Great write up !! I’ll copy and paste what I said somewhere else - but its worth repeating here IMO.
Even though I have not heard the non-Pro personally, from how accurately you described the D8K Pro I feel I now know the non-Pro too.
2 Likes
I desperately need to stop listening to shit I am trying to sell. Getting some ear time on the OGs to write that more in depth sound section and jesus fuck do I genuinely like everything about these more than the Pros with the sole exception of detail…
1 Like
Hmm - now that I have the Susvara I have detail well covered. You have me wondering now, do I sell the Pros and look for a Non-Pro - could that hold me over for a fun bassy yet technical natured headphone until I can manage a 1266 TC? So yeh, dilemmas abound in this hobby always some angle to play that “might” be better…
In my situation common sense says stay on course the D8K Pro is a nice compliment to the Susvara for now. Also, the sound from these Final HPs is rather unique in its planar/dynamic hybrid nature. Not sure I’m ready to be without one just yet.
2 Likes
While I do think the D8K are a good compliment (contrast maybe?) to susvara, “bassy but technical” is not how I would describe them. That said, I also wouldn’t describe 1266 like that either. If you just want some more kick than sus has for you they may well be a solid pick, but if you want something with a bass texture/resolution focus there are better options IMO. Hell, being dead honest, I think HD800S have a more technicaly proficient bass than D8K (though its not wholesale, D8K stage bass much better for example), much the less the D8KP, DV2, Utopia, or any number of other options. IMO, the reason to get the OG is presentation, organicness, cohesion, and richness.
If im honest, the more I listen to these today the more I am feeling like they are “empy but slightly less sparkle and actually technical”
3 Likes
Well there is a reason you do not see me make very many “review” oriented posts or comments because I choose words poorly. I am more an end user and appreciator of gear, not necessarily good at distilling its qualities - other than emotional impact.
But, I will say - that I think the Bass and lower mids of the D8KPro are “bassy” in that there a good quantity of impact/slam and its also extremely detailed and textured which I equate to bassy with technicalities - my definition I suppose.
I agree here the 1266 certainly wins in quantity and does it in a controlled manner but not with the same detail or texture as the D8Kp - the bass on the D8000 Pro is something special indeed, no argument here.
With the headphones I’ve heard to date, the Susvara, 1266 TC and D8000 Pro would be my 3 to have. One not really better than the others, just different. At this level they are all good and the last one I listened to is my favorite, lol
2 Likes
Why do the D8000 lag and the D8000 Pro are instantly gone? From what I’ve read they’re more like siblings than cousins in the signature or is there something else I’m missing?
1 Like
The OG and Pro have extremely different sound signatures. TBH I think they dont sell super well because they just arent as well known in the west. From talking to a few Japanese audiophiles its the exact opposite situation in their home market where the OGs are significantly prefered over the Pros. FWIW I did a write up of my impressions of the differences in the d8k thread
5 Likes
Yep, they are significantly different. I tried both extensively before ultimately deciding to get the OG and not the Pro. This is despite the Pro having very noticeably better resolution, detail, and technical ability than the OG. The Pro is missing the bass quantity/impact and ‘fun’ factor that the OG has IMO.
4 Likes
Yup. My idea would be OG tuning with pro technicalities. If I could get that I would have 0 qualms paying even RRP for it. It would be 100% worth it even at that price IMO
2 Likes
I would sell my 1266 TC for that 100%. I just hate the idea of using EQ on a high-end headphone. I did consider getting the Pro and just bass-boosting it, but then that idea pissed me off. I shouldn’t need to bass boost a headphone that expensive…
4 Likes
Peoples expectation of what reasonable Bass response is all over the show, I find the pro has plenty of Bass.
But I don’t listen to electronic music, and started in Hifi before there was such a thing as a Hifi sub, largely listening with stand mounted speakers, so my expectation of what reasonable Bass is is probably different to a lot of newer listeners.
6 Likes
Absolutely, everything is very subjective of course. The Pro’s bass quantity is definitely not too bad, I just preferred the OG presentation. I do, however, base my expectations for headphones on live music. I firmly believe the vast majority of headphones grossly underplay bass. Both in quantity and macrodynamic impact.
