Hi everyone, Before I start the review, I would like to thank Sennheiser for making this awesome headphone, and also to @whitelotus for letting me in the tour.
Sorry for the photo quality, I'm still using iphone 4 and my photo taking skills are quite poor T_T
INTRODUCTION
I'm an Indonesian working as a Web Developer in Melbourne, Australia.
Other than programming/coding, listening to music is another one of my hobby.
When I start my headphone hobby, music listening has been a very rewarding experience for me and has helped me in many aspects of life other than music enjoyment, although, with the booming price of high end headphones/IEM atm, it has become a bit of a heavy hit on my wallet >_<.
Starting from almost 2 years ago I've been really hooked by metal music, and nowadays my everyday music listening always incorporate metal tracks, I guess you can call me a Metalhead, I also listen to other genres occasionally.
I don't actually listen to all kinds of music, lets say for example Classical, therefore it is important to understand that this review is based on my observation on the kinds of musics I like, and those are mainly:
- Metal (many kinds, mainly the extreme kind)
- Rock (mostly Porcupine Tree, Steven Wilson, Radiohead or something like it)
- Pop (90s stuff)
- EDM (Mostly trance)
- Jazz (Norah Jones, Diana Krall and the likes)
- Indonesian Song (it's basically the Indonesian version of pop, guitar used is mostly acoustic guitar, sounds natural and relaxing however, mastering of the song is usually poor, this is good to test how good a headphone/Iem handle poorly recorded material)
- KPOP
- JPOP and JROCK/ Visual Kei, whatever
I used the HD800S for 7 days not including transit times everyday at work and at home on weekend, I will also make some comparisons to Mrspeakers Ether Flow which has been my daily driver for about a month now, and maybe to the old HD800 to a certain extent(I auditioned this a lot of times but never come to like it).
PACKAGING
The box came in a classic sennheiser style slip on cover, and underneath the cover you will find a box containing the headphone, 1/4 inch single ended cable and also the balance cable.
The box is very nice and can be used as a presentation case other than for storing the headphone of course.
ACCESSORIES
In the box/presentation case, you will find:
HD800S headphone
1/4 Single ended Cable
4 pin XLR balanced cable (not included in hd800 purchese but it is there for the 800S, the price jump cover the cable as well)
pouch to store cable
headphone and 2 cables
the dreaded proprietary connectors
The HD800S
The headphone itself is not much different from the HD800, the only difference here is the color, instead of all silver finish, we got a matte black/silver combo for the coloring.
Another difference is in the driver assembly, where you can find a little donut shaped rubbery thing covering the center hole.
Many have believed that this hole is the culprit of the treble spike which is a really famous problem of the old hd800, this modification is supposed to fix that problem, and I think it does.
the black finishing
BUILD QUALITY
The Build Quality is good, with an excellent choice of materials for the earpads and headband. The earpads is very comfortable to the skin and is not hot however it is a dust magnet.
The Headphone itself is made from plastic I believe with some Aluminum kind of mesh covering the headphone for styling and providing more protection.
It has a matte black finish for the ribs and this is the downfall of the build in my opinion, The unit that I receive for review has a few scratch on the finish and you can see it quite easily, it seems like the paint is prone to scratch and won't last well if not protected.
Cable quality is also very good with good length and not microphonic.
The headphone is very light due to its excellent design and material choice and is very comfortable.
To summarize, the design is superb considering that they came up with it about 7 years ago, but the durability is a bit of a concern
Some dinks on the finishing on the top side of the ring
Look at the dust and all those foreign particles on it!
Fit, Comfort and ease of use
The fit and comfort of the HD800S is superb and dare I say that it is the most comfortable headphone I've worn, Sennheiser used this special kinds of synthetic foam for the headband and also the earpads, It feels good in the skin and never gets hot at all.
I find wearing the HD800s for hours an easy task, it is light and comfortable with just the right clamping force, no comfort issues occur after a long listening session.
Sennheiser really did an excellent job designing this headphone, the shape of the headphone when worn on the head provides even pressure and basically just conforms to your head.
I believe the key thing to this is the headband hinge design, you will find wearing this headphone comfortable even after hours of listening session.
FIRST IMPRESSIONS
My first impression of The HD800S was excellent, I believe that the modification made to the driver tame that treble problem on the old HD800, Soundstage is noticably large compared to all full size open that I have ever used except for the old HD800, this is definitely the largest and is as close as it can be to the "out of the head experience" right now.
Comfort is also really good with ample openings for the ears, my ears never touch the pads and stays cool most of the time.
Bass is more than the HD800 but I still want more, some metal recording feels a little weird at first because of this.
The rumble of the sub-bass is also missing for this type of music.
SOUND ANALYSIS
The Signature
The sound signature in my opinion leans to the analytical side, bass is there and it is tight albeit a little anemic, mids is very realistic and natural sounding, Treble is detailed and airy.
If I have to compare the quantity of the signature, it will be like this: Treble > Mid > bass
the signature itself works very well with acoustic instrument, Porcupine tree sounds really clear and airy.
I find that it works very well for Jazz, Rock and classical music.
For modern musics though, this will not work well due to the bass being on the lean side.
The tonality of this headphone is not tuned to play well for all genres of music, however with the right music, it sounds excellent.
The Bass
The bass is tight with good extension, it is very fast but a little anemic, when I listen to "Forget Not" by Ne Obliviscaris, there is this part where the drum hits gets super fast, it will usually sound less distinct with other headphones and IEM, but The HD800s handle this with ease, every hit can be heard and distinguished easily.
