Especially if you would have to import the ODAC from the US.

Quote from: includemeout on 2019-02-23 17:03:29

Quote from: Cavaille on 2019-02-23 00:49:05

Frequencies below 60 Hz are attentuated but "bass" starts a lot higher than that.

   
Could you elaborate more on that for a layman like me, please?

   
As a musician, there's not a lot of uses for frequencies that low. Technically a person can hear them, but they can't hear anything about them or what's going on with them. Theres only really the presence of absence of one sound that can be produced down there and it's a low muddy rumble. You can almost always High Pass all of that range of frequencies out of your music and nobody would ever know you did. In fact a lot of people wouldn't be able to hear it if you left it in because most systems can't even display most of those frequencies because you don't need to unless you're trying to display the sound of an earthquake or something.

Literally 80% of the time I see professionals in studios engineering music I see them wearing Sennheiser HD600 headphones. And I could never understand why they weren't wearing more expensive headphones. I chalked it up to budget concerns, but now I realize how dumb that is. Like these celebrity billionaires who own different Lamborghinis for every day of the week couldn't afford some 1700$ headphones. Now I realize they don't use those headphones because they're a downgrade rather than an upgrade.

You know, it's funny. Knowing what I know now, when I go back and listen to the people who I listened to before I really start to notice the marketing BS they throw in. All the scummy tactics and made up vocabulary.
It's like wearing the sunglasses from the movie "They live". Once you put them on you suddenly see who all the alien infiltrators are.

Reading audiophiles arguing on forums becomes the funniest thing you'll ever hear once you realize those are basically two adults getting irate and insulting each other over what EQ setting they prefer.

You can see this beautifully on https://www.innerfidelity.com/

Quote from: Le Croissant on 2019-02-14 20:55:33

Actually I'm dirt poor. But considering the enjoyment I get out of music and the amount of time I invested in ripping my CDs. I thought I deserved to splurge just once in my life.

(...)

But I do think that with headphones you get what you pay for (at least up to a point).

Actually, especially headphones are prone to audiophile BS. You buy an expensive headphone; you'll need an equally expensive headphone amp; if you have both and want to "enter the highest spheres" you'll also need equally expensive cables (whether it's a power cable or headphone cables). And it goes on and on.

What you need to do: you have to look at frequency responses. Doing that you'll see that either HD-800 or the Sony are coloured headphones. Many very expensive headphones are coloured messes (there are few exceptions). You have to ask yourself if you want to spend the extra money for a headphone that has a built-in equalizer that's always active and cannot be switched off or if you want something cheaper you can tune to your personal desires.

I have heard the HD-800, I didn't like it. Its sound had too much treble and lacked bass. Built quality is top notch though. I have owned a HD-600 for roughly 15 years and whatever headphones I try in store, I always come back to it, it simply is one of the most neutral headphones on the market. Having said that, using a certain software (Sonarworks), I was able to make an ATH-M50x almost sound like the HD-600. You'd also be able to make a HD-600 sound like a HD-800. Or, in effect, the ATH-M50x sound like the HD-800 (or the Sony). You just need to know their respective frequency responses and whatever phase distortions they create.

When Harman researched how people prefer to listen to music over headphones they did exactly that: they used a cheap headphone (HD-518 I believe) to mimic much more expensive ones. Did it work? Of course it did. Don't believe the crap you read on Head-Fi. It's a commercial forum that's bent on selling as much as possible and whose people are very, very friendly (obedient?) to manufacturers.

I won't give you any recommendations, what I prefer may be your nightmare. To me, the seat is important. I sold the ATH-M50x because its earcups were too small for long-term listening (I like them big and space-y). I bought the HD-380 Pro instead. Compared to the HD-800 it's dirt cheap. Can I mimic the more expensive headphone? Yes I can. But why would I do that when the HD-380 Pro sounds good enough on its own and can be equalized to be neutral?

EDIT: of course, the HD-800 can also be equalized to sound neutral. But why would I spend almost 2000 Euros if I can do the same with headphones costing a tenth?

Tyll wasn't the most objective reviewer but at least he had some practical sense (and he measured).

Are you familiar with this one:? https://diyaudioheaven.wordpress.com/
A mix of measurements and impressions

Lol this thread.
Can't you guys get it into your head that Summit Fi purchases are from the heart and never from logic?

They're basically the same as buying a supercar, very dissuaded, but people who do hear and use them daily, appreciate what they got when they came back from work and put it on, using it for hours.
That's, their job.

Neutral headphone can't do that. Yes you can always add EQ and DSP for every change you want but that's more time spent on you playing around with software, some people think they're not worth it and prefer others doing it for them, just plug and they sound the same on anything they put it on. There's an allure in that.

Even try you might, DSP has its limits. It's not software that makes sound it's the physical object, the driver, the enclosure.

Worse is people that says and claim stuffs here most probably never heard what they're talking about, like at all.

The things said here, lol headphone ain't that simple.
Build, longevity, comfort, isolation, resell value, etc. Are different.

Every luxury goods has a price, and just lt those that have the means to enjoy what they want.
I do agree if you don't have the leeway to NEVER go and stretch your budget.

Just stick to HD600? That's actually a good advice, but really the reasoning behind it is just too exaggerated here..

Tho when I read OP's posts I can't help but think he made this just to dissuage himself, or crack some jokes with people.

Own the HD800 and used HD650 for years prior to that. EQ the HD800 in FB2k with VST plugin. You will never find the need to listen to HD650 again - at least I haven't.