Sennheiser HD 820

exhale

100+ Head-Fier
The misunderstood child
Pros: Impressive sound stage (for a closed back especially)
Good, quality bass that extends well into sub bass territory
The mid bass does not bleed into the mid range (however recessed the latter might be)
One of the most comfortable headphones out there
More forgiving than their open back counterpart, the HD800S
Aspect (subjective)
The perfect companion for EDM
Cons: Fit and seal
Lack of a proper clamp force
Materials used (especially on the head band)
Lack of proper swivel on the ear cups (for a better fit)
The omission of a 3rd balanced XLR cable (which used to be included)
Retail price
Some might complain about the frequency response and tuning (not my case)
Introduction



Hello everyone. So here I am, making my first review here on Head-Fi, after quite a few years of careful reading, documenting and learning (for which I have quite a lot of head-fiers to thank to!).

My journey into decent audio started around ~10 years ago, when I was first gifted a pair of Beyerdynamic DT880 Pro, the 600 Ohm version which was meant to replace a very old pair of Technics RP-DJ 700. The Technics were used not as a DJ tool but as a studio pair of headphones. That’s the best I could do at that time, given my (very) limited access to audio gear and even those were received as a gift (I still have them laying around here, somewhere; if only I could find some replacement pads, they would get to see the light of day yet again).

Fast forward to today and here I am, finally at peace with my home auditioning equipment. It was a bumpy road, full of frustration and returns while going through more than 20 pairs of headphones, in search of what would be my perfect duet. I acknowledged pretty quickly that one pair will never do it and since I am the worst type of music listener (I listen to and love pretty much all genres, with a few personal biases, obviously), I could barely ask for help from anyone (since most of the normal people out there listen to 2-3 genres and call it a day).

The first member of the duet was Hifiman’s HE1000se (I will skip the journey that brought me to them; that’s for another review). It is the perfect headphone for all my atmospheric needs. Enigma plays angelically, Vangelis teleports me onto the scene while Hans Zimmer makes me part of the orchestra. They are a phenomenal pair of headphones and while they are good at other genres, too, they are brutally unforgiving.

This is where the second member comes in; say hello to the Sennheiser HD820. After a long and tiresome journey, riddled with LCDs, across Beyers, through Focals and past Sonys, at the end, they were there, waiting for me. Hyperboles aside, I tried to find a companion to the HeKse for everything trance (both above and beyond). Trance music is usually pretty terribly mastered and while I have listened to it through more forgiving pairs of headphones, I came to a point where I needed both forgiveness as well as a bit of scene, some taming in the higher registers with sufficient bass as to not feel the need to turn on my home audio system for it. The Audeze LCD-2 was good and a faithful pair of headphones but alas, I could not feel the kick and slam many a listeners were praising them for. The T1.3 had the bass I was searching for. And a bit of stage. And some more bass. Enough bass, actually, that I could split it among my colleagues and still be left with more than enough for my entire household. With the T1s, bass was bass, mids were bass and highs would have been bass, if physics would have allowed it. The famed and praised Sony Z1R; thought I will stop there with my search but alas, just as with it’s less refined brother, the Z7, so did the Z1R exhibited the nastiest resonance and some of the highest peaks one could wish to climb. Last but not least, I gave the HD820 a chance. The choice didn’t come easy since most of the famed reviewers out there have burned it at the stake. In the words of the famed wizard of everything transducer, Crinnacle the Wise: “Not even Gorilla Glass can save this abomination”.

Well, it seems that it takes an abomination to appreciate one therefore here I am, after a full page of useless rambling, ready to lay down my impressions (which I will try hard to consider as a review) of the Sennheiser HD820.



Packaging, build quality, comfort and accessories



I like to obtain all my gear new therefore I buy everything. Cables are the only accessories that I have ever bought second hand. The HD820 came in an unsealed, blue and gray package. Within, a black box and a user’s manual with a hand cloth (meant for cleaning and maintaining the headphones). Opening the box, I was presented with the headphones themselves, to which the 6.3mm, 3-meter cable was already connected. A second, 4,4mm balanced was there with a USB key card attached to it.

