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What headphone(s) do you own ?

A Surfer

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I owned the HD800S and rather liked them. I didn't feel a need to alter the upper frequencies at all, but I did use about 2dB boost in the bottom end for a subtle plumping up. I still fully intend to reacquire an 800S the first opportunity that I get. It crackled with micro detail and to my ears was very nimble and tracked the music very well.
 

Racheski

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I owned the HD800S and rather liked them. I didn't feel a need to alter the upper frequencies at all, but I did use about 2dB boost in the bottom end for a subtle plumping up. I still fully intend to reacquire an 800S the first opportunity that I get. It crackled with micro detail and to my ears was very nimble and tracked the music very well.
What software did you use to apply the boost?
 

A Surfer

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What software did you use to apply the boost?
I use JRiver so either the built in parametric equalizer or EasyQ which is a free plugin. I actually prefer using EasyQ due to the UI, but I can't say that I hear any difference in the sonic abilities of either equalization package.
 

Racheski

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I use JRiver so either the built in parametric equalizer or EasyQ which is a free plugin. I actually prefer using EasyQ due to the UI, but I can't say that I hear any difference in the sonic abilities of either equalization package.
Thanks. BTW, there are some decent deals on HD800s right now on the used market as they trickle in from the recent sale prices. I use Hifishark.com to monitor the market.
 

Dealux

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Politely, I do not agree with you. Let's address both measurements you brought up with actual graphs (thanks to Solderdude and DIY Audio Heaven for providing the measurements):

FR:

HD 800:
View attachment 71218
LCD-2 Fazor:
View attachment 71219

There are similarities and differences between both headphones, a dip around 1 to 4 kHz (ear resonance gains and angled drivers will compensate for this). They differ in the amount of bass and how the drivers handle the treble. The LCD-2 are just a few dB down around the treble area after ear resonance compensation and the HD 800 are clearly hyped (almost +10 dB at 6 kHz) in the treble area.

Distortion:

HD 800:
View attachment 71221
LCD-2 Fazor:
View attachment 71222

Actually, the distortion is not a huge difference between both drivers, but the HD 800 has ever-so-slightly better distortion than the LCD-2. Both drivers are pretty much even in this regard (notice distortion spikes for the HD 800 at 6 and ~11 kHz due to resonances).

CSD/Waterfalls:
HD 800:
View attachment 71223
LCD-2 Fazor:
View attachment 71224
Other than the 6K peak, the HD800 is closer to the Harman target. I'm not sure what compensation is used here and I'm also not sure what equipment was used to measure them. Oratory has an industry standard rig that's quite accurate. I only judge headphones by RAW FR measurements.

@Theriverlethe I had the LCD-2 Fazor 2019. I liked them in many ways but the clarity aspect bugged me a lot. And they sounded aggressive in the mids too.
 

ReaderZ

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First impressions of HD800s -
Holy balls - I did not understand what "imaging" and "separation" meant until I listened to an orchestra with these; however, some of the trumpets sounded a bit piercing/sharp/harsh?
Basically Solderdude's write up exactly articulates my initial feelings:
"...this one[HD800s] still is ‘overly’ trebly/bright and ‘hyper-detailed’ because of the ‘treble plateau’
Imaging and stereo separation is top notch. With this I mean placement of instruments in the sound field and the ability to perceive them ‘separate’ and ‘realistic’ is excellent.
This is the strong point of this headphone, along with wearing comfort.
For music, other than classical, the HD800(S) needs some EQ in the treble and the lower bass."
I'm assuming I can do this with Equalizer APO, but if someone could suggest exactly what EQ to apply that would be very helpful.

I think there are better ones out there but here is what I use:

GraphicEQ: 20 0; 25 4.1; 29.9 5.4; 40.3 4.5; 53 5; 60.8 2.5; 77.1 2; 99.8 1.5; 125.2 0.5; 160 0; 200 0; 250 0; 315 0; 400 0; 500 0; 630 0; 800 0; 1000 0; 1250 0; 1600 0; 2000 0; 2500 0; 3150 0; 4000 0; 5000 -0.2; 5976.6 -4; 7498.1 -3.2; 9602.8 -2; 12047 -1.2; 13300 0; 20000 0
 
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Really nice headphone. Real shame that Oppo left the marketplace. I was really looking forward to what they would come out with next.

