Submitted by wiggan1989 t3_11srn5m in headphones

I was only driving them with a Qudelix 5K x but they still blew me away. Can't imagine what they'd silound like with proper amplification! Just wish I had a spar £1350 for these bad boys.... Trialed some Jazz music and the timbre, sound stage and imaging were top notch. I tried a few bassy songs and yep they lack no bass whatsoever, nothing that EQ can't fix.

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TRX808 t1_jcf4m4q wrote

I hear the sex industry pays well. A can for some cans.

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wiggan1989 OP t1_jcf4otj wrote

I was tempted to start an only fans. I don't think anybody wants to see this mug haha

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Nico777 t1_jcf62p9 wrote

Depends on how you feel about cat ears, maid outfits and thigh highs. I hear there could be a market there.

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rhalf t1_jcfkyol wrote

Start onlycans. These babies need to pay for themselves.

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theaccountimusingnow t1_jcfx396 wrote

I think your beard is nice and the piercing might endear you to a well paying niche! You never know till you try!

Jokes aside, I saved up $1400 by not drinking for a year and I recommend it. Keeping money aside that would have otherwise been wasted let's me guilt free splurge on things like this.

You'll have them one day.

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Yamamotokaderate t1_jcgdc45 wrote

Some people would definitely pay to see some headphone "porn". Go to a store to admire some and livestream and bam money

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pieman3141 t1_jch8ecw wrote

Depends on how you play the game. A 'nyan!' inserted with surgical precision can bring anyone to their knees.

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stankworm t1_jcfi181 wrote

Oh boy. You’ve got me all riled up again. I have a pair of HD800s on the way and I am NOT a patient man.

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GregTheTwurkey t1_jchixjj wrote

All I gotta say is, be mindful of what music you play. I’ve got a small list of songs I play that sound great on them. Nothing special, just bring out their spacial qualities a bit. Otherwise you may not be blown away initially

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stankworm t1_jcij3cn wrote

Thanks for letting me know. I’ve tried some other high end headphones like the Focal Clear OG and LCD-X so I do have some experience with limiting expectations a bit. This hobby is really about marginal improvements in the grand scheme of things so I’m not expecting to be blown out of the water. I expect they’ll be a nice pairing with my HD 600s.

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GregTheTwurkey t1_jcijr6u wrote

They’re definitely a lot more spacious sounding than the hd600s. They’re the closest I’ve heard to a speaker setup in headphones. So long as you temper your expectations, I think you’ll be blown away. I’ve had my pair since last June and I still get shocked every now and again by them

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stankworm t1_jcimmvj wrote

That’s pretty impressive stuff. To still get that sensation this far into ownership is unusual.

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GregTheTwurkey t1_jcinff0 wrote

It’s because they make music sound very unique, I’ve found almost no track sounds 1:1, while they all have that “bubble” the 800s is known for, the portrayal is different for every song. It’s hard to describe unless you’ve heard it for awhile, then you might understand. But yeah, they almost never get old because of their uniqueness.

Bear in mind, these are headphones. They will never replicate speakers in a room. I think the reason why I’m still impressed is that I use them maybe an hour or two every day, I give myself a decent break from them compared to other people in this hobby that would use headphones a lot more often. Taking these mental breaks is important to not feeling the urge to buy something every few months lol

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stankworm t1_jciq0ta wrote

Yea I'm still working my way through the "buy new thing" temptation every few months. I love hearing my favorite music with different presentations but at some point I'm going to have to settle tf down and stick with a few pairs. I'm working on building a set of maybe 4 of my favorites.

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Ryman546 t1_jcf9989 wrote

They were on sale the other day for$1100 ish

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andysaurus_rex t1_jcfj50o wrote

One thing I really love about the HD800 series is that the earcups are MASSIVE and no chance for your ears to touch anything, but looking at the headphones when they’re on your head, they barely stick out at all. They hide their size on the head very well.

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PsychologicalAsk7466 t1_jcfw9b2 wrote

Here I am having to angle my hd800s to avoid my ears from touching the pads 🥲. I must have massive ears.

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Caulrophobe t1_jcgwdlz wrote

I HIGHLY recommend that you get some Dekoni pads, cut out the acoustically-transparent fabric, and your ears wont touch anything.

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PsychologicalAsk7466 t1_jch1eyi wrote

Which variant do you recommend the most? if I don’t want to change the sound signature

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Caulrophobe t1_jchbpy3 wrote

I use the Elite Hybrid. I removed the acoustically-transparent fabric inside the Dekonis, with a razor blade, and kept the stock driver covers inside the cups. The pads look incredible (way, way better than stock IMO) and my big dumb ears never touch anything inside the headphones. Also, they are SO luxuriously soft and comfortable, compared to stock, it's not even close. I didn't notice any sound change with the pad swap (if there is a difference, it is too subtle for me to notice). Cheers.