I will try and keep everything else about the build quality short since most of you already know how they’re made. In typical Sennheiser fashion, they are plastic made, with a novel element: Gorilla Glass domes on the exterior of the cups. I have seen a lot of pros and cons regarding build quality and while I realize that plastic makes for a lighter headphone, I cannot think that maybe, somehow, Sennheiser could have used, at least on the headband, a different material. Either more comfortable, more adjustable or something that adds a bit more clamp pressure and force. This is not to say they are not comfortable; they are! But they are also never properly fit on top of my head. They always tend to move a bit, either forwards or backwards, depending on my head’s motions. The quite heavy cable also does not help, since I always have to take care that it sits either on my lap or on my desk, otherwise it will add a drag and pull coefficient which only worsens the all-around comfort and fit.

As far as the cables are concerned, I will never judge the sound based on them. Yes, I am a strong contender of the fact that cables influence sound and if they do, then that happens on a live stage, where several tenths or hundreds of meters are needed and that’s where silver’s better conductivity comes into play, compared to copper, for example. In a cable, I always look for comfort, (lack of) memory, microphonics and most important, the quality of connectors and the soldering. Regarding the HD820’s stock cables, they are both thick but with a lesser degree of memory when compared to others (Sennheiser does advice to leave them completely unfold for a couple of days). They do exhibit quite a bit of microphonics and they are at least half a meter longer than I would have wished but at the end of the day, it’s not something worth losing sleep over. Yes, there are better stock cables out there but as far as I’m concerned, they are good enough for me and my use case (at least until I trip over them and in a furious rage, cursing, end up at my desktop’s screen, looking for a shorter replacement).

Comfort wise, so far (after ~10 days of usage), I find myself always fiddling a bit with the fit, until I get it right. Afterwards, even if I take them off, it seems that my muscle memory helps when putting them back on. I have a good seal on my head and although I am wearing glasses, I am resting the glasses’ frame on top of the cups (I know, I look like someone from a parody show but it’s the best of both worlds – no issue with seal and they are way more comfortable this way; at least for me). I wish a little more clamp force was present, as to not need the initial fiddling but all in all, they seem to disappear on my head after that. There is a minor hot spot on top of my head, due to the way it’s shaped and the fact that I shave it. Had I left my hair to grow (if I had any to grow at all), I’m quite sure this would have been a non-issue.



Sound quality, gear used and a few comparisons



My current setup is comprised of PC ---(USB)---> SMSL D400ex ----(RCA)---> Woo Audio WA6 2nd gen / ----(XLR)---> Violectric V202. Since I already wrote that I am a firm non-believer in cables = better sound, I will also admit the WA6 has a Isotek - EVO3 Initium power cable but that’s because the amplifier came without one, in box. Still, it’s far from what I’d call a snake oil cable and it only set me back 60 EURO.

The WA6 is used with NOS tubes, as follows: Emitron Mullard 53KU as rectifier with a pair of Sylvania 13DR7 as driver/power tubes. The V202 is used with a -6dB pregain, since in 0 db gain I could barely reach 9 o’clock without making the headphones sound like a pair of speakers. On the DAC, I have the “Low Dispersion” filter selected for PCM, “Wide” filter for DSD, “Sound 2 (5,6M)” for Sound Color and “Fixed” for Pre Mode (it outputs a fixed 0dB signal). Why have I selected these? I don’t honestly know. Nor can I say that I can tell a difference between the various filters available. But it’s what I settled on and it’s what sounds ok to me (so take any observations that DAC filters affect the sound with a pinch of salt).

