Sennheiser HD 800 S Over-The-Ear Audiophile Reference Headphones - Ring Radiator Drivers with Open-Back Earcups, Includes Balanced Cable, 2-Year Warranty (Black)

I purchased these headphones just a few weeks ago, just as a test to see for myself if $1,800 of headphones could really be worth the price, and i can confidently say that i am not sure i've ever been happier with a purchase in my life. Now i'm not some sound engineer who has been working with headphones all my life and is here to tell you the indepth technical specs of these headphones, there are other reviews that do that much better than i could. This is simply my personal opinion as a consumer who enjoys a high quality sound. From the second you open the box you can tell these headphones are something special, with the solid hindged box, nestling these headphones in a silk holder, to just the polished sturdy look of the headphones themselves. They are unbelievably light, with cushions that are not overly large but still very comfortable, making it easy to forget that i'm even wearing them. Now, knowing that these headphones would require a little extra power i went ahead and order a DAC to pair with them, and would highly recommend doing the same, but even going through a four dollar adapter and plugged into my phone these headphones still provided a better sound then anything i have owned before. As someone who has a broad taste in music, and enjoys some online gaming in my spare time, these headphones appealed to me because of how versatile their range and tone are. These headphones are open-backed, something you should look into before considering these headphones as it could change your mind entirely, basically this allows for the headphones to deliver a much wider sound stage. I kinda like to explain this as "it's like having the worlds best home speaker an inch for your ear." but that doesn't truly do these justice. The open back makes you feel as if you're actually in the same room as the people playing the music, it's hard to describe and understand until you've felt it yourself, and after a few days adjusting to how it feels, i can't say i'll ever miss closed back headphones. That being said the main draw back to open-backed headphones is that they don't stop noise, from coming in or going out. As someone who uses these alone in a quiet studio or room this doesn't bother me, but if you're in a place where you don't want other people heading your music, or don't want to hear other people, then you might want to rethink these headphones. Most people say that headphones in this price range are all about opinion and music taste, and i would agree with that completely, but as someone who listens to almost any type of music, i've come to really appreciate the HD 800 S's range and sound quality. I like to make a little bet with my friends when they come over by telling them to pick their favorite song and see if they can hear something they've never heard before, and every time they have. These headphones are perfect for instrumental music, such as jazz or classical music. They easily balance a whole band allowing you to hear not just every note the melody plays, but every not from the counter-melody, harmony, bass line, you name it. That being said, listening to things like the Hamilton Soundtrack where you would want the voices to shine out give you just that. They are a bit bass light, but they still pack enough of a punch to give me chills on a good bass drop. The HD 800 S also excel in online gaming. The open sound stage and lightness of the headphones makes for a completely immersive feeling that no close back gaming headset could ever replicate. It feels as though you could find something in the game after closing your eyes with how accurate the sound is. Over all the HD 800 S perfectly fit my musical and gaming needs all while providing a sleek comfortable feel, giving me something that i look forward to putting on at the end of the day.

