It is good for gaming, I used them last night during a minecraft session where I placed over 10000 cobblestone blocks. Thanks to its soundstage and imaging, I heard exactly where I placed each cobblestone block.
That headphone was 'in' about 10 years ago when On-Ears were all the rage, but completely dropped off the map since then. I personally preferred the Beyer DT1350 over it at the time.
@@pinappleuwont8502 this is my personal experience, they were okay. wide enough to where it didn't sound that natural to my ears but everyone is different
I love my HD 800 S headphones. I’ve had them for about a year. I use them with a Meridian Prime headphone amp which has the special power supply. I do listen to classical (mostly 20C) and jazz a lot. Recently I’ve been listening to a lot of electronica because it relates to a project I’m doing and, yes, they are really good for that as well. I’ve also listened to quite a lot of prog rock on them and I think they are really good with that as well. What I find they don’t do well with is dance music where that thunderous driving bass is required. You just need another set of headphones for that. I would never sell my HD 800 S headphones. I think they might be the best audio product I have ever purchased. They are so comfortable and light as well. I just love ‘em!
So happy about the collaboration, the only thing that "bothered" me about DMS was that he didn't do "enough" headphone reviews. From past purchases I know that I almost always share his opinion, because of that I value it by far the most out of the bigger review channels. Absolute W for all parties.
@@johnsysays You need EQ for the HD 800s. When you dont use EQ this Headphone sounds boring and bright. I use my RME ADI 2 DAC/AMP with EQ to avoid audio delay for gaming. Everything else is not a option for me anymore... I can listen to all types of musik after the right EQ settings. HD800S can take it well and need it.
I really love these and the normal HD800 without the S too. Probably because I have about -10dB dip in the general area of 6kHz of my hearing. So I'm immune of that 6kHz bump. So to me these sound really good and many others sound quite dark or muddy.
@@egeakbaba2935 I didn't measure it. A doctors did it several times. It has been done in a sound proof room which had another room inside of it to get rid of all the other noses. Then they play you a very quiet tones and you press a button when you hear it. It has been done like 10 years ago in an certain interval. As they were concerned that I might lose my hearing. Only around the 6kHz is lost. I really do not remember the actual decibels but it was a LOT. Probably a really much more than 10dB. And I still do not hear it almost at all.
I don’t have the S version but I’m contrarian and picked up the original 800 on eBay and love it, I’m not noticing this spike everyone complains about. I also love the HD820 even though it makes people put up crosses and stakes, it almost makes me want to get the HD8xx for laughs if it wasn’t so much money for a marginal sidegrade.
Just the fact that we're reviewing it again in 2022 is all you need to know lol. Also, Bottlehead Crackatwoa with the HD800S is just stupidly good and doesn't break the bank.
Is this a sign? I just got the Element III, and I have been seriously pondering on getting the HD800s. Now hearing how well they pair, I might have to buy them.
I'm so glad you did this! The HD600 was my first professinal headphone (I still have my original ones!), and I have owned an HD800S for several years as well. Everything you say is reflected in my own experience, but you add a lot more knowledge with both your subjective comments and the measurements. I really appriciate that. I've switched more to LCD in the past year, the LCD-X first, and the LCD-4z when I got an email from LCD offering a B-Stock one for half-price. Both have the exceptional bass I crave, and the 4z comes pretty close to the detail and clarity of the HD800S. Great to see you making more You Tube content now with this channel as well as your original one!
Lmfao i own HD800 for 10 years i guess, dusted it off found it broke its cable, replaced it with a cable that is 1/100th price of its knockoff female connector, still sound great. Statement on build quality
Totally agree with DMS about pairing the HD800S with an OTL amp. I had an HD800 w/SDR mod a couple years ago and always struggled with the lack of bass and peaky treble. I was using it with a hybrid tube amp and a Schiit Jot 2. Then last year I got an OTL tube amp and an HD800S, and I'm in heaven. I have a ZMF Aeolus, but I use the HD800S about 75% of the time.
It all pairs well with vintage SS amps built for higher impedance phones as well. I get way more thick, gooey bass out of it from my 1980s Luxman R-115 than even my Sony Tazzy which is already a bassy warm amp as it is.
Does it sound warmer because of the second harmonics or because of rolled off treble? This is one route I have always hesitated to go down on, so I welcome the info.
In a video not too long ago, you thoughtfully pointed out that listening to the same headphones for too long, even great ones, can essentially become a bit boring. What usual headphones might you want to switch to these from instead?
