Need HD 800S help FAST!

Shure's (SRH1840) designer likes this

 

Just shipped mine off to Tyll! Regardless of the measurements, I still prefer mine greatly to the HD800 so they're not going anywhere.

 

Maybe the distortion will get better after 300 hours of burn in...

 

I have a bunch of crystals glued to mine to help with the distortion. My confirmation bias tells me that my pair has such low distortion that it should cosmically cancel out the distortion on any other pair of HD800S's

 

Tyll, since you'll be doing new measurements, any chance in doing one for the cork sheet mod?

 

I'd like to ask again if you're able to tamper with the headphones (that you received from Sennheiser, not the ones being sent from SBAF guys!) and if so, if you could see if Sennheiser's resonator was removable so we could ascertain whether it is solely responsible for the rise in subbass distortion and if the S can be converted to the stock 800 by simply removing it.

 

I understand the concern, but wandering among Tyll's measurements, I've found lots of cans with comparable distortion in the bass. Especially several Sennheiser models, and even more specifically HD650, highly praised down there.
So why bother ?
(I'll check with Axel for the bounty on Sorrodje's head )

Ali

 

From what I can see, Sennheisers resonator is just empty space between the front liner and the screen in the back of the hole. They changed the screen material and have a little donut of impermeable material on the front screen. So, it's not really removable.

 

Hey SD. I just realized something. I think Axel Grell looks a bit like Walter White. I just thought I'd mention that to you.



You're welcome.

 

What does the FFT look like comparing bass distortion harmonics of HD800 and 800S?

 

I woke up and saw this thread today and had the same thought as Ali. But then the part of my brain that ALWAYS counter-argues reminded me that the thing 800 does superior to 650 is detail retrieval, which (generally) suffers under increased distortion. But this is mostly 2d order distortion in the bass-zone. But do I want an 800 of any kind that is knowingly distorted to make it sound less harsh? This is certainly going to be interesting, can't wait for the piece Tyll.

 

Okie dokie....


Yuuuge shout out to SBAF rapid response team of TMoney and Dr. Higgs! Thanks guys!

Measurements are made, and in typical Sennheiser Fashion they're all very close in measurement, Differences between the 3 HD 800 Ss measured could easily be chalked up to slightly differing positions on the head and differing seal. Sennheiser knows how to make a headphone repeatably, that's for sure.

I did also look at the bass harmonics, and it's again virtually identical to the original HD 800 S measurements: These cans do have added bass distortion.

I'll explain my feelings fully in tomorrow's post (jeez there's a lot of shit to tie together in this thing; I hope it doesn't drift into Sunday), but I think Sennheiser was very tasteful in their tuning. It may be a sideways move from a technical stand point, but they're quite a bit more enjoyable than a stock HD 800 to my ears.

 

Hmm, I really am curious to see if it's the resonator alone that's responsible for that or if the driver was tweaked. The SD resonator does raise the distortion a little bit, though not to HD800S levels.

I'd be really curious to see how the cork and SBAF absorber mods affect distortion as well, the combination of them in an HD800S could be problematic.

Don't mind me just thinking out loud.

 

Sounds like the cure didn't kill the patient, which is good to hear. Looking forward to the full review this weekend.

 

Caution: Wild-Ass guess approaching...

I think the screen in front of the driver is a bit denser on the 800S. It may provide just enough back pressure to distort the signal a bit.

I don't see the SuperDupont changing distortion much at all...anywhere, but I'm not done staring at graphs yet.

 

Oh, I was looking at the wrong graph, derp.

But yeah looks like S distortion matches the HD650 pretty well, at least based on IF measurements. Looks like it should be more accessible to the 650 crowd.

 

Tyll, you should have had a Fed-Ex delivery by 10:30am today...please check the porch.

 

@Tyll Hertsens , I think I speak for everyone when I say THANK YOU for producing these sorts of critical reviews/analysis/content for the community. Sennheiser may hate you for it but we sure do love it. We are very lucky to have a big time audio reviewer like yourself dedicated towards giving us straight talk. Your sacrifice in time is much appreciated

 

Now we're talking, that's the heart of it right there. HD800S review done.

However - the part about the french guy and the foam tips might take a little more explaining. I'm not envying you right now.

But you are right, Sennheiser can take it. Besides - in the end the truth always wins and customers will buy headphones for the sound they make, not how the graphs look. At least that's my take on it.