 650s that would make paying that outlay worth it over my current 650s.

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trying to justify the cash outlay over my current set to make it worth giving these phones a shot ? :D

they do look mighty awesome though.
 
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They are by nature very analytical which made it hard to enjoy many tracks to my ears. The soundstage is wide and it's really impressive. I liked the accuracy too.

With this headphone I find you really need to play around with amps to get them to sound enjoyable. They sound lean, and quite cold with harshness throughout. It's a microscope and I personally think other headphones do a better job at being musical and engaging.

Compared to the 650 you will notice that the liquid lush mid range of the 650 that is so creamy and seductive has gone and been replaced with a more flatter but airier sound! You will hear more micro detail but that magical smokey romantic feeling has gone.

Soundstage is much wider but less defined. The treble is more extended on the 800 too but it also cuts your ears up more.

Comfort is a bit better aswell on the 800.

Honestly I prefer the 650. I love mids that sound haunting and liquid that just give you goosebumps and make you so engaged that you don't care about anything else.

I think for that sort of money lok into the Audeze LCD2 it's trumps the 800 in musicality, mids, engagement. It's very similar to the 650 but just that final step.

If you are set on the HD800 just bare on mind about paring them with an amp of your taste because they are not warm and completely different in sognstir. I thinl the HD650 is end game it's that damn good.

To answer your question is it worth it? No way for me!
 
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LCD2/HE-500 for me at or around that budget. HD800 is marvellous for orchestral/baroque/renaissance/romantic/classical but its just too cold and analytical for much else imo.

HD800s also don't pair very well with quite a lot of amps, so there's further potential outlay there to find a pair that works well for you.

So basically, nah, not in my opinion.
 
thanks for the info guys.....
i will checkout the LCD2 though i might just stick to my HD650s for now... or get them re serviced .
 
try the hd700 first ......they are damn good and a lot cheaper @ £600

got them myself ... I also own the hd 598 and 600 . not sure if the hd 800 has the same pads as the other series , but they are a lot harder on the ears on the 700's .

Foam not as thick. But by god they look sexy :)

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also OP , what headphone amp are you using ?
 
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ViRuS2k said:
thanks for the info guys.....
i will checkout the LCD2 though i might just stick to my HD650s for now... or get them re serviced .
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Good choice. The 650 are world class. Out of all the sennheisers they where the best. The 600 where 2nd. I thought the 700 where bad sounding along with the 500 series. I wish sennheiser stuck with the 650 type sound. If someone put a blind fold on me and put the LCD2 and 650 on my head would have thought they where made from the same guys.

I nearly purchased the Audeze but with the cracking issues and the similar sound to the 650 I'm going to get the Senns instead. The headbands and parts can be changed so in the long run they are great for the price.
 
Haha you opened a huge £1000 can of worms because there are so many headphones in that range and amps like the LCD2. There is the HD800, And what about Hifiman planar sets like HE600 or HE550? Or the Beyer T1 and T90? At least sennheiser have thier own dedicated HD800 amp but ive heard the Oppo is a stunning partner for it in movies and music as well. Hifiman perk my interest but i do like the options out there on the Hd800 too, For example using Balanced XLR from an amp

http://www.amazon.co.uk/Cardas-Balanced-Cable-Sennheiser-HD800/dp/B00BP6QWOG.
http://www.avsforum.com/t/1507198/balanced-xlr-output-for-blu-ray-audio-any-benefits


HD800s also don't pair very well with quite a lot of amps, so there's further potential outlay there to find a pair that works well for you.
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People say it is stunning using sennheisers own amp and the oppo 105 using XLR. There is two great amps auitable for the 800 as long as you use the 4.2vrms XLR to power the HD800.
 
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:D

dont have the money to pay it all up front, as i was going to go with the 3 monthly payments options lol :D

as for the amp i am using, they will be getting used with my Creative ZXR sound card. @600 or 300 ;) the sound card is fantastic and produces great sound quality and will be a fitting match to drive the hd800s or any cans for that matter, they drive my hd650s to perfection...
 