@@haberdasherrykr8886 I never take TWS buds to space. The batteries will fail a mere 5 years into the mission and then one must endure the rest of the voyage in deject silence. 😵💫
@@256alexdt lot of people disagree with that... you can eq the original 800 to sound how ever you want if you know how and have the proper equipment... look up 3d sound shop to hear how they eq the 800... there was zero need to make design changes to the latest headphone..
@@dixter1652 that is untrue the fatigue didn’t come from what people think, the fatigue came from how the sound bounce around in the cup. You can EQ them to hell and they will still create some fatigue and now sound like trash(after all the eq to compensate for the peak). The isolation they added in the HD8XX remove what make the headphone fatiguing but and when you EQ them you get all the benefits. It’s coming from someone will all the equipment needed trust me and a large collection of headphones which includes both the hd800s and hd8xx. Even EQ and driven by my OTL tube amp the HD800s is still fatiguing after some hours of listening and this is fact backed up by thousands of forums post and my own testing. The HD8XX had zero complaints of fatigue and once EQ have all the benefits of the HD800s with a slight lost in soundstage(very minimal) … sounds like magic rme adi-2 to my OTL tube amp(dreams)
I want one! I'll trade you a pair of T20rp's with electrical tape, a liquid spark, my right monitor and my next 3 rent payments if you'll give it to me
Great vid! I currently use the Element II with my HD800S. Is the Element III worth the upgrade? Also, any recommendation for another set of headphone to pair with my HD 800s?
I think the treble peak is way over blown. Which is barely a bump and only a bump depending on what you are comparing to. If you compare it to real life, play a song on a instrument. Play back the recording. It is very close to real life. If anything a bit less sharp and more smoothed over.
@coloradoing9172 It's less about EQ to taste and more about how over exaggerated the brightness is. When I first heard the HD800s, after years of hearing how bright it was supposed to be. It wasn't anywhere close to it in reality. It's this echo chamber effect. One person says something. By the time it passes along through 100 people the message. You would think the HD800s is treble murder.
@@johnrus7661 Well, that really depends on one's sensitivity to treble. You might not be sensitive to it, but many others have said that it's a problem for them. My point is that it's irrelevant because it's easily fixed with EQ or the SDR mod.
@coloradoing9172 You clearly did not read what I said. I already made the distinction between personal preference and what's actually legitimately bright. Slightly bright or treble murder. And this headphone has been maligned like no other.
@@johnrus7661 Um, no, you said the treble wasn't an issue for you and used that as a basis to say that the treble is over-exaggerated by other people. That is literally what you said. I have repeatedly said that regardless of personal preference, it can be EQd out. How this very simple fact triggers you so much is beyond me.
Definitely agree about ambient music, I use mine for psytrance ambient and they're magnificent 👌 but also Definitely classical and soundtracks, especially love the Thin Redline soundtrack on them.
Have you had a chance of testing the new 800S made in Ireland? Apparently they're different from the German ones... I've never been able to test a German made pair and some of the issues described on every review I read or watch online are completely different from my experience with an Irish pair... Not sure if they're just that much different or if this comes down to personal preference.
@S M thanks! I've got a 43xxx made in Ireland too and from what I've been seeing online it doesn't seem to be just a unit difference... Everyone I've seen talking about the Irish made ones are reporting the same thing. It does indeed seem like something changed on the manufacturing of the driver. I'm dying to test a German one to see if my experience matches the reviews because so far the Irish one is nowhere near as bad as some reviewers make it sound like... It's not a planar but don't feel like it lacks any bass at all and even though I'm VERY sensitive to high pitch noises I don't find them shouty or fatiguing at all... I've been daily driving them for a couple weeks now and I'm loving them to death.
Completely agree with this. Only had them a couple of weeks, coming from Focal Clear MG. With a small amount of EQ from a Mojo2 amazed how much bass you can pull out of them
This is why i'd rather just opt for the DT1990 Pro instead. the 800 S almost had me, but the bass is kind of lacking, and supposedly if you boost it a little with EQ it becomes muddled, which isn't the case with the 1990
As a classical aficionado, I think bass is underrated for the genre. A bass-light headphone is NOT suited to classical for me. Cellos, contrabasses, and percussion really benefit from a deep subbass and midbass response, making orchestral and chamber music sound really deep and grounded. Classical can tend towards shriekiness, especially in violins, if things are too bright.
