Comments on Profile Post by Thad E Ginathom

  1. Thad E Ginathom
    Thad E Ginathom
    Oh wow. I guess I have to save up.

    But I have serious HF hearing loss (cannot hear kitchen timer at 4k). The HD800s felt like being reintroduced to treble! But... for people with normal hearing?
    Oct 1, 2017
    MoatsArt'sShade likes this.
  2. Thad E Ginathom
    Thad E Ginathom
    Introduction courtesy of, and thanks to, @Koth Ganesh, who came to my house today. He's left them on loan, and the risk is that I won't now be satisfied with anything else.
    Oct 1, 2017
    Dino likes this.
  3. Koth Ganesh
    Koth Ganesh
    Your facial expression to Joni Mitchell was priceless.
    Oct 1, 2017
    Dino likes this.
  4. Thad E Ginathom
    Thad E Ginathom
    My facial expression, hearing Joni as I have not done for years! Tears-in-eyes stuff. Gift of the HD800s to my poor ears.

    We didn't have time for me to show you my usual music "work-flow" with EQ. It allows me to hear stuff, but still not as good as the HD800s
    Oct 1, 2017
    bengo and Dino like this.
  5. MoatsArt'sShade
    MoatsArt'sShade
    One of these days I'll have to join you in having a decent listen to a pair. How were they amped?
    Oct 1, 2017
    Thad E Ginathom likes this.
  6. Dino
    Dino
    It does my heart good to learn that you have heard something that actually increases your enjoyment of music, Thad. They are not cheap, but under the circumstances, you may be buying a musical time machine as well as a pair of headphones.
    Oct 1, 2017
  7. DigMe
    DigMe
    I enjoy them with the right setup. Yggdrasil+Raggy was a bit abrasive for me but I REALLY love them with Yggdrasil+EC Black Widow.
    Oct 1, 2017
    Thad E Ginathom likes this.
  8. Riotvan
    Riotvan
    I could only ever enjoy them with mods, EQ and tubes and even then i gravitated towards the 650 after trying them twice. Pretty much a speaker slut nowadays though.
    Oct 1, 2017
    Thad E Ginathom likes this.
  9. Koth Ganesh
    Koth Ganesh
    We used a ZD Prototype tube amp for the session. I normally use the Yggdrasil + ZDS
    Oct 1, 2017
    Thad E Ginathom and Dino like this.
  10. Dino
    Dino
    Don't forget, Thad has a different hearing situation than a lot of us. (I'm not referring to you @Koth Ganesh .)
    Oct 1, 2017
    Thad E Ginathom and Koth Ganesh like this.
  11. Koth Ganesh
    Koth Ganesh
    Oh and one more thing.. Nick was dressed in classical South Indian attire while I was in jeans and a Pink Floyd T-shirt
    Oct 1, 2017
    tsd13, Thad E Ginathom and Dino like this.
  12. Lyander
    Lyander
    First time I got to hear one was during a mini-meet with a new-at-the-time friend. Imaging was unreal, and though the treble bothered me somewhat (this was an Anax-modded pair), I knew that I'd have to have these no matter what.

