Making the Sennheiser HD800 enjoyable

[elmura]

I've owned Sennheiser's HD800 for a few years now (onto my second pair) with SN314xx and find them to be so comfortable, light, high tech. The detail, the airiness, and of course imaging are worth finding a solution to the treble exaggeration and lacking sub bass. 

I've owned & listened to many setups (mostly speaker setups) but have owned Audeze LCD 2.2 (modified), Denon D2000, Denon D5000 and for a very short time, D7100 headphones

 

At first I lived with the shortcomings of the HD800 but, being an audiophile, it's been an ongoing quest to make them more enjoyable.

First up, a good DAC & amp are essential. Some go the tube amp approach - but I like the simplicity & lower distortions of solid state.

A good cable is next - I modified the original cable by cutting it much shorter (about 1.2m) so that the cable minimizes its affect on the sound.

What I found to be the biggest improvement however is very careful EQ. I've spent many hours changing and refining the EQ I applied to the Senn's - and I find I have to change it with different DACs and amps.

 

I've uploaded a screenshot of the EQ settings I use on my PC using XNOR's custom Graphic Equalizer for Foobar2000. I've experimented with a few other EQ and music playing apps but keep coming back to this.

 

Equalizing is best done with your own ears as we all have different sensitivities. If there's interest, I'll describe what you need and how to do it accurately. It costs no money, but does take patience.

[Kaynin]

There was a tweak that users did to the HD800 by inserting some foam into the ear cup (or similar) which resulted in Sennheiser releasing the HD800S.  Did you try that?

 

I trialed the HD800's about 12 months ago.  I loved their comfort and detail, but found the lack of bass a real let down for my tastes.  I think at their current price point though, they're an excellent buy.

 

 

EDIT:  Ahhh, I see you've chimed in to the superdupont mod on SNA - obviously that was the ear cup mod I was talking about.

Edited April 15, 2017 by Kaynin

[Tony B]

Looks a lot like my settings when I had my 802 Diamonds though mine was a tad steeper around the 2-3k range.

 

I have a set of 800's myself but looking at your EQ are you tying to make them sound like the 650's? 

Edited April 15, 2017 by Tony B

[Ray H]

I was In a similar predicament when I owned a pair. The best tweak for me was the Cardas clear balanced cable. This seemed to encourage a bit more body and heft to the sound without compromising soundstage, detail and clarity.

 

if I am honest though, I found the AKG K812 with a good cable a better compromise of good soundstage with a bit of heft down low, basically it's a very enjoyable sounding headphone.

 

i think the EQ you have explained above though, may be the best and most cost effective way to achieve significant alteration to the sound.

 

 

 

 

[elmura]

On 4/15/2017 at 1:14 PM, Kaynin said:

There was a tweak that users did to the HD800 by inserting some foam into the ear cup (or similar) which resulted in Sennheiser releasing the HD800S.  Did you try that?

 

I trialed the HD800's about 12 months ago.  I loved their comfort and detail, but found the lack of bass a real let down for my tastes.  I think at their current price point though, they're an excellent buy.

 

 

EDIT:  Ahhh, I see you've chimed in to the superdupont mod on SNA - obviously that was the ear cup mod I was talking about.

I am curious about the mod as I'm very attuned to these phones so it would be interesting to see how much less EQ would be required around 6kHz. From what I read on the SBAF forum, it creates a resonant chamber to cancel (or possibly prevent) the peaks in the treble. Only reason I haven't bothered yet is because the EQ does the job already. 

As you said, the HD800 are so cheap now used but I'm hanging on to mine. I think that they are the perfect candidate for tweaking

 

On 4/15/2017 at 1:16 PM, Tony B said:

Looks a lot like my settings when I had my 802 Diamonds though mine was a tad steeper around the 2-3k range.

 

I have a set of 800's myself but looking at your EQ are you tying to make them sound like the 650's? 

I actually haven't heard the HD650 so no, not trying to make them sound like any other phone. Rather, the EQ is to balance out the phone's peaks and dips using my ears (and my son's to confirm) using test tones.

 

On 4/15/2017 at 1:25 PM, Ray H said:

I was In a similar predicament when I owned a pair. The best tweak for me was the Cardas clear balanced cable. This seemed to encourage a bit more body and heft to the sound without compromising soundstage, detail and clarity.

 

if I am honest though, I found the AKG K812 with a good cable a better compromise of good soundstage with a bit of heft down low, basically it's a very enjoyable sounding headphone.

 

i think the EQ you have explained above though, may be the best and most cost effective way to achieve significant alteration to the sound.

 

Got me curious on trying the K812. I recalled reading a review about distortion and treble issues and thought they wouldn't suit my requirements for audio bliss. I just refreshed myself on them now, they seem interesting. 

 

I am of the belief that there are some things you can improve in a head-fi system but some flaws are unfixable. eg. I owned the Audeze LCD 2.2. I modified the cable and took off the rear sponge and grille for a more open wide soundstage. No amount of EQ could fix the treble - it was blurry and slow. And nothing would fix the lack of central imaging - the soundstage was very wide but had no central point. The headphone discomfort was partially resolved using bubble wrap around the headband!

With the HD800, the flaws are fixable.

 

PS- Future improvement will be a balanced setup

Edited April 17, 2017 by elmura