Sennheiser HD800S Review & Comments

Is this priced £139.9 or 1,399? o_O
 
Is this priced £139.9 or 1,399? o_O

No he means 1,399. as in 1400 pounds with a little change.
1400 pounds for head phones? surely that's only for the sound engineers in top end industry?
How could Jo blogs justify that expense for headphones?
 
I'd love the opportunity to listen to these. Just to see if I could tell the difference. I strongly suspect I couldn't. I'm like the audio version of those people that can't tell SD from HD so stuff like this seems mad to me.
 
Great review, as ever. I'm trying to get my head around this new Best in Class award. What would you say is the class in this context?

With the exception of a tiny number of specialist options at a much higher price (Stax, Final, Abyss etc), this is the best all round combination of performance, build, comfort and compatibility there is. I did originally award a Reference badge but the badge policy changed in the meantime so this might be taken to be the best headphone over £1,000. As such, I will over the next 12 months, identify the best in class for £0-500 and £501-999
 
Ed, have you heard Audeze? Different tech and sonic style. Wonder how you think this compares to their offering? I have the LCD-2s.

Martin
 
certainly nice to see some headphone reviews but could we have some in a more reasonable price range :)
 
How could Jo blogs justify that expense for headphones?

He can't. But if there were no market for these, they would not be made.

Martin
 
I don't see how these are going to sound any better than my beats...








:p
 
He can't. But if there were no market for these, they would not be made.

Martin
this is true. Much like the 1500 pound iPhone XS LOL.
But then im sure people who are serious into music and use headphones on a daily basis would see this as useful. Not me. But in retrospect I wouldn't hesitate to drop 1400 pounds down for a 3 channel power amp to boost my LCR front stage.
 
I spent a grand on my Audeze LCD-2s a few years back. Brilliant things and have never regretted a penny.

Martin
 
With the exception of a tiny number of specialist options at a much higher price (Stax, Final, Abyss etc), this is the best all round combination of performance, build, comfort and compatibility there is. I did originally award a Reference badge but the badge policy changed in the meantime so this might be taken to be the best headphone over £1,000. As such, I will over the next 12 months, identify the best in class for £0-500 and £501-999
Very interesting, cheers. I must say, I heard these at the Munich show this year and was mightily impressed, so certainly agree with your review.
 
The true cost in stepping up from mid-fi to something like this is quite a bit higher than just the headphones because you need a suitable DAC / amp which adds at least a few hundred more pounds to the price. Since they're so transparent you'll still need a pair of less resolving phones if you want to listen to poorly mastered music in an enjoyable manner.

My understanding is that the HD800S addresses a 5k peak that some people found uncomfortable in the HD800. Some HD800 owners applied a mod called SuperDupont Resonator (SDR) to address the aforementioned peak. If you can get a good deal on second hand HD800's and you're not treble sensitive or don't mind modding then it could be a viable option.
 
Sure you couldn't make that "Best in Class" badge any bigger? Could almost see a few other things in the browser window at the same time.

While I'm at it, not sure how anyone could reconcile giving a £1400 pair of headphones a "10" in value for money.

G
 
These are in planer territory. Would love to see if they compare to ones around this price. I've never heard anything above my HD600 so I don't know. Just wish we had Massdrop here with HD58XX for silly money. There's s lot of very good cans out there.
I know the Oppo PM1s are now consigned to history and they had to be the best value planners available at the time. Would I spend £1400 on another pair of 'phones, quite possibly although Senn's reputation for being very analytical and treble sensitive are a bit off putting especially as my only music source is CD or SACD. I would be more interested in how they perform with some of today's artists who's dynamic range never ventures anywhere near double figures.

I think that, at the moment, my headphone amp which is direct from my Marantz SACD player, is not powerful enough for the Senns. Something I'm going to have to remedy in the near future, but I'd love to listen to a well run in pair of 800s.
 
How could Jo blogs justify that expense for headphones?

I'm surprised to see that comment here of all places. Different strokes.

Maybe Joe lives in a small flat and this is a primary system, alternative for a 2ch/AV system (of which I'd expect most on here are >£1400)
Maybe Joe travels a lot, and these are a way of kicking back and relaxing in the hotel after a day's work
Maybe Joe prioritises audio over cars, watches, holidays etc, and treats himself to these
Maybe Joe thinks - "you know what, these will be the last headphones I ever own, why not do it properly"
Maybe Joe is just sufficiently well heeled that he just wants a fancy pair of cans and £1400 just isn't all that much of a bother
 
Vulgar styling that only a Premiership footballer could love. Tasteful they're not. :D
 
I'm surprised to see that comment here of all places. Different strokes.

Maybe Joe lives in a small flat and this is a primary system, alternative for a 2ch/AV system (of which I'd expect most on here are >£1400)
Maybe Joe travels a lot, and these are a way of kicking back and relaxing in the hotel after a day's work
Maybe Joe prioritises audio over cars, watches, holidays etc, and treats himself to these
Maybe Joe thinks - "you know what, these will be the last headphones I ever own, why not do it properly"
Maybe Joe is just sufficiently well heeled that he just wants a fancy pair of cans and £1400 just isn't all that much of a bother

Ok joe calm down, you can buy what you want mate.
 
While I'm at it, not sure how anyone could reconcile giving a £1400 pair of headphones a "10" in value for money.

Look at it this way- the most affordable headphone I consider to be clearly better than these is the Final D8000 at £3,000 so if you consider that the HD800S is less than half that, I think that counts as spectacular value.

Vulgar styling that only a Premiership footballer could love. Tasteful they're not. :D

You're going to love the headphone we've got coming next...
 
You're going to love the headphone we've got coming next...

Beats?:eek:

Vulgar styling that only a Premiership footballer could love. Tasteful they're not.

Footballers know little about music otherwise:

1. They wouldn't constantly listen to that godawful Rap, Hip Hop and R'n'B.
2. They wouldn't use Beats headphones where the sound balance is off completely.

Mind you, I went to see New Order at the Royal Albert Hall in 1985/6 (can't remember which) and stood near Pat Nevin. Cool guy!:)
 
I met Pat Nevin at a party once. Nice fella!

Ed, have you listened to any Audeze?

Martin
 
Ed, have you listened to any Audeze?

Martin

Yes- and it's a game of two halves (Brian) for me. The full size headphones are well made, comfortable and have solid performance... but I've never been truly blown away by any of them.

The earphones on the other hand are outstanding. The iSINE10 is one of the best sub £500 options there is and I'd bloody love a pair of LCDi4s.
 
I know the Oppo PM1s are now consigned to history and they had to be the best value planners available at the time. Would I spend £1400 on another pair of 'phones, quite possibly although Senn's reputation for being very analytical and treble sensitive are a bit off putting especially as my only music source is CD or SACD. I would be more interested in how they perform with some of today's artists who's dynamic range never ventures anywhere near double figures.

I think that, at the moment, my headphone amp which is direct from my Marantz SACD player, is not powerful enough for the Senns. Something I'm going to have to remedy in the near future, but I'd love to listen to a well run in pair of 800s.
I'd recommend trying out some of Focals recent offerings if you want something less analytical and easy to drive. I have the Focal Clears which have a lovely tonal balance and a fairly neutral frequency response with a dash of fun. They're very detailed without being analytical and quite easy to drive. You won't get the same soundstage width as the HD800(S), which whilst loved by many can come across a bit dissected at times IMHO. They are French, however, so their longeivity might be up for debate. :D

Nah, cans aren't for me. IEMs please :p
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