Are the HD 800 a worth while to buy.

[Angrymut]

Hello, guys I am considering buying a HD 800 in the foreseeable future. I have found a seller in Australia my home country selling his used pair for 1100 aud, which still includes warranty and comes with a copper stand. The headphones i currently own are the Philips fidelio x2 which i really enjoy and the Bowers and Wilkins p7 which i mainly use at school and when outside. Recently i after auditioning a pair of ie800 in store i thought they sounded pretty dope and brought a pair online for around 300 usd which i though was an alright deal. I was wondering if the HD 800 would be the next suitable headphone to upgrade and buy into. 

A bit of background on my music preferences, i listen to a bit of edm and chillstep, a fair bit of rock as well as a decent amount of classical and epic music when at home. i like the sound of my fidelio x2 and my p7 but i sometimes feel that the vocals are a little recessed, and the p7's especially the bass a little bloated. My ie800 are yet to arrive but from my extensive 2 hour long auditioning of them they may have taken over my x2 as my favourites, but since i am overseas i cant really do a direct comparison. 

I have found a seller selling his HD 800 and i bidded on it, its seems like a good price and in pretty good condition but the seller did indicate that HD 800 are among the first batch ever made. I did read somewhere that some users think that the newer batches of hd800's sound better. For the hd800 that this seller is selling how much would you guys be willing to bid. Above i listed that a australian seller is selling his 6 month old hd800 for 1100 aud, which is around 760 usd, since the aud is in the tank right now. 

A guy from my school also has the audeze lcd 2's but since i am overseas i wont get a chance to try them for at least 3 weeks.

So what are your guys thoughts are the hd 800 a worthy upgrade or are there other headphones out there that based on the music genres i listed above, are better suited for my tastes.

Also i would prefer to buy the headphones used in good condition as it has saved me alot of money in the past. The x2 were the only hp i purchased new. 

[RuLeZ]

HD 800 without professional usaged? Damn, but keep in mind that you will also need a A grade soundcard with an A grade DAC, which will also cost around 1k each.

[FloRolf]

Soooo you are saying you never heard them?

Also, are you in such a hurry that you can't try out the LCD2 against the HD800?

[Angrymut]

Well i did hear them in store and i thought they sounded pretty damn good, but the environment around me wasn't exactly quite and they were playing a track i was unfamiliar with, i will probably head to the shop again in a few days find out what the song is, and listen to it in my own time so i know it. 

I will be keeping whatever headphone i upgrade over for a very long time, so even if the upfront cost is significant it for me would be worth it in the long run. 

[Suffokation]

YES. If you have $2000 to drop on a AMP then yes, they are.

They are one of the best pair of headphones ever made. But, try them first before buying. While you are at it, try the HD700's, Beyerdynamic Tesla T1's, Audeze LCD2's and the Grado PS1000's.

[xtroria]

YES. If you have $2000 to drop on a AMP then yes, they are.

They are one of the best pair of headphones ever made. But, try them first before buying. While you are at it, try the HD700's, Beyerdynamic Tesla T1's, Audeze LCD2's and the Grado PS1000's.

 

You don't need $2K amp to "drive" HD800. $100 magni 2 will do just fine

 

HD800 probably isn't the headphone to buy if you're listening to mostly bass heavy music as a lot of people consider it a bright sounding headphone.

Your gears lineup itself consists of bass-heavy headphones and IEM, however it might be just that you actually like a different kind of sound signature.

 

Generally I recommend people to try Mr.Speakers Ether first before buying HD800 as from what i've been told by my friends and reviews, ether is like a tamed version of HD800 with probably some loss is imaging and detail but superior in sub-bass as a planar magnetic headphone

[Suffokation]

You don't need $2K amp to "drive" HD800. $100 magni 2 will do just fine

 

HD800 probably isn't the headphone to buy if you're listening to mostly bass heavy music as a lot of people consider it a bright sounding headphone.

Your gears lineup itself consists of bass-heavy headphones and IEM, however it might be just that you actually like a different kind of sound signature.

 

Generally I recommend people to try Mr.Speakers Ether first before buying HD800 as from what i've been told by my friends and reviews, ether is like a tamed version of HD800 with probably some loss is imaging and detail but superior in sub-bass as a planar magnetic headphone

Are you serious? A $100 AMP for a pair of HD800's? That's like pairing a FX4300 with a GTX TITAN X. It isn't a good value proposition. It doesn't make sense.

[dylan43270]

Are you serious? A $100 AMP for a pair of HD800's? That's like pairing a FX4300 with a GTX TITAN X. It isn't a good value proposition. It doesn't make sense.

Technically an amp will be more like the power supply. As long as you have enough power to drive them you will be fine.

[Fluffinator]

Are you serious? A $100 AMP for a pair of HD800's? That's like pairing a FX4300 with a GTX TITAN X. It isn't a good value proposition. It doesn't make sense.

It's simple science and far different then your analogy, You don't need a 2K amp.. You could run it off a $100 amp as stated before.