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I only listen to music stored locally and I have never used (nor will I ever use) any of the streaming services available. File quality ranges from lowly 96 kbps mp3 files to DSD128 ones. One thing to note about this, though, is that not always file quality = audio quality. I have a lot of 320 kbps mp3s which are better recorded / mastered (at their source) than a few FLACs or PCMs. Also, there are a lot of online outlets from which you get PCM/FLAC files which are worse encoded than an mp3 (I mainly use Spek to check but any spectrograph will do just fine). I always try to buy my music in WAV/PCM format, except for those songs which I realize do not need a higher encoding (the aforementioned trance genres, drum and bass and generally, music which does not rely on a huge soundstage, for example, to convey its message). At the moment, locally, I have around 25000 files on my hard drive with an additional ~30000 stored on various disks and hard drives which are not in use. I buy most of my music, except that which is available only on vinyl. In that case, if I can find someone willing to rip a vinyl for me, good. If not, I’ll settle for what I can get off the web, as long as the quality is at least acceptable.

This is an example of a PCM bought from an online store, compared to a mp3 file i had at hand.
Spek comparisons.jpg






As I wrote earlier, I listen to almost all genres of music, bar jazz and rarely to acoustic. I know, two of the strengths of the Sennheiser HD8xx series but such are my tastes and unfortunately, jazz never clicked with me while acoustic music tends to get boring while auditioning.

For this review, I will try to mainly focus on electronic music, the purpose of which the HD820 were bought.



Classic Trance (pre-2000)

Kai Tracid - Liquid Skies (Eternia Audio Lab Mix) (320 kbps, 44.1 khz, MP3) – this is one of the better mastered tracks out there. Classic trance is different from the more modern version by not being as crowded with elements. Most of the times, you get a kick drum, a bassline, some percussion, a pluck here and there and that’s it. Basslines are also quite simple, as in you rarely get songs with dual bass layers or that go into the sub bass territory. This particular song also has some vocals in it and it used to be aired on most of the radios and tv channels back in the day (I ‘member VIVA TV; the memories). The bassline is comprised of mid bass and the HD820 reproduces it faithfully. The pluck sound that accompanies the voice at 04:10 is a bit recessed, which I can only attribute to the dip in the mid-range that everyone was concerned about. The voice itself is clear and takes place at the back of the stage, which is a different presentation than what the HD800S offers, for example. The saxophone coming in just afterwards also sounds a tad recessed but does not affect the entire presentation. All in all, I enjoyed this song a tad more on the HeKse than I did on the HD820 with a small caveat: the voice tends to become a bit shouty on the Hifiman.



Alex Morph - Maximum Overdrive (Original 3rd Rmx) (192 kbps, 44.1 khz, MP3) – I’ve first heard this one on the Trance Energy 2000 disc. It was an hour-long video, with parts from all of the stages at that year’s event, featuring one or two songs from each. The HD820 renders every sound with perfect accuracy, never getting fatiguing (while the HeKse doesn’t allow me to go over 60dB of volume on this song). The kick drum and bass are clear, perfectly separated while the main saw comes in the middle without overpowering the entire song. The vocal echoes that are featured throughout the song do sound a tad recessed (as I have gotten used with, by now) but they are noticeable only if you intimately know the song and have listened to it on a host of other devices (both headphones and speakers). The extra mid bass emphasis brings this song to life, compared to the HD800S or the HeKse.



System F – Out of the Blue (862kbps,44.1 khz, FLAC) – another classic which sees the likes of Armin van Buuren team up with Ferry Corsten and release one of the most iconic tracks that used to be featured on radios and tv channels. Again, HD820’s mid bass emphasis helps with bringing this track alive while at the same time, makes the drum kick sound just a bit boomy, especially on lower quality encodes. The main pad and saw come together beautifully and thanks to its expansive soundstage, helps create a sense of atmosphere. All in all, a satisfactory rendition of the track without any recessions throughout the sound spectrum whatsoever.