These headphones are precision machines created to enable hearing exactly what is in a recording. They are Zeiss cinema lenses for audio: Smooth, precise, effortless, free of distortion...they make phenomenal recordings/productions shine like you are in the studio listening to master tapes through the board, and they expose any and all defects in a mix/recording (or repro signal chain). Owning them is a real treat. IMO, they greatly benefit from using inline EQ (preferably 10 band or more), because they instantly expose the vast differences between the eq curves used by producers on recordings (not to mention digital quality/sampling/bit rates, mastering compression modes, microphone/room choice...). Since purchasing these, I have been making and saving custom 10 band eq curves via VLC for specific favorite albums to bring out the best in recordings for MY ears which, at 60 years of age, are still excellent but certainly do not have a "flat" response. Some recordings sound great "flat" but most are engineered to compensate for terrible car/home audio systems, or were mangled in the analog to digital mastering process during the early CD era...so these re-EQs can make a MASSIVE difference. The HD 800s headphones are made by the venerable Sennheiser corp, but could easily be a pro-NAGRA product - Swiss/German absolute precision. They are open backed, which I favor b/c they breathe and do not cut the listener off from the ambient environment...VERY comfortable for long listening sessions. I am currently running them via a simple inexpensive chain: Apple Mac playing back a variety of audio formats via the VLC player/EQ, into a Dragonfly Cobalt DAC, into an Apos Duoo TA-66 tube headphone amp...only $500 or so of equipment, but phenomenal quality**. The TA-66 puts out 200mw into 300 Ohms (the impedance of the HD 800s), and with the Mac volume setting at unity, and the TA-66 at 50% (12 o'clock), I am at/beyond my tolerance for loudness (suspect this is producing spl of ~ 95db peaks at my ears). So plenty of power. At this power level there is zero noise, zero clipping/artifacting, unbelievably precise dynamics (the speed with which these headphones can transition from max loudness to absolute silence or visa versa is hard to describe), a massive soundstage, complete transparency of human vocals and all musical instruments (from softest violins, to ridiculously saturated heavy metal guitars/drums such as in Rammstein's Deutschland). Santana's Europa from an old low-rez ripped CD file of the Moonflower album brought tears to my eyes...I could "see" Carlos' fingers moving to every fret/bend, hear every nuance of his pick interacting with the strings, all while the synth strings and drums surrounded him in massive perfectly detailed layers - the mental impression/vision was that I was Carlos looking down at my hands on the guitar and the band was behind, left and right of me -a pretty unique, nearly psychedelic "staging" compared to the thousands of other times I've listened to this recording on vinyl/cd. There is no doubt owning this set of headphones will make one want to upgrade ALL favorite recordings to lossless/remastered 24/96 (minimum) versions as they become available. In conclusion, these are headphones...they DO NOT reproduce the experience of incredible speakers moving huge amounts of air in a large well tuned listening room, but for close listening of audio recordings they are truly wonderful, emotionally engaging, reference instruments in the very top strata of headphone products... There may be "different" and there are certainly more expensive, but to say "better" requires personal/subjective interpretation of extraordinarily marginal diminishing returns. ** For reference, I'm a vintage Marantz tube preamp/amp owner (who has also owned a large list of other top tier tube and solid state signal chain components - Conrad Johnson, HK, Bryston, Crown, Macintosh, Audio Research...) who is used to driving LARGE speakers from the likes of B&W, JBL, Klipsch in large well proportioned listening rooms. As a musician who plays piano, guitars, drums/percussion, synths, etc., and has performed in live environments with orchestras, small ensembles, rock/fusion bands, jazz big bands) I know from experience what real instruments sound/feel like in all sorts of audio environments good/bad/ugly...

I own Senn HD650 and the Audeze MX-4 together with some other common headphones in the mixing and mastering world of music. The MX-4 got bored after a while to me, while the HD650 is unbeatable. (If you have read to this point, you would easily know that I’m a musician, not a gamer, and I use these headphones for mixing and mastering music. Thus, I have NO idea how these cans work with XBox or Playstation. My review is for those who work with music. My apology, gamers). So, should I buy the HD800s? Is it a good upgrade from the HD650? Is it worth the price tag? Short answer: I fell in love with the HD800s right away. - Build quality: It’s German quality, so you can rest assure it will last long with you. These are also huge cans. They almost cover all of the sides of my face. - Design: It’s open-back, so your ears do not get hot after wearing these for some time. - Sound: My point of comparison is the HD650. These cans sound brighter, crispier, and clearer than the HD650 in the mid frequencies, but they do not make my ears fatigue. Since the HD650 sounds warmer, I have the feeling that the HD800s sounds thinner. But that’s my feeling. Different ears may feel different. The only cons that I have against the HD800s is the lack of bass. If you like bass, these cans may not make you happy. Now, what I said above is filtered by the EQ correction that I applied to the headphones. In the photos that I attached with this review, you’ll see the EQ curve for frequencies corrections of the HD800s. With this EQ curve, the headphones become completely flat and very suitable for mixing and mastering. So, people without this EQ correction will hear differently from these headphones. I found this EQ correction online and it is called Oratory 1990 EQ Correction. RME Audio uses these EQ curves to correct headphones that connect to their ADI-2 audio converters. I use Fabfilter Pro Q3 for this correction to the headphones I use for mixing and mastering and it works well for my purpose. I don’t have RME ADI-2 converter, though. In conclusion, is it a good upgrade? It is absolutely yes. Is it worth the money? Well, I would not pay the original price for these headphones. I got them during the sales, so it’s worth it. Will I buy it again? Yes I surely will. Should you buy it? If you mix and master using headphones, you should buy them. You won’t regret. That’s all I have to say. Thanks for reading my review.