[Suffokation]

Technically an amp will be more like the power supply. As long as you have enough power to drive them you will be fine.

 

It's simple science and far different then your analogy, You don't need a 2K amp.. You could run it off a $100 amp as stated before.

Maybe 2 grand was an overstatement. 2 thousand dollars will get you a very good AMP that will be very nice for the HD800's.

 

$100 however, isn't. Most if not all $100 AMP's will hold back the HD800's.

 

Around 5 months ago I was at a LAN party with a few mates of mine, and a few of their friends. This guy there had a pair of HD800's, but he forget to bring his AMP, so I have a Fiio E10K there. I lent it to him for the night, and I used the headphones for a good hour. I was dissapointed in the headphones. Like really disappointing. Honestly, I was expecting more from the HD800's. The owner of the HD800's also admitted that they we're a bad pairing. I had another chance to try the HD800's at his home aswell. His home setup has a HA-160D, and dear god did the HD800's sound significantly better. Like, completely different.

[xtroria]

Maybe 2 grand was an overstatement. 2 thousand dollars will get you a very good AMP that will be very nice for the HD800's.

 

$100 however, isn't. Most if not all $100 AMP's will hold back the HD800's.

 

Around 5 months ago I was at a LAN party with a few mates of mine, and a few of their friends. This guy there had a pair of HD800's, but he forget to bring his AMP, so I have a Fiio E10K there. I lent it to him for the night, and I used the headphones for a good hour. I was dissapointed in the headphones. Like really disappointing. Honestly, I was expecting more from the HD800's. The owner of the HD800's also admitted that they we're a bad pairing. I had another chance to try the HD800's at his home aswell. His home setup has a HA-160D, and dear god did the HD800's sound significantly better. Like, completely different.

 

@SSL, I found another one.

 

Driving a headphone properly is easy, you need ample power, low enough output resistance, low noise floor along with low THD that doesn't affect the sound. An amp could cost $100 or $2000 but as long as the measurements are similar, it sounds similar as well. A tube amp could change the sound of the HD800, but any well made solid state amplifier would sound the same. 

 

Like my member's title says, snake oil and placebo effect don't create audio gears, engineering does

[SSL]

$2k for an amp? What is this number based on? Setting an arbitrary budget and then filling it with a head-fi endorsed piece of gear is a great way to waste money on garbage.

I'd say something like the Magni 2U or Vali 2 would be more than adequate.

 

From SuperBAF:

 

The WA7 without the extra power supply is horribad; or perhaps I should just say it's not my kind of sound. I think it's well known here that I detest the sound of most Woo amps. If someone offered me a free WA234 under the condition that I must use it at least four hours per week, I would refuse the offer.

 

That "$1000" statement must also be taken in the context of the original Vali, but still largely applies today. I believe the original Vali issued in a new era of Schiit. I didn't care for the original Asgard and Lyr. You can ask Jason or you can actually read me and Jason get slightly into in on HF regarding the sonics of the Lyr. We were polite to each other, but it was obvious I was not enamored like the rest of HF with the Lyr.

So, let's pick some popular amps under $1000, but more than $200. Crustard H10. Nope. A decent amp, but flat, boring, veiled, it should be priced at $199, but only for a modicum of fairness; but honestly, if I were stuck on a desert island, I'd rather take tools to make my own instruments and recreate Daft Punk songs rather take an H10 with Ironman's power source. JDS Element? Nope, I why would I pay so much for the privilege of sound quality no better than Asus Xonar soundcard headouts? Now let's move closer to $1000. Vioelectric V200? Can I barf all over you please? Sounds like the H10. Burson? OMFG, WTF? Why did everyone who I knew who was tricked on HF into buying a Conductor and Soloist eventually get rid of it? Even Dan / Mrspeakers eventually realized how much it sucked. The Lyr, which I wasn't a big fan of, destroyed the Burson. One amp that is better than the Vali 2 might be the Woo WA6 SE (one of my favorite Woo amps), but that starts at $1160.

The onus shouldn't be on me to name crappier amps at higher prices than the Vali 2, but rather the onus should be on others to name a $200 to $1000 amp that sounds better than the Vali 2. There are some, but there won't be very many. What should make us cringe should not my "$1000" statement, but rather the dearth of good sounding affordable gear out there. And DIY doesn't count. Some DIY people don't seem to understand that most people don't want to DIY and they probably shouldn't DIY. On that thought, OJ's Torpedo with the cap upgrades does sound better than the Vali 2. The Crack might be better, but really, a 120 ohm output impedance is incredibly fucked up, even if you are using Sennheisers.

[spwath]

$2k for an amp? What is this number based on? Setting an arbitrary budget and then filling it with a head-fi endorsed piece of gear is a great way to waste money on garbage.

I'd say something like the Magni 2U or Vali 2 would be more than adequate.

 

From SuperBAF:

 

Yeah, this forum is becoming head-fi.

You dont need to spend twice the amount of your headphones on source gear. That is just stupid.

