Sennheiser HD800 S Review 

this was a very informative video, thank you!!

I'm so glad I found you. I own both hd800 and hd800s with the hdvd800. I use them several hours every day to compose and make orchestrations an I still prefer the original Hd800 for few reasons and is exactly what you mention from 12:00~, Hd800S sacrifice the imaging quite a bit in my opinion. I totally agree with you when you say that the 6kHz peak is not a problem at all for orchestral music, in fact, I found that often beneficial for my work (I'm not using any mod). The only bad aspect that I found about the hd800 is the really poor paint job, and maybe that is not coming with the xlr cable like the hd800s. This is probably the best review on youtube of the Hd800/ hd800s. You have my respect my friend. keep the really awesome work.

Great ground covered. This is a fantastic review. Thank you so much, fellow head-fi family member. ;)

Maybe a bit late comment but yours is definitely the most interesting and informative review of HD800S. Revisiting my HD800S listening experience and comparing them to HEKv2 on the Bryston stack I still appreciate sound stage, instrument separation etc.. but in comparison HD800S are sounding a bit disjointed: clear, sharp separation of instruments and voice with like empty space in between. I think you described something very similar and attributed it to dumping of the sound reflections inside the cups, and the dust covers playing some role in it. I removed dust covers and indeed I can hear the difference: the sound is just slightly diffused but there is more synergy between the instruments, overall more pleasant listening experience. I expected more treble, sharper sound, but there nothing like that.

I bought these from amazon just to check them out. I returned them but loooooved! them sooo much! Just not enough over my current ones. But came close to keeping them.

Am I weird that I would never debrighten the HD800 sound. It is so revealing and crisp

Nice review; I own the HD 800

I have both 800 and 800s, I pair them with the chord mojo. I am suprise how significant the improvements are, much better sound signature. they seem to be easier to drive, with increased mid range detail and texture.

Great insightful video. I have to say my HD800s is paired to the Schiit Jot, I couldn't be happier. Have you managed to get a pair of Monoprice M1060?

After owning a pair of HD650's many many moons ago I was quite excited when Sennheiser announced the HD800. After researching them however, it seemed that the company had made a near perfect headphone technically but certainly not as musically friendly as the 650's. Consequently, my first-hand education with planars began which has brought me to the HiFiMan HE1000 V2 as my current reference. Perhaps I should also mention that I am engaging in perhaps a one man war against companies such as Focal which introduces the very first headphone they have ever developed at the hefty price of 4k. Not to be outdone, Audeze, which has made more than their fair share of mistakes along the way has seemingly finally come up with a bona fide TOTL can with the LCD-4 but their headphones, which are certainly lush and musical, clamp my noggin much too tightly to shell out 4k. Have only heard positives regarding the Abyss but at full retail of $5495.00 they damn well should be. Lastly, Dr. Bian has gone beyond the realm of what some would define as sanity with his "Susvara" priced at "only" 6k. Folks, we've gone past the pricing for Stax which has been known for years as the very best. I apologize for going off on a rant. I certainly respect Currawong's knowledge and expertise in the world of HeadFi but his, along with Tyll of "Inner Fidelity" are the two most negative reviews that I have seen or read regarding the 850S and I really wanna like these headphones since I wanna buy a pair. I think I understand exactly what Currawong was referring to when he described the sensation of listening to the female singer. I believe he is stating that the listener is unable to hear the natural ambience and reverb of the studio on that particular recording. The statement that her voice is heard as coming from directly in front of you to me, would be a positive since that is how one hears musical reproduction on a loudspeaker system. Still, a doubt has been placed in my mind and I have always hated attempting to critically listen at a retail outlet.

I'm surprised you hadn't actually made a video about the820 yet

3:40 Do your Ether Flows have a different grill on the back? (Also, is that a CURTA calculator on your shelf?)

Thank you so much for all your detailed reviews and they truly helped me a lot. I viewed your review on WA8 and recently bought one to drive my beyerdynamic T5p and T1 2nd gen.. However, almost every reviewer explained how awesome HD800s on WA8 .If you heard all of the combos above could you please compare whether HD800s sounds better than T5p and T1 2nd gen. on WA8? And is it necessary for me to get a pair of hd800 or hd800s as well for WA8?

