just bought the hd 800s it's far better than the hd6xx series. it's far better than my grado rs-1's. but it's far less than he60's to me, it's a 1000$ headphones. it gives hd 1080p quality. it's great for internet=youtube and stuff. if you want real adult/audiophile sound, it's he60 or he90. i've thought the hd800s was overpriced, well it is for 1600, but not for 1000. that it's price. difference between hd800s vs he60, he60's sound is far more stable. as i say more adult, more umpfff, more smooth. well, after 20-25 years, the top senns of the 90's are still the best. butt.... you need a good amp or recapped hev70 by senn and he60 checked. only then, the he60 are 1-2 nivo's better. if then, it's worth 3-5k= headphones+amp. perhaps the best bang there is. he90 is next level, but 10x more priced= i give it 8k. the difference in sound quality between he60 vs he90 is less than hd800s vs he60... so in all, he60 is still best/$$$ after 25 years. metaphor in tv quality sennheiser hd6xx=480p grado rs-1=480-720p hd800s=1080p he60=4k he90=8k mbl 101 extreme=imax analog 70mm edit listen now as balanced. the hd800s sounds more like a he60, it's got more umpff and more air in it's sound=more dynamic. that's the beauty of balanced, it's got more "radio" sound in it. rca sounds nice, but not sparkling. perhaps balanced hd800s is a must, it's a level above rca. but still, the he60 is a better one, which is also balanced.
I have the 800 are they are extremely good headphones. The AKG 702, however sound almost as good and cost a fraction. But I still prefer the sound signature (a bit dark) of the HD650 or my Reference gold HD540. I've seen some HE60 and HE90 for sale for I passed because I'm not that purist into headphones right now... and I cannot spend that money on them now... But thanks for sharing
when you have a hd800, you don't need another headphones. but i would buy a nice XLR dac and amp. these days dacs and amps are very good for +/-500 usd each, some mogami cables and your done. worlds best cables have mogami 2549+neutrik xlr for 20-30 usd. i have a topping a90 amp and looking for a nice DAC. thinking about gustard a18, but there will be a revision of the a18 soon=x16. there is perhaps 1 dac/amp combo better, but still it hasn't balanced headphones out. rme adi-2 dac/amp. when they have a new design with 4.4mm pentacon headphones-out, would be my choice it's a long time ago i've heard the 702. where better than i tought. yeah, the hd 6xx series sounds dark. i prefer the detail of the 800. i like neutral sound.
well, a he60 setup no box and revision goes for 3600usd. it's too much.??? but why 3600??? it is the smile which you get from a he60... you pay for the smile.. that's audio i've paid 600 + 800 revision by sennheiser it's the same with the philips lhhh2000 which costs 6000 euro. is it worth it?? no compared to a studer d730+gustard dac x16. but the philips makes you smile with 80's pressed cd's. it has the same resolution as a emt 950 TT and sound. and that's the $$$$. it's the feeling, the smile which is $$$ oja, only cdm-0 series transport you need, cdm-1 sucks... iow the philips 2000 has a presentation which no cdp has, today and future. it's emt 950 with more detail and presentation. but has less resolution compared to today's dac. 2-3 levels less. but it's presentation is magic. the big problem when you recap, it has to be the same caps otherwise the sound is different and the magic is gone. recap is extreme important with older pieces. my 2 cents.
@19lexicon78 - I am at loss with your references to video-pixels but I can relate to the ‘fun-factor’ of hi-end headphones!!! Music makes you smile/groove... or it just fills your background emptiness... sooo true! Well said!!! In my case HD-650 powered by Black Cube Linear and Naim CDX, all powered from PS Audio Power Plant made me jump in my bed! (That was my bedside stereo). Paying over a thou for the headphones - means triple that for the amp and the front-end,... so far my listening sessions at the audio-shows pointed onto staying put and spending $$$ on my main stereo
@Jorge it used to be, thanks to the chinese it's affordable. a topping A90 costs= 500 euro gustard x16 dac= 450 euro. indeed, 5 years ago you needed to spent 1000's to have audio specs at this level. the last 2 years there was a revolution for DAC and headphone-amp, in specs and price.
there is also Aurender Flow (South Korea??), have no idea how it sounds but looks are almost as 'expensive' as Chord Mojo: and the price seems to have dropped from $1,300 in 2005 (C-Net Review) to the magic number of $500 (Drop: July2001) There is a lengthy thread "Show us your headphones" at Naim chatroom, and I am almost proud of myself that my favorite is the same as Naim moderator's Richard.Dane. The only difference is that to my ears HD580 sounds more 'relaxed' than HD600 when fed by Pono in balanced mode. I am sure my smile will get wider once I upgrade to HD800 and $3.5k Naim Uniti Atom Headphone Edition, but there is only so much space on my bedside table
you don't need those expensive amps. read audiosciencereview for amps/headphones/dac/etc. sometimes they are an overkill about measuring and less about feeling. which i understand, but not everything is measurable. you can have clean sound, but clean sound can be boring as...
well i have the hd 800 on the way.....cant compare them to the rs1 or higher grado 1000 as i don't have them anymore,,,,,already concerned though because of the lack of bass reported,,,,,stay tuned
If you like detail, you will enjoy the HD800 as long as you have a good amp to drive them. I know you are a bass head, so that may be an issue for you. Totally different sound to a Grado, as you know I don't like the Grado sound with the exception of the PS500.
i have cut down on my use of bass lad but i do like a nice warm sound and yes detail and openness are important lad,,,,,i gave the ps1000 to someone free a great headphone but far far to weighty imho
A warm sound, you are not going to get from the HD800 unless it's on the recording. Some people say the the HD800 is clinical, I say it gives you what's on the recording.
sounds like the sony mdr cd 3000 i had that were stolen i loved those lad because with my setup i can change anything lad////i create the sound not the music lol
The CD3000 sounds very bright compared tothe HD800 which is neutral. I like the HD800 although I like dark sound with a bit less highs, but not boomy at all. The HD800 needs a good amp to deliver all that is meant for, otherwise it can look like not so good amp. It's a very exigent headphone. I only got good results once I bought the Lehmann Black Cube Linear amp.
well there in what a surprise, i was ready to send these back based on the replies seriously i was lol, in a total contrast to all the things i have read these have deep bass certainly plenty of it great highs and are powerful. the only thing that's not true is the 300 ohm rating as like all headphones my setup laughs at them without trying/////i was under the illusion i would have to spend a grand on a headphone amp only thing i would suggest is to buy a good amp like my technics su v8 and a technics 32 band eq,,,,,,i am no audiophile but these are wonderful headphones lads these may be neutral as people keep saying but respond very well to a good hifi i would forget the modern amps imho lads my only regret is you cant really crank these as my amp would blow the shit out of them lol are they worth 1500 hell no but had mine for 800 still to much but what can you do
i love the senn 800. great for classical music. the last 4 years has been exceptional for audio. you can buy 80 dollar transparant DAC. 200-300 dollar XLR DAC/headphones amp. transparant power amp 1000 euro. never thought after all these years, i could buy this kind of quality hifi for such low price. not only hifi, but you can buy cd's at thrift stores, or how you call them, for 50 cent-1 euro piece. the last 3 years i bought 100s of cd's, perhaps 1000. these days alot of classical music, couldn't afford in 80-90's, didn't know which classical to buy. when your system is transparant, classical is beautiful. rock,pop,jazz doesn't really matter. jazz on vinyl is great. but classical, you want to hear everything, especially voices opera or a barok piece. these days, my audio days are the best ever.
