It's worth a shot. Lots of people are very happy with Sennheisers. Can't hurt to test drive a set and use the PEQ.
Equalization and Audio Adjustments:
- I applied the equalization settings from the AutoEq project using EasyEffects - from crinacle
https://github.com/jaakkopasanen/AutoEq/blob/master/results/crinacle/GRAS 43AG-7 over-ear/Sennheiser HD 800 S/Sennheiser HD 800 S ParametricEQ.txt.
- The sibilances were too harsh, but now it's much improved. This is my favorite EQ configuration out of the seven I've tried so far.
Headphone Performance
- The Sennheiser HD 800 S headphones are definitely unique, but they're not ideal for all types of music.
- For tracks like the Tekken Soundtrack, bass-heavy headphones would provide a more enjoyable experience, but that's more about the 'fun' factor rather than actual sound quality.
Comfort and Design
- I really enjoy these headphones, although they don't form a proper seal around my head. It's not a big issue, but it's something I noticed.
- The included cables are very flexible, but the 6.35mm one is unnecessarily long.
Sound Quality
These headphones reveal flaws in tracks that aren't well-suited for them.
On the Beyerdynamic DT 770 Pro, lower-quality songs actually sound better, which is fine for casual listening.
The HD 800 S lacks the sub-bass emphasis that I noticed in Focal Utopia headphones from 2020.
ASMR
- So far I haven't found an ASMR track that I particularly enjoyed with these.
- Some sounds sound too far away. But I think that's a source problem.
Song Impressions
- One track that really impressed me on the HD 800 S was 'Mili - Rightfully'. The YouTube version doesn't do it justice, but the FLAC version sounds incredible.