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Sennheiser HD800S Review (Headphone)

Jimster480

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Interestingly, this endorsement is in the first post but within the review index they are listed as not recommended.

Is there a reason for the discrepancy that I'm missing?
Interesting find. I actually never knew there was a list like this which is actually accessible! Maybe @amirm can shed some light on your discovery. It could be an error, or Amir changed his mind.
 

Thomas_A

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I think the Panther scores would be more useful in the list. They seem better correlated to Amirs impression of sound quality with and without EQ.
 

sprellemannen

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Interestingly, this endorsement is in the first post but within the review index they are listed as not recommended.

Is there a reason for the discrepancy that I'm missing?
Amir has corrected it into recommended within the review index.
 
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Arnas

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The HD800S is the best reference headphone to date, specifically for those who are overly sensitive to “the irritating range” around 2-2.5k.

But I feel the scoop/dip from ~1k-4k keeps the HD800S from being as truly timeless and universal a reference head phone as it could have been, for EVERYONE.

I also realize the dip in this region was done deliberately between the German & Austrian headphone soundstage wars of the late 00’s and 10’s, due to the increased distance perception gained from attenuating these areas.

But I think the gains made in spatial perception is destructive to the overall impression, and time will show the error in these pursuits of insanely huge soundstages at the sacrifice of the truest reference FR.

Sennheiser’s next flagship HD can, the successor to the HD800S, should attempt to increase the 1k-4.25k range, and shoulder the perceived lessensing to the artificially inflated WIDE soundstage.
I feel like they need to increase mid presence, but only by little since i think harman mids are too forward and low mids too lean.
Harman bass is great start and i think + 2 or 3db in presence range would excellent in new flaship whenever it comes.
 

Robbo99999

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Can someone please share their EQ for APO based on Amir’s post?
Maiky76 did his EQ of them here:
 
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Maiky76 did his EQ of them here:
Thank you! I am a little confused - seems like those numbers are different from what Amir was showing in his screenshot though?
 

hellshinoda

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Am I correct to say that the stock pads of Sennheiser are made of Velour materials? I'm trying to find replacement pads but don't want to change the sound of the HD 800s. So, I just think that choosing something of the same material would not impact the sound much. Stock pads from Sennheiser should be the top choice but they are constantly out of stock now.
 

GaryH

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So, I just think that choosing something of the same material would not impact the sound much.
This isn't a good assumption - the inner padding composition, exact pad shape and dimensions, compressibility etc. can all have significant effects on frequency response, not just the outer material. Below is an example of pad differences for the HD800S as measured on a proper industry standard rig that has the same acoustic impedance of the human ear, without which results will be inaccurate due to different pads changing the acoustic impedance of the headphone, which will not interact with the acoustic impedance of the ear simulator in a predictable way, so even relative differences in frequency response between different pads would be inaccurate:

Harman 2018-Sennheiser HD800S-Sennheiser HD800S (Dekoni Fenestrated Sheepskin Earpads) (1).png
 
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solderdude

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Am I correct to say that the stock pads of Sennheiser are made of Velour materials? I'm trying to find replacement pads but don't want to change the sound of the HD 800s. So, I just think that choosing something of the same material would not impact the sound much. Stock pads from Sennheiser should be the top choice but they are constantly out of stock now.
There are some differences between various pads on the HD800.

hd800-pad-tests.png


The differences are not huge because the pads are kind of shallow and the metal mesh around the driver takes care of the needed 'leakage'.
For the HD800(S) this is not the task of the pads. In most headphones it is just not in the HD800(S).
This is where the HD820 is very different and has very different pads.

So you can use other pads but personally, when having bought an HD800(S) I see no reason to skimp on replacement pads (as well as the headrest) and simply buy the original.
The org. pads changed a bit over the years anyway.
I ordered very similar looking (but poorly fitting) imitation pads that keep 'popping off' by themselves because of poor fit. They sound very similar but not exactly the same.
 
