Sennheiser HD800S measurements (unsanctionned)

Discussion in 'Audio Science' started by sorrodje, Dec 26, 2015.

  1. keanex

    keanex Martian Bounty Hunter - Friend

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    I think the HD800 and HD800s thread purrin and co tried making the resonator. Not sure exactly how it turned out.
     
  2. frenchbat

    frenchbat Almost "Made"

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    Given that it'd require cutting through the driver's dust cover, I hardly think so.
     
  3. SKiring

    SKiring Friend

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    I think you can easily remove the cover by just unscrewing the screws on the metallic part. This will expose the driver making it easy to just see what's in there and reproduce it.
     
  4. frenchbat

    frenchbat Almost "Made"

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    You sure about that ? Honest question
     
  5. SKiring

    SKiring Friend

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  6. frenchbat

    frenchbat Almost "Made"

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    Purrin just cut the screen to put the resonator in. That other mod was dissasembled though, forgot about that.
     
  7. Chris F

    Chris F Boyz 4 Now Fanatic - Friend

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    It appears decay time around 6K got tamed as well. That will be really audible in terms of treble smoothness, maybe even more then the FR. Nice job Senn. Strongly considering picking up a pair.
     
  8. Gravity

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    Would love to see HD650 vs HD800S on the graphs.
     
  9. vnmslsrbms

    vnmslsrbms New

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    Actually I had tried this yesterday, and I was able to put some a cotton circle in the middle circle part. You can take it all apart. The screen part lifts up separating from the driver. I have to think more about the material though since this is now inside the screen and you don't want lint or dust gathering in there. I felt like the highs were tamed a tiny bit, but not a lot.

    I actually went and got a second hand HD800 for a good price to be able to a/b with my stock hd800. Their serial numbers are both in the 23-25k range. I have some fabric that I can try this with. Probably should take some photos next time.
     
  10. Judeus

    Judeus Facebook Friend

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  11. sorrodje

    sorrodje Carla Bruni's other lover - Friend

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    Ok . some personal thoughts . See that as a stream of consciouness . Nothing affirmative. Coud be BS after all.


    Let's see two manner of presenting the FR differences between HD800 and HD800S :

    I deliberateley choosed to use a Y scale that emphasizes differences.

    Curves equalized @ 1khz :


    HD800FR vs HD800FR (equalized @1khz).jpg


    - 6khz taming is obvious
    - More upper treble
    - Looks like there's not much change in the midrange area
    - less bass but a tiny bit more extended



    Curves equalized @100hz :

    HD800FR vs HD800FR (equalized @100hz).jpg


    With that point of view , curves still show the same points but IMO this view correlates better with what I hear subjectively ( 6-8 hours of listening thus far)

    - Tamed 6 khz . no more excessive sibilance.
    - Large boost ( from 1db in low mids to nearly 2db in high mids ) in the whole mids area
    - Less mid bassy
    - Still bright.

    I really don't know where or why some listeners heard mor bass. nor my Listening impressions and measurements show any bass enhancement. In fact. for now. I fell the HD800S is really more neutral and the HD800 more fun (V shaped) . Subjectively, it seems the HD800 is less sharp but hits/bites a bit harder . I didn't expect that at all to be honest.

    If I had my Modded HD800 in the mix (still equalized @100hz) :

    HD800FR vs HD800FR vs HD800modFR (equalized @100hz).jpg

    We can see than the HD800S and the HD800 modded are close from 20hz to 1,5khz and then the HD800 adds more high mids . And after 8 month with my modded HD800 , the second thing that jumps to my ears after the tamed 6khz is the High mids boost.

    More generally, focusing only on the 6khz does not tell the whole story IMO . The overall balance of the HD800S is IMO maybe not greatly but at least significantly changed. (Don't forget english is not my native language. so take the "significantly" with a grain of salt. it's not big , not subtle. it's a small effect but significant IME. )
     
    Last edited: Dec 28, 2015
  12. mtoc

    mtoc SBAF's Resident Shit-Stirrer

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    wow, waiting for mor information abouthis.
     
  13. sorrodje

    sorrodje Carla Bruni's other lover - Friend

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    Don't forget english is not my native language. so take the "significantly" with a grain of salt. it's not big , not subtle. small effect but significant IME.
     
  14. RanocchiO

    RanocchiO Acquaintance

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    Thank you Sorrodje for the measurements and for your impressions.

    Lorenzo
     
  15. Hands

    Hands Overzealous Auto Flusher - Measurbator

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    Really cool stuff. That makes a bigger difference than I expected. I heard promise with the modded HD800 from a few different amps, but maybe a modded HD800S would work well for me.
     
  16. vnmslsrbms

    vnmslsrbms New

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    The modded HD800 curves match what Tyll had shown. I kinda wish the mods made more of a difference than they really did. Oh well. I'm going to try to stick more layers of felt in mine.
     
  17. burnspbesq

    burnspbesq Friend

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    Tres bien dit, mon ami. Merci beaucoup.
     
  18. spoony

    spoony Spooky

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    That reminds me of this tap e that I've used in some of my mods. I sourced it at Walmart, wonder if it works...
     
  19. songmic

    songmic Gear cycler East Asia edition

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    The FR of the stock HD800S doesn't seem like the HD850, but with proper mods I hope it has more potential to become the HD850 that we all want compared to the original HD800.
     
  20. Bourne Perfect

    Bourne Perfect Friend

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    The 850 is made by matching a proper amp. Others would suggest modding as well. My 800S should arrive this weekend or early next week.
     

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