đŸ”¶ Sennheiser HD800S

Nice. Yes I don’t feel I want to go higher than that budget wise just for gaming headphones, if it was a higher tier headphone than 800s and my daily I wouldn’t mind.

Thanks again I’m happy about the conclusion :laughing: now I don’t feel lost haha.

Ah ok lol

Well just wondering, to make sure those headphones are right fits, what do you like about your 1990 and what would you want to change about it?

I like the bass on my 1990 with balanced pads but I feel there is room for improvement (thats why chose the arya bass soundstage imaging and good details based on the reviews),
I like the vocals but the SSS is right on the edge but I kinda got used to it, would love to reduce it,
I like its soundstage and imaging in games but I feel I need more precision and bigger stage to be even more immersed.

So did I choose the right headphones :slight_smile:
800S: soundstage imaging details immersion for them games.
Arya: for everything else ( a richer warmer experience than 1990)

I think this is the right pick for what you describe imo, although the 800s can be very sibilant on poorly done things

So I wouldn’t call this warmer or richer tbh, it’s still fairly bright neutral sounding. The arya is pretty clean and I wouldn’t say analytical like the 1990 but it is neutral. I think it has good low end impact and layering but I wouldn’t call it rich. The midrange is nice but I don’t think it’s sweeter or warmer sounding from my experience. The arya has a very large and grand presentation with lots of slam that can be pretty enjoyable, but I don’t know if it’s exactly what you are after based on what you describe. I actually think if you wanted to stick with hifiman, finding a used edition x v2 would give you more of what you are looking for with similar presentation and performance (albeit a slight decrease in detail but a warmer signature with not as prominent treble and more impact). There is also the edition xx but that’s a larger hit in detail and performance

Moving away from the hifiman, I think trying to find a used lcd 3 pre fazor or lcd 2 prefazor might really be up your alley, or a zmf eikon which would be pretty sweet and what you are looking for. The lcd 3 pf and 2 pf are going to be very smooth and warm while extending well and having quick and clean impact, it’s more midrange and bass forward with very unoffensive treble, very pleasurable and more relaxed. The zmf eikon will be a very organic sounding but somewhat more even, with very natural sounding impact and very nice detail and presentation. Of course there are other options in the lower range as well that you would most likely enjoy

@M0N
I see
 First I thought about the lcd2c but they say its too dark and Ill miss some of the sparkle in the top end and the lcdx too narrow, the ananda too bright so the arya sounded right and I liked its description of large sounding from what I read (like you said grand presentation).

I’ll research more about the options you told me.

I would tend to agree with those assessments, also the lcd x is not really warmer either, I would put it into the more neutral category. The lcd 3 and 2 prefazor have more treble energy than the lcd 2 classic while still having a warmer sound, with more detail and better technicalities imo.

Yes the arya is less bright by a bit, but just don’t expect it to sound warm from my experience, although the liquid plat will give it more warmth that might make it enough (but either way I really wouldn’t call it warm whatsoever in comparison to what else is out there)

Not sure if you have considered this, but the beyerdynamic t1.2 is a good pick here. It’s a warmer beyer that’s a bit smoother with imo better technicalities than the 1990 with just as good soundstage and imaging, if you already like the beyerdynamic house sound it makes a fair bit of sense

since ill have 2 dynamics I wanted to try the planars for their large sounding haha so ill stick to the planars I think for a change.

Also people keep mentioning the lack of bass in the 800s, like if an explosion happens it will sound like a bom and not pom ye :laughing: from the talk thats what I imagine. too bad I cant test headphones around here so I’m just reading and watching things 1000 times to get the whole picture.

Sounds like a plan

So the 800s is something that I might call mildly bass light mainly because of how elevated the treble can be at some times. The bass is good, it’s tight, quick, detailed, and somewhat impactful, but you can get the sense it’s not enough in terms of prominence and impact. Using a tube amp can help here as it fills out the bass and midrange of the headphone more while smoothing the treble a tad, that makes it way more listenable imo. I personally like the 800s on a tube more tbh, but a warmer solid state is fine. You could get a tube amp for the 800s later on (and your 1990 for that matter) if you wanted to, and it would be a smart move

I see, I understand now. What tube you recommend then for the future for those 2?

Prefazor LCD-2 is great if you want a warm sound with great bass performance. It would compliment the HD800 well. Though they aren’t easy to come by anymore.

Here’s one though it’s somewhat overpriced.
https://www.head-fi.org/threads/fs-audeze-lcd-2-2-rev2-bamboo-pre-fazor.936124/

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I’ll check it thanks.

I think an easy choice for something reasonable in price and pretty warm and colored yet not something I would call sloppy would prob be the bottlehead crack with speedball, as it’s just very nice for the price and would really help for relaxed or just fun listening. I think the 800s are also pretty nice off a feliks echo for something smoother and more relaxed, also the tor rodger or woo wa6 2nd gen for warmer but more punchy. All of these should be under 600 ish, so similar to what you plan to spend on a solid state amp.

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You could prob offer him 700 and that would be fair imo, 800 isn’t bad but it’s not great either. Those pads are a bit worn out so they would need to be replaced most likely

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@M0N noted thanks

I finally got to sit down with these for what was a short period
 and all I have to say is just simply
 this headphone sounds unbelievably amazing. Completely blown away. If I was to buy any headphone of this price margin
 It would have to be these 110% just these headphones. I sat down with the clears as well and these just sound so much better to me despite how incredible the clears sounded

Yeah as long as the treble doesn’t bother you they’re really something. Did you visit a store to have a listen? If you get another chance, I highly recommend listening to some of Yosi Horikawa’s stuff—in particular ‘Bubbles’.

Yeah, I went to try some grados and the focals and they had the hd800s there to check out. Will check out your recommendation if and when I head there again.

What exactly did you like about the sound? since you tried 1990 and tygrs etc

I felt that it wasn’t as sharp as the dt 1990s. It’s not as bassy and sounded like the bass may fall a little under neutral but it still sounded very natural to me. Mids were a large difference mainly in the upper mids and I think this is the failing spot of the dt 1990s as it’s more recessed. Upper mids were more present and neutral with mids overall sounding clean and detailed and very present I honestly love the sound of female vocals on it more than the 1990s. Highs while not as sharp still maintained that sparkle and sounded rather smooth to me and comparing to the dt 1990 which has that noticeable roll off to its sound this headphone sounds like its just smoothed out without much peakiness or large roll offs on the highs. The soundstage was visibly massive and larger than that of the 1990 and the comfort may be a hit or miss but for someone with large ears this was a very welcome change to me
 the headphone is light with large ear cups and not overly aggressive yet staying intimate alongside that absolutely massive soundstage with great seperation and layering and imaging. They did have the regular hd800 there and I asked to try that one as well cause I was told they are tuned differently. I tried it on and the only sound my ears could perceive is more brightness to the point it overwhelmed some of the sounds and it doesn’t sound as warm as the hd800s so I would personally choose the S version entirely over the original. The sound was relatively close to my T1.2 but with T1 having smaller staging, not as much bass as T1, not as relaxed as the T1 and upper mids being more present. If anything
 I wanna say this headphone could potentially replace my 1990s on my shelf and potentially the T1 due to the similarities I heard despite being such a short session with them.

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That’s awesome @Falenkor 
 Did you notice if it was connected to a tube or normal amp?