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thehornedone t1_jcfr2w0 wrote

Here here. I think they're much more comfortable than HD 5--/6-- headphones for this reason. That said, I still can't justify owning them and 6XX are my daily drivers.

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ChickenCake248 t1_jcfhnaf wrote

In all seriousness, you can always get an HD8XX and EQ them or sticker mod them. I sticker modded mine and I can tell that the vocals no longer sound like they're being strangled with a pillow. I've never compared it to the HD800S, but some others have and said that there is very little difference, going back and forth.

Here is a video detailing the mod, along with the video author's impressions comparing them to the HD800S

https://youtu.be/MiVeFTL0VQg

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andysaurus_rex t1_jcfiv27 wrote

Same here. Although I’ve never tried the HD800s, from everything I’ve read and seen people say they should nearly the same with the sticker mod. I’ve been very happy with them

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adnep24 t1_jci7trb wrote

the the 8xx are a bargain, you can get them used for ~$650

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GregTheTwurkey t1_jci7mgx wrote

My information and insight is a bit outdated, it seems. It’s been a solid year or so since I’ve actually researched the differences. I actually bought the hd800s last year when it was on sale.

I just checked out the video too. I must have missed it in your original response. So…my bad I guess. I stand corrected. Although, I simply wouldn’t get the 8xx for its msrp. Wait until it’s on sale. I saw it go on sale for like $700 last year. Might do that again sometime soon

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[deleted] t1_jchjdmh wrote

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ChickenCake248 t1_jchpu83 wrote

Do you have a source for this? Because literally everything I've found online says nothing of the sort.

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[deleted] t1_jchqilz wrote

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ChickenCake248 t1_jchvnhn wrote

Well, I just linked a video where someone went back and forth between the HD800S and sticker modded HD8XX and he couldn't tell the difference. So you're gonna have to give some solid evidence to counter it. Also I'm not sure why you're so fixated on me saying that EQ was an option, when I mostly was talking about the sticker mod.

I've done the mod myself, it's not difficult. You don't touch the drivers, so I have no idea where you're getting the idea that it's risky or a lot of work. And if we're talking about used, you can always buy the HD8XX used, which would make it 2/3 the price of a used HD800S and less than the OG HD800.

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InFortunaWeLust t1_jcjr8z7 wrote

Some clown tried to tell me the 8XX sounds "trash" and anything you need to EQ is not good. Made no real sense to me, people eq LCD-* and they are regarded as really good headphones. Some people just love trolling

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duan_cami t1_jcf98y8 wrote

My first experience with hd800s, the soundstage really wows me. Although the longer I listen to it, the more issues I found. The bass is simply bad, soft slam and impact. The soundstage can be too wide sometimes, and the depth is just fine. Dynamics swing is fine. My experience with focal utopia is opposite, I dislike it at first, but I start liking it more after extended listen.

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Maneisthebeat t1_jcflcja wrote

You can get them for around half that on the secondary market. Problem solved?

Edit: I just did exactly that, and they even came with additional pads. Incredible cans. Also you don't seem very happy with them in the picture!

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NetherlandsIT t1_jcgqcq5 wrote

bro, on a side note, you genuinely look like the coolest person in a bar lmao.

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IMKGI t1_jcfroho wrote

13th month salary should be right around the corner (or whatever the English term for that is)

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thisisuhwow t1_jciaibx wrote

You get paid in Smarch?

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IMKGI t1_jcjn0u9 wrote

Simpsons reference?
But no, where i live you get paid 14x a year, the 2 extra paychecks have less taxes and are usually payed around summer and winter, it's not an optional thing, they need to pay 13th and 14th salary

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GregTheTwurkey t1_jchhvjb wrote

Only advice I can give you is this…I see you’re going the hifiman upgrade path. I would highly suggest you stop it there, and let your next purchase be the hd800s.

Why? I have both the hd800s and Arya. They’re both stellar headphones, it’s hard to find out which I like better, I tend to lean towards the hd800s because the staging is a bit better, it diffuses everything with a tad more separation. The Arya seems like the ideal “next” headphone to get in your arsenal. But I’ll be honest, knowing Hifiman’s track record, I’m scared to death that my Arya’s are gonna break any day now, man. I have yet to hear of anyone say that their Arya just stopped working one day, but for the money, I just wouldn’t recommend anybody take the chance.

Yes, their customer service is superb. But at one point, they’re just gonna call it tough titties and move on. Whereas with the hd800s, you know you’re getting a quality product that will likely last you your whole damn life. I mean, you already love what you’ve heard too, that may as well be the one you get. It’s the safer choice. They also take eq like a champ.