5 years later... HD800S is still in summit-fi territory (given the strengths unique to it)

most of it was not about the HD800s

What a mind-opening review! Thanks a lot. I'm wondering if those would go well with the Oppo HA-1. I've heard it's good - also price is somewhat reasonable - but I don't know much about solid-state DAC/AMPs.

Thanks for sharing your opinions of the HD800S! Do you find with a tube amp like the transportable WA8, are the HD800S too syrupy for your liking? Cheers.

Can you review the new flagship headphones from denon the "Denon ah-d7200" ? Also a comparison between them and seinheiser hd800s would also be appreciated.

How would you compare 800s with the Ether flow, which you previously reviewed?

Hi Amos I have just recently acquired a Mojo and HD800s and i am generally pleased with the setup.I am definitely more of a "Musicality" person and appreciate a analogue ,warm sounding setup with a wide soundstage in particular(which has drawn me to he Sennheisers)- I feel i am 85% happy with the current setup What would be your recommendations for improvements (given my tastes), i would really like to keep the HD800s and improve in other areas, therefore would changing the Mojo to something like a WA8 or Wa7 or Hugo TT dramatically improve things or only marginally ? I have also considered purchasing the Sennheiser HDVA600 and using the Mojo as DAC ? Lastly what do you recommend for improving headphone cables ? and are balanced cables a better option Many Thanks in advance

What portable amps would you recommend for a hd800/800s (and also hd650) to make use of its dynamics, soundstage and detail (and not giving a fake pleasantness) - apogee groove, leckerton uha 760, Ibasso balanced portable amp, ifi micro idsd, Cypher labs duet or anything else? I haven't seen many people talk of the apogee groove actually, you ever had the chance you hear one. Sennheiser themselves bundle one with a hd650 these days. And I just saw your review of ak 240.. Do they really have enough power in balanced to drive a hd800. How much power do they output to 300ohms (I don't see any power ratings/spec sheets on their site)? They seem like a decent deal actually considering their storage, ui, networking and dac/amp (if the amp was powerful enough). Any idea of the newer ak 380? For desktop, any idea of audio gd nfb 11 and nfb 28?

Thanks for the review. But is the Pioneer X-HM26/Pioneer X-HM26 a good enough amp for the hd800/hd800s? If not, what is the best sounding amp with dac (no need to be portable amp) in your opinion for these headphones at the cost of around or under 500 USD (eg: Schiit Jotunheim , Chord Mojo) ?

if you had to pick 1 open back headphone from these ( hd800s - lcd 3 - he1000v2 - edition x - Ether - stax SRS-3100) which on would it be ? and a closed back ( Ether C - aeon flow - lcd xc - foster thx00 (or any) which ones would it be?

just curious, do you prefer open or closed headphones? when I tell my audiophile friends I like closed more for its isolation and base response they instantly call me crazy. not that I don't like open, it's just nowadays you can find closed cans with the same amount of soundstage

The point I get from this review is HD800 is more transparent sounding than HD800s? I was planning to buy HD800s to listen to orchestral OST. Seems like the old HD800 is more suitable for this purpose.

I actually just bought a pair of these used, and am surprised that I'm actually hearing the exact issue you were talking about - almost like a lack of sound that is "in your head". However, I decided o give Meier's crossfeed (foobar2000 plugin) a try to see if it helps and it did help quite a bit.

how are these with edm music and what would be better then these with that genre great review sir.

yes I was referring to dac amp combos or daps. I would especially love daps that can behave as dac amp combo (like fiio x5) with USB out from phone/laptop. Anything that you can recommend below 500$? And are the ak240 or ak380 worth it - the storage and dlna streaming features are killer deals for me, but how about their amp performance (out of balanced preferrably). A cleaner amp with more power would give more headroom for eqs like sonarworks. I've seen a person recommend me the ifi micro idsd, but I'm not sold on it yet. And how has the ak held up with it's battery. Does it show much wear after 2 years of use? Also Ak site doesn't mention any specs for output power! Schiit fulla can pull out 30mw into 300ohm I think. Btw why is 800s easier to drive than 800?

How do the HD800S compare with the Hifiman HE1000 V2??

4:04 SHWWWEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEET JANE

Did you ever feel that the bass at times could be a bit distorted?

I just got these but my god the connectors are the absolute worst. A little disappointed they don't included the 4pin XLR cables anymore either - so I'll definitely be getting a 4.4mm to 4pin XLR adapter.

Would the Sound blasterX G6 be a decent pairing for these headphones?

