Anyone have thoughts on the 8XX at the $699 Zeos price?
Everyone was probably interested in keeping it low-key.
I just bought a pair at that price.
Why keep it low key?
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For folks that are interestedā¦
$401 off Coupon Code :: ZEOS8XX
Initially I wasnāt sure how hush this was, now I see it has gone publicly broad-market, so I digress.
I took the plunge.
I said back at the rumor stage that I thought this would be a ādisruptiveā $800 price tag, and I downplayed some of the tuning issues folks took umbrage with. I suggested that at a lower price, history would look back to this more kindly. At $689 shipped with my standing credit, I had to put money where my mouth, errrā¦ fingers was. Have never touched 800ās and have always wanted to, couldnāt say no.
I need to hear a lot more feedback about pads before I spring for the Dekoni pads. My default would be to think Velour makes sense, but Zās feedback was not good on those. Then hybrids were sold out, which I would feel next safest with. I donāt love full leather pads as much and get nervous about slapping them on a peaky pad-sensitive pair of headphones, so Iād love to see more feedback from trusted voices on pad-rolling. I know there is probably more feedback on 800 + 800s pad-rolling, but curious about how the specific 8xx tuning changes respond to pads.
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The Dekoni pads are horrible in every wayā¦save your money
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okay wow, thats a crazy discounted rate. Kinda tempted my hand to buy these now lol. One more for the wall
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I would love to see the 8XX tape mod frequency response related to the 800s. Thereās a headfi thread that says they sound the same when modded, but I would want to know exactly what it does before grabbing a pair.
Adding into the pile, but EQ (or some mods) are required and massively beneficial here.
Early days here, with no experience with 8__ series, but the standard tuning on these is surprising how it got green-lit. Iāve been moving away from EQ, but the dark mistress has called me back. BUT, with it, you have an obviously very good headphone. Burn-in and much exploration to come.
Huge Disclaimer, I have no idea how to EQ and I mainly just try EQ to see what it does with my music.
Anyways, has anyone here with the Dekoni Hybrids try EQ them? I think I like the sound of Oratory 1990ās eq with the stock pads the best but these pads are just too comfortable to remove them at this point. I try his EQ with the Elite pads and it sounds like I lose a ton of detail. It just sounds awful, which Iām sure isnāt surprising since he didnāt make this EQ with these pads in mind. So now Iām just running the elite pads with no EQ and they sound pretty good, just not as good as the stock pads with Oratoryās EQ. So Iām looking to try different EQās to see if I can get a little bit more out of my 8XX.
In case if anyone is curious about my thoughts on each config just based off sound, it goes as follows:
- Stock pads with Oratory EQ
- Elite pads with no EQ
- Stock pads with no EQ
- Elite with same Oratory EQ
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I purchased the perforated sheepskin and to my ears it makes bigger soundstage and a little more brighter. This is my main headphone now.
The HD8xx are perfect, why do you need to mod them?
ā¦You say immediately after mentioning youāve pad-rolled them.
Iām pretty open to headphones having unique signatures ā but the 8xx tuning is specifically imperfect. Iād like if I could enjoy them more without EQ, and am hoping to see more feedback on some of the physical mods.
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I donāt care that DMS and Crinacle didnāt like the measurements of HD8xx. They SOUND alive. Pad swapping just gives you more flavor. Iāve never had HD800S, but what Iāve seen from HD800 reviews the perforated pads makes HD8xx something like HD800S. I use those pads also because they are more comfortable than the thin stock pads.
HD8xx are not sibilant vs HD800S and have more low and (according to other people).
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The Drop + Sennheiser HD8XX is the cheaper version of plugging the HD800S into the iFi iCAN Pro Signature amp on Tube + and XBass dial turned all the way to the right, and I love it. Definitely keeping my pair.
Well, just gonna jump in here and share my thoughts on this headphone. So, I tried the 800s awhile back and thought it was fine. Didnāt sell me on it, but I saw the appeal. Now, fast forward a few months and passing by all the 8xx release stuff where people were really bashing it. Then, the Zeos $699 price, which was insane. A little more time passes, and now I have purchased a set of āsticker moddedā 8xx for $650 on the used marketā¦
The TLDR (if you already read the rest of that); for the price, these are phenomenal. Serious, I donāt know if the sticker mod made that much difference, or if I just donāt hear the same way the other guys do, but these are very good, and are worth their initial asking price IMO, and certainly $650 or $700 is a tremendous value.
They compete very well with my HE1000v2, and I honestly think they are going to displace them. Wide, natural, phenomenal detail and resolution, imaging is exactly what youād expect from the 800 series, bass is present and well-defined, perhaps a touch on the bright side, but quite tune-able with a good tube amp and some rolling.
My advice, keep an eye on the used market and you can pick yourself up an end-game headphone at a mid-fi price.
My chain right now: Soekris 2541 ā Violectric V280 or Feliks Echo MK1
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They are also excellent value if youāre willing to EQ them from the bone stock setup. The intelligentsia shat on them, so thereās good availability for now in that 600-700 range. EQād or modded - at the Z price or used market weāre getting the 8xx I envisioned when first discussed!
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You need to try Dekoni sheepskin perforated pads. It makes soundstage even bigger.
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Oratory has just released the best EQ preset Iāve tried for the HD8xx. It sounds perfect!
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