    Three years later, still saving up and planning components-matching. Luckily, used prices (incl mods) are excellent lately thanks to the HD800S and others.
    Oct 1, 2017
    Thad E Ginathom likes this.
  13. Thad E Ginathom
    Thad E Ginathom
    It really is quite something for a slightly deaf cynical old ex-audiophile to have to stutter the words... oh my god, n-n-n-night and d-d-d-day difference here. There were moments when they were a little sharp on the eardrum, like Doris Day, "Black Hills of Dakota."
    Oct 1, 2017
    Lyander and Dino like this.
  14. Thad E Ginathom
    Thad E Ginathom
    @Koth Ganesh, sorry, I didn;t notice it was a Floyd t-shirt. I saw them too, once. Well, not exactly /saw/ them, but you know what they say... If you remember it, you weren't there!
    Oct 1, 2017
    Dino likes this.
  15. Thad E Ginathom
    Thad E Ginathom
    Listening on my modest (well, /relatively/ modest) integrated, I can certainly appreciate the extra that ZD gives. KG's combination, ZD+HD, was certainly the full works in terms of the magic.
    Oct 2, 2017
    Dino and Koth Ganesh like this.
  16. Thad E Ginathom
    Thad E Ginathom
    I declined the loan offer of the ZD, because at this time I just don't have a place where I can safely keep a big tube amplifier. Even the space is occupied is usually taken by my deskside paper and rubbish heap.
    Probably a good thing!
    Oct 2, 2017
  17. Thad E Ginathom
    Thad E Ginathom
    BTW, For some reason my back-to-basics Juli@ car gave trouble yesterday and had to dig out the ODAC --- so our source for yesterday's listening was certainly humble by current public opinion.
    Oct 2, 2017
  18. Thad E Ginathom
    Thad E Ginathom
    (Today, Juli@ seems to have returned to health. I never did a proper comparison back then, but I can say now that the ODAC is thin and pale by comparison.
    BUT... "fullness" of sound can so easily be a matter of a slight increase in output. Am I going to do this thing "properly" and match the levels? Nope.
    Oct 2, 2017
    Dino likes this.
  19. Thad E Ginathom
    Thad E Ginathom
    ...which is why this is utterly and completely just-personal-experience, not a serious comparison.
    Oct 2, 2017
    Dino likes this.
  20. Thad E Ginathom
    Thad E Ginathom
    Later, after some music, watching some youtube engineering. The reality of spoken-word voice is amazing.
    What I most stunned by with these phones is the resolution/real feeling of the bass. I could feel the thump in my stomach when the guy put something down on the bench!
    Oct 2, 2017
    Dino likes this.
  21. Koth Ganesh
    Koth Ganesh
    I told ya (about the ZD)!
    Oct 2, 2017
    Dino and Thad E Ginathom like this.
  22. Thad E Ginathom
    Thad E Ginathom
    The little ifi ICAN is doing a better job :)
    Oct 2, 2017
    Dino likes this.
  23. Dino
    Dino
    Thad, do you see a HD800 in your future?
    Oct 3, 2017
  24. Thad E Ginathom
    Thad E Ginathom
    @Dino, there's a story...

    Several years back, one of the Indian online-shopping outlets was offering the HD800 /at half price/. And the full price was much the same as other countries, which is often not the case here.

    A number of us noticed this, it was discussed on an India-centric audio forum.
    Oct 4, 2017
  25. Thad E Ginathom
    Thad E Ginathom
    ...I hummed and haaed. Even at half price, this was a lot of money for me to spend on an audio item unheard. I let the chance go.

    @Koth Ganesh , who I did not know at the time, had more sense and snapped one up. It is that very headphone that is on my desk right now.
    Oct 4, 2017
  26. Thad E Ginathom
    Thad E Ginathom
    Such an offer has never happened again so far. Should it do so, I would not make the same mistake again. It would /still/ be a lot of money in my economy, but absolutely I'd buy it.

    But, at full price, no... $,$$$ 'phones are off my screen. Not possible. And I do acknowledge the synergy with the tube amp. which would be, what, another thousand?
    Oct 4, 2017
    Dino likes this.
  27. Thad E Ginathom
    Thad E Ginathom
    If I had encountered all this gear when I had more cash in the bank, well... But hey, regrets I've had /more than/ a few! lol.

