General Headphone Advice

I hate this 85% of thing when two things aren't comparable. It makes sense in some cases but not for headphones that are fundamentally different executions. The Yggdrasil and Gungnir Multibit are similar executions and technology. But the 598 and hd800, seriously?

None of us are going to reach enlightenment through our audio purchases but that doesn't mean they are not "worthwhile" or rational. If you care about your music it is likely you will want to get closer to it. If you care about cinema or sports or porn or whatever you will probably appreciate the extra information and realism that comes from a high res tv. I'm not saying all content will hold up to the scrutiny or that it isn't enjoyable on a low res tv, just that the extra information gets you closer to the content and might even allow you to appreciate it in a different way.

Hd800s in my view are a huge bargain. Not my thing but what they bring to the table in imaging and resolution is above and beyond everything else at the price of an iphone. The music surrounds you like a bizarre alien hologram.

 

The HD800 is good. When you look at past headphones just not 1500 Dollars/Euros good. I was a vintage headphone collector and Pioneer, AKG and Sony in the past did similar things in sound where Sennheiser is now. Ask around about he Pioneer Monitor 10, especially @takato14 and discover some real bargains...

 

Can anyone identify the headphone on the last page of this Bryston manual?
http://www.bryston.com/PDF/tutorials/Tutorial_BDP-2_Getting_Started.pdf

 

@therealjay I totally agree, there's a smaller jump the higher you go up the scale. Diminishing marginal returns is absolutely true. But as Marv pointed out (right after your reply) it's rarely a case of all-round improvement.

 

I still disagree with this generalization even though its been repeated ad nauseum. In a lot cases Ive been suprised how big the leaps can get even among the more expensive gear. Bifrost Multibit to Gungnir ds was a big difference but gungnir ds to Yggdrasil was an even bigger difference. Vali to valhalla 2 was a huge difference but valhalla 2 to torpedo 3 was just as big of a difference. The resolution and imaging difference between hd800 and hd650 is another example.

In some cases you are right though for exampld hd598 hd600 hd650 or he400s he400i he560.

I completely agree with marv but that doesn't mean that jumps cant be big. For example while the hd800 is the best imaging headphone I've heard and a big step up from other headphones in that department, it has flaws in its frequency response and it can sound thin. ether he1000 etc all have big flaws as well.

 

rocking Fostex Th-x00 I just picked up recently. I've only been in this hobby for a couple years. So my knowledge is very limited. I do more reading than posting here.

 

Thank you all for your inputs, seriously.

As you can imagine from some1 without access to a place where i can try some gear, the very different opinions here still made me confused, but some things helped, for example:

1) now i know i wont buy the 560
2) now i know i wont buy extra expensive gear
3) now i know at most i should go for a good "cheap" pair of hd800
4) now i know i shouldnt buy the T1 (1st gen).

Seems that when u r on a strict budget like myself u better stay patiently where u are until the right deal appears.

 

I got my used HD 800 for 800 bucks. Obviously that's still a ridiculous amount of money and anyone outside the hobby would probably think I was out of my mind but if you can swing up to that price range I'm not sure there's a much better deal going.

Combination of used pricing and the release of the HD 800s has made them come down a bit. My pair is in the 40k serial number range and in nearly perfect condition as well. Probably wouldn't be hard to replicate a similar if not better deal.

I actually highly recomend shopping used in this hobby. There's so many people buying and selling constantly it makes it easy to find good deals. I laughed when I got on Head-fi today and saw THX-00's going for 350 dollars in the classifieds. The day the purpleheart is announced still months away from a ship date and the price went down.

Pretty soon I think I'll pick one up myself in fact.

 

@therealjay yeah i guess the time will come when its right.

@purrin thanks, im not treble sensitive, tbh im one of those people that usually has more a problem regarding strong bass, i dont really like it .

I do agree used prices are steel very steep, was really hoping hd800 price would go down after the release of the newer model but tbh at least here in europe they stayed more or less the same unfortunately. What makes matters worst is that i have to buy within the EU.

 

I almost pulled the trigger on a used HD800 (600 euros), but started thinking about that 6k peak... In rock & metal those frequencies (cymbals especially) just might irritate the ears too much in the long run. If I'm honest with myself, my LCD-2.1 should have better FR and bass for that kind of music.

What do you guys think - HD800 for rock and metal?

 

@Zed Bopp

It's very different. LCD2 and HD800 are on different ends of the spectrum, one is smooth and yummy. The other is sit up and beg throwing details and sound-stage in your face. if you're used to the LCD2 the HD800 will probably sound like shit the first couple of hours. But EQ down that 6k peak, give it a bit of bass boost and wait a few days and who knows. It's very different to the Audeze cans and might take some getting used to. But at 600 Euros it's one hell of a can for the money, I'll say that much.

 

It depends. Got quality recordings and HD800 (modded) from a proper chain (yes, you need tubes) will be better than anything I know.
Here I put The Tool, Porcupine Tree (Octane Twisted), later Grizzly Bear, Pink Floyd.

Got something from 80-s to early 90-s with absurd amount of treble or just weirdly mixed or even slightly hot and HD800 is unusable or just not worth it.
Van Halen, QOTSA are some that come to mind.
HD800 has the bite and dynamics that an Audeze can only dream about. Not everybody want that from their music though.
Nothing gets smoothed over, slightly hot or wonky records are more hot and wonky from HD800. Quality stuff is amazing though.
Compressed music is more pleasurable from something else, I use my Audio Technica MSR-7 for that.

edit: you probably have gotten the vibe that top notch chain is what makes HD800 worth while.

 

@Zed Bopp The SD resonator and the cork mod help with taming/smoothing out the treble. I mean you can lower 6khz but the resonance is still there. With these mods i'm excited to hear good percussion, though as stated above feed it shit and you will hear shit. It just won't add extra shit imo. For 600€ i'd be all over this headphone, there is so much potential.

 

Thanks guys. That extra detail and soundstage would be cool, but I'm thinking they might not be my thing in the end. HD600 is a nice mixing headphone for me right now, Audezes do great at that yummy and nice pleasure-listening.

The reason I started questioning the purchase was my experience with K701's. Those highs were just awful in the end. I would have liked much more bass too. HD800 just might be a similar thing for me.

 

I'm really enjoying my new HD 800s with those genre's specifically.

I have not modded them yet but I did take the tube advice to heart. I haven't even heard them out of solid state yet but with my Valhalla 2 I was actually kind of shocked how smooth the HD 800s are just based off of everything I had read beforehand stating the opposite.

I gotta say I'm quite impressed with them. I really don't find them thin at all and I think the bass response in particular is actually a strength. Who knows though I could just be crazy.

For reference though I found the HD 700 and HE-560 both hellishly bright and unlistenable. So it's not like I don't have a sensitivity to treble peaks.

 

Yeah, I can already see the recommendations for an expensive tube amp, "Lyr 2 isn't a good pair for them." - and I'm not willing to go that route.