Those that think with classical music bass isn't equally necessary clearly just listen to it occasionally and aren't much involved with it... like those people whose only classical music in their libraries are "classical music to relax" "classical music to focus" "classical for children" playlists, rather than albumbs based on musicians, orchestras... the actual people playing.
Absolutely they are worth every penny! I have had them for a almost 2 years and paired with a Neve RNHP and a Topping DX7pro, I have been very satisfied with the setup. I recommend the Neve especially.
In the Gold Sennheiser video, you mentioned placing some felt behind the ear in the earcups of the HD800S. What became of that mod in this review? I imagine it was for the peak mentioned in the headphone?
personally i found the hifiman ear cup comfort to ruin the experience so i returned them, i also felt like the soundstage was "weird" it wasnt WIDE WIDE nor it wasnt intimate? like it just felt off, it wasnt either wide like the 800s or intimate like the focal clear, but it was just this weird middle where it felt off so i returned them.@@Lychegsye-nc6td
the hifiman headbands are perfect, however the weird earcup size /shape was unbearable for me so i returned them. best headband i’ve experienced yet tho, shame the ear cups are so weird , maybe if you have a large head it will be fine
i run my 800s on a xduoo ta26 (5692 6080 tube) with ares 2 dac, never will i sell them - i tried the lokius and didn't like what it did to the sound, lokius is fine on other rigs tho - use roon for eq
I am using wooaudio wa3 6080 tube changed into 7236 and 6dj8 sound very good. The dac using Meridian explorer2 with 24 bit 44.1 kHz Best sound quality. Higher kHZ like 24 bit 192kHz have a little noise and less bass but dynamic range wider
Where's the bass!!! it only took to listen to two cd's to decide there going back. Sennheiser should be ashamed, there's is a total lack of bass. the mids and highs are acceptable. trying to equalize proved useless, they didn't like adding bass and I thought they were going to cry. If they could combine the low end from the 600's with the 800's I'd be delighted.
There are cheaper amp pairings. I have now a topping a90 for power and to tame the highs a little and I have a cheap tube pre amp with analogue eq and tubes for the same price 😅 All in all my whole setup is way cheaper than my totl hp and I still love the 800 for the reasons mentioned in the Video
The preamp won’t really improve the HD800s as what make them sound good has to do with the voltage swing on an OTL tube amp. Tube preamp will give up some of the sound characteristics of a tube amp but that’s a trick to use with planar as planar don’t go as well with the way OTL tube amp drive. So if you really want to experience what the hd800s can deliver it’s an OTL tube amp and not a tube amp to a solid state
Love my HD800SDR on tubes; sounds great on my Valhalla 2, Lyr 3, and DNA Starlett. Haven't been the biggest fan of using it for solid state though (Jotunheim and Monolith THX 887). Exception for me is the Ragnarok 2 where it sounds pretty good.
I have the ragnarok as well and roll the different tubes, idk what I prefer but the solid state tubes do make these headphones more of an analytical listen with the precise detail
Guys has anyone used both Hidizs s9 pro and Qudelix 5k? I wanted to know which one of thes has better audio output when used in usc-c alone(wired). If Hidizs is better, can u tell to which dongle or dac qudelix 5k SQ can be comparable to 🙂. This is a difficult question but hope at Least one person would have used these to dacs. Thanks 👍
Nowadays dacs have THD above human ear capability, so not much important really, more important is power if you plan to use normal size headphones, for IEM does not matter much. It seems Hiddizs has more power than the Qudelix as far i could check but no Bluetooth, but among dongles best options for power are the 9038D G3 and the Xduoo Link2 Bal with very reasonable prices.
for me Senn is the only company who concern at the design "kinda up to date the design and models absolutely with great feature by the "user demands" (in that time) second list is Sony, to be honest AKG is great .. so much great! but look them make me feel oldies and "Pro"?? ATH is Sony and Senn Bias.. but not that good in sound signature IMHO, everlasting Yes! and No Big Surprise like the Senn or Sony anyway they made the superb everlasting headphone in this world
What model should l buy for tracking and mixing into my studio? I do love to compose and record neo-classical style, hard/pop rock, smooth jazz as well…- so l really go back and forth of a few good and we’ll known models/brands (l won’t name them, you know what l’m thinking…)- and focal … Any suggestions? Let’s say l wanna stay in the $1500-$2000 range… - Thank you
Hell No now you can get $100 IEMs that sound better then this or any headphones actually yaa crazy right didn't believe it myself till i bought a set now All my headphones are in their Boxes IEMs are just better in every way and literally hundreds are released every year if not thousands just go and get $50 IEMs and try them for yourself
Im curious: I see everyone talking about tube amps and EQing your headphones, but IS IT POSSIBLE to simply plug these in via 3.5mm to your iPhone and just listen to music while walking around campus, work, etc?
