The HD800 & HD800S thread

I owned the 800 with a variety of amps and they sounded very different with all of them. So it's possible you don't have the best matching amp for your taste via those cans. The 800 doesn't seem to really "come out of it's shell" until paired with totl amps. Valhalla 2 was close but too soft and veiled (the 6CG7 tubes remove the veil though), but I still sold it. Lyr 2 was dynamic and fun but ultimately too fat/tubby sounding. Jotunheim made them extremely thrilling and dynamic, but was too forward and "hot" in the treble ultimately, which grew exhausting.

Torpedo 3 was a revelation. Pretty much does nothing wrong and everything right for the 800. It completely cured my upgraditis for these headphones. Especially with the GE 12AZ7 tubes and Shunyata venom power cable. Still curious about the Eddie Current stuff, but just curious.

I suggest trying Valhalla 2 with the 6CG7 tubes, which removes the haziness it's notorious for, adds some much needed punch, and leaves you with it's better qualities (soundstage, 3D, resolving ability, euphonia), and it's relatively cheap. But soundstage get slightly more claustrophobic with those tubes. Then save up for a T3 or Black Widow to take them to the next level. T3 nudges BW slightly because tubes are better, especially for this can.

 

I recently purchased an HD800S to complement my HD650.

I've been listening to both.... and to me the differences are not that huge.
I mean, they sound different.. the HD650 is not as wide, darker for sure and mids are more forward.. but if I listen to the same music and go back and forth, the difference isn't "dramatic" to me.
I actually finally understand what people mean by the HD650 being dark.
I did the coin mod recently, which I think is great. I dont know if others have experienced this as well, but I dont feel like I'm missing detail on the 650 compared to the 800.

It could be that my ears/hearing sucks (something I am strongly considering), or that my brain doesn't perceive the differences as huge, even though they might be.

I know for sure my DAC is up to the task, but maybe my amp is too good or too bad for me to realize the difference. (this sounds weird.. I know)
By too good I mean- it allows the HD650 to scale to its full potential, so the gap between it and the HD800S is not that big.
By too bad - it simply is not bringing out the most of the HD800S, leveling the playing field for the HD650.

I ordered the BH Mainline and waiting for the kit to arrive. Since it is well documented that Mainline and HD800 are a good pairing, that will allow me to do better comparisons. My current amp is SE, so the Mainline will allow me to listen to both with a balanced output.
Anyone have similar experience?

 

I’ve read this thread back to about page 31, Tyll’s review of the HD800S, and random comments and threads over the years since the HD800S released. I also recall reading somewhere that Sennheiser denies adding even numbered harmonic distortion.

I do not recall reading anywhere *how* this distortion may have been added? Any theories? Is it mechanical? Something to do with the drivers themselves? Something electronic? Changes in dimensions within the cups or frame? It doesn’t seem to be the result simply of the resonator, as the SuperDupont resonator does not exhibit the same increased distortion. Granted the SDR isn’t identical, nor does it yield identical results to the 800S resonator.

Anyway, just wondering if there might be modding opportunities aimed at reducing the distortion in the 800S.

Yes - decided I’d take flier and try the HD 800S.

Thanks all.

 

My guess is that they changed some property of the driver: motor/coil, or a slight material change in the ring radiator diaphragm. honest question: why doesn't anyone measure and publish T/S parameters for headphone drivers? knowing that sort of stuff would quell a good bit of the handwaving about HDXXX series differences, beyond screen color, as well as HD800/800S.

 

What are T/S parameters? God I hate showing my ignorance ...

 

Hmm do you guys still use the dust cover with the SDR mod, idk why but removing the dust cover makes the imaging/dimensionality soundstage etc worse in my opinion.

 

Reverberation in the cups is one of the things the SBAF (rug liner) mod addresses, more here: https://www.superbestaudiofriends.org/index.php?threads/superbaf-hd800-mod-formerly-btamod.254/

The dust cover likely helps with this as well, I prefer to have it on.

