HD800 or HE1000

[Womaz]

Hi
Looking for some guidance. I have just bought the Auralic Taurus MK2 headphone amp and I am looking for new HPs to go with it.

I currently have Q701s which sound great with the new amp, but I am keen on either of the above. I tend to listen to a wide variety of music, but not Classical or Jazz.

Anyone have this amp with either of the above?

[annapolis Raider]

I also have the Auralic Taurus. I'm running it in my office with a Vega DAC. I also own HE 1000 which replaced Oppo PM-1. There are a lot of very nice HP out there. Just like home speakers, its a very personal choice. I love the newer planars. There are a few to choose from. IMHO, the OPPO and Hifiman are the most neutral of the bunch. The Senn's are a different sound. The Taurus does a good job of driving them all, so don't worry about that.

Good Luck, you'll have to listen for yourself....

[the professor]

I have both and I prefer the HE-1000. It is a headphone I can listen to for long periods of time. The HD800 (with Anax mod) is great value but still gets tiring after while. I'm using the Liquid Gold amp.

I will say the the HD800's get very fatiguing without the Anax mod.

[jdandy]

I will say the HD800's get very fatiguing without the Anax mod.

Jock.......My experience with the Sennheiser HD800 being driven by the Sennheiser HDVA 600 headphone amplifier is quite the opposite of your comment. I have listened to this headphone for as long as 4 hours at a time without a hint of listener fatigue or discomfort. It is a superior sounding headphone on every level over my previous Sennheiser HD600 and HD580 headphones. Not only does it sound spectacular to me, the comfort level is exceptional as well.

I believe there are endless combinations of source components, DAC's, amplifiers, interconnect, power cables, and headphone cables that will produce various levels of satisfaction with any headphone. Just like speakers, a headphone is only a single link in the audio chain that impacts the final sound, not to mention the quality of the recordings played. For me, the Sennheiser HD800, with the Sennheiser CH 800S balanced cable plugged into the Sennheiser HDVA 600 headphone amplifier, delivers an astonishingly rich level of performance that I find completely satisfying for both short term and long term listening sessions. Of course the general subjectivity of sound weighs heavily on personal preference, so opinions will vary.

[the professor]

Thats awesome!

I've never heard the HDVA 600 amp.

They are very comfy - no doubt.

Jock.......My experience with the Sennheiser HD800 being driven by the Sennheiser HDVA 600 headphone amplifier is quite the opposite of your comment. I have listened to this headphone for as long as 4 hours at a time without a hint of listener fatigue or discomfort. It is a superior sounding headphone on every level over my previous Sennheiser HD600 and HD580 headphones. Not only does it sound spectacular to me, the comfort level is exceptional as well.

I believe there are endless combinations of source components, DAC's, amplifiers, interconnect, power cables, and headphone cables that will produce various levels of satisfaction with any headphone. Just like speakers, a headphone is only a single link in the audio chain that impacts the final sound, not to mention the quality of the recordings played. For me, the Sennheiser HD800, with the Sennheiser CH 800S balanced cable plugged into the Sennheiser HDVA 600 headphone amplifier, delivers an astonishingly rich level of performance that I find completely satisfying for both short term and long term listening sessions. Of course the general subjectivity of sound weighs heavily on personal preference, so opinions will vary.

[jdandy]

Jock.......Here is a link to my HD800 and HDVA 600 review I posted on Head-Fi back in early 2014. The first three posts tell the story and I still feel exactly the same way today. Quite a few other Head-Fi members purchased the HD800 and HDVA 600 amp and posted good reviews of their experiences. It is a winning combination.

http://www.head-fi.org/t/702344/senn...dva-600-review

[Womaz]

Some great replies thank you, I am still debating. Big difference in price here in UK, £1100 to £2200, and I find it difficult to hear the HE1000. The nearest dealer is a 480 mile round trip!!

[Womaz]

An anax mod?? So I pay £1100 for a headphone and have to fiddle about .......its a crazy hobby -)

[annapolis Raider]

I would check to see if you can hear the Oppo PM-1 locally. They are similar in sound signature to the Hifiman and should be significantly cheaper. If you like the Oppo, then perhaps you double down to try to find the Hifiman to see if the they merit the cost difference to you. If you don't like the Oppo and prefer the Senn's, then you'll know the Hifiman is going in the wrong direction for you.

