I agree. You do need an amplifier that is at ease driving these headphones. I think that a lot of reviews may be tainted by the amplification used. While I wait for my Phonitor x to arrive (now have been waiting 5 weeks) I am presently using a Drop THX AAA 789 and it takes about 75% of that amp to drive this headset. I think that the HD800S can sound thin if not being driven by solid amplification.
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I concur with the others about the need for a good amp, especially for body and low end strength. My preferred 800 S setups usually duplicate my old HD 600 setups. It too sounds thin on a weak amp, but fills out with the right chain. Neither the 600 nor the 800 S requires a beastly amp (e.g., as demanded by Dan Clark planars), but they want a fair amount of power.
Don’t forget the role of the DAC in perceived brightness. Many Delta Sigma DACs generate great numbers, but to my ears they grossly overemphasize the top end at expense of atmosphere and nuance.
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I am feeding a Qutest from HQPlayer in Roon and find that the 3 to 5K range can get harsh, but I am thinking it is my Windows 10 i7 machine (Where the core and HQPlayer are running) corrupting the sound. This is not the thread to speak of player software and hdwr. I will post there.
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Thanks everyone for the replies and great info!
What’s the opinion on the Bifrost2/Lyr 3 (stock tube) stack for the 800s?
I was literally running that combo about 30 minutes ago, to include the stock Tung-Sol tube. It’s a rich and easy going setup, but as always it’ll depend on your personal taste. The Lyr isn’t a wide or technical amp, but the 800 S is wide and technical headphone. As such, they balance each other.
It moves the performance toward warmish, mid-focused, full, and rock/pop production standards but away from being a laser or classical scalpel.
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That works exactly. Thanks! I appreciate the confirmation and the purchase reassurance 
HD800S isn’t so much lacking bass quantity as it lacks bass impact. The bass is there, but it’s every bit as wide and ethereal as the rest of the soundstage which can give the impression that it lacks bass when really the bass is just pushed out away from you, much as the rest of the soundstage is. I think this is why boosting the bass in eq isn’t a particularly effective remedy.
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That was probably what happened to me in my early days of the HD800S. Bass was there but I just wanted a few dBs higher. My remedy was cranking up the volume. Brain wanted bass? Sure thing, ignore all other frequencies so it could focus specifically in the low end part of the spectrum. Tinnitus afterwards were inevitable. Had a lot of fun though. 
I do like the stock tuning but there are times it becomes unbearable. My hat trick is a brain “soft reset”. I engage Sonarworks and activate the classic Yamaha NS10 mimicked FR and listen to any song for a few seconds: It sounds a little shouty (in some songs) but OK nonetheless to me. Then, I disengage Sonarworks and go back to stock tuning. Hey, there’s bass and treble again. 
Mind trick is a powerful resource. Here’s a screenshot so one can see the dark sounding FR given by the profile (see the black target curve):
PS.: I don’t like the flat target (calibration) correction given by Sonarworks. It sounds off to my taste. This is why my Dry/Wet knob is never at 100%. I tend to adjust to taste.
PS2.: The shouty nature of this NS10 profile turns the HD800S into a V-shaped can when A/B’ing against stock tuning. 
Cheers. 
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This one is stellar with the HD800S. 
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Screw stock tuning. Summer is around the corner and it is “More Bass/Presence” season.
A boost in the presence region (~2.5kHz) by itself makes the HD800S shouty. However, add a good boost towards sub bass with a scoop in the lower mids and the HD800S may turn into a V-shaped bass cannon.
Stock tuning sounds boring in a 1-click A/B (the bypass button from picture above). 
When hearing too much bass or shoutiness, I just adjust the bass/mids knobs accordingly (+/- 1dB).
PS.: The amount to boost/cut can be seen in the left axis of the graph. The EQ being applied is the green curve and is driven by this VST in this DAW.
Cheers.
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Yep. The 800 S sounds “absent” without bass EQ. Phoning it in from the next room. With added bass and/or the right tube amp it becomes something else.
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Someday I’d like to try the HD800S from a high-impedance output. I’m curious to compare the bass quality/quantity vs the EQ option. People do praise the HDV 820 for a reason – output impedance is approximately 40 ohms, for instance. The price tag is really difficult to swallow though.
I run my 800 S about 90% of the time off OTL tube amps. Tube harmonics thicken and enrich the timbre, and improve the perceived smoothness of the mid range (vs. slightly edgy mids on solid state). Still, even with an OTL I boost the low bass a bit with my Loki.
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Just got my HD800S yesterday. I’m surprised at how well they’re driven off my BTR5 and even my Apple dongle.
The bass roll-off is apparent but isn’t as bad as I was expecting. That said, I might try some EQ today.
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I’m happy that you like it. Just wait until you try another setup. On a relative basis, flat EQ on solid state sounds like the music is playing from a room next door.
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Lol that doesn’t sound very chocolaty or danceable. I tried a little bit of EQ, but it just seemed to dull them. I didn’t put too much effort into it though. Might try a Zen Dac or something else with a bass boost.
