Sennheiser HD 800 S
Printed From: Graham Slee Hifi System Components
Category: Headphone Audio
Forum Name: High Fidelity Headphone User
Forum Description: Technical Q&A, hints and tips
URL: https://www.hifisystemcomponents.com/forum/forum_posts.asp?TID=2764
Printed Date: 20 Apr 2024 at 6:04am
Software Version: Web Wiz Forums 12.01 - http://www.webwizforums.com
Topic: Sennheiser HD 800 S
Posted By: Benja
Subject: Sennheiser HD 800 S
Date Posted: 10 Jan 2016 at 2:02pm
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I thought i make a Topic about the new Sennheiser HD 800 S headphone. It does not replace the original HD 800 but it is a complentment. |
Replies:
Posted By: Steve7
Date Posted: 10 Jan 2016 at 4:20pm
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All I will add is that it's the one can I think I should hear, as a long time Grado user. Seems to be often cited as a bit of a reference level item, and a very exact sounding option. There are a lot of 800 used now, as the aficionados upgrade to the new S. |
Posted By: Ash
Date Posted: 10 Jan 2016 at 8:45pm
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I'm not going to lie, if the phase response of the HD800 were to be as musically engaging as the HD540II, it would wipe the floor with the HD540II in all areas except the larger physical weight/size. But to my ears, there was something withdrawn about its neutral transparent sound that just didn't provide an engaging rhythm and involvement in the same way that the HD540II model could do for me. I'm not intensely biased towards the HD540II; I really like it but if I truly believed that the HD800 did everything better, I'd just come straight out and say it. HD800 just didn't have the groove and rhythm for me, so I can understand why Graham didn't recommend them for vinyl. After all, isn't one of the highlights of well-mastered vinyl a fantastic phase fidelity?? I'm guessing that they probably haven't addressed this issue with the S version so I'm not sure whether it'll be an improvement... K1000 wipes the floor with both of these models and well set up well-engineered speaker drivers are able to wipe the floor with the K1000, if every aspect of reproduction is carefully optimised.
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Posted By: Benja
Date Posted: 10 Jan 2016 at 9:37pm
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I like the black colour better on the 800 S than the silver colour on the original atleast. |
Posted By: RichW
Date Posted: 11 Jan 2016 at 8:21am
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Reports suggest the new 'S' HD800 has a smoother & more refined treble with an extended bass over the original. The bright treble is certainly a weak point of the '800 - the 540 II is better here IMO. Will be interesting to hear the refined version. ------------- Majestic/Enigma, Accession MM & MC. |
Posted By: ROMPerformance
Date Posted: 21 Jan 2016 at 10:21am
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I'd love to try out the HD 800 S and compare them against my HD 800. Is the difference going to be significant or is it just tiny subtleties i wonder? More refined means what? Whilst i wish my cans sounded a bit more like my speakers for warmth and base, and that's just a personal preference, i think they cope really well with everything else. Always crystal clear, no sibilance or odd timbres that shouldn't be there, lovely imaging, super detailed, and I can't fault them. While I've not heard the 540II's, and i've no doubt they are every bit as good as you say, when comparing them are you going by out and out performance, general differences in sound/tonality, or is it purely a personal taste/preference overall thing. I presume we all hear stuff differently so one man's idea of awesome sound can be very different to another's and therefore different listeners will come up with different conclusions. It's probably fair to say there will be owners/reviewers etc, that will say the opposite. I suppose the only way to find out is to audition said cans back to back and make a personal judgement, that includes the 540II's. Anybody got a set of HD 800S i can audition?  ------------- Francis :0) Majestic DAC, Proprii, Solo ULDE, Voyager, Libran, Lautus, Spatia,, Cyrus CD XT SE2, Cyrus PSX-R, Sennheiser HD 800 and 540 Ref2, Harbeth SHL5 |
Posted By: Ash
Date Posted: 21 Jan 2016 at 10:41am
| HD540II is more musical and physically lighter than HD800 but HD800 has improved resolution across the frequencies, improved bass weight and larger stereo image (you can tell that you're listening to drivers with a larger radiating area). This is coming from a HD540II fan; just saying it how it is. 540II is more comfortable IMO but both still retain headphone character in how they present the music. They don't sound like speakers but they do sound spatial. |
Posted By: RichW
Date Posted: 21 Jan 2016 at 10:56am
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A short old/new HD800 comparison here: I used a variety of songs with strong female vocal that could get a little shouty on the original 800′s and a few other tracks with strong bass lines to see if this is an area that has been improved on the 800S’S, so how did they sound? The short answer is that the higher frequencies are definitely more controlled, slightly smoother whilst retaining all the detail that the 800′s are known for, you get a more natural presentation but for me the extra bass at the bottom end is the real improvement, again it is not a huge difference, it doesn’t turn them into a Audeze LCD-2 :-) but it is definitely more defined with a little more punch which helps track the bass line of any song better giving a more rounded sound. ------------- Majestic/Enigma, Accession MM & MC. |
Posted By: ROMPerformance
Date Posted: 21 Jan 2016 at 11:17am
