The HD800 & HD800S thread

Discussion in 'Headphones' started by sorrodje, Oct 11, 2015.

  1. bixby

    bixby Friend

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    One who can go fast and not get in an accident?
     
  2. sorrodje

    sorrodje Carla Bruni's other lover - Friend

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    Translated in audio , it probably means fast and loud without distorsion ? SR009 driver is probably the world champion then.
     
  3. Maxvla

    Maxvla Friend

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    Oh, yes. At the back of my mind knewsomething was different. Looks nice too :)

    @ray I bought mine directly from Colorware in 2012.
     
  4. OJneg

    OJneg The Most Insufferable

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    That would seem to disqualify the SR009 since it seems to run into a literal wall when you push it hard
     
  5. sorrodje

    sorrodje Carla Bruni's other lover - Friend

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    Dunno. Don't want to launch a war or a pissing contest about "what's the best thing ever" after all ;)
     
  6. Judeus

    Judeus Facebook Friend

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    in terms of objective capability, pretty sure nothing beats the hd800s driver
     
  7. songmic

    songmic Gear cycler East Asia edition

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    Speaking of HD800 mod, what happened to Anax's 3.0 mod list now that Changstar's gone belly up? There were a lot of people on that list, myself included, but as of now I don't see the same thread revived here at SBAF. Is it safe to assume that the whole plan has been scrapped as well?
     
  8. Maxvla

    Maxvla Friend

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    There is more to it, but I believe the Anax mod was more than Mike's doing. After a while I just gave up on him releasing it as it has stretched out what 2-3 years now? Better to move on with the mods people are talking about here than waiting for one that will never come. From what I've read, these are just as effective anyway. The 'big deal' about Mike's thing was that it was going to be a pre-made kit (with instructions) ready to apply in minutes, not that it used some magical material to do what nobody else could.
     
  9. johnjen

    johnjen Doesn’t want to be here but keeps posting anyways

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    Has anyone here played with the Sonarworks Ref 3 plug-in?

    I was really close to getting the standard ±3dB "average" compensation curve working well.

    But after hounding the guys in Latvia, these latest results, right now, this is simply the best I have ever heard my 800's.
    Period.

    And this isn't even going for the max tweak of a claimed ±0.9dB 20-20K, using their 'custom' compensation curve, which also achieves channel matching for gain, which I've found to be very important, for so many reasons.

    Right now the acoustic presentation is simply wonderful.

    Anyway anyone else fussing with these knobs?

    JJ
    ps they also include in their 25 headphone compensation curve list, the HD600, HD650, and a few other Senns plus many other 'popular' cans.
     
  10. NoStream

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    Are you using a custom curve or the averaged one? I can't quite tell from your post.

    I have a copy of that plugin, both speakers and headphones version. I found it pretty useful with the 800's out of solid state amplification, less so out of the Valhalla 2, and even a bit less now with rug liner applied. The problem is that modding them makes the generic curve somewhat invalid, and even if my mods were final, I'm not sure if they'd hold up when shipping the 800's to Latvia. If there really are issues with ringing in the HD800 design, then just achieving flat FR response wouldn't be a complete solution, since you'd still have the ringing. You need to fix that and fix FR.

    In any case, I'm running the default curve at 50-60% strength with good results. And I have a pair of calibrated 650's on the way, which I'll offer some thoughts on before potentially modding.

    Since I'm using JRiver, I can use multiple VST's in series. So I follow up SW with a linear phase EQ (Pro-Q 2) to bump up the bass a few dB.
     
  11. johnjen

    johnjen Doesn’t want to be here but keeps posting anyways

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    My 800's are modded as well so the standard "average" curve (which I started with) doesn't fit perfectly for my setup either.

    And I also fussed with the dials and added (via the parametric EQ in Jriver) back in what they chopped off, namely below 35Hz and was using between 50-70% wet/dry and +3 for the bass and -2 for the tilt.

    Until I asked them to NOT chop of the very bottom end.
    And after 'convincing' them, they did indeed remove the extreme bass cut.

    This is what I'm running now.
    +2 bass and -2 tilt at 100% wet/dry
    And I have also added +2dB at 15Hz with a Q of 4.32 which is sorta like the icing on the cake.
    So the answer is, I'm running the average compensation curve without the very bottom end being removed.

    And yes I do plan on sending them in for the full meal deal which includes channel gain matching over the entire 20-20K frequency spectrum.
    From past experience matching each channels gain is highly desirable in and of itself.

    JJ
     
    Last edited: Oct 12, 2015
  12. Huhnkopf

    Huhnkopf Friend

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    How would you wash/cleanse the earpads? What cleaning stuff would you use?

    I used mild soap and water for the BD and Hifiman earpads. What about Alcantara?
     
  13. sorrodje

    sorrodje Carla Bruni's other lover - Friend

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    Makes Me think I have to try to wash my Old pads and headband. I saw on the web that soap and water worked for alcantara indeed.
     
  14. NoStream

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    Since I consider the 800's pretty end-game in quality, I think that makes sense. The only question is how to get the mods to stick in place while shipping the 800's to Latvia...
     
  15. johnjen

    johnjen Doesn’t want to be here but keeps posting anyways

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    When I added the anax mods, in several variants, I used 4 small pieces of double stick tape on the metal ring and 2 or 3 on the plastic trapezoid.
    I really doubt it would have come off due to being jostled in shipping, as it held on with veracity when I did remove them.

    JJ
     
  16. johnjen

    johnjen Doesn’t want to be here but keeps posting anyways

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    Mine got so cruddy I just replaced them, but that would be a good experiment to see how well they 'clean up'.
    I'd be tempted to use a mild soap such as Dr. Bonners liquid soap.

    JJ
     
  17. paranoidroid

    paranoidroid Friend

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    Would you not put the HE-6 up there with the HD800 in value?
     
  18. Bill-P

    Bill-P Level 42 Mad Wizard

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    IMHO, I wouldn't put the HE-6 up there with the HD800. Or perhaps I still have to hear the HE-6 out of the "right amp".

    To me, the HD800 is immediately impressive, especially after it's modded, on many more marginal setups, as long as they are revealing, whereas the HE-6 seems like it needs something more than just resolution to a setup.
     
  19. OJneg

    OJneg The Most Insufferable

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    I wouldn't.

    IMO FWIW YMMV
     
  20. Maxvla

    Maxvla Friend

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    I washed my pads with some dish soap. Helped a little, but I know I need to replace them soon.
     

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