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Carlo2AC

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Am I correct to say that the stock pads of Sennheiser are made of Velour materials? I'm trying to find replacement pads but don't want to change the sound of the HD 800s. So, I just think that choosing something of the same material would not impact the sound much. Stock pads from Sennheiser should be the top choice but they are constantly out of stock now.
Yes, but not just the material.. density also plays a big factor
 

hellshinoda

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There are some differences between various pads on the HD800.

hd800-pad-tests.png


The differences are not huge because the pads are kind of shallow and the metal mesh around the driver takes care of the needed 'leakage'.
For the HD800(S) this is not the task of the pads. In most headphones it is just not in the HD800(S).
This is where the HD820 is very different and has very different pads.

So you can use other pads but personally, when having bought an HD800(S) I see no reason to skimp on replacement pads (as well as the headrest) and simply buy the original.
The org. pads changed a bit over the years anyway.
I ordered very similar looking (but poorly fitting) imitation pads that keep 'popping off' by themselves because of poor fit. They sound very similar but not exactly the same.
Got it. It’s a little bit hard to purchase stock pads where I am. Even though there are some Senn offficial distributors here, they are all out of stock
 

solderdude

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Perhaps order a cheap knock-off from China and use that one till you can get the originals again ?
These knock-offs don't cost that much (at least mine didn't).
 

datle171095

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I had to order the original one from a UK retailer, as @solderdude has mentioned the cheap one can not fit into my 800s because the plastic ring inside the velour is a bit smaller than the original. Additionally, the build quality and materials are terrible even though they are not cheap, about 35$ at the time of purchase.
 

solderdude

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The cheapies I ordered from Aliexpress were only € 7.- but the fit is poor.
The 'lambskin' were € 12.-
 

Garrincha

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Cutting through this whole thread, I recently bought an used HD800. With EQ the sound and especially the soundstage and spatial properties are so amazing, I can hardly think of how another headphone possibly could sound better, the higher distortion at higher SPL never became audible to me and it is very comfortable. Sure, EQ is needed and it is made of plastic and not such a quality built like Meze Elite or some others, but for me a real endgame (with my current knowledge). I can recommend it immensely.
 

xavx

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Anyone having a HD800 / 800S and who tried other headphones able to recommend a much cheaper headphone with similar qualities ? Am sure there would be a tradeoff but am not ready yet for a 900€ plunge 2nd hand.
FYI, am coming from a Sennheiser HD560S and AKG K702. While the K702 is said to have good soundstage, I don't find it layered and precise. It's rather blending instruments together except part of trebles. The HD560S gives a much better overall sound IMO despite being less spacial. So maybe a HP like the 560S with the spacial qualities of the K702.
 

Robbo99999

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Anyone having a HD800 / 800S and who tried other headphones able to recommend a much cheaper headphone with similar qualities ? Am sure there would be a tradeoff but am not ready yet for a 900€ plunge 2nd hand.
FYI, am coming from a Sennheiser HD560S and AKG K702. While the K702 is said to have good soundstage, I don't find it layered and precise. It's rather blending instruments together except part of trebles. The HD560S gives a much better overall sound IMO despite being less spacial. So maybe a HP like the 560S with the spacial qualities of the K702.
My own opinion, being an owner of 3 units of K702 and 3 units of HD560s and a few other headphones, I'd agree with your assessment that K702 is a bigger soundstage than HD560s. In my experience compared to my other headphones that you can see in my sig those two headphones are best soundstage headphones of the bunch - so I think you'd have to take a leap of faith in trying the HD800s if you want to go further. I've not tried the HD800s, but my intuition is saying that if you want to go further with soundstage then that's your only option. Finetuning the frequency response for any headphone will help with soundstage & imaging though, so there is that. My different HD560s don't have the same layering unless the EQ is right for instance. I think you should just save up for the HD800s and then be in a position to sell it on or return it if it doesn't meet your expectations.
 
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