Thanks for the review Tyl!!! Really cool to hear someone go into the finite details of the modifications and the extent to which these alter the characteristics of the headphones.
It's funny that when this guy reviewed the HD800 (old version) there was no mention of any flaws. There simply was no better headphone, till a new model comes along. Wich you of course had to have.
Damn you and your logically organized, and comprehensive reviews without fan-boi hype! I've tried and owned a few of the models you reviewed. While I could have been satisfied with the fun HD600, or maybe the detailed DT-1990 pro...the HD800s are like the corvette Z06 among mustang Gt's. Nothing wrong with a well-equipped mustang GT. But a mustang simply doesn't have the performance envelope of the Z06. The HD800S seem to be the best, if not in the top 2 of existing headphones. I say that, because the 820 are NOT better, despite an extra $1000. The final audio Sonorus X have the same driver as my III's do. ZMF sound wildly irregular to me with an odd frequency balance. The 800S to me, are like having those ultra-premium big floorstanding speakers in an optimum room. "There is no replacement for displacement" and the 800S handle deep bass that others cannot , or cannot produce at all. I purchased my 800S as "refurb" and almost $500 off new. If you are the religious type, they could be described as the voice of God. Or at least, A God. They make many other cans seem pedestrian or toy-like. The 800S are properly revealing, and make other cans sound just plain veiled, and "dynamically constipated".
Recently got the 800S and they sound amazing. I listen to mostly jazz, and classical LPs through a Rega RP3 and a Marantz amp. Having a good source like a reference pressing (Bill Evans mofi one step pressing) makes these headphones sound amazing...
Tyle, I may not have spelled your name properly. I want you to know that you’re missed. I hope you are doing well, staying healthy, and keeping a grip on drink. Peace and Love to you and yours.
My headphone dream is to finally own an HD800S.. someday soon.. someday soon. Great review there Tyll and thanks for the accompanying video mod footage.
I'm so glad I don't have golden ears. I have the HD800 and have never found them to be tiring or to have this resonance at 6K. I guess when you don't look for problems, or listen for them in this case, you can stay blissfully ignorant and just enjoy things.
Some people don't have to have golden ears. Some people who claim they have golden ears prefer the HD800 than the HD800S (some of them go as far as to berate people who don't like the 6khz peak and tell them they have low-fi ears) and I don't have to have trained hearing or naturally golden ears to stay the fuck away from the HD800 unless its SDR modded or its the S, because holy fuck it hurts. The thing is, when you go to audio forums like SBAF, Head-fi, ASR, so on and so forth, yeah... alot of people don't understand preference. While the HD800 is one of the most resolving headphones in general, its not for everyone. While the K812 and the T1 (any generation) have their own problems and are apparently hated more compared to the HD800's flaws, there are people who genuinely love their sound signatures. I myself prefer the ADX5000 because despite that it has less bass than the HD800, the resolving mids and low to mid treble is wonderful despite that that I'd argue its slightly more sibilant than the T1 and the HD800.
@@gnomehanslan1430 i have the HD800S they are extremely bright, lean, sibilant, the 6-9khz peak isn't killed at all, look at the measurements on Rtings.com... This frequency response both measures far from flat, and also sound as bright as measurements suggest, i can't even begin to imagine how bad the HD800 sounds (un-modded)
@@thelonepainter4760 i tried both tube-amp, and class-A balanced solid state, using the balanced Pentaconn cable that were shipped with the headphone, both on vinyl, but also 22,4 MHZ Octa-DSD sound-files It's a lean headphone, though I agree they need a very warm amp and preferably vinyl, if they are to stand any chance. I was genuinely impressed by the size of the soundstage, never heard bigger or wider in a headphone, just a shame about the sound signature.. But Sennheiser came close, perhaps their next headphone will deliver on all ends!
Some of the comments are misunderstanding what's being compared here. The HD800 MSRP is $1,495. The HD800S MSRP was $1,595, now $1,695 as of 2019. The latest flagship from sennheiser is the HD820 closed back design has a MSRP of $2,695 as of 2019.
I sold my HD800's because I couldn't get on with their thin sound, and I found my old HD650's to be much more fun to listen too. The HD650's sounded like cotton wool after listening to the HD800's, but once you got climatized to them it was okay. I would love to have a pair of HD880s, though, but I can't afford it right now.
The most common problem as far as frequencies response is in which technology drivers is wounded. The best solution in my opinion is super thin copper sheet. And of course low ohm regime as much as possible. I have handmade phones patented on 6 ohms regime and they sounds almost perfect.
There's two major differences. The, probably, more noticeable difference is that each channel is capable of delivering more power. The second is that both left and right channels get their own ground and own hot wires, where they share a ground wire on the 1/4" and 1/8" connectors, which can, if you are even able to perceive it, cause cross talk and some other distortion. This last point is what makes them "balanced".
All I know is, I briefly listened to several heaphones at a HiFi shop with some other popular, albeit cheaper, headphones and while each of the cheaper ones were good you could instantly pick out each strength and weakness then I tried this headphone and honestly could not pick out a weakness.
