Eric5676

This I will have to look into more seriously. Pardon me if I'm being too dense here (probably) but here goes: http://www.headamp.com/home_amps/gsx/images/gsx_k1000_high.jpg See the front? Won't I need two 3 pin XLRs to connect into that properly? One for the left, one for the right? Or am I missing you here somewhere? (Again, probably) A kind offer but you needn't be troubled.

Quite frankly: So am I. For me, any curiosity here is strictly "I wouldn't mind trying balanced just to see if it's worth anything" and has no negative reflection on what I already have including the 800s in their present form. In contrast, I remember the stock cables on my previous cans, the AKG 701s. Those needed a little help.

LOL Here's what I might do for fun, like some others suggested: I'll buy some cheap crap that I can scuttle and experiment with to hell and back and get my DIY skills up from practically zero to something halfway viable. Whatever I do, I do NOT want to mess with the 800s stock cable.

Me, too, but I couldn't resist here.

Who and how should I go about doing that? What'd you have in mind exactly? I want to make sure I understand you so I don't make any mistakes.

Like yesterday, anything that's not news coverage. Football is on the viewing docket for me today just like yesterday.

Cool story, bro.

It's an amazing variety of opinions in this thread. On page 1 we went from "lolcables" and such to look at the last several posts on this page and page 2. It's come full circle.

^^ That's interesting. That's the kind of mixed feedback I see out there a lot. Some people hear a change and then they're not even sure if it's a good change or not.

Indeed. But I'm a long ways from buying anything along those lines.

Noted. I don't see any Stax mentions on Moon Audio. Perhaps I missed it? Audio Cubes II - High Fidelity Audio Products ^^ What's the story on these guys? Look at that (supposed?) inventory.

Don't get me wrong: I'd LOVE to hear those. If I wanted to check something like that out, where and how could I do it? Meets? Where can you even buy those, if at all? Agreed. It really seems hit and miss with debatable gains. You can get XLR to SE adapters for those times when you need to connect to a "normal" headphone jack but that's just more money on cables.

I think I'm probably best where I'm at right now with the 800s. I seriously doubt I could find appreciably better without probably having to go into electrostats and really expensive stuff like that. I'm not prepared to do that especially when I've seen a number of impressions from people that suggested that the 800s at least hung respectably in the ballpark with those uber expensive setups. That's good enough for me. When you get up in these kinds of price ranges I don't think there's a such thing as a "bad" headphone vs. like what you're saying: Excel in one/some ways and fail in others.

Today, being fully mindful of what day it is like I have been the last 9 years...as usual I will be doing everything BUT having any kind of news media on this weekend. I will be watching football. I will be going out and enjoying the weather and so forth. Make it the best day you can folks however suits you. Never forget.

Sounds promising. I'll be keeping tabs on these.

This is the kind of post that can get me into trouble. As much as I love the 800s, this is kind of feedback that can tempt me to do something evil. If no one minds: It doesn't mean much, but I've never heard of this company. Who are they? I gather at this point these phones aren't just FOTM? I really don't mean that question in a heckling way.

That'd be funny. He does have a great voice, though. Always did.

There's no way I could know up or down without firsthand trial of some sort. I'd have to at least start out with an obvious question: What are your tastes? I'm looking at your profile and see someone that's light years ahead of me on gear across the boards. Obviously with a background like that I'm going to be looking at your recommendations and thinking to myself: "Yeah, I need to find a way to try those things out." After that, I'm seeing the title below your screen name and I still haven't wrapped my brain fully around the mess that ended up being. Wow. All I know is that I do think the 800s are awfully damned good.

Yup, I got the message.

Interesting. I'll partially agree with you on that treble although I've only noticed it a little on "less than great" recordings and it's (for me) a small enough quibble that I've just dismissed on the recording. I love the soundstage and imaging with these things. No negative there for me. Keep in mind: My previous cans were the AKG 701s and I know what you're talking about there with those! Yes, I would be a complete noob on the DIY stuff (and some other things) as I'm sure this thread quickly and painfully advertised. I know the GS-X has kicked all kinds of ass for me in SE mode and I'd just be curious just to see what full balanced would sound like with it since I already have a balanced source ready to go in the form of the aforementioned 840c. I'm more than pleased to know that I can explore that avenue without passing a kidney stone or worse. Sidenote: Since I'm getting educated today and I didn't want to derail another thread with what might have been mistaken as a troll post: Those Audeze headphones...FOTM or real deal? I've never heard of that brand but of course, this thread quickly testifies that me not having heard of the brand isn't worth very much. Seeing a lot of buzz on Head-Fi and even here.

What would you consider the main flaw?

LOL, nice. Suits me just fine and suits my wallet especially fine. Since my source is already balanced maybe I'll try DIYing the cans to balanced for laughs and see what's what. If you guys really even think that's worth it and I'm halfway suspecting some of you at least don't.

Mid to late 90s in Miami, FL: George Takei (Sulu from original Star Trek) was on a book tour since he's just released his Trek memoirs. That will tell you the exact year. Borders was insanely jam packed out of control and this man was so kind and patient with everyone. He took time to chat with people in line, the mood of the crowd was excellent, and I really couldn't have been more impressed. Super class act. Super nice guy.

Excellent feedback. I knew no bunch would cut through BS for me (or even at me) faster than you guys. <- That's a pointed remark against myself, not anyone else. I have no problems admitting that I always have plenty more to learn and that's one of the reasons I come to a forum like this. Well...not exactly. The spare cash, such as it is, would have come from something else that's not really important. See I know I've seen discussions about cables and expensive cables and "watch out for snake oil" and stuff like that but I wasn't sure how far that went. LOL, now I do. Thanks for not being too mean guys. Like I said: I'm here to learn. I know I have a lot to learn so I truly do appreciate the feedback. Believe it or not: This thread's made me and my wallet VERY happy. Definitely appreciate the suggestions for alternate and far more cost effective plans. What/where are some good DIY outlets I should look at if I decide to get into this? Here's a real can of worms (albeit oft repeated) I might open and also shows again that I know I have plenty to learn: Is trying to balance a set of cans even worth doing at all? I know what others say but I want to see what this crew has to say about it. I certainly am in NO way dissatisifed with what I have at present. http://www.head-case.org/forums/home-source-components/6264-ps-audio-perfectwave-dac-5.html#post387862 ^^ Guilty as charged.

So now that I've had the Sennheiser 800s since they came out and I've been using my ever faithful Headamp GS-X, I'm thinking it's time to put this over the top and finish it. I've been using the Cambridge 840c connected via XLRs to the Headamp for convenience even though I know that does nothing for me because I have a second source using the RCA inputs for SACD and DVD-A. Most likely I'm going to go through Drew at Moon Audio. A while back he had set me up with Black Dragon cables on the AKG 701s and I thought those cables that headphone out in terms of some refinement and a little bit of natural warmth which was nothing short of a miracle with those cans. I'd stayed singled ended at the time. I'm deliberating between his new Silver Dragon cables or Cardas. The default XLRs are Neutrik Golds which I suspect are plenty good enough otherwise an additional $125 gets me Rhodiums. I might consider getting some 3 foot XLRs on the side since the current ones I'm using between amp and source are some no name $30 numbers I bought at a local music shop a couple of years back. Perhaps they're good enough. I've never had any real serious complaints with my setup. I know synergy and matching up is important to a point anyways. Here's Drew's quick breakdown of the two choices I'm considering: I do listen mostly to classical and film scores but I do also listen to other types of music as well. I know Drew is going to steer me right whatever I end up doing. The wildcard could also be a source change at some point down the road if certain things fall a certain way for me. In any event: Fire away!