Hi all,
I believe this is the cheapest the Sennheiser HD800S has ever been if you have eBay Plus.
Anyway, I grabbed a pair myself.
There is the coupon page below, but thought this deserves its own page.
https://www.ozbargain.com.au/node/795429
Its all subjective and matter of preference.
I prefer HD800S, but there are many people that would easily choose Focal Clear as their end game.
For me, HD800S is more comfortable, has more airier and natural sound, and more spacious (think soundstage).
Obviously Focal Clear is also selling at a great price now.
If you are in Sydney, I would suggest going to either Minidisc or AddictedToAudio to audition bother headphones first to try out for yourself.
I've always been wary of the sennheiser "veil". I don't know however with the 800s. You are right though. You have to listen to it to know
No veil with HD800S, easily a couple steps up over the many mid range stuff I have tried like Beyerdynamic DT880, AKG701, HD600.
What I found with all headphones I had tried before HD800S was that they all had at least one flaw that turned me off them, whether it be sharp highs, lacking bass, or too much bass, or cramped sound stage, some headphones even have too much mids, just vocals way ahead of everything, then there is comfort, so many heavy badly designed uncomfortable headphones around. But when I put the HD800S on, I knew my search had ended, the sound is balanced, the treble and bass are right in line with vocals, the sound stage open and airy, with precise imaging, and they disappear on your head. They are really inoffensive headphones as far as audiophile equipment goes, just keep in mind they are balanced sounding, some people perceive equal bass/mids/treble to sound like a lack of bass. They do roll off some sub bass, but that true for every open back dynamic driver, pretty much only planars can extend that low, but they come with their own set of problems.
@TRANCE: I agree. I had so many headphones which would have at least flaw. Poor highs, lack of bass, or those which colour the music too aggressively. The worse is comfort. You have headphones which hug your ears tight for the proper bass and it's a pain when you wear glasses.
I'll try the hd800. Thank you
Sennheiser "veil" is only related to the 6XX series, was never associated with the 800/S.
I've had the HD800 for almost 10 years and it's by far my fav headphone of all time. I haven't tried to Focal clears or too many of the recent high end offerings but I can't imagine a headphone that much better than the HD800.
HD800 owner here 🫡
Tyl from stereofile before his retirement said, he'd take Clears with him on the endless road trip.
This is the only reason I want to try Focal, but, I stopped buying Focal a long time ago due to their poor afters ales support. I am firm, no more Focal. Even though I have tried all their speaker cones, fibreglass, Kevlar, Utopia W sandwich. I won't buy any more.
I have focal Clears and haven't had problems. But I get you
Why not both?
Focal clear at $799 is hard to beat it seems
Can get fatigue as the Focals are very tight on some peoples head. I had a pair years ago and had to sell them asap. I currently have the 800s and are happy with them.
With tbe 800s it'd be worth noting that these are the next gen after selling the brand off. Might be made in China or Ireland now. Most ppl are chasing the older 800s or even 800.
Wow your right, As of 2022 they are made in Ireland. I will cherish my 2021 HD800S that is laser engraved "Made in Germany" on top of the steel headband.
HD800 or HD800s. Clear, you can have as a second pair to do Cans rolling.
This for soundstage, speaker-like imaging, detail and resolution. The Clear for dynamic punch and tonal balance. Clear is behind on detail, imaging and resolution, but miles behind on soundstage width, depth and height.
The tonality of the HD 800S is something you have to be aware of, and you need to have a good audio chain to both deal with it, and support the technical capabilities of the headphone.
The Clear is more like a technicality upgrade for the 6XX/650 at the expense of vocal timbre. I think a middle ground you might be really happy with is the HIFIMAN Ananda Nano, then grab a 6XX when you want something more timbre focussed. That combo would also leave you with a lot more cash in your pocket. If strong dynamics are still something you're interested in, the Nan-7 might be better choice long term.
As good as the HD800S can be for a dynamic driver, the only thing it does exceptional well in its price range is its imaging presentation (speaker-like soundstage), which is a consequence of the angled drivers and the enclosure design.
The tonality of the HD 800S is something you have to be aware of, and you need to have a good audio chain to both deal with it, and support the technical capabilities of the headphone.
Will something like Schiit Modi & Magni suffice?
As good as the HD800S can be for a dynamic driver, the only thing it does exceptional well in its price range is its imaging presentation (speaker-like soundstage), which is a consequence of the angled drivers and the enclosure design.