We’ll see how long the honeymoon period lasts. The HD800S was always a dream headphone for me, but I’m glad I had to wait until now to get it. If it were a few years ago, I think I would’ve hated them.
Edit: Just got a Zen DAC. I’m not sure how much better it actually sounds compared to the apple dongle or the BTR5. I plan on switching back to those after a few days of using the Zen to see if I can spot any improvement or… whatever the opposite of improvement is. The True Bass button does give the HD800S more low-end, but most of the time, I prefer the HD800S stock which is really interesting.
Even though I can increase the amount of bass, it doesn’t really punch/slam hard enough to make that increase sound good. I’m enjoying them more by playing to their strength of sound stage, imaging and separation rather than trying to accentuate their shortcoming in the bass roll-off.
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So I had the 800s in the box for about 3 months now and finally got around to listening to it (been a few days). I kind of over exaggerated its staging capabilities in my head prior to listening. But it’s still plenty big and wide. I find it pretty much neutral, forwardly detailed, and energetic while maintaining great balance. Standouts for me are texture, grandiose staging, and a sort of agile/delicate/light kind of presentation.
Treble is on the energetic and forward side but nicely extended and airy. Mids are natural and organic with nice evenness throughout. Bass is well-textured and quick/agile. Although it isn’t as weighty and extended compared to other headphones, I don’t see a problem with overall quantity. Of course, each person likely has their own perception of what bass quantity is acceptable but I personally didn’t find it to lack any punch (just extension). Its textural capabilities, grip, and organicness more than make up for it. So, yes, an excellent headphone (assuming synergy and source gear are on point) worthy of legendary status imo. Even if it’s not to the preferences of some, it’s not hard to acknowledge what it offers.
A very uncommon take you’ve probably never heard before is that the 800s sounds very similar to the ie900 or, rather, the ie900 sounds a LOT like the 800s (except for bass) imo. Of course, you’ll still get a different experience going from iem to headphone. But tonally, it was like they took the mids and the highs of the 800s and shoved it down to the ie900. The main differences I found were in the bass, stage, and overall presentation. It usually takes me a long while to acclimate going from iem to headphone but this wasn’t the case with these two. It was quite surprising to find this out for myself.
That being said, the near similarities was only possible due to running the same source gear with each. The ie900 does not sound like this without proper synergy and source gear. Although I admit that the gear I used for the ie900 is not very realistic. But if it works, it works.
Chain used: auralic aries g1 (upgraded psu) → lampizator amber 3 → allnic hpa3000-gt → sennheiser hd800s/ie 900
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This is an excellent description of the HD 800s. As you say, individual preferences (and HRTFs) will vary, but its objective performance is undeniable. Of my three $1,000+ open backs - HD 800s, Ether 2 and Oppo PM-1 - I definitely see the HD 800s as the highest end in terms of technical performance. It also far surpassed the OG Clear, which I sold for that reason.
However, I have very limited experience of true flagships, and sometimes wonder what I would gain from something higher end. How would you say the HD 800s compares to the likes of the Utopia, D8000 (Pro), HE 1000, etc. for technical performance?
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I agree somewhat to do that. I do think the 800s scale higher than the clear, but depending on the chain it can be pretty even in terms of performance.
I personally have the utopia and d8kp. Imo you gain a lot BUT, at that point, the chain becomes even more crucial. So, it depends (your goals and budget). I’d say the 800s is quite different from the two that I wouldn’t mind owning one alongside the two flagships. But it would be the first to leave based on my preference and chain. That being said, in terms of straight performance, yeah you get a lot more resolving power from the two flagships (assuming you have your source gear sorted out). On my chain right now, the performance gap isn’t that huge but noticeable enough to abandon the 800s on the spot. I have heard that the 800s transform even more when driven with current drive amps but that’s likely a niche scenario. You would really have to love the 800s to want to invest in that for the long term.
Personally, if I were spending money on these flagships (which I have) I wouldn’t buy source gear less than what I already have. Not wanting to sound pretentious, but this level of gear is where my starting point would ideally be. You can still definitely enjoy these flagships on tiers below this, but there’s a lot of performance you’d be leaving out on the table imo. Some people are fine and happy with that, but I personally am not. Granted, I’m not THAT experienced with a plethora of gear but that has been my general impression so far. I have the holo spring 3 as my dac before the amber and I was left unsatisfied and underwhelmed in terms of performance. Not trying to take away anything from the spring, but it simply didn’t keep up. So, again, it depends on how much you’re willing to invest and dig. You really want to have a clear sonic goal in mind and plan it out. Or you can have more fun through trial and error which is really what the hobby’s about in my view. Once you hear a proper put together system it’s hard to go back. But that’s just me.
Also, just want to point out that gear on this level is quite attainable when you look at the used market. You don’t have to pay new, and you shouldn’t. You just have to be patient and efficient. But I’m also not implying that they’re not worth their price new. I think some are and some, not so much.
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