Sennheiser HD800S Review (Headphone)

[dadduah]

So what are the best closed backs youve tried?

Can't speak too much to sound quality of each closed-back I've tried cus it has been a while since I've heard the majority of them, but I found the Ether C Flow 1.1s to be my favorite overall, very good comfort and decent, if somewhat boring, sound signature that took well to eq. I also liked the Aeon Noires, but headphones with oval pad shapes seem to cause hotspots in the upper jaw/lower ear area for me, so I sold them (then rebought them, and repeated the process two more times...). And people say the HD 820s are super somfortable, but I get the same hotspot situation I've gotten from other headphones with them, I think its because the pads are thicker than those on the HD 800Ss and/or more clamping force. So I will be parting with them.

Honestly I'm in a pretty good place with the HD 800S for primary listening and then just using my IE 900s if I need some isolation. If I do decide to get a pair of closed-backs, based off what I've read on ASR and my experience with the company, I would check out something from DCA, either the E3 or Aeon Noire X, though I am still a bit weary of their pad shapes.

 

[Westsounds]

Can't speak too much to sound quality of each closed-back I've tried cus it has been a while since I've heard the majority of them, but I found the Ether C Flow 1.1s to be my favorite overall, very good comfort and decent, if somewhat boring, sound signature that took well to eq. I also liked the Aeon Noires, but headphones with oval pad shapes seem to cause hotspots in the upper jaw/lower ear area for me, so I sold them (then rebought them, and repeated the process two more times...). And people say the HD 820s are super somfortable, but I get the same hotspot situation I've gotten from other headphones with them, I think its because the pads are thicker than those on the HD 800Ss and/or more clamping force. So I will be parting with them.

Honestly I'm in a pretty good place with the HD 800S for primary listening and then just using my IE 900s if I need some isolation. If I do decide to get a pair of closed-backs, based off what I've read on ASR and my experience with the company, I would check out something from DCA, either the E3 or Aeon Noire X, though I am still a bit weary of their pad shapes.

Good reply thanks. The 800S are a great headphone, and as far as I’m concerned there’s nothing better, particularly at low level detail retrieval and separation of the layers within the music. They do need EQ though I believe to sound their best, for me anyway. I have some ear buds as well I could use for the closed sealed (private) listening, without disturbing anyone else in the room I suppose. It is still nice though to have a full sized closed back as they just provide that bass that open backs don’t really match, it’s just a design and physics thing I suppose. They just do make a better bass canon in general, just looking for one that can near match the way the 800S picks up information from the recording and sounds great though is rare.

And I don’t find the 800S an amazingly comfortable headphone, as light as it is. It’s still a cumbersome thing on your head and it kind of floats there, but you never forget you are wearing the big thing. I can't really do any marathon sessions with it on my head, I eventually just end up taking them off because I’ve just had enough of wearing it. The cost you have to pay I guess for having such a great driver and design on your head. Apart from that, they are phenomenal things to listen to.

 

[Robbo99999]

Right now I have a pair of Sennheiser HD 820s that I've been using with Oratory1990's eq profile and the sound is good, with the usual tradeoffs you'd expect to get from a closed back. Some past headphones that I eq'd to Harman were Mr. Speakers Ether C Flow 1.1s, DCA Aeon Noires, 1st gen Meze Lirics, and ZMF Eikons (I've spent a lot of time looking for a closed-back I like). I've also been eqing my in-ears, specifically a pair of Sennheiser IE 900s with Oratory1990's profile.

I see ok, it's good experience to have a number of different headphones and EQ them to Harman to see what's going on. How do you find HD800s bass when EQ'd to Harman? To me it's been about the only weak point, as in the deep bass doesn't hold much detail. I suppose it's gonna depend what material you listen to and if you have low bass in the stuff you listen to. (I've got the HD800 used with Oratory EQ)

 

[dadduah]

I see ok, it's good experience to have a number of different headphones and EQ them to Harman to see what's going on. How do you find HD800s bass when EQ'd to Harman? To me it's been about the only weak point, as in the deep bass doesn't hold much detail. I suppose it's gonna depend what material you listen to and if you have low bass in the stuff you listen to. (I've got the HD800 used with Oratory EQ)

I think the Harman bass is pretty good for what I listen to (lots of indie rock, left-field electronic, and ambient). That being said, I gravitate to being more of a treblehead than a basshead so take my words with a grain of salt.

 

[dadduah]

So what are the best closed backs youve tried?

I've spent some more time with my pair of HD 820s and I've decided to keep them around. Took a bit of time to get the fitting just right compared to the HD 800s, but it's pretty decent once you get it right. After applying eq, it just feels like a closed in HD 800s, and while I'd rather be using the 800s most of the time, it's nice to have an option for when listening conditions aren't quite ideal for an open-back.

 

[A Surfer]

I've spent some more time with my pair of HD 820s and I've decided to keep them around. Took a bit of time to get the fitting just right compared to the HD 800s, but it's pretty decent once you get it right. After applying eq, it just feels like a closed in HD 800s, and while I'd rather be using the 800s most of the time, it's nice to have an option for when listening conditions aren't quite ideal for an open-back.

Feels like a pretty expensive solution though when without a doubt there are more performative closed back options that are also much less expensive.

 

[dadduah]

Feels like a pretty expensive solution though when without a doubt there are more performative closed back options that are also much less expensive.

For sure, I just really like the comfort of the HD 800S and figured the 820 was the closest I could get to having that in a closed-back. I was also in a position where I could be a little frivolous with my money, so figured I'd take a chance on them. That being said, I think if the oval pad shape and clamping force works for you, something from Dan Clark Audio is probably the better choice for a closed-back these days.

 

[Westsounds]

For sure, I just really like the comfort of the HD 800S and figured the 820 was the closest I could get to having that in a closed-back. I was also in a position where I could be a little frivolous with my money, so figured I'd take a chance on them. That being said, I think if the oval pad shape and clamping force works for you, something from Dan Clark Audio is probably the better choice for a closed-back these days.

Thats interesting, thanks

 

[A Surfer]

For sure, I just really like the comfort of the HD 800S and figured the 820 was the closest I could get to having that in a closed-back. I was also in a position where I could be a little frivolous with my money, so figured I'd take a chance on them. That being said, I think if the oval pad shape and clamping force works for you, something from Dan Clark Audio is probably the better choice for a closed-back these days.

Makes sense, and I owned and loved the HD800S with both tubes and solid state amplification. I also had an HD820 on hand for several weeks, but really could not get a proper seal so I did not enjoy it at all, but arguably I also never really heard it properly.

Still, perhaps I'm being overly critical here, but for that kind of money, a headphone should not be so terrible for positioning sensitivity. Feels like a significant design fail.