I have the re-boot version of the Oppo PM1 on order, the Drop Panda wireless. Never had a chance to hear the original, but decided to take a chance on the Drop version. The posted FR looks promising, and the built in THX AAA amp is appealing. I will know if it was the right choice sometime in August.
 

A Surfer

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I have the re-boot version of the Oppo PM1 on order, the Drop Panda wireless. Never had a chance to hear the original, but decided to take a chance on the Drop version. The posted FR looks promising, and the built in THX AAA amp is appealing. I will know if it was the right choice sometime in August.
That is the PM3 it is based on, and I did own the PM3. I even had a custom cable made so that I could drive the PM3 balanced from at the time my Onkyo DPX1 DAP. At the time I had to import the Onkyo from Japan as it was before it was released internationally.
 
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That is the PM3 it is based on

Yes, so it is. I should have double checked that first before commenting.

Well either way, I’m pretty anxious to get them in hand soon-ish. It will be my first experience with planars, which I am almost ashamed to admit on this forum. It’s been a slow journey for me through the world of headphones. I’ve owned probably a dozen of so pairs over the last few years. Some I’ve kept, some I’ve sold, but all have been dynamic drivers.

There don’t seem to be any good audio shops where I now live, so no good way to try new stuff out without buying. I’ve thought about pulling the trigger on the LCD-2. It looks like it would meet my criteria, but that is a pretty significant investment for something I can’t try first.
 

A Surfer

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Yes, so it is. I should have double checked that first before commenting.

Well either way, I’m pretty anxious to get them in hand soon-ish. It will be my first experience with planars, which I am almost ashamed to admit on this forum. It’s been a slow journey for me through the world of headphones. I’ve owned probably a dozen of so pairs over the last few years. Some I’ve kept, some I’ve sold, but all have been dynamic drivers.

There don’t seem to be any good audio shops where I now live, so no good way to try new stuff out without buying. I’ve thought about pulling the trigger on the LCD-2. It looks like it would meet my criteria, but that is a pretty significant investment for something I can’t try first.
I suspect the Drop + Panda will be a very good headphone. Looking forward to your impressions.
 

Smychavo

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I currently own the Hifiman HE4XXs as my first foray into better headphones (and my introduction to planar drivers) and have been loving them ever since I got them. I've casually looked around for other planars, though at this point I'm unsure what more I could possibly want that the 4XX doesn't already provide for me lol. Maybe a warmer FR, or a set of more resolving planar headphones in general. I heard the HE5SE was up my alley at first, but there's next to nothing in the way of solid info regarding them. Otherwise, I've been eyeing the LCD-2 Fazor.
 

majingotan

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My CA Andromeda has kept me from ever owning headphones even after hearing many TOTL headphones (including electrostatics) from different makers since CA Andromeda provides the details and resolution equivalent to HD800S level or even Focal Stellia, without "holes/empty space in the soundstage" aka soundstage similar to Focal Utopia (unlike the overly separated HD800 / S). Andromeda also has zero roll-offs all the way down to 20Hz with fast decay, and without needing to EQ that even treble emphasized tracks like one of my test tracks to evaluate headphones: Wanna Be Starting Something from Michael Jackson's Thriller album are extremely enjoyable while being incredibly detailed and layered without "piercing your ears from treble stabbing when listening at near concert level loudness (90+ dB SPL)"
 

maverickronin

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My CA Andromeda has kept me from ever owning headphones even after hearing many TOTL headphones (including electrostatics) from different makers since CA Andromeda provides the details and resolution equivalent to HD800S level or even Focal Stellia, without "holes/empty space in the soundstage" aka soundstage similar to Focal Utopia (unlike the overly separated HD800 / S). Andromeda also has zero roll-offs all the way down to 20Hz with fast decay, and without needing to EQ that even treble emphasized tracks like one of my test tracks to evaluate headphones: Wanna Be Starting Something from Michael Jackson's Thriller album are extremely enjoyable while being incredibly detailed and layered without "piercing your ears from treble stabbing when listening at near concert level loudness (90+ dB SPL)"

Yeah. If you don't mind not having any soundstage it's not hard to find IEMs which do everything else as well as TOTL full sizes.
 