Don’t worry about proper amplification. Just make sure you have a decent amp and dac, nothing crazy. EQ is what you need to understand and utilize if you want to get the best out of them. DAC and amp differences are extremely minimal or completely null in comparison to what you can achieve with eq.

You could also pay half the price for the hd800 and eq those instead. They handle bass a bit better after eq (meaning you could get away with a lot more before distorting). But I must warn you, stock 800’s are bright as all fuck. Unless you have eq, you’ll get murdered with treble

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ashyjay t1_jcf7k79 wrote

Look on Peter Tyson, SSAV and RS’s website as they usually have ex demo/display models, and open box units for cheap, it’s how I got my SR335x for £200 almost new.

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Zeraphil t1_jcfh708 wrote

They are not worth that much imho

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ServiceServices t1_jcg5cjx wrote

I love my HD 800S. It’s the same quality step-up from the HD 600 that the HD 58x to the HD 600 was. Personally like the tonality of the HD 600 the most for music, but the HD 800S is a great listen occasionally. I primary use them for gaming, and it’s such an immersive experience. Hard to justify the cost though, but I did only pay $900 for mine.

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AntOk463 t1_jcimtgr wrote

The face of this subreddit at this point.

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TheFrator t1_jcfxfpq wrote

I can loan you some cash at a loan shark rate haha.

Hope you’re able to scoop one up soon. They regularly go on sale.

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Gust_on_Fire t1_jcg3hpo wrote

there was a discount on some site, that i forgot which, that was selling them for 1100 dollars

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HulksInvinciblePants t1_jch12m2 wrote

Used HD800 is the play. You can find near mint examples for about $600. They also have lower bass distortion which helps with the inevitable eq boost.

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MrToobman t1_jchl85s wrote

So far I've resisted going in to demo stuff at richer sounds. One day I'll trip and fall down the same well you have 🤣

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R0enick27 t1_jchsdgh wrote

Try r/avexchange - sometimes 800s come up for good prices.

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sujanfloofens t1_jchzrj0 wrote

I am really glad you liked the HD800S I got to admit that i did not 1200€ like them when i got them, the tonalities are really not my cup of tea. Tho i really loved the way Radiohead sounded with them

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xXMadSupraXx t1_jci7xg3 wrote

I got my HD800 for £500 on eBay. SDR mod them (which is easy) and you've got something better.

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TakeThatRisk t1_jci83q3 wrote

Mine have been gathering dust the last year. Hardly used them. :(

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InFortunaWeLust t1_jcjqvp3 wrote

Unpopular opinion, I feel like they blow the 600 series out the water. Although the 660S2 got me curious

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School-Tricky t1_jckfeb5 wrote

They are damn wicked on a tube amp too. These are the headphones that melt off my head the most

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WestSenkovec t1_jcjbwd2 wrote

I have to ask, did someone try the 9V battery trick on you?

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Dust-by-Monday t1_jcfsrne wrote

Apple dongle is all you need according to Crinacle, but he listens at like 60dB

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csch1992 t1_jcf5kop wrote

how abou trying some 6xx first? they will maybe even suit you much better as an allrounder. i have the 660s 2 and i think i reached my hearing limits with these

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wiggan1989 OP t1_jcf5rri wrote

I had the Sennheiser Hd600s, but unfortunately had to sell them along with my tube amp due to financial reasons (nothing serious) I still have my Edition XS though.

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csch1992 t1_jcf5v7f wrote

Aren't the editipn xs prety amazing as well?

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wiggan1989 OP t1_jcf6420 wrote

Yes they are. A 7.5/10 in every category. Just a great all rounder, hence why I kept them. I was just curious to try a headphone over £1k and see if I'd notice an upgrade in sound... It was, but only minor not a massive leap

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csch1992 t1_jcf6ecu wrote

you could always EQ your edition XS. i find my new 660s 2 the perfect allrounder for me. totaly in love with the warm sound signature. would say they are better than my sundaras.

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wiggan1989 OP t1_jcf6lzg wrote

I have EQ them depending on Genre. Been listening to a lot of Hip Hop lately so added a +3 gain on the low end and they sound perfect... Do like a warm signature. When I get my finances back in order I'll have to try thosethe Hd660 s2

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csch1992 t1_jcf6rk9 wrote

couldnt you try them at the store where you tried the 800s?

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wiggan1989 OP t1_jcf7ij5 wrote

Oh yea, of course...the Richer sounds was a trek and I only lb went because I was already near there for a meeting.

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[deleted] t1_jcf9uef wrote

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csch1992 t1_jcfdhq1 wrote

the treble on mine is beyond perfect. you might have gotten a bad pair. i just couldnt stand the pearcing treble of my sundara

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5YNTH3T1K t1_jcghdgk wrote

A Carhartt wearing begger... for fucks sake.

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