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Is HD800S worth it over HD600 with 4.5x price difference?

Dro

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This is true. Too bad with all that research they didn't find a way to give it linear frequency response. Its 6 kHz peak is like a sonic drill on my skull. I wonder if that was intentional, to make it sound more "airy" and "detailed", the sonic equivalent of video monitors whose default settings crank up the saturation & contrast to make them grab people's attention when on display in the store. Of course, it's easy enough to fix with EQ. But the 6xx series sounds more linear through the mids & treble without EQ, but they do lack the HD800's soundstage and "air".
Once I EQ my HD800, it sounds far less detailed, distant and airy. I think the HD800 "experience" is for the most part caused by its frequency response.
 

Dro

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it looks like the HD800s isn't much better in the bass when boosted based on the distortion measurements I've seen.
I think Sennheiser might have intentionally increased bass distortion with the HD800S. The old HD800 does better in bass, even with the SDR mod. I recall Tyll at InnerFidelity speculating that the increased output from the second harmonic might increase perception of bass and add a little warmth. I just measured my HD800 with SDR mod:
2.27% at 30 Hz
1.55% at 40 Hz
1.00% at 54 Hz
0.84% at 60 Hz
0.58% at 80 Hz
0.51% at 100 Hz
at 104 dB SPL for 1 kHz with a crappy miniDSP EARS that itself adds distortion above ~94 dB SPL.
 
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MRC01

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That is actually quite good/low bass distortion for a dynamic driver, at that SPL.
The only place I've seen lower is in the good planar/orthos.
 

Dro

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It is, Focal drivers are also very good until they start clipping.
 

KeithPhantom

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Even when EQd, the HD 800(S) seems to sound as amir said in his review "light on its feet". The bass sounds distant for some reason, and it feels like it is lacking bass, even when it is 'fixed' by EQ. My LCD-X outperformed them in this region with the same EQ target.
 

Dro

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I don't experience that. Seems to be within about 1 dB of what I would expect. Did you measure, EQ and level match or set up EQ based on somebody else's measurement? The HD800 seems to vary enough between models to make "blind" EQ unreliable. Are you getting correct seal? I noticed that it is quite easy to break seal around the bottom rear end of the ear cups and it subtly reduces bass.
 

soundwave76

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I have had both and in my opinion no. I also found better alternatives like Stax and Dan Clarke.
 

Robbo99999

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I think Sennheiser might have intentionally increased bass distortion with the HD800S. The old HD800 does better in bass, even with the SDR mod. I recall tyll at InnerFidelity speculating that the increased output from the second harmonic might increase perception of bass and add a little warmth. I just measured my HD800 with SDR mod:
2.27% at 30 Hz
1.55% at 40 Hz
1.00% at 54 Hz
0.84% at 60 Hz
0.58% at 80 Hz
0.51% at 100 Hz
at 104 dB SPL for 1 kHz with a crappy miniDSP EARS that itself adds distortion above ~94 dB SPL.
I think that phenomenon might actually show up in frequency response measurements anyway, so might not be a factor that needs to be considered, not sure on this though. Either way, I think I prefer the approach of design that would allow enough clean bass without resorting to potential tricks for planned distortion increasing perceived bass level. I'd still choose the HD800s over the HD600 anyway.
 

Robbo99999

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That is actually quite good/low bass distortion for a dynamic driver, at that SPL.
The only place I've seen lower is in the good planar/orthos.
Or my NAD HP50 is even better for instance (dynamic driver), but is closed back though:
index.php
 
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