HI. I would like to ask you a question. Since this upgrade is similar to HD600 that goes into HD650, I wonder if HD800S aren't a bit less detailed then original one?
+InnerFidelity - Tyll, how do you justify starting out this video stating that the HD800/S is the worlds best headphone, then spend the rest of the video talking about how it falls short, needs modifications, and is really preferred when used with EQ because it just doesn't have enough bass. (note - honest question, not trying to be "that guy") What about the HD800/S makes it the worlds best headphone over headphones (such as many of the ones found in the Big Sound 2015 roundup). It feels like there are a couple of major nits to pick with the HD800/S and most of the other TOTL gear you review, while you have complaints, most of the time it's stressed that they are minor. Cheers.
InnerFidelity Thanks, and I very much look forward to reading a response if you do a write up. I tend to value your opinions on headphones and so far it's lead me to purchase the NAD VISO HP50 and I love that headphone.
+Nick Burklow I am very interested in the "$500 or less" range in closed back headphones, and have been flirting with the NAD VISO HP50's. It's a toss up between them and the Shure SRH1540. Many find the Shure SRH1540's a little stale and too "reference" focussed, but I've never really found that an issue with headphones, as I like fidelity, not exaggeration. Have you heard the Shure's, and can you give me any input seeing as I've never heard the HP50's? Thanks a bunch
+Nick Burklow Other top of the line headphones have their own problems too. The Audeze can be too closed in, murky and laid-back for many. The soundstage of the hd800 is far superior, not to mention the comfort. If you want a top of the line headphone that works out of the box with virtually zero flaws look at HE-1000 or SR-009. Thing is though.... with mods I think the HD800 is equal to those and half the price. If not better in some aspects. But now I think the HD800S is the obvious choice for many. It really is stellar value when you look at what it's competing with.
+Nick Burklow Exactly. Did the same with the HE1000. He just EQed the troublesome stuff ("elevated treble", mids not "forward" enough) when it suited him. Didn't bother to do the same with other hp - i.e. AKG K812. Didn't mention doing any EQing in the video. Just outright dismissed them.
Hello Tyll, At this time i have got the akg k712, and i want to step up my headphone game. at this point i consider the Focal elear, the mr. speakers ether and the hd 800/800S. i have got a eq system. But i do not want to modify my headphones. In this video you say that the hd800 with mod and eq is superior to the hd800S. I wonder if it is still true without a mod. and overall witch headphone you enjoy the most. Thank you very much.
Hallo I really need some help, I'm a pro drummer and I got the Shure se535 couple of years ago, and I want to buy the JH Roxanne [custom] because I want something in that price point that can be used on a stage but in home for listening to. but now that I see that the HD 800S cost jast us mach I want to buy them and stay with the SE535 to stage use. the problem is that I dont have a super nice amp\DAC [MICCA ORIGEN]. is it a problem? and after all this, is getting the Sennheiser HD 800 S instead of the JH roxane is a good choice? thank you! you guys are awesome!
and here i am watching a video about a pair of headphones i probably will never buy and listening to the differences in sound that i might never notice.
ezzony i'm pretty sure that is a fact, audiophiles have a trained ear and have probably used a wide variety of gear to compare with, in my case my best experience with audio are my V-moda headphones, so even tho i do notice better sound than with others i have tried, it is still far away from being able to tell the HD 800 apart of something close to its range in price or quality. It's like testing sports cars when you used just common trucks haha
I did it too dude... then I finally bought the HD800s... must say as a bass head, I've wanted more, but that clarity is just amazing when listening to classical & vocal focussed music. :)
Michael Hutchinson if i had the HD 800 the only thing I'd miss is portability. I honestly have no cash for headphones that expensive. No matter how amazing they are. Enjoy your music :) ✌
Gilgamesh_The_God 800s had smaller sounstage , little bit better bass and less treble , clarity very close , maybe 800 seems clearer because of treble peak
I would say it's not better, but sounds different. I didn't think I was going to like the 800s based on all these mixed reviews from people. But I was lucky enough to have a listening session and I immediately knew that HD650 had found a replacement. I stopped relying too much on reviewers preferences and to just our ears! I recommend people to have a listen where possible because everyone's ears are completely different therefore perceive sound differently. For me my end game has been HD800s and the Monoprice M1060, however my other half says nothing beats the HD650. My son & daughter prefer the X2.
Can you please do a review of Pioneer se-master1. I heard it is better than hd800s in every way. Besides I heard the utopia you have reviewed is already better than it. Thank you
What I would like to know is whether or not the hd800s is as picky with amps as the hd800 and could this new version be "listenable" with under $1000 or even under $500 amp dac combos.
yh I heard about that. some people went top of the line amps and found the slightly lower end amp from the same company was better. I guess since all they did was kill the high Peak these will probably be like that. considering the sound signature is the same. a neutral almost dull sound
This might be a stupid question but does the hd800s out perform the focal elear? I understand that they are different, but I'm looking for people's opinion.
3 years late, but here is your answer :). I just tried both in a store, and I preferred the 800s, but I'm biased and like the Sennheiser sound. The focal clear's had much much punchier bass than the 800s, but in a good way. Personally not my thing, but they were comfortable as hell and I would be very happy with either one.