 

HD 800 without professional usaged? Damn, but keep in mind that you will also need a A grade soundcard with an A grade DAC, which will also cost around 1k each.

That is not true. You might want an amp, like a magni 2U or Vali 2 as SSL said, but nowhere near 1k. And you probably dont need a dac either. Especialy not 1k. You should deffiniatly not spend twice as much on source gear than your headphones

 

YES. If you have $2000 to drop on a AMP then yes, they are.

They are one of the best pair of headphones ever made. But, try them first before buying. While you are at it, try the HD700's, Beyerdynamic Tesla T1's, Audeze LCD2's and the Grado PS1000's.

See above, 

also, HD700's are not well regarded, neither are T1's, or any of Grado's gear.

 

Are you serious? A $100 AMP for a pair of HD800's? That's like pairing a FX4300 with a GTX TITAN X. It isn't a good value proposition. It doesn't make sense.

Oh but it does. What doenst make sence is spending more on an amp/dac than the headphones.

 

An amp is an amp. It makes sound louder. You dont need to spend a ton of money on it. It just needs to be powerfull enough for your heapdhones,

 

Maybe 2 grand was an overstatement. 2 thousand dollars will get you a very good AMP that will be very nice for the HD800's.

 

$100 however, isn't. Most if not all $100 AMP's will hold back the HD800's.

 

Around 5 months ago I was at a LAN party with a few mates of mine, and a few of their friends. This guy there had a pair of HD800's, but he forget to bring his AMP, so I have a Fiio E10K there. I lent it to him for the night, and I used the headphones for a good hour. I was dissapointed in the headphones. Like really disappointing. Honestly, I was expecting more from the HD800's. The owner of the HD800's also admitted that they we're a bad pairing. I had another chance to try the HD800's at his home aswell. His home setup has a HA-160D, and dear god did the HD800's sound significantly better. Like, completely different.

Hold back the HD800's? How? What does that mean?

[Unhelpful]

 

He's never been anywhere but the echo chamber that is Head-Fi. Do you expect him to use logic?

[SSL]

Maybe 2 grand was an overstatement. 2 thousand dollars will get you a very good AMP that will be very nice for the HD800's.

 

$100 however, isn't. Most if not all $100 AMP's will hold back the HD800's.

 

Around 5 months ago I was at a LAN party with a few mates of mine, and a few of their friends. This guy there had a pair of HD800's, but he forget to bring his AMP, so I have a Fiio E10K there. I lent it to him for the night, and I used the headphones for a good hour. I was dissapointed in the headphones. Like really disappointing. Honestly, I was expecting more from the HD800's. The owner of the HD800's also admitted that they we're a bad pairing. I had another chance to try the HD800's at his home aswell. His home setup has a HA-160D, and dear god did the HD800's sound significantly better. Like, completely different.

 

Also, I should note that the Fiio E10K is somewhat shitty and that no one was suggesting the OP get one for the HD800. Even YouTube Budget-Fi Guru "Zeos" didn't like the E10K sound. After all, the E10K is not a $100 amp. It's a $75 DAC *and* amp. Big difference.

[SuicideAnomaly]

I had a chance to listen to the HD 800s on a Aune X1S for an extended period of time, and they paired just fine. So, the whole $1000 amp thing is just malarkey.

 

I would love to own a pair, as they check pretty much all of the right boxes… At least, for me.

 

The Audeze LCD 2s are also terrific, but considering I enjoy long listening sessions, they simply are not for me. Way too heavy.

[BoredErica]

 

 

I did read somewhere that some users think that the newer batches of hd800's sound better. 

I've only ever heard of people claiming the opposite. The idea is that original HD800s had a 6khz peak, and later models like mine have no 6khz peak and a smaller peak at 9khz. That's what people say, anyways.

[SSL]

I've only ever heard of people claiming the opposite. The idea is that original HD800s had a 6khz peak, and later models like mine have no 6khz peak and a smaller peak at 9khz. That's what people say, anyways.

 

If I remember the SNs right, all measured HD800s I've seen have a 6kHz peak. The new HD800S ameliorates the peak with the resonator doo-dad.

 

Innerfidelity measurements at least bear out this reality.

[BoredErica]

If I remember the SNs right, all measured HD800s I've seen have a 6kHz peak. The new HD800S ameliorates the peak with the resonator doo-dad.

 

Innerfidelity measurements at least bear out this reality.

I was basing the measurements of my headphone on the measurements that came with the headphones and comparing it to other people's. I'm assuming it's correct. Nobody at Headfi decided to collect information and show some statistics though.

[SSL]

I was basing the measurements of my headphone on the measurements that came with the headphones and comparing it to other people's. I'm assuming it's correct. Nobody at Headfi decided to collect information and show some statistics though.

 

The "measurements" that Senneheiser provides are worse than useless. They are based on some mystery "diffuse field" target curve, not the actual, absolute measured response.

[BoredErica]

The "measurements" that Senneheiser provides are worse than useless. They are based on some mystery "diffuse field" target curve, not the actual, absolute measured response.

muh feels