What are Hind headphones? Never heard of them.

basically in my experiance, these are for people who want the HD800 but still are young and have their hearing. i could not listen to the original 800. Look, i know you're going to ask "what amp were you listening to." But a piece of equipment like the original 800, that needs me to make expensive amp purchases to "fix" the sound, there is something wrong. I could point out that the precise stereo image you were taking about is great for mixing and gaming btw :)

I liked this video because you made me want these less. appreciated.

what....planars were around in 2009.. they were originally introduced in the 70's I think.

When I purchased the HD800, I noticed exceptional definition - and the same “bump.” Some music sounded great, and a few suffered. Mods came and went, but only partially addressed the problem. For me, the solution was to get aftermarket calf leather pads. Suddenly, the mid-range bump vanished, and there was a welcome but subtle bass enhancement. Frankly, there was a slight loss of imaging; but every song sounded truer. I no longer feel the need up upgrade to a HD800s. A switch of head pads made all the difference.

hello guys Has anyone tried them with audio-gd master 11(singularity) dac-amp I,m hardly thinking of buying 800S and pairing them with master 11(thinking of buying this also) I own focal elear and unison research SH tube amp-dac but i want one more amp that had balance input... So ..what you think ?

It's a less forgiving headphone for sure. I like the more defined stereo image, but poor recordings suffer more. Blame the recording, not the cans.

Will you ever review the 009?

In reference to using either the 800 or 800S as a tool for music mixing and mastering(not going to be able to use my Mackie HR824s as much in apartment setting), which do you consider a better fit for that application? I've heard the HD600's are magical for this and don't necessarily have the width but that's ok for more contemporary styles of music.

I also hear the highly damped character of these headphones. From what I remember of auditioning the Utopia, it actually seemed a bit sharper in the lower treble than the HD800 S. Perhaps this sharpness helps deliver a more natural sound for some music, though I suspect for classical and perhaps jazz as well, I would prefer the depth and smooth treble of the HD800 S. And for other genres, I wonder if there is any point in going beyond the HD600? It just doesn't seem like they are recorded well enough for better transducers to make much of a difference.

what amp and dac would you recommend to pair with the hd800S?

To be honest, I first put my HD800S through a solid state amp, and I had the same 'piercing' issue as my HD800 when I had them. I only found 800S pleasant with tube amps, so I basically they are still quite bright to my ears.

When are you gonna do a Real review of the HD 800S, in this video you talked a lot, but said very few. I was hoping for a bit more effort from you in this review. Searching for a review of the HD 800S but this doesn't work for me.

probably a silly question, how would these be for pc/console gaming? What would be some alternatives if you know of any or heard someone speaking highly of others in your circle?

These are better than the hd800s mk2 and the hd820, because they are less controlled and suppressed and FAKE warm.. Yes they are a bit FAKE and fatiqueing, but can sound pretty good with a good combination of cable and gear. The built in cable in the 800 series, totally makes the sound analytical and non musical, I suggest changing it to silver dragon or Cardas.

I own the 800S but have never compared it to the 800. What I can say is that the new 2nd generation ToneKraft cable from Audio Envy takes it to a whole new level. More bloom in the bass and mid-range without sounding overly lush and way more musically and emotionally engaging. It would be painful going back to the stock cable.

May I know what cable is that please? I really hate my stock HD800s Cable :(

I know it sounds a bit stupid, but based on your review the HD 800 S could be perfect for games like this one: www.hellblade.com/. They used binaural recording as well there, and the effect was nothing short of stunning.

NIce review, mike could be closer.

EQ out the 6K hump/bump in the original HD800 Problem Solved Bass in the HD800s is not accurate compared to the HD800 Bump up 30HZ by 3db and lower 6K by a DB or two and the HD800 will sound more REAL The HD800s raise 80HZ That sucks Its COLORED sound its NOT real HD800 is more real in the bass All you have to do it with the HHD800 is raise 30hz and lower 6K Then if you want to dampen the sound reflections that is an option too

Is the sibilance and warble in your speech due to hearing damage or malformed palate?

The word is Sibilant, the original 800s should have never have left the Sennheiser factory!

HātetchD-800 and HātetchD-800S. lol

Currywang

I think if you filmed a little more zoomed out the video of your face would look more natural.

This is not a HD800S review actually. don't waste your time watching it

My Momentum 3 sounds better than these LOL way more punch to the sound