 

I tried a bunch of mods on the HD 800, and one unusual one that seems to work for me is prodding the black plastic behind the grille with a paper clip. Since I don't want to take off the grille, I do this through the grille. Particularly the plastic that is underneath the angled part of the grille, which forms an outer ring at the perimeter(barely noticable!) and the supporting arms. Both on top and on the sides. If we accidentally prod the silver mesh it's fine, too. One explanation I got is that it might introduce local defects into the material and lead to damping of waves travelling through it. This location seems to work because it connects the magnet cage structure to the headphone body, so maybe it makes the magnet more 'stationary'. The tonal density is really pleasant and improved. I tried other locations and tools, and they seem to do various other things as well. One thing I would like to see is if anyone else can try it to agree or disagree with this, or make different observations. I use it with dustcovers off.

 

Honestly, I really hope you have found something useful. You are in SoCal. @purr1n or some of the measurebaters in the area might like to take some measurements if your cool with that.

 

Is there any HD800/S owner with experience with the Kameleon project?

 

Bryston BHA-1 simple mod that made a good headphone amplifier great.
I post it here because my main reason for not being completely happy with BHA-1 was because of HD800S. Comparing to a great performance with HEKv2 the sound of unmoded, not equalized HD800S was just..weak I do not know how to put it better. I tried Sonarworks Tru-fi that did not help, @sorrodje EQ for HD800 worked a lot better but did not go far enough.
Then I thought it was too much gain and tried Rothwell -10dB attenuators but it flattened the dynamic and took some more life out of the music.

But today I got it back from Bryston after a simple, reversible mod that lowered the gain by 12 dB.
Holy cow, I have HD800S exactly where I wanted them. The highs are not less revealing but stop right where they used to pierce my ears, Female vocals and mid registers of cello moved slightly forward and there is more substance there. But what I really like is that I can hear more texture in the sub bass area.
What else? Transient response is better, sound stage did not change but the instrument have more space around and positioning is superb.
I listened briefly to TR-X00 and heard the same delightful changes in bass and sub bass: tighter without loosing any extension.
Change in the volume knob position in low gain for HD800S is from 9.5 to 11-12, the most significant is for HEKv2: it went from 11 to 3 or 4.

Mike from the Brsyton support said that this is really DIY mode is you have some soldering skills. I preferred to send it Bryston but I like 90 mins drive away from their place.
But if you have BHA-1 $70 is very modest price for the improvement you get.

 

The age of sennheiser if over. Not a single HD800 at canjam, HD820 nowhere to be seen and a single HD800S on a dac/amp setup.

 

They are out of fashion.
Now planars and in house handcrafted headphones are the hot stuff.

 

I have a Kameleon for my HD-800. What would you like to know?

 

Well how it sounds!
Is sound signature better , is it worth trying?
Are there any side effects?
Do you use stock 800 with it or modded?
Thanks.

 

Bizarre, Sennheiser had a table and a factory rep at Can Jam LA last month. I ended up buying a set of HD 800S to go with my base HD 800.

 

Maybe they are just not expensive enough for that crowd?

The good news might be lower prices for used ones.

 

Could be, I picked up a barely used HD800S for less than a 4 figure price.

I hated the HD800 every time I heard them on any amp. The treble was just "hell no" for me. I'm liking the HD800S, though it required tubes and some tube rolling to shine.

 

It takes down the two treble spikes, but at the cost of some detail in the treble, maybe hyper-detail might be more accurate. I don’t use it much on older less compressed recordings only on hot mixes. It raises the bass level to a more acceptable level. It’s analog EQ with modules for each headphone. I’ve removed most of the mod material as using it that way, especially with the BW and ZDT Jr.’s sound signatures it is a bit much. Some will like it for what it can do on certain recordings, others won’t. I’m sure a number of folks on SBAF would probably stick with the physical mods, but I could never get it to sound how I preferred.

If the 800’s are fatiguing due to it’s treble issues, then at the price it is worth a try. It is very clean when turned off. Nothing I can hear at least. Like everything, it takes some time to get used to the new sound, but I would say it is a light touch, not a drastic reinvention of the 800’s sound. Guessing it might not be the choice if trying it with TOTL amp that works well with 800’s already. The description on the website is accurate IMHO.

http://garage1217.com/garage1217_diy_tube_headphone_amplifiers_018.htm