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That's the only thing with my HD 800, i could do with a little bit more bottom end hence why i'd love these to sound a bit more like my Harbeths in that department anyway, a little bit more punch would be nice too but i think the top end is fine. I love the way they sound anyway so it's highly unlikely i would change them for the S version. I don't want to mess with the sound using bass/treble or any kind of equalisation which IMHO tends to generally colour the sound so they will have to sound just the way they do now, which for me is very probably good enough. Like anything else at this end of the market, if you want more base turn it up, and i regularly do. I will have to find somewhere selling the 800S, that will let me audition some alongside mine just to satisfy my curiosity. ------------- Francis :0) Majestic DAC, Proprii, Solo ULDE, Voyager, Libran, Lautus, Spatia,, Cyrus CD XT SE2, Cyrus PSX-R, Sennheiser HD 800 and 540 Ref2, Harbeth SHL5 |
Posted By: Ash
Date Posted: 21 Jan 2016 at 12:43pm
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I used the HD800 (serial number 30466) with the Solo Ultra-linear and the bass performance was fantastic; was not lacking in weight or extension in my opinion. There was no "hump or thump" in the bass either; simply very resolving and articulate. I didn't have any issue with a fatiguing treble either; all-in-all, it was a properly scaled up version of the HD540II that I compared alongside it. Superb sound; just a shame about the lack of musical engagement and the needlessly large "coffin box", huge instruction manual and heavy fabric-sheathed cable. They were clearly trying to cater for snobs, not sensible engineers. If you can put these issues aside however, the HD800 is pretty much the pinnacle of high fidelity reproduction possible from a conventional headphone WITH AN ENCLOSURE.
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Posted By: RichW
Date Posted: 21 Jan 2016 at 12:54pm
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When/if my local dealer gets the 'S' in a polite request for a demo is on the cards. I do feel the treble could be a lot better - just my opinion of course. When returning to speaker listening after a session with the 800s the speaker's top end has all the 800's detail but is much smoother. ------------- Majestic/Enigma, Accession MM & MC. |
Posted By: Ash
Date Posted: 21 Jan 2016 at 1:08pm
| I have a sneaking suspicion that this harsh characteristic of the HD800 is in how its phasing presents microdetails. The noise and low level nuances are placed more in your face than just "being there" in the background, where you would still otherwise hear them because all the frequencies are so level that its inevitable that you're going to hear it. Just my thoughts. |
Posted By: Benja
Date Posted: 21 Jan 2016 at 2:02pm
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I also read that HD800 sounded different before 2012 i think. |
Posted By: RichW
Date Posted: 10 Mar 2016 at 8:32am
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I've now had a good listen to the new HD800S & to my ears they are much better than the originals, particularly in the treble which is now smoother without the hard, bright edge. The clean, clear treble is actually some of the best I've heard from headphones. They retain the open & detailed sound of the earlier version. Bass is a little deeper - I think this may improve with more use. Hats off to the Solo ULDE for making these differences clear to hear. ------------- Majestic/Enigma, Accession MM & MC. |
Posted By: Benja
Date Posted: 10 Mar 2016 at 12:06pm
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Did you also think that the HD800 S had a engaging sound? |
Posted By: RichW
Date Posted: 10 Mar 2016 at 12:23pm
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Yes, definitely. I listened to music for several hours last night with the new 800S. I tended to find the originals a little fatiguing after a while. They sounded involving & dynamic at quite low listening levels too. The volume control on the Solo was set mainly to '9.30 - 10 O'clock' . Previously the volume control would often be much higher to get an involving & engaging sound. Interestingly the specs for the two versions are nearly identical. The frequency response of both is shown in the manual & the bass of the 'S' has a very slight lift, with a drop at around 5KHz. ------------- Majestic/Enigma, Accession MM & MC. |
Posted By: Ash
Date Posted: 10 Mar 2016 at 1:09pm
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You prefer the HD800S over your HD540II now? If the original HD800 had a more engaging sound, it would've beaten the HD540II in all sound areas, in my opinion.
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Posted By: RichW
Date Posted: 10 Mar 2016 at 1:27pm
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I did in general prefer the 540II to the older 800, mainly because I found the 540 had a much better treble. Yes, the 'S' is better than the 540II. It has the extra scale & openness & an even better high frequency performance. I think Sennheiser have done an excellent job with the new version & I don't honestly know why they are continuing with the original silver 800. For the price paid for the 540IIs - almost knocking the last nought off the HD800S's price - The 540IIs are unbeatable. ------------- Majestic/Enigma, Accession MM & MC. |
Posted By: Ash
Date Posted: 10 Mar 2016 at 1:41pm
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After about two decades since their introduction, it's about time Sennheiser finally made something to genuinely improve on HD250II/HD540II in all sound areas. I'm glad to read this. If I get an opportunity to have a listen to the HD800S in the future, I will. Not going to buy it though; would have to drive them from Proprius anyway as I sold all of my headphone amplifiers. The K1000 quickly destroyed my interest in headphones.