    This is a dream I cannot live. But at least I have been able to experience it. Same goes for a lot of hifi gear I've experienced and known I'd never own. That's life!
    Oct 4, 2017
    Dino likes this.
  28. Thad E Ginathom
    Thad E Ginathom
    ... Unless there's another half-price deal. Which, as the model moves into obsolescence is not utterly inconceivable. At a slightly-more-than what I can afford price: I'd snap up the HD800. Even without a super-synergy amp.
    Oct 4, 2017
    Dino likes this.
  29. Thad E Ginathom
    Thad E Ginathom
    I'm not going to cry about going back to my HD600s, but I am certainly going to hearing less through them.
    Oct 4, 2017
    Dino likes this.
  30. Dino
    Dino
    I don't know what used prices would be buying from India, but you probably already considered that.
    Oct 4, 2017
    Thad E Ginathom likes this.
  31. DigMe
    DigMe
    If you're talking about ZDS I think that would be more like another TWO thousand.
    Oct 4, 2017
  32. Thad E Ginathom
    Thad E Ginathom
    Buying anything used here tends to be expensive. Even used cars cost more than they should. Cultural attitude, that, despite years of use, people feel that they should get their money back.

    Sure, I'll keep my eyes open. But I moved away from that particular forum because it became /heavily/ audiophool and I couldn't take the bullshit any longer!
    Oct 4, 2017
    Dino likes this.
  33. Dino
    Dino
    I don't know if you have read through this, for amps: http://tinyurl.com/y9rko6eb
    Schiit Vali 2 is $150 buying new from USA.
    From India ???.
    Oct 4, 2017
    Thad E Ginathom likes this.
  34. Thad E Ginathom
    Thad E Ginathom
    I might have glanced at that, but had no reason to read it through. Maybe one day I will :)

    I buy small stuff from Amazon.com [usa]. Currently waiting for a monitor arm (Oh, actually bought on Amazon.in, but it is still an import). Recent tax changes here seem to have greatly increased import prices here
    Oct 4, 2017
    Dino likes this.
  35. Thad E Ginathom
    Thad E Ginathom
    ... will cross that bridge if I ever reach it! Currently saving my money for a trip back to UK next summer.
    Oct 4, 2017
    DigMe and Dino like this.
  36. Dino
    Dino
    I just got back to the computer and had this thought: The link http://tinyurl.com/y9rko6eb would probably be useful, but most people will be posting about amps that help keep the peak(s) in check that make the HD800 something special for you. (I didn't miss that this may be a bridge that you may not be crossing.)
    Oct 4, 2017
  37. Thad E Ginathom
    Thad E Ginathom
    Ah yes, true... It could be better for me personally to let those highs fly free, although there is just a wee bit too much bite in some female vocals. Anyway, I enjoyed reading @Marvey's post. Thank you!
    Oct 4, 2017
    Dino likes this.
  38. Thad E Ginathom
    Thad E Ginathom
    @Koth Ganesh ... You'd better come and take this thing away, before it becomes too addictive!

    Reflections: I have nothing (unsurprising) that comes anywhere near your tube amp for the HD800. You knew that :)

    Tried the HD600 again yesterday. No, I won't cry to go back to them, but one thing I realised, before even turning anything on, was the amazing physical comfort of the HD800
    Oct 11, 2017
    Dino, DigMe and Koth Ganesh like this.
  39. Thad E Ginathom
    Thad E Ginathom
    It accommodates my ears like Senhnheiser sent somebody to measure them /and,/ in our climate, it is a lot cooler than the HD600s.

    For music, HD800 rules, even with my limited amplification.

    For speech, it sounds astonishingly real, but, like with certain female vocals, there is a little bite that causes some fatigue. Odd, as I probably can't hear much at 6K anyway.
    Oct 11, 2017
  40. Thad E Ginathom
    Thad E Ginathom
    So, if I was ever to acquire a pair, I'd see the point of having the /two/ 'phones to hand.
    Oct 11, 2017
    Dino likes this.
  41. Koth Ganesh
    Koth Ganesh
    Ok I will rescue you by coming by this weekend
    Oct 11, 2017
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  42. Thad E Ginathom
    Thad E Ginathom
    Oct 1st 2017: met HD800 and fell in love.
    April 1st 2018: they're mine!
    Apr 1, 2018