Drop + Sennheiser HD 8XX

Like most people have said, stock sound signature is a bit muddled and thick. Using Equilizer APO and HeSuVi and grabbing an EQ, these sound amazing. With the added stickers, it does sound a bit more closed off than the 800S (which I had and sold), but these to my ears are more exciting to listen to than the 800S was (again, after EQ). The 800S sounded bass-less, but with these, they seem to slam a bit with EQ. A very enjoyable listening experience. Soundstage sounds about the same as the 800S as well. Big fan of these, and they compliment my LCD-X quite well (also have a 6XX and LCD-GX). Absolutely a blast for gaming as well. Was hoping they'd go on sale, but for $1100, this isn't the worst deal in the world. You can typically find them used for a few hundred less, but it seems like so few of these were made that they're hard to find in the used market. They had 2 left on here so I decided to treat myself and grab a pair. Do not regret the purchase.

What does top quality sound like compared to cheaper headphones?Tuning aside... Just detail/quality wise.These sound about twice as good as a hd560s/akg 612 in almost all aspects. They sound about 30% better than the akg 702s.And about 17% better than the 7hz timeless which are 260 dollars. (Obviously soundstage feel is bigger compared to iems. Like 300%)So TL:DR 300ish headphones/iem have about 80% of the quality of some of the popular top headphones.I'd it worth it to pay 2x-4x for that? Sure you can go even higher but at that point it's mostly tuning and feel of the headphone.If you use EQ then your getting a 800s for half price new. Don't let the idiots who pay 400 dollars for cables that don't do anything con you.Also don't do the sticker mod it's been measured by talented people and shown to not change the sound in any significant way. Just another trick of the mind.Sounds amazing after EQ, they have an open sound but it's still really in your head. You have to use software to emulate speakers in a room. Which they work well for...Before EQ the mids have a horn like tone too them.My only con is its really really heavy. But also the most comfortable over the ears I e worn. They basically rotate to your head and flap over onto your ears. So basically no clamp force however that means looking up or down they slide a bit on your ears.

The Hd 8xx has been under some negative light however in my own opinion I think it’s a very good headphone.The comfort is excellent, it has a very light clamping force, so if you like to jam out to songs this might not be the headphone for you because it might come off your head.The sound stage is excellent, it is very wide and revealing. However I must note that the sound stage is not as wide as the Hd800s but it’s a very slight margin. Some people might disagree but that’s ok.Imaging is top notch. I am able to tell where each instrument is whether it’s behind me, in front, left or right. Which in turn makes this a very good gaming headphone.The mids are somewhat to be desired. To me it’s not as bad as what people say it’s going to be but it’s more of a colder/darker tone and it’s not as bright as the Hd800s. Some people may like that in a phone and some people may not in my personal opinion I don’t mind it.The bass is alright, to me there is a little bit more punchiness to the bass but the detail in the bass is a little lacking compared to the Hd800s.The treble is reduced a little bit compared to the Hd800s which is good for some people. If you get fatigued by treble then the Hd 8xx may be a better option for you than the Hd800s.Your gonna need an amp for this since it has high impedance (300ohms). I prefer using tubes for the Hd 8xx cause it brings a little more warmth to the Hd 8xx. Using a balanced cable is the way to go. Using a balanced cable brings out more detail.Overall I would give this headphone a 4.5/5 which is excellent in my own opinion. If you can get the Hd 8xx on sale on drop’s official website I would recommend you do that instead.

So bad. I’d maybe pay $20 for these, but sadly these are bad. So bad. Someone, or a team of someone’s should feel ashamed of themselves.

First impression day 1:These are awesome. Best headphones I've personally owned. Ive had several others in sennheiser's HD line and none stack up. I am going to keep them because the sound is great. But I don't think I would pay $1000 for them again.Im running them off the standard DAC on the M1 macbook and an Emotiva Bassx 100 with the direct drive jumper in.I like the extended bass over the standard Hd800, its less tiring to listen to. Soundstage isnt what i was hoping, and its a tiiiiny bit muddy in the upper mids. I think getting $600 speakers would give you a better sound stage without much sacrificed in terms of sound quality. However overall balance is amazing as someone who likes somewhere between accurate and warm sound profiles.

You will notice how vast the soundstage on these is immediately. You will probably notice the strange frequency response too; it's v-shaped, but like two gnarly, bent fingers are making the v.It's horrible!!But all is far from lost:Get Equalizer APO, Peace GUI and Oratory1990's measurements, then tweak as required.Aah, now we're talking!!All the weirdness is removed, the stodgy, smothering bass is pulled back, the same vocal magic as found in the 600 line is present, the timbre and resonance are exquisite...And that soundstage!! Actually, it's so big it's more like a panorama (sonorama?!).At times, it can get just a bit much, especially on recordings from '68-'73 (ish) when some artists preferred hard left and right stereo mixes: it can seem so dislocated that the band's name should be Sly and the Extended Family Stone!All this is great, absolutely worth the $866 I paid for them... And then I added a Cayin HA1-MK2 to my source chain, and the things that tube amp do to these headphones is obscene. I have a 6hr test track playlist and went through it twice... In three evenings!

WOW, the soundstage of these headphones blew my mind, i have never heard anything like that, (i have owned HD 660, Byerdynamic DT 1990) now i have a standard when it comes to compare soundstage.Here the parts that i do not like:- NO BASS- Required more expensive gears (Tube amp to make sounds warmer for my taste, good DAC to make they sound better, i am currently running over PC DAC 24 bits 192khz and a ONKYO receiver) But for my budget, paying this much for a pair (1400CAD) that cannot perform "okay" by themselves is not "okay".RETURNED.