So... I bought these after I kept looking at them for almost a year. I'm glad I did. They are now the daily use headphone. Here's why: - Main running setup is a FiiO K17 Amp/DAC for gaming since you want that precision, and a FiiO Warmer R2R tube DAC into the Fiio K17 when listening to music or videos for the warmth. - Gaming I mostly play DayZ and Battlefield 6 and Battlefield 4. Incredible fidelity, ability to hear foot steps with that sound stage is really something else. Hear that jet fly over you in BF6? Wild to hear. - Music I know most people comment on lack of bass but I don't really understand that. I run a little bit of EQ on the FiiO K17 and to me listening to Above and Beyond Group Therapy episodes, pure EDM, it sounds so much better than the Sennheiser 600s2's that I upgraded from but keep as a backup and won't sell. - Comfort Very comfortable for my head. They do sit more on top of your head than on your ears if that makes sense. My hair has impression after a listening session and they surround your ears nicely. Very little "clamping force" as others have mentioned. Comfy for long sessions. - Endgame It really is an amazing headphone. At least for my ears. I know everyone is different but being that I'm into this type of stuff I really enjoy these for listening in multiple mediums. I have not put the 660s2's back in since I've bought them. A really enjoyable and listenable headphone. Gaming and music is A+ on them. Quality of the build is outstanding.

There's a distinct law of diminishing returns when it comes to high-end audio gear. I suppose that can be said for any kind of product but weighing the pros and cons and determining the "value" of a headphone like this is purely up to the beholder since sound is so subjective and people hear things differently. I work in the musical instruments (high-end electric guitars) and music (artist/band management) industry so I'm around high-end gear and people who take sound very seriously all the time. When it comes to sound people can be very opinionated and one cannot prove or dispute that one piece of high-end gear is better or worse than the other at relatively similar price points. And as we get to higher and higher price points, we are sure to find more and more people arguing about the justification of such prices. Some new custom electric guitars can cost $5000 and up. Does that make a custom guitar from company "A" twice as good as a custom guitar from company "B" that's priced at $2500? Of course not. This also applies to amplifiers, speaker cabinets, effects pedals, cables and everything else involved in producing a good sound. Ultimately, all that matters is that the gear you choose works for you. Obviously, this applies to audiophile gear as well. I've had some good headphones from the likes of AKG, Grado and Sennheiser and I've noticed that all manufacturers have their distinctive sonic stamp. For me, the Sennheiser's character seemed to suit me best as I highly value clarity, balance and prefer "brilliance" over "mellow" and "warmth". Again, it's personal taste and I perfectly understand why some people would prefer more bass or mellowness. I, for one, do not like bass to be emphasized at all and despise boomy bass that overwhelms all the other frequency ranges. So I decided that I could afford to splurge on the one "ultimate" (for me, anyway) over-ears open-back headphone that I've always wanted. After going over various options, I settled on the HD800S and I can honestly say that I'm very pleased with what I'm hearing. I use it with Chord Electronics' Hugo and Mojo DAC/headphone amps and they match up perfectly. I only play ALAC, high-res FLAC and DSD files to listen to my favorite music with a heavy emphasis on classical music and jazz. For rock, metal and modern pop, ALAC in my iTunes library is fine but for classical and jazz that have much greater dynamic range I definitely prefer high-res FLAC and DSD. The soundstage of the HD 800S is superb - extremely broad but also with detailed depth that I have not heard from my previous headphones. There is a three-dimensional quality in where the instruments are placed in the stereo spectrum - not only left to right but front to back. It's by far the largest soundstage I've heard from a headphone but it should be noted that high-res FLAC and DSD files along with a superb DAC like the Chord Hugo have a lot to with that as well. To get the most out of a headphone like the HD800S, you do need other critical components to work in conjunction with it. As for the overall sound quality, it is what I expected out of Sennheiser - bright and super clear but not strident, firm and defined lows, rich mids that are beautifully balanced but with a tad bit more emphasis on the high-mids. I can understand why some would consider this kind of "voicing" to be too bright and prefer something more mellower and warmer but, as I said before, everyone hears things differently. I love the clarity and the definition of the HD800S but also the smoothness of the highs. I haven't heard the 800 but I can say the 800S' highs are silky smooth - especially the string sections of an orchestra which, to me, is the benchmark to check during listening tests. The lows are big and firm but play more of a "supporting" role to everything else than being out at the front which is, again, exactly the way I like to hear things. Listening to some techno-electronica kinds of stuff, the bass has more than enough punch with plenty of definition along with a nice smooth balance amongst the bass frequencies. The truly beautiful thing about the HD 800S sound is its smoothness across the entire sonic spectrum without any noticeable peaks and valleys. It's not just a matter of balance but a very musical "sheen" around the edges. The all-critical mids where the ears naturally tune into is rich but super clear with excellent separation between instruments (including voice) across the stereo field. Whether it's Beethoven's 'Eroica' symphony or Miles Davis' 'Kind of Blue' or The Rolling Stones' 'Let It Bleed', I'm hearing details that I've never heard before in all their sonic glory and every one of those little details sounds sublime. Yes, the HD 800S is certainly an expensive piece of gear but if music and sound quality matter that much to you, it's worth a shot. I certainly didn't expect a $1600 headphone to sound "three times" better than a $500 headphone (and I've had a few in that range). Anyone who expects that doesn't understand the law of diminishing returns when it comes to high-end gear. But in the end, if that last 5~10% in greater clarity, depth and detail can be experienced over the previous headphone and greatly increases your overall enjoyment of the music, then it becomes worth every extra dollar and penny. It's easy to feel a sense of "buyer's remorse" after purchasing a headphone like this. Expectations can be too high. I had very realistic expectations and in which areas I expected to hear improvements. In those areas, the HD 800S actually exceeded all my expectations and sounds even better than I thought it would. And, as expected, the sound keeps improving as I'm only now reaching the 100th hour with it. It's a great audio device - one of the best I've ever owned and heard. The industrial design and the workmanship are about as good as they get but, ultimately, it's the sound and the HD 800S really delivers like none that I had ever heard. Addendum: I believe my HD 800S now has surpassed the 150-hour mark. It really does sound so much better than the first few hours. The bit of stiffness I heard around the edges of the notes is now gone. I can sense more "elasticity" in the way the different frequencies and instruments interact with each other. The highs sound smoother, the lows have more bounce and the mids sound richer with even greater detail. The first 100~120 hours really do make a big difference. It just keeps sounding better and better and that's a mighty good thing.