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Posted By: RichW
Date Posted: 15 Mar 2016 at 10:16am
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The detail these 'phones reveals is astonishing on good recordings - ' mere' CD resolution too. Things like the odd grunt from conductors or musicians, score pages being turned, faint background traffic noise just not noticed before. It can be strange to hear this sort of thing & also a bit funny. With Solo ULDE the sound is wide open, clean & clear with great dynamics, resolution & no fatiguing drawbacks at all. Brilliant at 'sensible' lower volumes to boot.  ------------- Majestic/Enigma, Accession MM & MC. |
Posted By: stvn758
Date Posted: 25 Apr 2016 at 4:54pm
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Managed to get the originals new on eBay for £675, just before they announced the cool black ones. You can apparently make them sound like the 's' version with a carefully applied piece of cloth, I'm sure Sennheiser have a much more technical name for what they did with the new version. |
Posted By: RichW
Date Posted: 20 Jun 2016 at 10:06am
I suspect the purpose of the 'carefully applied piece of cloth' is to cut the output by a couple of dB or so at around 6KHz to make the frequency response more like the 'S'. I've found the 'S' sounds better with the internal dust covers taken out. ------------- Majestic/Enigma, Accession MM & MC. |
stvn758 wrote:Posted By: Ash
Date Posted: 20 Jun 2016 at 1:19pm
| I doubt they sorted out its phase response. |
Posted By: RichW
Date Posted: 21 Jun 2016 at 10:47am
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Hmmm, well the treble cut at around 6KHz they have achieved, apparently with a resonator, has made a noticeable improvement to treble quality. ------------- Majestic/Enigma, Accession MM & MC. |
Posted By: taje
Date Posted: 12 Sep 2016 at 1:54pm
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Hello everyone, I got my HD800S recently. Has anyone tried pairing it with SOLO SRGII?
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Posted By: Gary
Date Posted: 12 Sep 2016 at 3:45pm
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I've been using a pair of HD 800S with a Solo ULDE and PSU1 for about a month now. The 800S were a worth while upgrade from HD700 and the Solo ULDE makes them sound wonderful. ------------- Solo ULDE, CuSat50, Spatia Links |
Posted By: D3savage
Date Posted: 11 Jan 2018 at 6:23pm
Hi I have a pair of HD800s and have just ordered a new Solo ULDE ... I was concerned but you have put my fears to rest chears 
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Posted By: ROMPerformance
Date Posted: 11 Jan 2018 at 10:08pm
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It's been quite some time since i've posted anything here, i hope you don't mind me chiming in. I have a set of HD800's with custom memory foam earpads and a double helix silver cable. They are hooked up to a Solo ULDE and they sound absolutely fantastic.The solo is fed via a majestic DAC. The latest HD800S would have to be significantly better/different for me to upgrade to what looks to be a pretty similar headphone thats had some tweaking. As much as i love Sennheiser, and i have a set of 540 Ref 2's as well that i love to bits and use away from home or in bed, hooked up to a Voyager amp. However, i have my eyes formly set on Grado. I hope it's a good move. ------------- Francis :0) Majestic DAC, Proprii, Solo ULDE, Voyager, Libran, Lautus, Spatia,, Cyrus CD XT SE2, Cyrus PSX-R, Sennheiser HD 800 and 540 Ref2, Harbeth SHL5 |
Posted By: msphil
Date Posted: 12 Jan 2018 at 6:32pm
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I use a pair of Grado PS1000 streamed through a Squeezebox Touch to a Majestic and then on to a Solo ULDE I always used GSP connecting leads. I have recently started using a decent PSU into the Squeezebox Touch. I have to say that the headphones are absolutely great with this setup. I have tried a variety of quality headphones in the past and I haven't found better. Hope this helps. I extend an open invitation to anyone on the forum who happens to be passing Chesterfield in Derbyshire to call in and listen if you would like to hear any of my hi-fi stuff. ------------- 'You are, through your soul not your body, a human being.' |
Posted By: ICL1P
Date Posted: 12 Jan 2018 at 7:45pm
Been there, done that! I can recommend it.------------- Ifor ===== Reflex M & ACCESSION M, CuSat50, Majestic DAC, a Proprius pair. |
Posted By: msphil
Date Posted: 12 Jan 2018 at 8:47pm
Thanks! You'll be pleased to know that since I started using Grahams PSU on the Squeezebox Touch and after a couple of other small tweaks it sounds even better now. ------------- 'You are, through your soul not your body, a human being.' |