Don't use Ebay, use AVExchange or Headfi forum.

Using the basic configuration editor(which I like more)

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Is there a way to EQ out the honk/shoutiness?

I owned both the (original) HD800 and HD560S together for about 8 months. I EQed both but it was the HD800 that really needed EQ to be listenable. I also demoed the HD800S recently, and that too would still need EQ for my tastes (it's less bright than the original, but still too bright for me).

In terms of technicalities, there is a lot of exaggeration in this hobby. I'd say the HD560S gives you 90% of the technical performance of the HD800. I actually prefer the soundstage of the HD560S because it is less artificially large (but this is totally personal preference).

Imaging on the HD800(S) is a strong point but it is also very decent on the HD560S. Bass can be improved substantially with EQ on the HD800 but not quite to the level of punch you can get out of the HD560S with EQ.

Comfort is the real issue with the HD560S in my view while a lot of people really enjoy the HD800 for it's comfort (low clamp). I personally, still had comfort issues with the HD800 (I do with most headphones it seems).

My advice, if you really want to try an HD800, is to look for a used unit in good condition. That would be around $600-700 and it's a very good deal, especially if you can EQ. I've seen a lot of people recommend it with tube amps as well. If you don't like it, you can always resell it and not lose much (and there is still decent demand for the HD800).

Oh man, in 2000s I remember seeing the occasional post that FLAC/APE sounded worse than WAV files. These people seem... sane, by comparison.

Min maxing for low latency audio (i.e. music production) is a thing, Windows can absolutely have issues that you'll need to debug and fix, if possible. But regular media consumption? It's not a thing unless you just happen to have some serious driver issues, like having DPC latency spikes that cause audio buffer underruns even with stock Windows audio stack which has a huge buffer. You maybe, maybe want to add a resampler to foobar2000 if you can possibly be bothered, you 100% won't hear the difference, but just for shits and giggles it's like a minute of work, so might as well (and maybe Win10 made the resampler better so it's even more pointless, I don't actually know).

As was mentioned, you should definitely look into troubleshooting your installation. Most of the time, it is simply that the Equalizer APO configuration has not been installed on the actual playback device that you are currently using.

With that said, start here to get back to the basics:

https://www.reddit.com/r/oratory1990/wiki/index/faq

And from the above FAQ, there is a linked YouTube video to go through the full setup steps as well:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=doAjkiLIkKA&list=PLFb68BU6_bvwQNIqgK7her48LPCong-PN

It's more daunting than it actually appears, so just take it one step at a time. You've got this. :)

You don't need peace to use Equalizer APO, and I actually much prefer Equalizer APO's built-in GUI.

I was lucky to be in a position to just go out and get another pair at Best Buy during their BF sale while I was waiting for the eBay return to process. Agree with you that for someone that doesn't own a lot of Apple accessories, they may have a harder time telling that their fugazi Airpod Max aren't authentic without anything to compare to.

They do feel rather cheap, but the Apple warning + terrible sound quality really gave it away. The wired Apple headphone sound cleaner and have more range than whatever drivers were put into the fake cans.

The most important question always boils down to: how long have you used them?

If you've been using the your old pairs <insert literally any headphones> for years on end, and only just listened to these <again, insert literally any other headphones> for a few hours, then give it time. Listen to the new ones exclusively for a week or two on end, and then go back to the old ones to see if you still feel the same way.

The advice is generic and mundane in nature, but it's tried and true to root out any preconceived biases, and to give the new pair a fair shot.

We’ll that could be the problem lol. I’ll give that a try.

I use them on an Ifi zen stack & they slap

The Space Gray one is the authentic one. When you go back through the photos again, notice how the knock off has so many lines where you realize they had to glue or snap separate pieces into place, whereas Apple's designs are engineered uniformly.

the gui you use for eq apo

No, what’s peace?

Is there an alternative to peace?

did you also install peace?

IMO no it's not worth it, not even close.

Given that you've said it's not in your price range and you would have to save for a long time... there is a very high chance that you will be disappointed. I know this might be an unpopular opinion here but flagship headphones are not worth their price for the vast majority of people. You're so far into diminishing returns territory at that price level, you can get something marginally worse for a fraction of the price.

If you had money to burn and were just trying to find something to spend it on, then yea whatever. It's not worth saving up for when you already have a good pair of headphones. That's just my opinion.

I went from the AKG K701 to the HD800. Let me start by saying there was a drastic difference, but not without any flaws. I quicky realized that the HD800 sounded flat and fatiguing. I sold me old amp and DAC and bought the Sennheiser HDVA 600 and RME ADI-2 as well as the XLR cable. I can tell you that the sound at times is magical but, I still I can't listen for longer periods of time because of ear pain even with EQ.

In my opinion it is a headphone that has stood the test of time and is still considered reference. It still holds its own against the very best headphones out today (at least in soundstage). I say go for it! Perhaps, you won't find them as fatiguing and for the price you won't find any other headphone that can compete especially at a used price. Good luck! 😊

The processing requirements to render plugins doing multi band eq and compression in real time on 12 tracks at once are much higher than like, rendering an mp3 if that's what you mean.

You have to get pretty close to hear it, it's not a room filling sound at all. And you cant tell what's playing, juat that something is. The isolation, however, is below average. Like maybe 20% worse than s12's

Lol. Broke the bank on Cyber Monday? A man's man.

The computer sends 1's and 0's to the DAC, that's it. None of this bullshit is making the 1's more one-y or 0's more zero-ey.

People are so dumb sometimes, it's almost painful. Honestly, the prevalence of this kind of absolute stupidity has made me lose interest and distance myself from "audiophile" communities. I might check this sub once a week tops vs daily like I used to and I never visit audiophile forums anymore. I'm satisfied with my gear, and stuff like this makes me feel dumber for having read it and generally just sours me on the audiophile hobby overall. It makes me feel like there is a large overlap between "audiophiles" and conspiracy theorists. You have to have a tremendous lack of critical thinking skills and large amount of confirmation bias to fall into these silos-of-stupid and I want nothing to do with any of it.

Lol that’s the spirit

Eq apo works. Troubleshoot your installation and switch to SFX/MFX or LFX/GFX. Especially if you're on windows 10+. It's goofy like that.