Seller sold a used and defective item as new and full price. Internal box was ripped open and smashed down. You would think an $1800 headset's sound would not be off balance right out of the box. Regardless the sellers should be listing these with a discount. They didn't even bother to repackage it correctly.

Incredibly clear, accurate, and comfortable. These things hit everything I could ask for in a pair of headphones. I'm not really an audiophile. I work at the computer all day long, and I'm a gamer in the evenings, so I've been working to upgrade my home work area to be somewhere I can be truly comfortable. I drive these with a Schiit Modi 2 and Schiit Asgard 2, which will get an upgrade as I have the funds. I hear things in my music I've never heard before. Positional instruments, every string picked or strummed, crystal clear vocals - just more getting through and it all sounds absolutely amazing. I use these headphones some days 12 hours at a time between work and gaming after work. I got a Blue Snowball condenser microphone, and the combo of these headphones and the new mic work for all my WebEx's and gaming after work. My wife was skeptical on my spending this much on a set of headphones - mostly that headphones couldn't be worth that kind of cost. After I got them, it took me a week to convince her to come down to the office and try them out. After listening to a couple of her favorites by Josh Groban and Pentatonix, she was literally brought to tears. I might now have an ally in this fairly expensive hobby. I read about 25 reviews by various audiophile professional reviewers on both the previous version (HD 800) and these (HD 800S) when considering which headphones to buy. After owning and listening to these, I now have a real concept of 'sound stage' and 'technical accuracy', even though prior to owning these they didn't mean much to me based on my experience with Bose QC25s. All I can say is, they are worth every penny. If you can, get a pair. Update: Figured I'd update this review as I was on answering a recently asked question about them and I'm currently wearing them. I've been using these for almost 2 years now - every single day - multiple hours a day. The build quality is amazing. They're as sturdy as they day I bought them - not a single part is showing wear. The pads are even still perfect somehow, other than cleaning them, I haven't had to replace them. My 1 year old and 3 year old have knocked them off my work area, I've dropped them accidentally a few times, sat on them once - these things still sound amazing and look great. I love them for music listening, movie watching, gaming (add a snowball microphone), and audio books. If you're on your computer a good deal for work or if you're a serious audiophile, you will get your money out of these.