Trance (post-2000)



Dj Eco - Light at the End (Martin Roth Edit of Lost World Remix) (320 kbps, 44.1 khz, MP3) – Post 2000 trance music starts seeing more complex passages of bass. Sub bass starts making an appearance and with the advent of better hardware and software, producers and remixers have started creating songs which are more wide, expansive and engaging than classic trance. Martin Roth is a mastermind and in this remix of Eco’s Light at the End, you get everything except vocals. Deep, dual bass line which is accompanied by masterfully crafted percussion on top of amazing pads and plucked synths. I was expecting the claps to sound a tad recessed, given the previous experience with the other songs but to my surprise, they didn’t. A perfect rendition of this song and the HD820 has done it with an apparent ease that only makes me anxious about what comes next.



Leon Boiler – Ocean Drive Boulevard (Intro Mix) (880 kbps, 44.1 khz, FLAC) – Leon Boiler used to have his own special type of music. I’d dare say it’s trance, since it contains a lot of elements belonging to the genre but it was much more than that. Having a background in classical piano, he manages to masterfully integrate it into this Intro Mix of his Ocean Drive Boulevard. Floor shaking sub bass accompanied by a saw mid-bass serve as the base for a lot of reverb-enhanced plucks and pads. Nothing sounds recessed or emphasized and it’s a perfect example of the HD820’s prowess when it comes to the lower registries of music. I cannot even touch this song on the HeKse, let alone listen to it at louder volumes but on the Sennheisers, I can blast away with little to no care for my eardrums or my general hearing health. Carpe Diem, as a dying Frenchman once tried to say but couldn’t, because he died.



Airbase – Medusa (Original Mix) (1411 kbps, 44.1 khz, PCM) – One of the stalwarts of modern trance music (which has now, sadly, moved on) is Jezper Soderlund a.k.a. Airbase (and a sleuth of other aliases I care not to mention here since I’ll run out of pages). Since I needed a more crowded song to test the HD820s, I chose Medusa because it has everything but the kitchen sink (and vocals) in it. While it does not dabble in the realm of sub bass, its bass line and kick drums are nothing short of amazing. Pads, plucks, claps, cymbals, reverse crashes – this song has it all. It used to be on Tiesto’s go-to playlist for quite some time, whenever the jockey had an event he had to attend to and is in my top 10 best trance tracks, all-time. As crowded as the song is, the HD820s doesn’t break a sweat in rendering it in one of its most faithful renditions, ever. I know this song inside-out and if anything would have sounded, even the slightest, recessed or over-emphasized, I would have noticed it in a second. Nope, sir. It made the hair on my skin stand up and dance while I was writing these lines, happily tapping my feet while sipping from my glass of tea.





Goa / Psytrance



Juno Reactor – Song for Ancestors (1411 kbps, 44.1 khz, PCM) – One of the songs that sealed the deal for me, regarding electronic music. The tribal accents throughout Juno Reactor’s songs coupled with his tendency to use a lot of live instruments and rely on fewer digitally generated ones make for one hell of a trip. At the beginning of the song, you can hear the vocalist emphasizing “sh” in her echoes. On the HeKse, they are unbearable and on the HD820, they are at the edge of becoming harsh but never trip over. A fairly crowded song in which a headphone’s ability to layer and separate instruments is vital yet, the HD820 does it with exceptional quality. Alas, when compared to the HD800S, the soundstage takes a hit and since the song has amazing qualities which emphasize it, it can sound a tad closed in (again, only when compared to the HD800S or the HeKse, for as long as I can listen to the latter, anyway). The guitar that comes in at 05:40, alongside the chants is something to behold! The drums that immediately accompany them are the icing on the cake. All in all, 11/10, would blast a cigar again to this and I’m not even a smoker!



Juno Reactor – Swampthing (1411 kbps, 44.1 khz, PCM) – While it’s not Marvel’s superhero, Juno Reactor’s Swampthing goes in deep, deeper than an earthquake. With a kick drum that makes my 12” woofer call for help, a few whistles that make my eardrums do the same and tribal drums that make me put my South-African outfit and start dancing, this song is as representative of the genre as is Red Bull of energy drinks. With some electric guitars which can be easily named Tremolo and nobody would object, this song is also one of my favorites and I can safely say that while bordering on the line of sibilance / harshness a few times, the HD820 does an admirable job in keeping the fatigue out of the earcups and out of my ears. Bravo!