There's >99% consensus by reviewers and ozbargainers that the soundstage on the HD800S is top of the line, but its capability in other aspects seem to be rated around 8/10 by headphone reviewers? 8/10 in the Summit-Fi category and not encompassing lower priced units.
They've all moved on to the $6000+ headphones as their No.1 pick if money is no issue .. Susvara or HE1000, Utopia, Abyss Phi, Meze Elite. Some rated the Clear as higher tier than HD800S.
Maybe a decade ago they all had the HD800S as 10/10 best-of top choice, nowadays all they seemed to agree on is the unbeatable soundstage and that it'll reveal the flaws in the audio source more than it enhances the listening experience, except if you're listening to classical music.
This was based on readings from last 2 days so I'm probably mistaken!
As good as the HD800S can be for a dynamic driver, the only thing it does exceptional well in its price range is its imaging presentation (speaker-like soundstage), which is a consequence of the angled drivers and the enclosure design.
Thx, will stick with the Clear for now
Will something like Schiit Modi & Magni suffice?
Not really no, as it has an even more extreme impedance curve than the 600 series headphones do, meaning you will get a lack of bass control and heavy roll-off starting from 100Hz if you don't get a decent discrete and/or class A/class AB amp. Magni 3 won't deliver control in the low end, and their op-amp versions will be awful. You should instead be looking at the Jotunheim, or from other brands things like the Singxher SA-1, and maybe the Burson Soloist 3XP (if you can find it on sale or used).
Investigate DIY amps if you want to do better for less, but discrete amps will still be the choice below $700, albeit still having their own caveats. Maybe a used Schiit Asgard 3 if you're on a very tight budget, but it will hurt you if you ever move to something super current or voltage heavy down the line (think Susvara, HE-6, etc).
The Modi DAC will blunt the technical prowess of it, though I'm not super across what really separates itself out before the level of something like the Schiit Bifrost 2, I'd probably be looking at balanced DACs starting in the $300 range, avoiding ESS chips as a rule.
There's >99% consensus by reviewers and ozbargainers that the soundstage on the HD800S is top of the line, but its capability in other aspects seem to be rated around 8/10 by headphone reviewers? 8/10 in the Summit-Fi category and not encompassing lower priced units.
Its resolving ability remains at a very high level, but it's not top of the line any more, no. In combination with its soundstage and imaging however, it remains highly competitive against TOTL headphones.
If you want a lot of the Abyss AB-1266, Clear, Elite, and Utopia do well for a better overall tonal, value and technical package, the Nan-7 via Taobao is the pick.
If you want what the fundamentals of the Susvara midly watered down with a smaller stage and a treble lift, but with great imaging for cheaper, the Ananda Nano is the pick, but I'd expect HIFIMAN to iterate again on that within 18 months.
The HD 800S is its own thing, and is particularly good for gaming and binaural or orchestral recordings due to its modified diffused field tuning. The only things better for soundstage are the MySphere and the RAAL SR-1a, but they have their own (higher) costs and caveats.
The other two are sensitive enough without major impedance quirks that cheap amplification won't strongly muddy anything, but they will gain significant separation and detail from better amplification and sources.
I would see if you can demo the HD 800S locally, as well as the Abyss, the HIFIMAN HE-6, and the Ananda Nano. If you like what the Abyss and HE-6 do well with dynamics, go for the Nan-7 instead of the other two.
Thx, will stick with the Clear for now
That wasn't a green light for the Clear, $800 is its true value at most.
When you discuss topics like "timbre", etc., what types of music are you referring to? Rock, classical music, New Age?
I'm referring to general timbre performance overall. I listen to a fairly wide range of music overall. Vocal timbre, cymbal hits, and piano timbre tend to be where headphones can struggle the most, but it's most notable for vocals.
Sennheiser work hard to get vocal timbre in a good spot.
I would probably buy when the price comes down to sub 1000$
My 2c - I was ready to sell my hdvd800 which I'd bought along with HD800s. But thankfully, decided to give it another go - be sure to use high quality components end to end, after I connected, isotek iec cable->hdvd800-> curious cable-> balanced cable->Hd800s my search has ended. music is alive and mesmerising and i've stopped searching for holy grail as other audiophiles do tinkering around with expensive dacs, amps and what not. Hope this info is useful to someone as Id done my own tinkering to achieve the setup above. Cheers
I have the HD800 and Clear. If I had to choose one it'd be the Clear, especially at its current price point. It's a better all rounder and works well with lower end equipment whereas the HD800 is very source and amp picky.
