Meridian Unplugged - Powered by MrTechGuy.co.uk Forums Discussion HiFi & HT Chat Senn HD800 headphones and Meridian signature sound

Picking up this thread to avoid starting a new one, does anyone use HD800s in conjunction with Meridian kit and (ideally) Meridian's apodizing filter?

I'm SPECIFICALLY interested in knowing whether or not the oft reported "sibilance" is absent with the Meridian apodizing filter (and therefore is due to sub-optimal digital filtering).

TIA.

I use mine connected to my MC200, if that's any help

At one stage I also had it connected to my G61R

Thanks Shaun. And? :-)

VK are there any particular tracks where sibilance may be (but shouldn't be) evident? I know some tracks where it's on the recording.

No, just wanting to know if "sibilant treble" is common with this combination.

I've read various negative comments about the treble of the HD800. I'm very curious how they would compare to Audeze LCD-X for example�.

I have detected no 'sibilant treble' whilst listening to my headphones. The only thing I did was to pick a headphone, amp which had been reviewed with the 800's.

Not sure if this is of any help but I am extremely happy with my set up

Cheers

Shaun

I listened (all too briefly unfortunately) to HD800, LCD-X, LCD 3 and Oppo PM1 this morning. I've no background to comment in a meaningful way other than to say they were all fantastic headphones differing fairly subtlety in terms of presentation. I'd need to sit somewhere comfy for several days to even begin to get critical! One day�

(HD800 were "bright" rather than neutral)

It would be nice to get this subject going again.

While I have complete Meridian system, I also listen to headphones a great deal. I have just purchased the Sennheiser HD800S to replace my HD800 headphones. I find the 800s to have a much smoother sound especially in the area around 6K. I use a highly modified Bottlehead Crack.

I recently purchased the Meridian Prime Amp and Power Supply. It did not compete with the Crack which is much less expensive.

Best

Interesting, I bought a pair of HD800S's headphones, driven by a Sony NW-WM1Z and didn't enjoy this experience very much. I was assuming this was because it needed a better amp to drive them, would this be your feeling too? Does anyone have any idea whether they would work well with the Meridian Prime headphone amp?

Edo,

I have the HD 800's and love the sound. That said, I'm a very small guy with a a narrow face, and have never found them particularly comfortable. For me, they are much less comfortable than the Sennheiser HD580's I used to have.

I'd make sure you try them before purchasing them.

Regarding the high-frequencies, I don't find them sibilant or fatiguing at all. To my ears, they sound completely natural.

The bass, when the music calls for it, can be genuinely startling. I wouldn't have thought it possible for headphones to produce such deep, utterly clean bass.

Good luck with your purchase!

I have the 800S version (and use the Sennheiser HDVA 600 amp and the 818v3 DAC). I think they are fantastic headphones and I don’t have problems with sibilance, comfort or anything else. I did find that isolating the amp from vibration helped the overall sound quality.

(PS It’s possible I may sell them, so if they pop up in the Restaurant it is no reflection on the quality of the headphones - I need closed-back ones and knew this when I bought them Hey ho.)