Sennheiser HD 800 Full Review
It's not every day that we get to try on an exceptional pair of headphones--but is the HD 800 really that special? In some ways it is, because before we even had a chance to see if it was a worthwhile investment--which isn't automatically the case for high-end products--the price speaks for itself.
Audio Quality: are you sure these are
I'll admit that it's quite a striking quest, but I can explain. For four years now, I've used Sennheiser's HD 650 as my own personal headphones. That means I know the sound it produces inside out, including the generous bass response that manages to avoid booming. But here, everything I thought I knew about the 'Sennheiser sound' has changed. The HD 800 is more neutral and clearer--a lot clearer. So much so, in fact, that it seems that the bass occasionally seems lightweight, but only occasionally.
The second surprise is the location of the transducers--which, at 56 mm, are huge. They're a little bit further forward than normal, to better reproduce the soundscape. Think about it this way: when you listen to music on a hi-fi, you don't put the speakers either side of you, but you sit in front of them. It's a logical enough argument, but that doesn't necessarily mean it translates into practice. And at first, it does seem very odd to hear sound coming from n front of you. After a while, though, you get used to having music in front of you, rather than either side of your head.
Once you're used to it, there's an excellent quality sound that we expect from Sennheiser, with a very light colouring. There is one disappointment, though: the HD 650 opened things up a little more than the 800. Everywhere else, though, the HD 800 is a long way ahead.
You've probably worked out by now that the HD 800 is a very good pair of headphones. It remains to be seen, though, how many people will be willing to spend so much money. It's hard to know, but we can say that it really isn't worth if you need a headset for listening to a film or for playing video games every once in a while. But if you're prepared to invest in solid audio hardware, or a headphone amp, then the HD 800 is an excellent product that does its job well (which is the least you'd expect at this price ...). And for comparison's sake, we can also put them up against the electrostatic headphones that are in roughly the same price range. The HD 800 has no need to blush next to them.
Handling: welcome to high-tech headphones
Sennheiser often produces discrete, classy high-end headphones, like the HD 6xx series, whose design was in turn inspired by the Orpheus range. The HD 800 represents a radical change. Don't panic--these are no SkullCandy headphones--but Sennheiser has made a conscious decision to produce a resolutely modern product, with a high-tech look with lots of black and silver.
It's huge though! Compared to the HD 650 which it was easy to forget about when you weren't wearing it, the HD 800's presence is all too obvious. That said, it doesn't feel too heavy once it is on your head, and the comfortable head band and huge ear cups add to that effect.
There are also plenty of small details that make all the difference, that are all explained in the brochure. To start with, there are two metallic cable connectors which are clearly pretty tough. The internal padding and the underside of the head band are both detachable so you can wast them. Finally, as open headphones, they don't get too hot too quickly.