It has the common mid-bass bump that Dynamic Driver often has, but the hits is really snappy and satisfying, so I don't mind this at all.
Sub-bass is a bit too rolled off due to open design, it is okay but, don't expect this to work nicely for rap and EDM.
It has a fast decay on the beat, however because of this it can sound thin at times depending on your music and needs a little more body for added musicality, but overall it is good.
The Mids
The mids is very clean with insane amount of clarity, very natural and detailed.
You can listen to many variety of vocal with this and it can only be great.
As a metal-head, I often listen to song where the singer use scream and growl for their vocals, this can be harsh on bright headphone sometimes, but I find it is fine and detailed on HD800S and is enjoyable.
I can hear a little sibillance here and there, I'm not sure if it is in the recording or not, but this a pretty detailed and analytical headphone we are talking about here, It will expose everything in the recording to you whether you like it or not.
I found both male and female vocals is being represented very well and there is no distinction where male vocals will sound better or vice versa.
Vocals sound very natural as if the person is right there singing for you, on top of that all the detailing of lip smacking, drawing breath, etc makes the whole experience even better!
Guitars sounds really good on this, the bite is present but never too harsh for me.
Many old metal recordings were not mastered very well, on this occasions the guitar can be harsh and shrilling, but with good recordings, the details just come out and it sounds really good and inviting, like you wanna hear everything in the recordings.
Overall Guitars both electric or acoustic, sounds excellent on this.
I really like the mid on The HD800s, especially due to its ability to portray vocals so clearly and naturally.
The Treble
Treble is very clean, and analytical. It is present in the music and is very airy.
It is sparkly but not to a fault like the HD800 where it can get too strident for my taste. It has an excellent extension exposing all the details as much as possible to the listener.
It sounds lively and energising, providing the engagement factor on each track that I played.
Violin and guitar solos sounds good on this (again with good source), especially on progressive rock, the sound will get your attention to it straight away.
The Soundstage, Imaging and separations
The soundstage on this is the best in class, I've never heard a headphone with bigger soundstage than the HD800 and HD800S.
It truly is an experience to be had if you are a headphone enthusiast like me, It is super spacious and never get congested at all, like at all!!
Imaging is excellent with pin-point accuracy for each instrument placement, you can single out all the instrument very easily.
If you are a soundstage addict, this is the headphone to buy.
Pairing
I only test the HD800s using my destop set up which is:
Laptop -> Chord Mojo -> Cavalli Liquid Carbon -> HD800S
With this set up, I thinkthe warmness of The LC and mojo helps the bass a bit and add some body to the HD800S, The LC has a little bit of a laid back treble, and this is probably why I find the HD800S to be enjoyable for metal, as the synergy is very good and helps a lot in this scenario.
I strongly recommend warm source for the HD800S to make up for it's shortcomings (lean bass and sometimes too analytical, needs more musicality).
Comparisons
Mr Speakers Ether Flow
Comfort
About the same, for me The HD800S is a little more comfortable for me due to the bigger ear openings but pads is so cushy on the flow, it may vary from person to person.
Durability
Ether flow is just more robust IMO, with very flexible headband and better cosmetic finish IMO, but The HD800S is no slouch either.
Bass
Bass is more prominent with the flow with better sub-bass extension and excellent body to it while still being tight, HD800S is just a little too lean for my taste.
Both shows no sign of bass bleed into the mid to my ears and are very fast, they keep up easily to super fast blast-beat drum attack.
Dynamic are excellent, both has good dynamics however the mid-bass hits is snappier on The HD800S, on The Flow, the sub bass rumble can be heard more and each attack is more meaty.
Mids
The Ether flow is a little U shaped in its signature, while the HD800S is more neutral along the treble.
I feel that the clarity is about the same however due to that signature on the Flow, I feel that the HD800S is a little clearer, could be because of the signature and lean bass of The HD800S .
Both sounds natural to me however the Flow's mids is lusher than the HD800S.
Details are very good for both, but I still give the nod to the HD800S as it is still more detailed to my ears but it can expose the weaknesses of the recording while the Flow is smoother and more forgiving between the two.
Sibilance is more exposed on the HD800S.
The Ether flow has more body to it's vocal and can be more emotional and musical while The HD800S is a little analytical and not as musical exposing details.
Treble
The Ether Flow's treble I feel is quite bright but not as harsh as the HD800S, HD800S is more detailed but can be harsh on some occasions.
Clarity is about the same, both are really clean and clear, But I think the Ether flow can sound more splashy at times.
The Ether flow has more spark than the the HD800S to my ears, but both are sparkly.
Soundstage
HD800S is just better in any way, It is wider, deeper and taller. The Ether Flow has good soundstage too, but nowhere as big as the HD800S, however this can provide a more intimate presentation if it is your thing.
Imaging
About the same, both are really accurate on it's placing, although I have to say that I think The Ether flow sounds more diffused than the HD800S.
Summary
The HD800S
is a headphone design and tuned specifically on a certain goal. This is not the headphone to Use if you listen to Rap, Hip Hop and EDM, where bass performance is really important.
The main selling point of this headphone is it's ability to portray sound naturally and it's huge soundstage, the biggest I know.
This is an excellent headphone to buy if you are a soundstage fanatic and is always hungry for details.
Pricing is Okay for me, even though it is expensive, it kept up with pricier competition very well, with great comfort.
You also get 2 cables (Single Ended and Balanced), although I prefer to be able to chose which I want and save more money.
I would like to ask you about the program that you are using to make an EQ.
And is there a guide for how to make an EQ for headphone.
Thank you.