HD800s - wow!!!

vkalia

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Ok, so i briefly auditioned a pair of HD800s today.

From everything I've read about them, i expected to hate them: analytical, dry, bright, ruthless, etc... not adjectives i like about my music.

But what I hear absolutely blew my mind. These are only headphones i have heard which actually put the sound in the front of my head and come close to sounding like a pair of speakers. They lack the thick, creamy midrange of the LCD2s, but handily beat the LCD2 when it comes to transient response and attack.

Listening to Munch's stirring rendition of Bolero - my favorite test track - left me with chills down my spine. As did the first movement from Dvorak's 9th by Georg Solti.

The end result? 3 headphones are now out of a job - the HE500, the TH600 and the AKG-Q701.
 

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LCD2 isnt out of a job - is going to take something VERY special to accomplish that, I think (other than a LCD3, which is what I want to get if i can sell my LCD2s). Very different sound palettes. The best analogy i can think of: the LCD2s are the girl you wanna date/settle down with, the 800s are the slightly skanky hottie you pick up in a nightclub. Both have their places in the world :)

But pretty much everything else that I've been trying out, trying to find a complement to the LCD2s, now is. Expect a big For Sale post once i get back home next week.

Source - same: Audio-GD 2-32 DAC, SA-31SE amp. As this is a 300ohm amp, I expect it will play well with the Little Dot Mk IV SE next to my bed as well. I also plan to try it with Viren's 2A3 integrated.

Interestingly, my little AK100 portable, paired with a Meier Quickstep amp, did a damn fine job of driving these headphones! It sounds better on that than on my travel rig - iPod/CLAS -R/Alo Continental V3.
 
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So is it fatiguing after a long listening session? Does it leave you feeling tired and errr.. spent?

G0bble
 
Ok, so i briefly auditioned a pair of HD800s today.

From everything I've read about them, i expected to hate them: analytical, dry, bright, ruthless, etc... not adjectives i like about my music.

But what I hear absolutely blew my mind. These are only headphones i have heard which actually put the sound in the front of my head and come close to sounding like a pair of speakers. They lack the thick, creamy midrange of the LCD2s, but handily beat the LCD2 when it comes to transient response and attack.

Listening to Munch's stirring rendition of Bolero - my favorite test track - left me with chills down my spine. As did the first movement from Dvorak's 9th by Georg Solti.

The end result? 3 headphones are now out of a job - the HE500, the TH600 and the AKG-Q701.


I own the HD800 and i know the feeling :), never go by any reviews or what people say, audtion is the key. I have been really enjoying my HD800 for the past 6 months and paired with my OTL valve headphone amp it sounds divine.

I am planing to audition STAX SR-009 soon when i travel abroad.
 
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The more I listen to the HD800s, the more blown away I am by it. While I like the tonality of the LCD2s more, the sense of space with the HD800s is absolutely amazing. These are the first headphones I have tried that feel like speakers, not headphones and that means I can listen to them for a lot longer than other headphones. Now if they could voice these to be like the LCD2s, I'd sell all my other audio gear in a flash.

Which OTL amp do you use with them, Longshanks? I have a Little Dot Mk IVSE that I am using with the HD650s, but I suspect that the HD800s could scale up with better amps.
 
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vkalia, how does the physical-fit/comfort/weight compare with LCD2?

It sounds like you could could listen to the HD800s for hours --- and even huge Audeze fans seem to be surprised if anybody calls them comfortable.
 
The HD800s are definitely a lot more comfortable - which isnt saying much when compared to the LCDs, as you rightly point out.

They are lighter and the drivers are a little further away from the ears, and so they stay "cooler" as well, for those of us who live in Indian climates (I dont use aircon at home).

My only gripe is that their grip is a little loose, actually - so if i am move around in bed, they tend to slide around.
 
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