The HD800 & HD800S thread

Internet snarfu double post ignore.

 

I've really been enjoying the HD800 lately. In the right setup these things can be magical.

 

I didn't truly start to appreciate them until I got my Sonett. They really start showing what they can do under the right setup.

 

I'll have to come over with my modded HD800, HD650, and maybe my Sonett 2 one of these days.

Likewise. I can actually use my HD800s for most of my music now LOL.

 

@thegunner100 What are your impressions of the Norne Draug cable you recently got in?

 

For the people who have told the connectors to f**k off and soldered the cable straight to the pads, what kind of improvements did you see?

contact connections have a bunch of weird shit going on, wondering if there's a consistent way to describe it + look for it between a couple pairs of hd650s

 

Honestly, it's hard to say. I feel like I am hearing some differences but it is not so much in the FR. It's hard to A/B so I'll just go back to the ZY cable next week and see if I notice anything different. That being said, I feel like I notice more of a difference going from Draug to ZY than ZY to Draug.

The Draug is surprisingly flexible for its size but it is a little bit heavy. I also wish the Y split could have been done lower on it. I usually have the cable on the left side of my body rather than middle, so it's usually touching my neck.

 

anyone tried the project kameleon with the hd800 filter seems really promising and addressing the issues of bass that I have with it but thats only what I gather from the charts am I wrong in thinking that it still won't be able to provide bass like say the HE1000 with EQ ?

 

Not an expert on this at all, but Planars are kinda known for their bass. While I think you could theoretically EQ bass into the HD800's, I'd be worried about distortion at that point.

Anybody who knows EQ better than I want to weigh in on the Project Kameleon vs using something like sonarworks?

 

You can EQ up the HD800 bass quite a bit and it remains very clean. I currently have a high shelf filter at -4db 75hz and it's still really really clean. Personally I wasn't a big fan of sonarworks. I experienced a treble blandness with sonarworks which I believe was caused by the narrow and precise EQ they use. However I guess it could have been the tonal balance. For reference sonarworks EQ at 50% was still about as bright as my own EQ.

I have no experience whatsoever with projekt kameleon, I personally use Equalibrium and occasionally EqualizerAPO (surprisingly good) when I'm lazy enough to use spotify.

 

I have written up my results of EQ'ng the 800's using Sonarworks along with using SSBB (SubSonic Bass Boost) and PRT (Phase Reversal Tweak).
I currently am also adding 16dB at 12Hz (SSBB) along with an equivalent no limits compensation curve as supplied by Sonarworks.

The bass from my 800's is prodigious, extended and powerful, with enough heft and power to feel the concussive effects of cannons, big assed (6') orchestral drums, lightening strikes etc.
And by concussive effects I mean feeling the impacts in my chest, getting autonomically jerked by a sudden impact, along with involuntary blink responses, etc.

800's, when dialed in and fed by a suitable system, can deliver astounding bass that is fast (seemingly over before it's begun), with finesse and intonation and delicacy.
One listener at one of our recent meets exclaimed '800's aren't supposed to be able to do this', we just smiled.

And I have no experience using Project Kameleon, as I find no need to.

JJ

 

Man, now I'm stuck between the Elears and the HD800 again. Guess I'll just keep my eyes open for more used deals.

Do you have the exact EQ settings you're using? Would be interesting to try and replicate the results with Equalizer APO + Peace

 

Here is the write up for the 3 EQ types I'm using.
http://www.head-fi.org/t/781268/the-diyrs-cookbook/210#post_12300653

And here is the rest of the EQ settings I'm currently using
http://www.head-fi.org/t/781268/the-diyrs-cookbook/210#post_12300653

JJ

 

as John states, EQ can be very effective and impressive with the HD800 when used appropriately. One must be careful with gain staging of both the digital and analog systems to avoid clipping given the boosts discussed. I am using a digital chain in my system similar that described with results my ears appreciate. The phantom bass perceived in the chest is unsettling at first.

 

hi so since am noob with this stuff and would prefer to get the kameleon does his implementation seem right to you or is your eq given a higher base response


heres his graph with and without the kameleon

 

Stock HD800 should already have some midbass boost...

 

What the combined net effect of what SSBB, and the no limits curve from Sonarworks, and the PRT does, is bring the bass response up to close to flat down to ≈12Hz.

Some may want less or some may want more emphasis in these very bottom octaves, but for me and my modded 800's these numbers work rather well, and are a decent starting place if you should want to modify the amount of bass boost to suit your desires.

These tweaks have also been applied to stock 800's (and on other systems) with success as well.

JJ

 

850 hz 0.4 Q 1 db bump, -4 high shelf filters at 75 hz and 6500 hz, SuperDupontResonator mod, no liner or absorber. Warm HD800 is best HD800, purists cry themselves to sleep seeing my EQ.

 

Warm is my preferred sound signature as well, it seems. What amp are you running yours out of?