[Womaz]

I would check to see if you can hear the Oppo PM-1 locally. They are similar in sound signature to the Hifiman and should be significantly cheaper. If you like the Oppo, then perhaps you double down to try to find the Hifiman to see if the they merit the cost difference to you. If you don't like the Oppo and prefer the Senn's, then you'll know the Hifiman is going in the wrong direction for you.

Great idea, I can hear the Oppo at a local dealer, but not sure I am there pal right now as I demoed a Linn system there and eventually bought a Devialet from somewhere else ;-)

Do you mean that the PM driver is what makes the sound signature?
A part of me thinks I should go PM as I have 701s right now and the 800s might sound too similar

[annapolis Raider]

Not sure I understand the question.... Not implying all Planar Mags sound similar. IMHO they don't. But the Oppo and Hifiman do.

[Womaz]

Not sure I understand the question.... Not implying all Planar Mags sound similar. IMHO they don't. But the Oppo and Hifiman do.

Thanks for the clarification.

[Womaz]

Not sure I understand the question.... Not implying all Planar Mags sound similar. IMHO they don't. But the Oppo and Hifiman do.

If i do get to hear the Oppos they are also half the price of the HE1000 here in the UK ;-)

[Kuoppis]

If i do get to hear the Oppos they are also half the price of the HE1000 here in the UK ;-)

Heard the HE1000 at a show last weekend and thought they were very nice. The Oppo can however not match either the Senn or the Hifiman, it's a different league.

The HE1000 is way easier to drive than the Senn, to make the HD800 sing you need to invest a couple grand more. However, if you do, you get really a pristine setup.

I think it is really simple: either you invest more than double the price in the HE1000 or you get the Senn and invest in you amp/power/aftermarket cable/playback SW.

[Womaz]

So you would say that a Devialet 200 feeding an Auralic Taurus amp will not get the best out of the HD800?
If thats true I will probably go for the HE1000.
I have a pair arriving to test and I am trying to arrange a pair of HD800 at the same time. You never know my Q710s might sound just as good .-)

[Kuoppis]

So you would say that a Devialet 200 feeding an Auralic Taurus amp will not get the best out of the HD800?
If thats true I will probably go for the HE1000.
I have a pair arriving to test and I am trying to arrange a pair of HD800 at the same time. You never know my Q710s might sound just as good .-)

Hi Womaz, I think the Taurus should have power aplenty to drive the HD800s. IMHO the Senns do sound quite nice with Auralic. I have the Gemini 2000, which has less output power and it is a killer combo.

However, I am using the Auralic with an external PSU, Shunyata power treatment and with Audirvana for playback from a MacAir. Also, Replacing the stock cable brings quite a significant improvement to the HD800s, I am using a Cardas cable.

In a summary, the HE1000 is an easier load while the Senns are more difficult to drive. But if you have a system suitable to drive the HD800 you will get a headphone soundstage second to none.

[Womaz]

Yes I am hoping I can arrange to have a pair of HD800s on home demo at the same time. It will have the stock cables but it will give me a chance to compare. I have read a lot about the Cardas cables. 3m is just about the minimum I need to be honest. I have a Grado extension cable but I dont really want to use that with the new HPs.
Thanks for your input.

[Womaz]

Just to add I love the look of the HD800, the HE1000 I am not so sure.

[Womaz]

Just an update for all the people who might be interested.
My dem HE1000 arrive tomorrow so today my local dealer let me take the HD800s away for a few days. They are a brand new pair and he says they will sound better after 72 hours or so.
One concern I had was that I would not find much difference from my Q701s as I am 52 year old and ears probably not what they used to be.
Wow though straight out of the box. Soundstage soundstage detail detail and clarity. Absolutely different league to my 701s. They actually have a similar type sound to the 701s but just do it much better. When I put the 701s back on its like I have a cotton mud stuck in my ear.
I am no headphone expert like some on here and that’s why I see your advice. The jump up in SQ has taken me completely by surprise.
Slightly bright at times but I am hoping that will go with the burn in, and only one cable and no balanced cable are my only moans. Although HD800 may be better on standard anyway I have no idea.
The HE1000 arrive tomorrow and are double the price! So that will be interesting.
I know now that I will be buying some new headphones ………just time will tell which ones.