I strongly recommend people try a set of HD800's (S or non) before pulling the trigger.
They are unlike any other set of headphone I've ever experienced. The sound stage… nothing can touch it. What ironically make them exceptionally good for 'gaming.' probably the best 'gaming' headphones ever made (and the most expensive).
There sound signature is (I want to say) very sharp but its more sparkly. It is inconstant, and it doesn't lend itself sounding good across a wide range of music genres. It is not a 'do it all' swiss army headphone. its a 2nd or 3rd in someone's line up.
Like I commented on before, the sound stage. You can hear the separation of the music. You close your eyes and you're transported to the recording studio.
Build quality and comfort A+++. These will last forever, even while being miss treated.
How's the sound stage of the Clear's? It's hard to argue that it's around 40% cheaper
you couldn't get more contrasting sound stage. The sound from the HD800 is all around you, even a bit behind.
For the focals the sound is coming from inside your head. maybe a little forward.
It is the weakest aspect of the Focal clears. They excel in all other aspects. Personally I own the Clears, I paid 1200 and thought they were worth every cent at that price. at 800$ they are a no brainer.
You have to start looking at exceptionally expensive headphones to beat the Clears in my opinion. like hifiman Arya's… maybe Fostex TH909.
Thanks think I'll go with the clears as i don't think my budget will allow for anything more. Currently using ATH-AD700 with a Schiit Modi Magni stack and a Sony XM5
@cyrax83: I reckon you'll be over the moon. I wish I bought my clears sooner. You also shouldn't need to purchase a new dac/amp.
I first used the focal clears with a 02 dac/amp combo and upgraded it to a toppings dx7 to power my Ayra's. The focals honestly sounded the same, save your money.
Still glade I bought the dx7's as the Arya's really needed the extra power and balanced cables.
For the focals the sound is coming from inside your head. maybe a little forward.
This is the worst feeling.
@sqheaven: I think its a personal preference. I can fully understand why someone would be completely turned off by a set of headphones by it.
personally i don't mind it. only notice it when pointed out
Came here for the trolling..but genuinely surprised by the interest a $1500 headphone has garnered.
A fellow poster was roasted endlessly by the community when they said they will spend $80k on an Audi…
Ozb is a such a strange place…
Yeah its super strange. I've personally listened to these headphones and reckon they are a hard sell at half this price
I’ve always wanted a pair from what I’ve read over the years they’re great for gaming. I don’t think I have any place in my state to test them out though
Not worth it for gaming, if only for gaming get the 560s you’ll be genuinely hard pressed to tell the difference, or better yet if for gaming get iems, if you’re that keen to spend this kind of money get the monarch mk3 by thieaudo which will crap all over hd800s and majority of far more higher end headphones for that matter.
If like classical music then get hd800s but personally at this price point there’s so many better options, especially cheaper options with how far tech has come these days these $1500+ headphones are finding it hard to justify themselves these days.
What are you talking about? The HD800s are renowned for their sound stage. Likely having the largest sound stage of any headphone ever produced. giving them unmatched surround sound. Agreed its a complete waste of money for gaming but to say its the same as hd560's is laughable.
You obviously have not owned both, I and numerous others have. The difference is minimal, if you want to spend $1500+ on these, go for it, It’s called diminishing returns. You can keep lying to yourself all you want, in 2023 there are even $3-500 iems that outclass these in every way. In terms of the sound stage, there is cheaper options where the difference in the sound stage isn’t worth the $1000+ premium. These are just facts, take it how you want.
“ Likely having the largest sound stage of any headphone ”
You’re obviously new to the snake oil game
troll on
@jake93s: Yeh I’m trolling, says the guy trying to say $1500+ headphones “have the best soundstage of any headphone” Yet the Truthear Hexa costs $111 and does it even better, sounds better, way better sound stage, doesn't pierce your ears with treble and absolutely amazing for fps.
Oh, and they're just IEMs you could have bought on special for $98 last night.
Like I said, new to the game, you probably think cables make things sound better as well.
bought these and a jds element iii. total of $2,349 ($1,484+$875). better be worth it
They are not, use to own them.
Easy to sell though because a lot want to try them, few actually keep them.
This or Focal Clear