The HD800 & HD800S thread

That looks really good. Man, there's a real opportunity for cheap hd800 with this mod. Props to you Sorrodje !

 

@sorrodje, perfect I've ordered some so I can play around with it as soon as it comes.

I do agree, that we should never religiously follow all measurements, but your results are still impeccable! Also thing with my current mods is, that it's not trying to just tame the treble, I've used this specific set of materials mainly because it also brings forward the mids and seems to give a much more satisfying bass response. Adding this to the treble and I can see the collection to work extremely well together, maybe with the BTA mod or just my own + the resonator.

Seriously props to you guys and I'm looking forward in reading the impressions and seeing some pictures.

 

Interesting... That looks very promising!

 

Sorry if I'm beating a dead horse, but can anyone tell me where I can purchase a HD800S at a good price? For the record, I live in neither US nor EU and HD800S is not officially released in my country yet so I have to order it from another vendor. I saw Meier Audio sells HD800S for $1475 for non-EU residents and so far I haven't found a better price than this.

So for those of you who have ordered an HD800S, where did you order it from?

 

Jan. Best price, stellar service. Every time.

 

+1

 

Several local stores are dumping HD800 below 900€ here. The price difference is friggin hilarious. (To clarify, it's not actually even a massive discount, HD800 has been here ~1000€ for ages. I bought mine 3 years ago for 950€.)

 

Hey guys, I'm new (so I apologize if I say anything stupid).

I've been into headphones for the past 10 years. But I'll admit, I'm a casual audiophile at best. I don't really understand all the technical aspects. But I love headphones because of sound signatures and different ways to hear music. I recently bought an HD-800 when the price dropped. I've been a big fan of Sennheiser over the years, and have been using the HD-600/650 as my main rig. I've pretty much tried every company, and have gone all the way from $60 Grados to $2k + STAX before. But I always came back to the 600/650.

Decided to finally make the jump to the HD-800. My question is, I wanted to do the Anax mod. So I got the materials, and made the mod last night. I just got my HD-800s today in the mail. But after looking into it, I realized that the mod I did was the Anax 1.0. I didn't even know it went up to 3.0. I saw someone on Reddit say there was a 2.0/3.0. I tried asking about the 3.0, but was told it was on Changstar. And that i had to sign up and get my name on a list. When I went to Changstar, it says the site no longer is accepting registration. And from what I gather, there is a waiting list for the 3.0 mod.

I was also told to just try the 2.0 mod. But when I looked at that, the Changstar link is down, and won't show up for me (maybe because it's members only, but since I can't sign up...). Even the link in this threads OP links me to a dead page.

I'm just curious if I should just install the 1.0 mod. Thing is, in the past I've tried the HD-800, and loved their sound. The only issue is, I would get a little fatigue on the high levels. And I believe the mod curves the ringing. So I'm doing the mod mostly to bring that down, and not so much to perfect the sound. As I said, I'm not a super audiophile. And I actually love the HD-800 sound out of the box. Should I just install the 1.0 mod? Or should I wait until I can get access to 2.0? I followed these exact steps:

http://www.innerfidelity.com/conten...d-800-anaxilus-mod-page-2#13WKO6R0svji8GC4.97

Sorry for such a long post. I've just been trying to figure out how to see the 2.0 mod, and whether I should bother doing it, or just go with 1.0 (since I already made it with the felt/foam material). If I'm asking questions that should have been easy to find, then I'm truly sorry. Thanks for your time, and I hope that I can make some friends here.

- Ellie.

 

3.0 was never released as far as I know.. 2.0 is similar to 1.0, just uses the creatology foam instead of the felt and adds a rug liner.

 

Ah okay. Interesting. So it's basically the same exact instructions, just use foam instead of the felt, and a rug liner. Not sure I get what the rug liner is. But I guess I'll try to look more on google examples. I basically did the 1.0 mod but used Creatology foam + felt, and no rug liner.

So I guess 2.0 is no felt, the same foam I used + a rug liner.

 

@Ellie Hi Ellie,

What you might wanna check is @sorrodje's thread here: http://www.superbestaudiofriends.org/index.php?threads/hd800-french-mod-aka-dupont-resonator.1147/.

I can upload the Anax 2.0 mod, you might not wanna wait for the Anax 3.0 mod at this point yet. Personally I use Anax 1.0 cutouts, the French mod and my own Bath mat liner cutout, you can download it here *(fit to page when you print for best results): https://www.wetransfer.com/download...3f80d768a5bd0c6e2220d92c20160116024909/d4af55.

Also if you have patience: http://www.superbestaudiofriends.or...od-waiting-status-list-currently-closed.1011/ this has been received to be excellent.

For Anax 1.0 cutouts, use foam over felt, I personally found Silverstone foam to be excellent in that regard or open cell foam.

Mine: http://imgur.com/a/neAsz. I use different materials than listed and have been playing with that, will publish it only if it's better with the SBAF mod, else I don't see a point.
This one has Cork + Silverstone foam on the ring and Dynamat + Silverstone on the trapezoid. The liner is @Bill-P's suggestion: https://shop.riteaid.com/con-tact-bath-mat-white-1-mat-0333690, I can certainly vouch for that.

 

Thanks for the replies guys! On some level, I feel a bit overwhelmed. I already did the 1.0 mod w/ foam and felt. First time I've attempted to mod a headphone. I haven't applied them to my HD-800's yet. But looking at the french mod, looks like it requires you to remove the dust screen. I actually have a bunch of Shure foam tips (coincidentally). So that mod looks tempting (although I think removing the dust screen seems scarier then it prob is).

I wish I had done more research before doing the Anax 1.0 mod. The Anax mod I saw on Inner Fidelity, used both Creatology Foam + Felt (unless I read that wrong). So the mod I made is Creatology foam + felt sandwiched together. Going to assume that, people have found this method not very good. Since it seems most have moved on from it. At this point, I feel like ditching the mod I made, as it seems like not a lot of people are using that method.


I appreciate you linking to the Bath Mat, that part was confusing me. But now I see exactly what it is. I'm just going to PM you if that is okay. I really like your mod set up.

 

The best "mod" for the HD800 is to be born with fleshy ears - what my wife calls my
"Buddha ears." Pendulous, fatty lobes especially. This must dampen the overly bright treble issues reported by so many. It also doesn't hurt to use Cardas Clear cables.

 

I have a question for those who've owned both HD800 and HD800S.
So basically, is the HD800S a palette swapped HD800 plus a resonator?

In other words, if we were somehow able to reproduce an exact replica of the HD800S resonator(identical in dimensions and the material used) and insert it into an HD800, would it sound theroretically identical to an HD800S? Or, are there other anatomical differences between HD800 and HD800S besides the resonator that accounts for a different sound overall?

And, if the only real difference is the resonator, then wouldn't applying SuperBAF mod (which supposedly brings the mids more forward) also help with HD800S as well as HD800? It seems that the general consensus is to go HD800 + SuperBAF mod + Dupont resonator for the best sound currently available with HD800. If that's the case, don't see why HD800S wouldn't benefit as much.

Could anyone confirm this?

 

No one has found any other differences beyond the resonator and a palette swap.

800S should also benefit from other mods but people are still testing to back up theories.

Take the above with a grain of salt as it is just based on my memory from pouring through pages of posts on the 800/800S.

 

new here so forgive me if my comment is rubbish. Regarding the question on whether the HD800S is just a HD800 with resonator. I was thinking if some brave soul would dare to remove the resonator of their newly purchased HD800S (if possible to remove) and do measurements. If the difference is purely just the resonator measurements should be identical.