The HD800 & HD800S thread

If your setup incorporates DSP you might want to look into Sonarworks, as it uses a specific compensation curve based upon the 800's.
It 'solves' many of the 800's idiosyncrasies.

JJ

 

can't recommend sonarworks enough. It isn't cheap as far as DSP goes, but it blows every other solution aimed at "fixing" frequency response away.

Sonarworks -> Goodhertz Canopener -> Cayin iDAC6 -> ECP Torpedo III -> HD800 has been the best setup I've ever heard. Period.

 

I love Ozone 7 which is on sale now for $199. This is also what I paid when I bought during a sale; it is usually $250. I posted about it earlier in this thread here, including my Dynamic EQ setting which I arrived at through months of tinkering:

http://www.superbestaudiofriends.or...he-hd800-hd800s-thread.206/page-37#post-61525

One of the most expensive solutions but very good sound quality. The Dynamic EQ can be set to reduce treble peaks, for example cymbals, in proportion to their volume without routinely slashing those frequencies at lower volumes.

 

Hi thanks for your replies!

My main issue is with the 6kh sibilance(like everyone else haha). Almost half of my music consists of Mandarin/ Cantonese pop/ rock, consonant sounds are much more prevalent in these languages.

Took the time to read through this thread, and have been messing around with trial Equilibrium and Sonarworks, also had a few days to get used to the HD800 sound. For now, i settled on -5db, 2Q on 6KH, give or take, for regular listening. Really coming to enjoy the sense of air and space, and clarity of these headphones.

Although I must say Sonarworks on 60-70 wetness on default HD800 settings sounds very good too!

 

If anyone is looking for a SS amp to go along with the HD800 I can recommend the Violectric HPA V200 by Lake People. Bought it a few days back and I'm loving it. It's a very warm amp with superb bass extension and smooth (and slightly rolled off) treble.

With that and @sorrodje 's SuperDupont mod it's a match made in heaven. Only noticed some minor sibilance in some very sibilant heavy recordings but not really enough to distract me. For the first time since I bought these cans listening to basically anything is an absolute joy.

 

I just bought HS800S for incredible price in Canada, walked to the store expecting to pay $500 CND more. The store is one of the best hi-fi in Toronto but when I got home I was really confused by packaging: the box says 800S, certificate says 800, the frequency graph on the certificate with ser# says 80S, the metal plate on the headband says 800! Authenticity check with the scanner passed and the product description says 800S. And they are black of course. I know that I have 800S but Sennheiser could make it a bit simpler I guess. The first impressions with my little Talisman T3H class A headphone amp was fantastic. This forum and SBAF was incredibly helpful in making this decision.

 

Hey there, newbie on this site, just joined to respond to your post! Tried a private conversation but didn't work. Any chance you can tell me where you purchased your HD800S? I'm considering buying a pair and am located in Toronto as well.

To answer your question, based on my reading the HD800S also just says "HD800" on the top headband so you should not be concerned about that as long as the rest of the package indicates you have the HD800!

 

It was Bay Bloor radio, not sure if hey still have them

 

Interesting - it's listed at the usual $2199 on their website...

 

Alright - stopped by BBR today and indeed they were selling them for $1850, great deal, picked up a pair and will evaluate vs. my HD800s over the next week return window...thanks a lot for the tip!

 

How big a difference does Canopener make for you? I've been interested in trying it and other DSPs in the same vein. Anyone have any recommendations for any that offer trials?

What does the wetness dial do? Does it mix the EQ'ed signal with the non EQ'ed signal? Is it equivalent to decreasing the amount of eq, perhaps while keeping the ratios between the different bands in line?

BTW, I use DDMF LP10 to EQ for my modded HD800s. Love it, but will have to give Sonarworks a try.

 

Good for you, this is the best price I ever found or heard about in North America at least. BBR never advertised this sale.

 

I'm actually not even sure it's a sale. I wonder if this is the old price based on an older exchange rate? But yeah I haven't seen them sold anywhere at this price.

 

So having espoused the virtues on Ozone 7's Dynamic EQ - it truly is excellent - I am no longer using it.

I upgraded to Ozone 7 Advanced. I got a coupon code for 30% off - which was very tempting - but it could not be used so I complained bitterly. They apologized with a coupon code for 50% off which made the upgrade a no-brainer for me at $125. This was still a very expensive studio suite at $200+$125=$325, but a much better price than the $450-$500 that one normally has to spend on Ozone 7 Advanced. Worth it? Well yes for my purposes.

Ozone 7 Advanced is different than the Standard by adding some extra high-end "Vintage" modules, as well as the ability to plug-in standalone VST modules instead of the entire suite, thereby using less processing power if you are just using one module (as I am). The Vintage Tape emulator is actually pretty interesting to play with but, like many other effects that I have trialed (think Redline Monitor), I would not actually use it in ordinary let alone critical listening.

But then there is this:



This Vintage EQ is based on the qualities and experience of Pultec hardware equalizers to add "richness, warmth, and color of analog equalization to your audio". That is marketing speak for studio producers. Is it true? Well, I would say that it is quite remarkable. I never really thought that I wanted to add bass boost to my HD800 - and experiments with other software were never satisfactory. However I have found that my +2.6 db at 60 hz setting above is... delicious. The interesting and unexpected thing is that the linear nature of the EQ means that the extra bass also cuts the treble glare. (The line through the spectrum at the top represents the EQ although it is subtle to the eye.) The overall effect is smoothly integrated. Actually my Wyrd > Gungnir Multibit > GS-X mk2 > HD800 rig has never sounded better. The Godhead until further notice, but it really looks to be endgame EQ for me.

Edit: Clarified that the setting above is mine. There is no native HD800 setting. Ozone 7 is intended for studio work as reflected in its price and sound quality.

Further edit: As always, I post too soon. But the tinkering never ends. Using the Full Ozone 7 Advanced suite (VST plugin with Foobar) to combine the Vintage EQ above with my Dynamic EQ setting further above, but with the Q on the latter narrowed from 2 to 3, is producing lovely results. Just for the record, not to mislead as to where my head is at. Excellent software.

 

CanOpener is a night and day difference for me as far as the realness of the soundstage goes. When I toggle it on and off, I go from a connected, deep soundstage that sounds true to life when it's on, to three blobs of sound with it off (one blob just outside my left ear, one blob just in front of my forehead , and one blob just outside my right ear). CanOpener (and all the goodhertz products for that matter) offers a trial.

Yes, the wetness dial essentially controls the mix of the full EQ'd signal and the HD800's natural frequency response. It's like you can control the blend of a completely neutral mix with a bit of the HD800's character.

 

Can you fellas answer a question I have about DSP's....Is CanOpener just for listening on iPhones? I use Pure Music to listen to my iTunes/Oppo HA-1/800 S and happy the way it works...I just looked t at the CanOpener site and it appears that it for portable use only...can some one please straiten me out?

 

There's both a mobile version and a Mac version. The Mac version is on goodhertz's website.

https://goodhertz.co/canopener-studio

 

Let's take a vote to change the thread title back to HD800 only. Clicking on a thread title that includes that "S" makes me feel dirty.

 

That's cause you don't know a great headphone when you heard one....

 

So both HD800 and HD800S were kicked off the Innerfidelity WoF... never thought I'd live to see this day, and so soon.
http://www.innerfidelity.com/content/innerfidelitys-wall-fame-full-size-open