[Womaz]

So today I ordered my HE1000 headphones
They will be driven by my Devialet 200 into my Auralc Tauris MK2 headphone amp.
I had the HD800 and HE1000 on home demo over the weekend which gave me a chance to compare them. The HD800 arrived first and straight out of the box sounded amazing. The new amp is quite a step up from my old one so not sure how much of it was down to this. But compared to my Q701s they were in a different league. Soundstage, clarity and detail in abundance. I sort of regretted asking for the HE1000 as at this stage I thought they could not match the HD800.
I was wrong. The HD800 is an amazing headphone and if I had never heard the HE1000 then I would have been very satisfied with them. But the HE1000 arrived and changed all that. Wow!
In my opinion soundstage is even better than the HD800. In short I felt it offered the same as the HD800 but was just more pleasing to my ears. The HD800 on certain tracks could sound a bit bright to me, some female vocals like Birdy for example had too much of a hiss for my liking. I feel the strengths of the HD800 would be with Classical music, I would imagine it excels at that.
I took advice on here and tried to EQ out some of the brightness and after about two hours experimenting I achieved it. Well to a degree. The reason I even tried this was the large price difference. So I thought I had achieved this, until I put the HE1000 back on. It again just sounded better, more natural. More forgiving possibly.
I have an album by Amber Rubarth-Sessions from the 17^th Ward. Not usually my kind of stuff but I have grown to love this over the last few weeks. A track called Tundra I thought would be perfect to hear the HD800 on. It was, but again the HE1000 just did it better in my opinion. The percussion on this track with the HE1000 is absolutely stunning. Then a bit heavier stuff. Royal Blood, Arctic Monkeys, Foals etc. The HE1000 just did it all so well.
I much prefer the look and the fit of the HD800 , a simple and beautiful design, oh and I much preferred the price too , but it was always going to be about the one I enjoyed the most and that was undoubtedly the HE1000.
I just wish I could have the looks and fit of the HD800 with the sound of the HE1000……maybe one day -)

[annapolis Raider]

Good Story Womaz, enjoy..........

[the professor]

I really like my HE-1000's. I pretty much agree with everything you said.

Congrats.

So today I ordered my HE1000 headphones
They will be driven by my Devialet 200 into my Auralc Tauris MK2 headphone amp.
I had the HD800 and HE1000 on home demo over the weekend which gave me a chance to compare them. The HD800 arrived first and straight out of the box sounded amazing. The new amp is quite a step up from my old one so not sure how much of it was down to this. But compared to my Q701s they were in a different league. Soundstage, clarity and detail in abundance. I sort of regretted asking for the HE1000 as at this stage I thought they could not match the HD800.
I was wrong. The HD800 is an amazing headphone and if I had never heard the HE1000 then I would have been very satisfied with them. But the HE1000 arrived and changed all that. Wow!
In my opinion soundstage is even better than the HD800. In short I felt it offered the same as the HD800 but was just more pleasing to my ears. The HD800 on certain tracks could sound a bit bright to me, some female vocals like Birdy for example had too much of a hiss for my liking. I feel the strengths of the HD800 would be with Classical music, I would imagine it excels at that.
I took advice on here and tried to EQ out some of the brightness and after about two hours experimenting I achieved it. Well to a degree. The reason I even tried this was the large price difference. So I thought I had achieved this, until I put the HE1000 back on. It again just sounded better, more natural. More forgiving possibly.
I have an album by Amber Rubarth-Sessions from the 17^th Ward. Not usually my kind of stuff but I have grown to love this over the last few weeks. A track called Tundra I thought would be perfect to hear the HD800 on. It was, but again the HE1000 just did it better in my opinion. The percussion on this track with the HE1000 is absolutely stunning. Then a bit heavier stuff. Royal Blood, Arctic Monkeys, Foals etc. The HE1000 just did it all so well.
I much prefer the look and the fit of the HD800 , a simple and beautiful design, oh and I much preferred the price too , but it was always going to be about the one I enjoyed the most and that was undoubtedly the HE1000.
I just wish I could have the looks and fit of the HD800 with the sound of the HE1000……maybe one day -)

[Randy Myers]

Congrats on the new headphones!

I love my new McIntosh headphones also. I hear some great things about the HE1000. Sure you will love them!

[SoundRebels]

HE1000 are "a little" more open, vivid, dynamic and airy then PM-1 and even LCD-3. For my ears they are closer to truth then others.