Headphone Heights

IF you indeed end up with the HD-800 S....

198.27.242.3

Ivan303

In Reply to: RE: Is there really any hope for someone used to the HD-600? posted by PAR on August 27, 2017 at 10:03:41

please let us know your thought after a few days/weeks of listening.

Especially compared to the HD-600.

I;ve found that the 'WOW!' factor when you first put on an unfamiliar set of cans may quickly turn to 'WHOA!' factor after an hour or so of listening.

Follow Ups:

RE: IF you indeed end up with the HD-800 S.... - John C. - Aussie 16:10:07 08/27/17 (4)
I'm surprised at the negative comments about the HD800 as, although not as smooth as the 800S, they sounded very good to me.
Forgive me, but I must hark back to a mantra I keep beating like a drum. Money spent on hi-end headphones might only reveal flaws about the input so will sound unacceptable. In particular I feel the DAC is critical, and have been surprised to learn this year that digital cable quality is also vital as it can be responsible for jitter. I hope to have avoided that by recabling (for balanced mode) with Canare DA206.
And I'm using an Auralic Aries streaming bridge between the Roon systyem and the YGGDRASIL DAC as it is reputed to have excellent jitter control.
As for the earlier query about Roon, no it is far from perfect but is generally better than the Meridian Sooloos system I came from. In many ways is is not as user friendly as the Sooloos system and is fundamentally no better at handling classical music meta data - they are all bad in that respect as they were set up for popular, not classical music so we get stupidites like showing Beethoven as the artist performing a work! If only.

What can be more subjective than music? It reflects our individual tastes, says he enjoying many thousand albums on a Roon music Server.

Edits: 08/27/17
- Lots of folks on Head-Fi think the HD-800 S solves problems many found... - Ivan303 18:19:07 08/27/17 (3)
  with the HD-800 (un-modded). I use a balanced cable with my HD-600 and the Aduio-GD Master 11 is a pretty good balanced DAC/Headphone amp. Compares favorably to Schiit's best DAC/Headphone amp, at least in my view, albeit with very little time I was able to spend with it.
  
  I usually take a couple sets of headphones when I attend shows for just that reason.
  
  Also got to spend some time with the top-of-the-line SCHITT stack at RMAF last year listening with the new HiFiMan HE-1000 Ver. 2. That's a setup I could live with, I think.
  
  My current system is the uRendu, powered by an LPS-1 Ultra-Cap PS with Canare Quad-Star DC cable, directly plugged into the USB port of my DAC (no cord, just the UpTone USPCB A> B Adapter which lets you switch off the 5V line).
  
  Beats the laptop-USB set up I had before by a bit, even when adding the Regen into the mix.
  - RE: Lots of folks on Head-Fi think the HD-800 S solves problems many found... - John C. - Aussie 18:33:28 08/27/17 (2)
    At 82 next month my hearing is not great for the high frequencies so I never found the HD800 unbearable as some have. That said, I do find the 800S smoother.
    
    The problem with a lot of headphone comparison is just how trustworthy is auditory memory? It takes time to change headphones and the physical act can be distracting.
    
    I often feel that "Different" is interpreted as "Better" and many audio addicts change headphones & other components because they get bored with the current sound, regardless of how good it is. The result is great for retailers but leaves the audiophile moving sideways rather than forward. And I've been guilty of that many, many times.
    
    What can be more subjective than music? It reflects our individual tastes, says he enjoying many thousand albums on a Roon music Server.
    - Guess that's why I still have the HD-600 after all of these years.... - Ivan303 19:28:22 08/27/17 (1)
      Too bad one can't demo headphones for a month or two before purchase.
      - Demo-ing headphones - John C. - Aussie 20:14:11 08/27/17 (0)
        
        In Reply to: RE: Guess that's why I still have the HD-600 after all of these years.... posted by Ivan303 on August 27, 2017 at 19:28:22
        
        And that touches on another weird aspect of this "hobby".
        
        One can become"acclimatised" to a certain sound so that it becomes the preferred option. This can display itself with music where a particular way a musical work or song is heard so repeatedly then anything different is disliked.
        
        Note this is not a criticism. If someone likes what he/she is hearing either the music, headphones or whatever, then end of story. Enjoyment of the music is the purpose so if personal satisfaction is found via a certain path, then that is all that really matters.
        
        What can be more subjective than music? It reflects our individual tastes, says he enjoying many thousand albums on a Roon music Server.

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