TLDR; comfortable with amazing soundstage and imaging but bass even with EQ is not the best for EDM/pop etc… but still present with good EQ profiles either sonarworks or Peace EQ. The truth is these headphones are polarizing and buyers will either love them or hate them. First, they are super comfortable and light weight. The build quality is good but they are big and look like something out of Star Trek, but once you put them on you forget they are even on your head after a few minutes. The cables are good and solid quality but crazy long, if you are at your desk like me gaming and listening to music you would want a slightly shorter cable so you don’t accidentally roll over them with your computer chair. Second, the stock tuning is just okay with bass/sub bass lacking, but soundstage/imaging and vocals/select music shine. With EQ you get the bass that these need, but not the rumble or slam you would get with say DT 1990 pros or A planar magnetic like the Hifiman Arya Stealth. My biggest gripe/con is their price. For a headphone that is nearly 8 years old, I’d easily buy these and keep them if they were like $900/$1000 open box or like $1,200 brand new (or even at their holiday sale price of $1,300 being new), but at their msrp their are plenty of headphones that perform very close to this headphone at significantly cheaper prices. History, I have tried/own HD 490 pro, Meze 109 pro, Arya stealth and organic, DT 1990 pro, and demoed the Focal Clear OG. For me, with EQ and Dekoni Elite Velour pads my daily drivers of DT 1990 pros are extremely close to the HD 800s performance with better base at nearly 1/3 the cost. I ended up returning these as I had my wife A/B test them to help pull me away from the audiophile kool aid. I was torn between keeping these or returning them, and she said while they felt better, the difference between the 2 was minimal but slightly better. I wholeheartedly agree and couldn’t justify the price for the slight improvement. Of all the headphones I tested, I ended up ordering these Hifiman Arya stealth as these sounded the closest with terms of imaging and soundstage while providing the amazing bass of planar magnetic headphones. The Arya Stealth will literally make you cry with joy when you close your eyes and enjoy the music and are great at gaming. I ordered them from a different vendor so I could get upgraded ear pads (fenestrated sheepskin), 2 year warranty (to protect me from the questionable but slowly improving QC concerns about Hifiman), and an improved cable (as the stock one that comes with them sucks. Note: I bought a used like new, and while the headphones surely looked used like new, the packaging and storage box look like they have seen better days. I may have kept them for a discount or if they were priced closer to $1k.

received product was seemingly opened before. the box was not wrapped in plastic as you would expect a new product to and i could see that the flap to open the box was a little bit torn off already. i don't know if i got a new item or used one to be honest. i did not get to experience the joy of unboxing a brand new product for the amount of money i paid. disappointing.

In short, Comfort is top notch, very light and no pressure after long sessions, cable is lil too heavy but a replacement is always an option. Sound is very good and detailed, might be too detailed actually.. it’s wide and open but still enjoyable. Note tho the headphone may not be a musical set unless you are using a warmer DAC or tubes. It’s very good with classical and instruments. EDM, hip-hop not that much since the bass is not punchy but it exists! In gaming these are definitely an S tier because you can hear everything clearly and with that comfort crazy combo. Yes it’s pricey but if you have the budget it’s a unique headphone for sure.

Great headphones. I bought these a few weeks ago. I originally owned the hd600s and really liked them only had them for a couple of months but I felt they were lacking something. It was a difficult decisions deciding between these and the original 800's. I read up that you could mod the original 800's to sound as good or better than these but I really didn't want to open up the phones especially because of there price. Anyway when I first got these It was a little disappointing. However, After a couple weeks of listening to these you can really notice a sound quality difference between these and the original 600s. These have a fair bit more detail. The separation and sound stage is also very impressive. Now I have not got a chance to listen to these over the original 800's so I cant compare there sound stage or anything else for that matter. Are these worth the money? Well that is a difficult question. Especially if you are someone with a small amount of disposable income. I would highly recommend listening to these first to make sure they really are for you. It is really a matter of opinion whether or not they are worth they are worth money. In my opinion. They are just about worth it. Especially if you use the included balanced cable. I love these phones they are what I use primarily now. I would love to test these out on a few other amp and dacs and see if there is noticeable improvement. TLDR: Great headphones.If you have the extra cash and audio is very important to you buy these. (Just make sure you have a suitable amp and Dac) If you don't have allot of extra money and you still want these listen to them at a local dealer and then decide for yourself.

I connected the headphone to Cambridge Audio DacMagic 200m Headphone amplifier output, DacMagic 200m to my laptop via a USB A to B (Ugreen 2 m cable) and it sounds much better than my entry level Hi-Fi system.

Sennheiser kalitesi