Headphones
Sennheiser HD 800
From the finest German audio manufacturer comes "The World's Best Headphones", Sennheiser HD800. Perhaps praise a tad too high but the expressive clarity, tonal coherence, lightning dynamics and impossibly deep soundstage imaging prevent us from saying anything but the HD800 wear a bejeweled crown. In addition to exquisite sound, the stringent quality of engineering plus the striking materials and workmanship will have you longing for every chance to enjoy these amazing headphones as they uncover new details previously unheard in all your favorite music.
The Sennheiser HD800 can only ship within USA due to strict manufacturer restrictions.
add to wishlist |
email to a friend
Product Features:
- The 'Gold Standard' of technical excellence in the headphone listening experience
- 55mm toroidal angled driver provides distortion-free definition and natural imaging
- Superb cord quality allows easy optional modification for balanced/XLR headphone amps
- Outstanding wearing comfort, widely adjustable fit, and cutting-edge design
- Free 2-year Sennheiser manufacturer's warranty
What's In The Box:
- Sennheiser hard-sided padded storage box
- Sennheiser owner's manual / HD800 graph request form
Applications:
How would you describe sonic perfection? How do we talk about something that disappears and evaporates? Neutral? Transparent? Just you and the night and the music? We listened agape ... astonished ... enthralled. Simply put, these are easily amongst the "best" audio-engineered, most precisely accurate and the most analytically responsive pair of headphones we've encountered during our 20+ years in the industry. Every hard-core audiophile, music lover or audio professional should hear a pair when possible. It's a truly kingly piece of ultra high-end audio art.
Wrap your head within the Sennheiser HD800 and the first thing you'll notice is the truly extraordinary transient response. The natural snap of the leading timbral edge of pianos, strings and voices is beautifully coherent without being overly sharp or bright. Within each vibraphone strike one hears both the instantaneously loud bell-like tone and the textured 'ting' of wood mallets striking metal tines. Trumpets and trombones cease to blare and become the the vibrant urging of tightly pressed fleshy lips. What was a crashing wash of cymbals and sodden drums now become authoritative musical instruments each with a clearly distinct timbre, tonal weight and musical body of its own. The previously bland notes from an upright bass or hand-bongo transform into audible fingerprints on gut and skin. What can we say, the HD800 is one of the most seamless, musically articulate, and accurately extended headphones we've experienced to date.
So, how did the poindexters at Sennheiser-Germany do it? At the heart of the HD800 is a patented ring radiator transducer whose special property is that it can emanate a very large -- and a very coherent -- audio wavefront. Sennheiser has placed these huge 55mm dynamic drivers slightly in front of, and pointing slightly rearward at the ear so as to mimic the more planar wavefront the ear hears in normal spatial (speaker) listening. This unique ring radiator has been specifically audio-engineered to be both extremely large and extremely fast to start/stop, thus allowing uber-clear highs without measurable cone diaphragm break-up yet with a very naturally responsive low-end and unmatched ability to move lots of acoustic "air" quickly. As much or more than any headphone we've heard before, the Sennheiser HD800 produces an exquisitely organic, vastly deep, and perfectly stable headphone soundstage image.
The luxuriant sumptousness doesn't just stop with the audio drivers either. Specially built ultra-high rigidity plastics, stainless steel mesh ear cup grilles, metal aluminum sandwich headband construction, and ergonomically correct, comfortable Leona earpads provide a beautifully engineered acoustic system along with a display-worthy 'high end' look and feel. A surprisingly excellent cable also comes with the HD800 headphone and it's easily user-detachable at the earcups via custom pin connectors. The cord extends about 9.5ft and terminates to an extremely beefy 1/4" inch headphone stereo plug. Each and every HD800 headphone is precisely hand-assembled and individually serial numbered at Sennheiser's factory headquarters in Wedemark Germany.
HD800's with HeadRoom Balanced Termination:
If you're looking for a balanced/XLR Sennheiser HD800 headphones for use with your favorite balanced headphone amp, HeadRoom has got you covered with our in-house HD800 balanced recabling job performed by our highly experienced headphone cable service experts. Check it out:
Balanced Sennheiser HD800 Headphones.
Aaah, the World of Head-Fi.org Sennheiser HD800 Modifications!
Leading members of the largest audiophile headphone forum on the planet www.Head-Fi.org (Purrin, Anaxilus, Arnaud, JaZZ, iPodPJ, et al) have devised ingenious but simple tweaks to make the "World's Best HeadPhones" even better. It's perhaps not for the faint of will, but if you want to read all about the world-famous "Anaxilus Modification" process and how they did it, hit the InnerFidelity link below and enjoy yourself! .... Curse You, Head-Fi!
Specifications:
- Manufacturer Warranty: 2 years
- Sensitivity: 102 dB
- Headphone Type: Full Size
- Connector Type: 1/4
- Weight: 260g. w/o cable
- THD+N: ≤0.02% (1kHz/1Vrms)
- Isolation: 0
- Impedance @ 1kHz: 300 Ohms
- Detachable Cable: Yes
- Cord Length: 10 ft. (3 m)
- Cord Type: Straight Y
- Coupler Size: Large
- Ear Coupler Type: Full-Size
- Driver Type: Dynamic
- Acoustic Seal: Open
Additional Resources:
- Manufacturer's Website
- Sennheiser USA
- Product Info
- Sennheiser Press Info
- HD800 Brochure PDF
- Product Reviews
- Right Between Your Ears
- Playback Magazine, Tom Martin
- AV Guide, Gadgetman
- Crave, Nate Lanxon
- Wired, Eliot Van Buskirk
- Gizmodo, Sean Fallon
- Cnet Australia, Ty Pendlebury
- GQ Magazine
- TMCnet.com
- Home Theater Hi Fi
- Audio Video Revolution
- HomeTheaterMagazine
- Digital Trends, Caleb Denison
Average Rating
Posted by dale from Akron Ohio on 2013-01-27
Recommend Product: Yes
Pros: Sound, comfort
Cons: Not portable
7 out of 7 people found this review helpful. Did you?
Posted by reeltime from Studio City, CA on 2012-10-28
Recommend Product: Yes
Pros: Sound is just about perfect
Cons: Needs decent amplification and custom cables.
They benefit from great amping and good cables. They are headphones that make you go back and listen to every decent track you have on file.
8 out of 11 people found this review helpful. Did you?
Posted by Audio Supremus from Hong Kong on 2012-07-26
Recommend Product: Yes
Pros: Superb sound and great looks!
44 out of 45 people found this review helpful. Did you?