I see a lot of people talking about a certain headphone having a ‘neutral’ or ‘balanced’ or ‘not-bloated’ bass response and I then really have to question if they have ever heard a live bass drum before in their life… but then, on the other hand, you also have the crazy bass-heads that really love… for some reason… an insanely exaggerated and completely distorted fart bass. I think I’m in the middle of the two extremes haha
2 Likes
I’ve heard plenty of live music, and while the issue is it’s usually so loud it’s hard to understand the balance of what your hearing. Also I’m not sure that live music is an ideal for me, it compromised in it’s own way.
I find different peoples takes on headphones fascinating I for example still think the Bass on the D8000Pro is among the best Bass I’ve heard on any headphone, it actually gives a Bass guitar the timbre I expect from a Bass guitar, and the number of headphones I think do that is 2, or possibly 3.
I do like the 1266, it’s an extremely impressive presentation, for certain relatively poorly recorded genres, it can add new life to recordings, but I find I listen to it less and less.
4 Likes
From the more brief time I’ve heard the non pro, I think the pro better represents shape, timbre, texture, and really anything time domain when it comes to making the bass more convincing. For the non pro, I thought it offered better tonality, proper weighting without being intrusive, and a sense of roundness and softness that was pretty pleasing, and better punching power, but it didn’t offer the stellar technical aspects of the pro (which made the pro more convincing for me personally). But I can see people on either side
4 Likes
I fully agree that live music is usually extremely loud and compressed. Definitely pros and cons there.
The D8000 Pro’s bass quality, timbre, texture, layering, and detail were sublime. I just prefer a little more quantity and impact for my tastes.
My (and most others) main gripe with the 1266 is the comfort and fit. I think they should collaborate with Meze and somehow figure out how to get the 1266 sound to work in the Empyrean form factor. That would be the ultimate headphone…
2 Likes
I agree here. The Bass quality on D8KP is pretty damn incredible. I do think more upper mid focused acoustic instruments such as non-metal string guitars/banjos/theorbo/other weird shit tend to have more natural timbre on the OG though. I dont find the pros have the proper body and tonal density these instruments have in real life to be super convincing.
3 Likes
I think depending on the amp, if you can get something to even out the signature (slow down the drivers a bit and add more weight, and offer a more organic presentation) the pro can become pretty convincing, that’s why I think one of the reasons why it does so well on tube amps from my experience. But it’s still not going to suddenly take on the aspects of the non pro either. I totally agree that a pro technical level but non pro tuning would become a hit for sure
Also, going to move all this to a different thread and we can continue the discussion there.
Moved
2 Likes
I actually find it quite comfortable, though there was a lot of dicking about to get to that point, my issues are with the texture and timbre of the sound.
I had inexperienced listener listen to them, and she described the sound as brittle, which though subtle pretty much describes what I hear, though that did improve a bit with break-in. I find the stage a little unnatural as well.
I mean I’m picking faults here, it’s an astonishingly good headphone, one anyone looking at TOTL should hear, and I listen to and enjoy mine on occasion. And I can absolutely see some people preferring it over the Susvara, depending on what they listen to and what they listen for.
4 Likes
I need to hear these on some other tube amps tbh. I was not a fan of them on the Forge or WA8 basically at all (I thought it general minimized their typical stage and presentation advantages while fully displaying their reduced detail compared to 428 and 13R). The Phantasy II was actualy quite promising but the exageration of that like 5k peak got kinda grating and made it not an all day listen for me. I would be pretty interested to try them on something like an EC/DNA/etc but not sure if thats in the books for a fair while still.
1 Like
Yeah, the strange thing though is that while you can setup the 1266 to have a very comfortable and traditional fit (fully sealed around the ears like other headphones), it sounds worse than an awkward, loose sealing fit… which gives more air and bass quantity/impact which I love. So bizzare. They definitely do have a cold timbre with recessed mids, honestly they aren’t worth the price and other headphones like Susvara, Utopia, D8000 Pro etc. beat it out in certain qualities and categories. But I really love the overall presentation for metal music. It depends on your preferences… I might end up back with the D8000/ Pro at some point… or an LCD-5 even… need to try it though.
My main gripe with the Susvara was it is too relaxed and boring, especially with energetic genres. I would not recommend it for metal, rock, EDM, rap etc. For jazz, acoustic, vocals etc. definitely end-game material
2 Likes