Glad to see you're part of the Headphone Show now! Love your thorough review and aesthetic presentation. I'd like to see a review and comparison of the Grado RS1X and RS2X. People seem to like them but I'm not necessarily keen on taking impressions from the 'Grado people'. Also I'd love to see a review of the Audeze MX4 and maybe how the a used LCD-4 stacks up against the Heddphone or the MX4.
Agreed. Curious about the Grados myself. My first headphone was a Grado and I'm curious but hesitant how the brand would hold up after trying a bit of everything else.
@@ResilientME just get a pair of SR80x or even the SR60x. It'll give you the Grado house sound for cheap...most of the difference between Grado models is in the pads. The house sound is nice for the budget range but not necessarily worth the price premium for the high end models.
why wouldn't it be worth it in 2022 (or 2044 for that matter)? Good sound is good sound regardless of what year it is. A '69 Mustang doesn't become a bad car because it's now 2022..........
Good morning ☕️.. Great review..but I’ll keep my 650’s ( on a tube amp) …this 800S’s are to rich for my blood. Gone the IEM’s collection route. Different tunings and fun ( without breaking the bank ) Take care 🍻
I kept my HD650 with EQ over the HD800s, which does many things excellently, but I don't like the soundstage effect and weak bass. Nothing bothers me with the HD650 and I've tested, used and owned several +k$ headphones.
@@256alexdt Perhaps if one prefers tube amps, which I don't so much. Maybe some TOTL one might be nice, but I find the ones I've heard a bit messy sounding at least in the sub-300 price range.
@@hartyewh1 yes in honesty I never tried a sub 300$ otl tube amp. I made my own and the parts alone were like 1300$ that was without the tube. I did heard that some are decent like darkvoice but they measure meh and I never tried it
I've been in this hobby for a few years now..and have yet to get a clear breakdown of the sound chart. It would be helpful if you could actually point to the specific points you're discussing on the chart please
Arya stealth doesn't sound like an 800s. Get an Arya V2 for something more similar but with other advantages and disadvantages. Biggest drawback of the 800s is bass. They can't compete with a planar, not even close. EQ doesn't change that and planars can also be equalised...
@@256alexdt well... for me it does not. On a technical level it's impressive, especially if you can catch it on sale. But musical enjoyment and genre versatility isn't on a level I'd expect at this (price) point.
Nice review; I bought mine last year, and yes! is my best headphone for chill out and relax, comfort is the king, paired with the mids and soundstage, takes any stress away.....
but Tube amp? nah, not for me, even if really sounds better in a AB testing, the fact that I know I am adding distortion and harmonics to my music makes the experience.........artificial
@@Lauren080508 tube amps don't sound artificial actually (I personnaly think and many others) the opposite... most good tube amps have distortion levels which are on normal listening levels burried under/in the noise floor (the sound of outside and general background noise) so you don't even hear it nor it contributes to the sound much if it all...
@@skandiaart possible ,it is true most people think tube sound comes from adding second harmonics to the music, anyway I was talking about my own experience while listening to music. In my 20s I was in a band, i know how instrument sound live, I want that, a perfect representation, as if I were in the recording studio while the musicians do their thing, i don't want anything "artificial" added by electronics, your previous experience and knowledge affect how you perceive things.
Oh Yeh, this headphones are excellent for sound, but use them for as long as possible! In other words, within a shore time, they will probably do what the 800’s did - just slowly start to irreversibly deteriorate! The foam on the bridge will dissolve into a sticky mess that will stick to your hands and then completely fall off, as will the cheap plastic insets underneath, The foam cups will do this also, and the material will not dry out from sweat and the accumulation of such MOLDS! I also had to replace the XLR cord and, all in all, however good to hear with, they are a very, very, very expensive 5 to 6 month problem free disaster!
Thanks for the review - I'm really considering buying these. Do you think they would work well with the Schiit Bifrost 2 DAC and Schiit Jotunheim 2 amp? Or maybe the Schiit Lyr 3 amp?
