maybe yes but its cool they have this much synergy together
S I picked these up this week along with the th900mk2s, powered by Topping D and A 90 stack, prior to these I had the dt1990 pros with a smsl ad18 powering them, the 1990s are an amazing gaming head set and every review I read people always said the hd800s is even better when it goes to sound stage and imagine.
Bubbles, Yosi Horikawa, sound stage is there but doesnāt seem as wide as compared to the th900mk? People in this thread have mentioned that the A90 may limit the sound stage, Iām not sure as it makes the th900mk2 sing like nothing I have ever heard.
Now imaging is a whole different ballpark
Letter, Yosi Horikawa, hd800s win here, this was the first impressive thing with them so far, listening to the pencil work its way across the page and pin pointing that movement was impressing Iāll give it that, I also found that dark side of the moon seems to sounds pretty damn good with these as well.
I purchased them for gaming and have had a small chance to test them with, the game with the best sound track something I knew would test them would be Doom 2016 and I have to admit it was worth the purchase for that alone so far for the testing I have done.
Still early days as yet, but I like them
4 Likes
Iāve only briefly heard the 800s of the gear you mention, but it sounds like maybe you found a good pairing for the th900, which apparently can be pretty amp picky. Thanks for sharing initial impressions!
I put on the HD800S for the first time in a couple weeks and I was blown away all over again lol. The Tuba with EI EL84 tubes is really great with these. For me, the treble go from somewhat fatiguing to almost perfect. If anyone is looking for good tube amp pairing itās something to consider. Though take this with a grain of salt since I never I had the chance to try other tube amps.
2 Likes
Iāve got a pair of these coming tomorrow with Dekoni Elite Hybrid pads. Very curious about the soundstage.
1 Like
Iāve been enjoying these today. I thought that these would mainly be about the soundstage for me - and itās very broad and thatās lovely if you like that sort of thing. Compared to the Arya itās definitely a bit broader, but it doesnāt have the height that the Arya has. The Arya is like a sphere of sound around your head, or even a large egg - A sound egg - whereas the HD800S is like a rugby ball. They trade blows in this regard.
Bass, to me, is not anaemic or lacking. Itās not as strong as other headphones, but it seems like this headphone is about surgical accuracy at all times, and the bass is in no way over-emphasised. Nor do I find this to be an overly bright headphone - thereās massive amounts of detail in the treble but I donāt find that the treble is forward in such a way that I find fatiguing. These seem lovely. Iām going to try gaming with them next as thatās a big reason for the purchase.
Probably worth noting that I was so keen to use the Dekoni pads that I didnāt actually try the stock pads at all.
Iāve also already had two moments where I thought the headphone was distorting in some way, before cross-referencing the same song with a different headphone only to realise that the HD800S was showing me a bit of detail that was only ever in the background before, but now could be clearly made out.
5 Likes
I am 90% there - almost about to purchase them. Yet i keep reading that they do terrible with Rap/Hip-Hop, and the sound-stage isnāt very good for gaming wise (FPS). Any truth to this?
I could see this esp depending on the amp, they might be way too lean in the bass and impact department to be fun, also might be too harsh and aggressive in the treble which can lead to an unpleasant listen with less than ideal recordings. You can offset this with a nicer tube amp to add more body and impact into the bass, and tone down the treble, but if your main genre is rap or hiphop, imo there might be better headphones more suited for that genre
Lol I typically hear the opposite, the 800s does have pretty great imaging and staging (albeit exaggerated), itās something you can def get used to
I see, makes sense. I was hoping to not buy another amplifier especially since i just bought another one recently which i didnāt need. I was hoping to pair the HD800S with the SMSL SP200 amplifier. Do you think this will be a good fit?
Personally no, imo that would be very bright and brittle sounding, honestly really not something I would recommend with an 800s, also would handicap the spatial recreation of the 800s which isnāt desirable
I donāt know if i find it bright, i like it with a few other headphones such as the DT1990. It sounds insanely clean and neutral. If itās a bad pair up - what other non tube amps would you recommend? I personally do not like tubes.
If you are ok with it and the 1990, you might be fine with the 800s on there, but personally I find the sp200 not neutral and more analytical leaning with a more oversharpened and overprominent treble response, also tends to lack in soundstage width and depth too much for me to call it neutral. But if you have no issues with the 1990 on the sp200 the 800s might be fine for you
If you were looking for an alternative amp, what budget would you be thinking?
Analytical would be more what i was aiming for as well, i find it does a great job at that. With the 1990ās i find i can wear them for hours on end with the amplifier and be fine and donāt find it fatiguing. I do also have an NFB 11.28 which i could try the HD800ās on and see if itās any better since the sound does seem more warm and colored in a way.
If i had to buy one i donāt think Iād want to spend over $700 (less is better). Iāll then have three amplifiers laying around.
Amen to that all though Iād say āinsanely clean and detailedā 
1 Like
If you can find an auralic taurus mkii for sale in that range used thatās a really great option for the 800s, really helps with bass body and a bit smoother in the treble. For something more neutral but a bit of warmth, if you can find a used violectric v280 pop up thatās a really solid choice. For something very neutral and clarity focused, perhaps finding a bakoon hpa-21 if there are any used would be really nice.
I know you said you werenāt interested in a tube amp, but you can get an extremely clean and neutral tube amp if you wanted (sometimes more than solid state amps), something like a dragon iha1 or lta mz2 would be very good, but that would be pushing the budget wise used
Hey gonna jump in hereā¦ I own the HD800s and I recently bought the new Philips X3. If donāt want to loose the bass and still want details with the same soundstage, no jokeā¦ check these out. Plus you can save some money. We have been comparing them over in another thread where we discus the new Philips X3 and the Philips 9600
1 Like
Damn, looking at the prices i almost got a heart attack. Iām a stubborn person, Iāll still buy the HD800S and pair it with my SMSL - but reading this thread and what you told me i got it in the back of my mind to upgrade now so i know it will very shortly.
Iāll have to look around for used, or any good prices. Thanks for the help.
1 Like
For sure itās a step up, but itās a sizable jump in all around performance as well. Start off with the sp200, you should be fine if you can take a 1990 on there, see what you think, and if you end up really liking them but want to take them to the next level, perhaps pursue a higher end amp
1 Like
Iām curious, how do you think the dx7pro would fair with the HD800s?
1 Like
Imo about similar to the sp200 (although I might slightly prefer the topping, but many of the complaints I have with the thx amps holds true here as well), if I would pick a more budget solid state amp, I would probably choose something like a asgard 3, or in the 500 ish range perhaps an rnhp with an 800s. I would give a nod to the liquid platinum if you wanted to color it in a smoother and more full bodied way and thatās still pretty much solid state. But a tube in the under 500 range I would probably say a bottlehead crack + speedball (other tube options would end up being a bit more expensive than 500 like a hagerman tuba or feliks echo or something). And a budget dac to go with that I would probably pick up something like the allo revolution dac, or pick up an earmen donald dac and save for a bifrost 2 later on (if I keep the cap at 500 new)