Dealux

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The Andromeda has recessed mids and low treble that might be slightly bright relative to the mids. Not exactly neutral but probably an OK sound signature.

In-ears can have some advantages but at the end of the day they still sound like IEMs. My ideal headphone would be a planar (big tall images) with great bass slam and equalizable FR. I think the LCD-4 would fit the bill here but they're expensive. I disagree with your assessment about the HD800. They don't sound fake at all in terms of imaging. I haven't noticed any holes in the image when things pan around. So far it provides the most coherent imaging (more frontal than others) of any headphone tested.
 

majingotan

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Yeah. If you don't mind not having any soundstage it's not hard to find IEMs which do everything else as well as TOTL full sizes.

My preferences lean to that. Kinda like everything in your head but doesn't sound overly wide yet with enough layering that never blur/blend instruments together.

The Andromeda has recessed mids and low treble that might be slightly bright relative to the mids. Not exactly neutral but probably an OK sound signature.... I disagree with your assessment about the HD800. They don't sound fake at all in terms of imaging. I haven't noticed any holes in the image when things pan around. So far it provides the most coherent imaging (more frontal than others) of any headphone tested.

At least compared to other IEMs with excessive pinna gain at 2-4 KHz that vocals sound like shouting chipmunks to my ears, very uneven and unnatural for me. What I do like about the Andromeda is that vocals don't sound thin and with just enough shout at 4 KHz that it doesn't feel that the musicians are singing with their mouth covered with thick fabric. Treble is not piercing at all due to better details, and to my perception, just close enough to the amount of sizzle and energy as the Focal Utopia with slightly less energy at the threshold of the very upper frequency limit of my hearing. I listen at 1.5 ohm OI DAP which makes the Andromeda U shaped sounding rather than L-shaped (<1 ohm OI) or lean with a lot of bass roll-off (>2 ohm).

Regarding the HD800, I have heard the Raal SR1a twice which to my preferences also sound extremely wide like the HD800 but somehow the instruments didn't seem to sound too far from each other unlike the HD800 where an instrument kit sounded way too far from the center image while the rest of the vocals is dead center, and other instruments are also at the center which feels that there's a hole in the space as some instruments are separated too far from the center image to my liking
 

maxxevv

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My CA Andromeda has kept me from ever owning headphones even after hearing many TOTL headphones (including electrostatics) from different makers since CA Andromeda provides the details and resolution equivalent to HD800S level or even Focal Stellia, without "holes/empty space in the soundstage" aka soundstage similar to Focal Utopia (unlike the overly separated HD800 / S). Andromeda also has zero roll-offs all the way down to 20Hz with fast decay, and without needing to EQ that even treble emphasized tracks like one of my test tracks to evaluate headphones: Wanna Be Starting Something from Michael Jackson's Thriller album are extremely enjoyable while being incredibly detailed and layered without "piercing your ears from treble stabbing when listening at near concert level loudness (90+ dB SPL)"

If you are well acquainted with decently setup bookshelf speakers already, I would suggest you give the Raal SR1a a listen. They are open by design, so will not be a like for like comparison with any closed headphones.

Its a radically different listening experience to typical ToTL headphones you might have tried.
 

Bongoyep

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Hi,

Have any of you guys tried the Philips Fidelio X2? (open backs 50 mm driver). They reproduce the auditory dynamism of the bass & punch of percussive music comparably satisfactory . The only other open back, mid priced, headphones l've owned that produced a discernable "bass drum a like" low end were some hifiman planars. I think they were HD400's, though not as light & comfortable as the X2's.
 
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