Comments on Profile Post by Ti_Leo

I think part of it is just inurement. I had a pair of HD800s on loan for a few weeks maybe five years ago and they were fine after a while (my main headphones at the time were TH-X00 Ebonies), but I got to try the selfsame pair earlier this year and couldn't stand them for more than a few minutes (currently maining the HD600s and Campfire Andromeda 2020s). Need an adjustment period

And I went back to HD800 after... a few months? I was prepared to get my eardrum pierced after using darker headphones, but the first 10 minutes using HD800, it really sounded amazing!

But I really got the unwillingness after 15 mins or so... Switched back to ESP 95x, then realized I could use Lokius to lower the treble, so back to EQed HD800, but, physical-ish pain happened after a few more mins. Sigh.

So my point is, I would agree with the adjustment period theory before, I could eventually enjoy many different headphones, but this time, it's physical pain... I don't know... But I still love HD800, I guess?

What's the chain? HD800 is chimeric. It tilts bright generally, but can be darker or brighter depending on the chain. And do you have SDR?

@roshambo123 Yggdrasil A1 -> Lokius -> (should be broken) Raggy v1.0 -> HD800. Raggy is the new element in the chain (it never sips more than 50W power...)

Normally when I put HD800 on, it's like "OK, that's bright, but I can take it." Today it's like "It sounds awesome!!" then my ears bled.

Yes I have (my handmade) SDR + Anaxilus mod + some Chinese leather pads. OK the pads... suspect No.2

I'd expect your chain to have some treble spikes. Yggdrasil A1 has feisty treble. In combo with Rag 1 and HD800SDR I would think it's not fun for long periods or with certain music.

Yeah you’re probably either going to have to change out A1 for something darker (LIM) or change amps. IIRC Rag 1 can be pretty transparent, so Lokius might not be enough to tame A1 + 800.

question: would having some drinks lessen the fatigue? I wonder if there are some psychosomatic effects at play, or possibly even a slight pressure/discomfort thing that you're unaware of. Changing sources/amps that are already competent should provide perceptional changes but not enough to change a strong physiological response

@roshambo123 @internethandle Yea, I guess you are right. But let me try an easy could-be fix: swapping the ear pads from leather to the OG style velour(?) pads.

@Armaegis Now this is a science project! But the variables are out of control: I touched the Lokius knobs, and I did ear pads swap... But, but, currently, after 5 mins of listening (with light drink), I can still feeling some slight unwillingness.. Sigh

Now try changing pads on only one side and see if it's only pain on one side, or have you tried the toilet paper trick?

I must had tried that as I saw there's some glue residue on the Anaxilus ring, but I guess I felt overdamped at that time. Yea, got to put it back on, if I can find my favourite "static cleaning paper".

But it still gets me that it doesn't sound that bright, but it just brings the stressed feeling when ears feeling things were too loud... It's like the ears' defensive mechanism.

It may not be "brightness" per se, but could be ringing.

My experience with HD800 is changing pads to anything but stock velour destroys the headstage. I mean, you can produce a nice sounding system, but I feel like it's also wrecking many of the reasons for choosing the HD800. EQ is also typically a disaster because of the sensitivity of the tuning.

@Armaegis Right! Ringing could be the thing! (But it's hard to fix, right? (Sigh))

@roshambo123 Yea, I don't care much about headstage, but I do find that HD800 doesn't sound that expanse on handful pairs of pads I've tried.

But as I constantly think about me stuck in "hi-fi purgatory", HD800 sounded shockingly good, for the first 5 mins. But yea, from a exploring and system matching point, HD800 can be tricky

You mean Mid-Fi purgatory? Personally, I think Rag 1 is your problem. I'd try Mjolnir 3 if you can. I've demo'd it in my chain which is same as yours (HD800SDR + Yggdrasil GS) and it is great. Not fatigue inducing for me.

hahahah. yes. but should I count HD800 "mid-fi"? Mjolnir 3 looks great, but the problem is... I'm in China... sigh...

You have competent components in your chain that should not be causing any odd distortions or problems. At this point, I highly doubt that changing anything there will reduce the fatigue/pain/ringing/etc, and I believe you will have to explore other headphones or modding.

Neither Yggdrasil or HD800 are mid-fi. I haven't heard Rag 1 but if it is on the level of Rag 2 it's mid-fi.

Still, could be my half broken Rag, but everything else sounds OK, except some known issue to me. Yea, maybe need to look elsewhere. (ESP 95X is goooood!)

Do you have any other amps to test on? or pick up something popular on the used market so it's easy to resell.

Ok, I blew the dust off my Vali 2+, and plugged it into my system.

HD800 sounds smoother on Vali 2+, and I just feel little fatigue, definitely bearable. But it also just sounds a bit plain, while it sounded much more assuring on Rag.

Come to think of it, the pain could even be caused by higher volume on Rag? Because it was really good, I needed more!

Guess HD800 + Rag is not a good match, here at least.