Interesting, someone did some independent FEA on the original to figure out a damping solution; Sennheiser grabbed the ball and did a proper modal analysis. Why didn't Sennheiser do the proper modal analysis on the first model? Then again, just saw the LCD 4 review; there may be another candidate for more in depth modelling.
My HD-800 cans already have the Anaxilus Mod. If I install the SuperDupont Resonator do I need to remove the Anaxilus Mod or should they be used in conjunction? Thx.
I have about 20 RU-vid music lists with thousands of songs I have loved over the last 57 years. Am I correct to assume that listening to HD on RU-vid with the Sennheiser 800 is like using an atomic bomb to kill a rat? Or no? I don't want streaming online music, they don't have what I want, my lists on RU-vid are way too extensive to move over even if there was a way. Your Opinion?
Look up the price of replacement drivers and it will blow your mind. You can get a pair of 800 drivers for under $400. Some people have made their own DIY headphones with them.
MadBorne I’m not sure on exactly how to do it. But you can get two 800 driver capsules shipped for $380. You would need to solder the plugs and insert the assembly into a frame. There were a couple of users on head-fi/Reddit that were able to accomplish it and create headphones that measured similarly to stock 800s.
wow... the company thought they could do a better job at modifying a problem, in a model of their own headphones... not by releasing a cheap and simple little fix for the existing pair... but forcing us to buy a whole brand new set of headphones and doubling the price doing nothing else but fixing the original problem!... WOW THANKS!...
+VeryCoolAlan I personally liked the H90 + HEV90 better then the HD800 + HDVD800. I have not haired the HE1060 so i have no clue how it compares, but im looking foreword to listening to it. One note on the Orpheus (HE90) vs HD800, it has more warms and is less analytical then the hd800. I would love to have a HE90 + HEV90 as my listening set up, but for work i would pick the beyerdynamic T1 or HD800 (i need to get me one now)...
You can't just simply change a driver to "add some extra 2nd harmonic distortion below 100hz" We're talking fundamental redesign of the driver itself.. Which would inevitably change a host of other parameters aswell.
Instead of modifying my HD800, I bought MIT's Vero XLR reference cable + bass dongle (as specially tuned for the HD800). Originally, the HD800 sounded always a little too bright to my ears. But with MIT's (network) cables, with 'multiple articulator poles' technology, and the added optional bass-dongle, it really sounds great to me. So I was wondering if you have tested this solution for yourself and also, did you found any differences in measurement? Maybe a nice suggestion for an interesting review?
Why don't headphone manufacturers develop covers to place over the open back headphones so that the user has the option to make their open back headphones into a closed back headphone for more bass if they so desire?
Because tuning starts at the driver - if you just box up a fully open headphone, it will sound like mud with way elevated midbass, while what you wanted is just to raise the sub-bass. If you open up a closed headphone, it will generally sound like junk too, very hollow. Drivers which at the first glance look the same and share the motor (voice coil + magnet + field guide) and membrane can still easily differ in density of felt on their back and size of back vent holes behind the membrane. Even for drivers which have seen use in a range of headphones - some described as 'closed' and other as 'open' - you will find that actually in both cases the enclosure is vented, so there's actually a fairly narrow range of tunings again, except this time they come with enclosure volume and vent type and vent cover material differences to make both work. Best you can do is slightly adjustable tuning without either being fully open or fully sealed, and one of the tunings will likely be significantly more compromised than the other, so why would you want the other?
8 лет назад
I think the HD 800 has enough bass. As a mixer, I think that adding audible? distortion is an awful way to do it. like what the hell. these are 1,7k headphones. these are not reference headphones for sure. honestly even if I wasn't a mixer I would not wanna have these. just imagine if in a track you got a synth which is distorted in the bass... the 2nd harmonic's volume will be amplified a LOT and it can sound waaaay different. this is crazy.
8 лет назад
to clarify, like if you already have a distorted sound, the 2nd harmonic will be already audible, but these headphones will boost it another 20db? my god!
I'm one of those people that loves the stock HD 800 sound. Just the idea alone of having second harmonic distortion in the bass feels like a cheap way to create the illusion of more bass. I want all frequencies to be clean and precise. Harmonic distortion just feels unacceptable to me in kilobuck headphones.
I did try the HD 800 S but feel uneasy about buying an expensive product which has been subject to the technological sticking plaster of resonators, etc. The bass is still lacking in substance and still has piercing sibilance with certain tracks such a Lipgloss by Pulp.
Hey Kenny. They would be. Never tried the HD 800 S myself but for my FPS games, my original HD 800 is an incredible step-up from my HD 598, AKG K7xx and my previous soundstage king, my AD700. The newer HD 800 S has a slightly smaller sound stage than the original HD 800. The Super Dupont Resonator mod also apparently reduces the sound stage a little on the HD 800. Currently pairing the Woo Audio WA7th with my HD 800. Bass is richer and soundstage seems more immersive. Tyler, your reviews were the best. I hope you are enjoying your campervan lifestyle and keep rockin that beard!
