What would you choose?

[SuicideAnomaly]

I find myself on the fence between the Sennheiser HD 800S' and the HiFiMAN Edition Xs. With that said, I'm just curious as to what you would all choose if you had to pick between the two, and why?

[Dackzy]

Hifiman HEX, since I like the HEX sound more than the HD 800. I have not tried the 800s yet, so it might change.

[SSL]

HD 650 and a good amp.

 

The HE-X is tonally right, but the price is abysmal. At the very least, wait until the price comes down to around $1300. Or buy used.

[Pomfinator]

23 minutes ago, SSL said:

HD 650 and a good amp.

aka the #SBAF answer

 

Dunno if its silly of me to think this, but paying 1800 for a headphone made in China doesn't seem appealing to me.  Neither does buying an HD800S full price sound good either.

[SuicideAnomaly]

22 minutes ago, SSL said:

HD 650 and a good amp.

 

The HE-X is tonally right, but the price is abysmal. At the very least, wait until the price comes down to around $1300. Or buy used.

I was looking for something rather "endgame."

 

I would consider something from camp Audeze, if they weren't so goddamn heavy.

 

What amp would you pair with the 650s? Although it is definitely the most sensible approach, I'm feeling rather irresponsible.

[SuicideAnomaly]

3 minutes ago, Pomfinator said:

aka the #SBAF answer

 

Dunno if its silly of me to think this, but paying 1800 for a headphone made in China doesn't seem appealing to me.  Neither does buying an HD800S full price sound good either.

The build quality of the HiFiMAN is a real concern for me. I wish their headphones were constructed as well as the boxes that they are shipped in. LOL

[Pomfinator]

1 minute ago, SuicideAnomaly said:

The build quality of the HiFiMAN is a real concern for me. I wish their headphones were constructed as well as the boxes that they are shipped in. LOL

It's not even their material usage too, it's just the shoddy way they are put together.  And $900 for a headphone covered in wood veneer when Audeze can make a $700 headphone with real wood in it is baffling to me.

 

This is why I always talk myself out of buying a planar.  All of the planars have too many trade offs compared to a well-tuned dynamic.

[SSL]

1 minute ago, SuicideAnomaly said:

The build quality of the HiFiMAN is a real concern for me. I wish their headphones were constructed as well as the boxes that they are shipped in. LOL

 

HiFiMan build quality definitely leaves something to be desired. However, having owned the HE-560 for awhile I think a lot of it has to do with them being so light and concentrating all their weight in the magnets. Leaves the rest of the headphone feeling flimsy. Nothing actually seems that vulnerable to breaking, though. The fit is actually excellent.

 

4 minutes ago, SuicideAnomaly said:

I was looking for something rather "endgame."

 

I would consider something from camp Audeze, if they weren't so goddamn heavy.

 

What amp would you pair with the 650s? Although it is definitely the most sensible approach, I'm feeling rather irresponsible.

 

Endgame is subjective. I would advise against spending a lot of money for that reason alone.

 

As for amps... hell, there are all sorts of things out there. Schiit, Cavalli, Bottlehead, the list goes on. You could even use your motherboard.

[SuicideAnomaly]

I haven't had an issue running my 650s off of my motherboard, or my Oppo HA-2 (bought deeply discounted). Although unnecessary, I suppose I'm just itching for some new equipment. I've had my eye on both the Oppo HA-1, and Lyr 2/Bitfrost. For my desktop solution, aesthetics are just as important as functionality.

[SuicideAnomaly]

7 minutes ago, SSL said:

HiFiMan build quality definitely leaves something to be desired. However, having owned the HE-560 for awhile I think a lot of it has to do with them being so light and concentrating all their weight in the magnets. Leaves the rest of the headphone feeling flimsy. Nothing actually seems that vulnerable to breaking, though. The fit is actually excellent.

Are you using the pads that came with them?

[SSL]

2 minutes ago, SuicideAnomaly said:

Are you using the pads that came with them?

Nope. Focuspad-A.

[Octavialicious]

On 4/22/2016 at 2:24 PM, Dackzy said:

Hifiman HEX, since I like the HEX sound more than the HD 800. I have not tried the 800s yet, so it might change.

Yup, have owned both and the HEX is the clear winner for me even when the HE-X wasn't amped, meaning it can only get better from here

 

I'd recommend buying used, I got mine for $1200 practically brand new. Everyone says they sound superb with the Chord Mojo 

 

@SuicideAnomaly

[seduce_me]

On April 22, 2016 at 6:29 AM, SuicideAnomaly said:

I was looking for something rather "endgame."

 

I would consider something from camp Audeze, if they weren't so goddamn heavy.

 

What amp would you pair with the 650s? Although it is definitely the most sensible approach, I'm feeling rather irresponsible.

Zana Deux.

[Dackzy]

1 hour ago, seduce_me said:

Zana Deux.

somebody here has some cash huh...

[SuicideAnomaly]

12 hours ago, Octavialicious said:

Yup, have owned both and the HEX is the clear winner for me even when the HE-X wasn't amped, meaning it can only get better from here

 

I'd recommend buying used, I got mine for $1200 practically brand new. Everyone says they sound superb with the Chord Mojo 

 

@SuicideAnomaly

You said you had the HD800, not the "S" model.

 

Also, were both being run without an amp?

[SuicideAnomaly]

7 hours ago, seduce_me said:

Zana Deux.

Too big for my desktop solution.

[Octavialicious]

2 hours ago, SuicideAnomaly said:

You said you had the HD800, not the "S" model.

 

Also, were both being run without an amp?

yep, but the HD800 is pretty similar of course

 

The HE-X had no amp, the HD800 had a Schiit Lyr (which soothes the treble, making it closer to an HD800S) And I tried an amp out with the HE-X and they improved so I say the HE-X is a def winner to me (If ampless HE-X beats HD800, imagine HE-X with amp )

[SuicideAnomaly]

14 minutes ago, Octavialicious said:

yep, but the HD800 is pretty similar of course

 

The HE-X had no amp, the HD800 had a Schiit Lyr (which soothes the treble, making it closer to an HD800S) And I tried an amp out with the HE-X and they improved so I say the HE-X is a def winner to me (If ampless HE-X beats HD800, imagine HE-X with amp )

There are some assumptions being made here. When comparing headphones, to say that one pair outright beats another pair, is usually kind of silly.

 

The "S" variant solves the issues (mostly) that the original model had. An amp might help in dealing with the harsh treble spike, but it's still going to be an issue, without performing hardware modifications to the headphones themselves.

 

Anyhow, although his review is mostly positive, I feel that Tyll hit it on the mark at 10:08:

 

[Octavialicious]

2 minutes ago, SuicideAnomaly said:

There are some assumptions being made here. When comparing headphones, to say that one pair outright beats another pair, is usually kind of silly.

 

The "S" variant solves the issues (mostly) that the original model had. An amp might help in dealing with the harsh treble spike, but it's still going to be an issue, without performing hardware modifications to the headphones themselves.

 

Anyhow, although his review is mostly positive, I feel that Tyll hit it on the mark at 10:08:

 

Saw that review earlier, actually you might see my comments below lol

 

and I agree you can't just say one is better over the other, but you have to keep in mind I loved the HD800. I thought it had no issues what so ever, and even with that I think the HE-X is the clear victor to my ears

 

I can try to draw a comparison between the two if you really want