HD800 are 600ohm with spikes upwards if i remember correct and really power hungry compared to 650 so the ZXR amps them to 600 fully without gain tricks? What is this zxr anyways off to google i go as i never heard of a high power creative card. Just had a nosey at it, Im not convinced i hope you know how to spec the spec sheet and impdedance of its output yea because this audio business is funny at times.


I thought the oppo 105 had a good amp, Then i found out from hifi forum 300ohm HD650 was the max and it is a £1k player lol. You have to go XLR to drive them properly with it. Even sennheisers own amp costs like £600 i think or more so i would be suprised if you could fully drive them or hifiman 600 and not lose punch of weight. Your volume level may be ok but if you listen to hifi forum that does not mean they are fully amped.
 
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yeah the zxr will drive them fine im sure of it.
it has settings in its control pannel to set the power of the amp from normal/300/600...
 
ViRuS2k said:
yeah the zxr will drive them fine im sure of it.
it has settings in its control pannel to set the power of the amp from normal/300/600...
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The Xonar STX is the same and that is gain not exactly amplification. Volume and vrms/mv is different than just plain voume which is what normal/300/600 is for it does not increase power. From what i can gather you will not be running HD800 at the right amps and you will not be getting the same fantastic sound as you should be. You really need to spend on a dedicated high power amp i think. Even my STX can not really run HD650 according to some and DT990 600ohm are out of the question. Even the oppo 105 cannot drive HD800 unless you mod it to XLR at the rear.


Look at this http://forums.creative.com/showthread.php?t=699412
 
The 800 were not hard to drive at all. I found them fairly sensitive. If you go on headfi you will come away thinking you need a nuclear powerplant to drive a lot of headphones.

The biggest problem I found was getting something to warm and lush them up. If anyone likes how they sound, they will not have too many issues powering them.
 
Ryanr1987 said:
Good choice. The 650 are world class. Out of all the sennheisers they where the best. The 600 where 2nd. I thought the 700 where bad sounding along with the 500 series. I wish sennheiser stuck with the 650 type sound. If someone put a blind fold on me and put the LCD2 and 650 on my head would have thought they where made from the same guys.
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Interesting opinions . Not tried the 650 , but I found the 598 ( which I got after the 600's ) picked out instruments that the 600's didn't. And I can't fault the 700 personally .... that is after getting used to the different ear pad design... more hard wearing.
 
ViRuS2k said:
:D

dont have the money to pay it all up front, as i was going to go with the 3 monthly payments options lol :D

as for the amp i am using, they will be getting used with my Creative ZXR sound card. @600 or 300 ;) the sound card is fantastic and produces great sound quality and will be a fitting match to drive the hd800s or any cans for that matter, they drive my hd650s to perfection...
Click to expand...

I have the HD600 with a Zxr sound card and they sounded ok ..not really good to be honest with just out the card but when I got good amp the "bottlehead crack with speedball" it made a big difference, like buying new headphones it was . ...I was going to buy new headphones till I tried the amp.

The HD800 will sound rubbish outer that sound card complete waste.

Get an amp for those hd650s :D
 
might have to go for a amp then to see if it makes a difference with my zxr
anyone got any good recommendations to power a hd650 and the amp must come from peter tysons as they have finance options :D
 
TALON1973 said:
Interesting opinions . Not tried the 650 , but I found the 598 ( which I got after the 600's ) picked out instruments that the 600's didn't. And I can't fault the 700 personally .... that is after getting used to the different ear pad design... more hard wearing.
Click to expand...

Yeah, the 598 is lean in the bass with a thin sound so they can pick certain things up that a more lusher, thicker headphone can't right away. The 650 certainly is worth a try.
 
ViRuS2k said:
might have to go for a amp then to see if it makes a difference with my zxr
anyone got any good recommendations to power a hd650 and the amp must come from peter tysons as they have finance options :D
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For a cheap option try the Fiio E12. It's amazing what it can do.
 
Ryanr1987 said:
For a cheap option try the Fiio E12. It's amazing what it can do.
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sweet ;)
anything higher in price than that say £200-300-400-500 range ?
just want a amp that will power any headphone to perfection or future proof to power other headphones that i buy in the future.

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300-600 ohms with ease...

audio-t or peter tysons :D finance is a must as i can pay off £250 per month to pay it back :D
 
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