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DEF

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Oct 27, 2021
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Hello. Currently the Dan Clark E3 are hyped.

However, lots of it is glued.
Do you really want to invest 2 grand for something that must be replaced on the first defect thats not just wear of the earpad?

@amirm it may perform great, but does your recommendation really depend only on sound?
We should take maintainability into account.
Best everything is easy to repair, too.
I remember going down this road with some members @ ASR some time ago. @amirm said he does not want to get into testing for longevity and that sort of stuff.
 
I remember going down this road with some members @ ASR some time ago. @amirm said he does not want to get into testing for longevity and that sort of stuff.
I guess that makes sense.
Is there some data on what happens for Dan Clark headphones for instance after the 3 year warranty?
I am stuck in choice limbo and I don't order because of these worries to try them out.

I mean, Dan Clark E3 cable is bad, I would need to add another 300 EUR at least + import fees.
And then theres the fact that you can't be arsed to fix the position every second because it is misaligned again

One thing that I know could be good is Focal Utopia with custom cable...
Because that one I heard.
But also here cable is bulky crap.
 
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I guess that makes sense.
Is there some data on what happens for Dan Clark headphones for instance after the 3 year warranty?
I am stuck in choice limbo and I don't order because of these worries to try them out.

I mean, Dan Clark E3 cable is bad, I would need to add another 300 EUR at least + import fees.
And then theres the fact that you can't be arsed to fix the position every second because it is misaligned again
I chatted Dan Clark about spare parts and he advised that they are serviceable and spare parts are and will be kept in stock.
 
I chatted Dan Clark about spare parts and he advised that they are serviceable and spare parts are and will be kept in stock.
That's good to know.
However the precision required to wear these apparently would put me a bit off.
I could try Focal Utopia with custom cable.
They sound good in every position possibly.

But I don't know about serviceability about them either.
Or longevity.
But at least I heard them in person.
 
That's good to know.
However the precision required to wear these apparently would put me a bit off.
I could try Focal Utopia with custom cable.
They sound good in every position possibly.

But I don't know about serviceability about them either.
Or longevity.
But at least I heard them in person.
I'm always interested in good headphones; how did they sound to you and did you compare them to the Dan Clark headphones at the same place?
 
I'm always interested in good headphones; how did they sound to you and did you compare them to the Dan Clark headphones at the same place?
They added sub-bass in certain tracks where there was none. I liked that.
I did not have the Dan Clark for comparison.
The Witcher 3 Soundtrack sounded brilliant with them.

Voice Quality was great. When I did watch streams of people, it felt like I was in the same room with them.

About wearing comfort - they are not suitable if you are consider them while jamming on an instrument.
They don't have enough grip on the head. They just slide off.

Unlike Beyerdynamic - these are also quite on the heavy end, and their cable is absolutely garbage with the splitter at around 79cm.

I am really wondering if I should grab them again. The sound was a great fit...
But this time I need a good cable.
 
They added sub-bass in certain tracks where there was none. I liked that.
I did not have the Dan Clark for comparison.
The Witcher 3 Soundtrack sounded brilliant with them.

Voice Quality was great. When I did watch streams of people, it felt like I was in the same room with them.

About wearing comfort - they are not suitable if you are consider them while jamming on an instrument.
They don't have enough grip on the head. They just slide off.

Unlike Beyerdynamic - these are also quite on the heavy end, and their cable is absolutely garbage with the splitter at around 79cm.

I am really wondering if I should grab them again. The sound was a great fit...
But this time I need a good cable.
Have you tested the Sennheiser headphones. They fit very well on the head and with PEQ they are claimed to sound fantastic and the cable is decent from what I understand.
 
Have you tested the Sennheiser headphones. They fit very well on the head and with PEQ they are claimed to sound fantastic and the cable is decent from what I understand.
Which ones? HD800S?
I haven't. Should I test them?
 
Which ones? HD800S?
I haven't. Should I test them?
It's worth a shot. Lots of people are very happy with Sennheisers. Can't hurt to test drive a set and use the PEQ.
 
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It's worth a shot. Lots of people are very happy with Sennheisers. Can't hurt to test drive a set and use the PEQ.
Equalization and Audio Adjustments:
- I applied the equalization settings from the AutoEq project using EasyEffects - from crinacle https://github.com/jaakkopasanen/AutoEq/blob/master/results/crinacle/GRAS 43AG-7 over-ear/Sennheiser HD 800 S/Sennheiser HD 800 S ParametricEQ.txt.
- The sibilances were too harsh, but now it's much improved. This is my favorite EQ configuration out of the seven I've tried so far.

Headphone Performance
- The Sennheiser HD 800 S headphones are definitely unique, but they're not ideal for all types of music.
- For tracks like the Tekken Soundtrack, bass-heavy headphones would provide a more enjoyable experience, but that's more about the 'fun' factor rather than actual sound quality.

Comfort and Design
- I really enjoy these headphones, although they don't form a proper seal around my head. It's not a big issue, but it's something I noticed.
- The included cables are very flexible, but the 6.35mm one is unnecessarily long.

Sound Quality
These headphones reveal flaws in tracks that aren't well-suited for them.
On the Beyerdynamic DT 770 Pro, lower-quality songs actually sound better, which is fine for casual listening.
The HD 800 S lacks the sub-bass emphasis that I noticed in Focal Utopia headphones from 2020.

ASMR
- So far I haven't found an ASMR track that I particularly enjoyed with these.
- Some sounds sound too far away. But I think that's a source problem.

Song Impressions
- One track that really impressed me on the HD 800 S was 'Mili - Rightfully'. The YouTube version doesn't do it justice, but the FLAC version sounds incredible.
 
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