Headphones
Sennheiser HD 800
From one of Germany's finest audio manufacturers comes the "World's Best Headphones", the 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 German engineering plus striking materials and detailed workmanship will have you longing for every chance to enjoy these amazing headphones with your favorite audiophile recordings.
Sennheiser HD800 can only ship within USA due to manufacturer restrictions.
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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:
- Hard-sided Sennheiser storage box
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 neutral 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 HD800s and the first thing you'll notice is the truly extraordinary transient response. The natural snap of the leading 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 clear 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 heard to date.
So, how did Sennheiser do it? At the heart of the HD800 is a patented ring radiating transducer whose special property is that it can radiate a very large -- and a very coherent -- audio wavefront. Sennheiser has placed these huge 55mm 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 is engineered to be very large and very fast, allowing for uber-clear highs without cone diaphragm break-up with very natural low-end response and a unique 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 natural, vastly deep, and beautifully stable headphone soundstage image.
The luxuriant sumptousness doesn't just stop with the audio drivers either. Special Leona ultra-high rigidity plastics, stainless steel mesh ear cup grilles, metal aluminum sandwich headband construction, and super-cushy earpads provide a perfectly engineered acoustic system along with a display-worthy look and feel. A surprisingly excellent cable also comes with the HD800 headphone and it's easily detachable at the earcups via custom connectors. The cord extends about 9.5ft and terminates to a beefy 1/4" inch headphone plug. All HD800 headphones are precisely hand-assembled and individually serial numbered at Sennheiser's factory headquarters in 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 fully covered with our in-house HD800 balanced recabling job performed by our highly experienced headphone cable service experts. Check it out:
Specifications:
- Warranty: 2 Years
- Detachable Cable: Yes
- Cord Length: 10 ft. (3 m)
- Weight: 330g. w/o cable
- Connector Type: 1/4"
- Ear Coupler Type: Full-Size
- Impedance @ 1kHz: 300
- Cord Type: Straight Y
- Coupler Size: Large
- Manufacturer Warranty: 2 years
- Headphone Type: Full Size
- Wireless: No
- Noise Cancelling: No
- Acoustic Seal: Open
- Microphone: No
- Driver Type: Dynamic
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 JefferyK from San Francisco on 2012-02-02
Recommend Product: Yes
Pros: Terrific sound, comfortable
Cons: Tricky fit
People have complained that wearing these is uncomfortable. I had some trouble with the headband hurting the top of my head until I realized that I wasn't wearing the headphones properly -- you need to turn them forward to move headband further toward the front of your head. Not only did the pain go away, but the sound became more focused.
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Posted by WWW from San Francisco, CA on 2012-02-01
Recommend Product: No
Pros: Nice detail
Cons: Harsh, hard treble
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Posted by Mitch from Seattle on 2011-12-16
Recommend Product: Yes
Pros: *INCREDIBLE* sound stage, clarity, accuracy.
Cons: Terribly uncomfortable, and scratch easily
The significant downside is that these are terribly uncomfortable to wear for long periods of time. They're probably some of the least comfortable expensive pair of headphones that I've ever worn. They feel awkward and heavy when you wear them.
Another minor downside is that they seem to scratch easily -- though since most people will take impeccable care of a $1,500 set of cans, this probably isn't too concerning.
But, seriously, if you want some of the best sounding headphones on the planet, look no further.
16 out of 17 people found this review helpful. Did you?