Juno Reactor – Conquistador (Astrix Remix) (905 kbps, 44.1 khz, FLAC) – by now, I think it’s clear that I’m a big fan of Juno Reactor. I’m also an Astrix fan so it’s only natural that I’d include his remix of Juno’s Conquistador. The song is, originally, a 2 part track. The first one has most of the vocals and acoustics while the second one goes for the beat. This is a remix of both (so a 2 in 1) and the main difference is that you can easily spot Astrix’s bassline and kick drums, which go well beyond the sub bass territory while being mastered with a bit more compressors added on certain channels when compared to the original. This is the first song where the bass starts getting a bit uncomfortable. Yes, there, I wrote it! HD820 has too much bass in this song and I don’t like it! Yes, it’s the mid bass emphasis that gets my nerves tingling and forces me to lower the volume a bit. But that’s on the WA6. On the Violectric, the bass is a tad more tame while the upper registries get a bit more presence, bordering on the edge of sibilance. The sub bass that accompanies the slam drum/kick, at the start of the song, is amazing. It gets the earcups moving and my eardrums, bleeding! What an awesome sensation, having to shout when talking to my wife, who’s sitting at 30cm away from me. God bless you, Sennheiser!





Progressive (Trance / House)


Astrix & Freedom Fighters – Burning Stones (Original Mix) (320 kbps, 44.1 khz, MP3) – This is another song where the HD820’s mid bass emphasis makes itself more present. The song gets a nice intro, which shows the headphones’ prowess in soundstage while quickly following with a fat beat, which goes just shy of the sub bass realm (slowly stepping into it but never staying there). This is a song I’m quite familiar with but alas, the HD820’s recessed mid range takes a toll on the whole presentation. Compared to either the HD800S or the HeKse, some pluck effects / voices are heard more towards the back of the scene but at the same time, the crossover voice that starts at 04:10 and carries on with the rest of the song, for a few seconds afterwards is tolerable, unlike with the HeKse, where it reaches ear drum drilling levels of harshness. All in all, I love the song and how the HD820 presents it but if I were to rate it on a scale from 1 to 10, it’s a 7/10 while the HD800S is 8.5/10 and the HeKse is 9.5/10 (it could have been a clear 10 if not for the forementioned harshness).

Ranji & WHITENO1SE feat. Nina Nesbitt - The Moments I'm Missing (Extended Version) (320 kbps, 44.1 khz, MP3) – This is something that I’ve recently discovered and included in my playlist. I do listen to a lot of Ranji’s songs but of this particular one, I was unaware of. It has a nice, specific build-up up until ~01:50, where the whole song takes a seat back and translates into what you’d call the apex of the song (or breakdown). A sleuth of pads, piano and Nina’s voice take over and get us ready for the 2nd part of the song, the one where you usually get a taste of everything altogether. I do notice her voice to be a tad recessed, compared to either of the headphones mentioned until now but it’s not necessarily a minus. The song tends to be a bit hot, at some point but the HD820’s characteristic makes it more than tolerable. The sub bass extension is good but not as good as the HeKse’s and, again, this is more praise than blame, since I’m comparing a dynamic driver to a planar one. The percussion is clear throughout the song so no complaints here. I’d say it’s a faithful presentation of the track with just some minor differences, here and there, only noticeable to someone who has listened to the song for a long while.



Nibana – Aeon (1411 kbps, 44.1 khz, PCM) – I’m now heading towards a more darker realm of progressive trance – Nibana. This is a flawlessly mastered track, with zero compressors added and everything is in check. It’s a testament to what proper mastering can do for a track and if the track is already good (I know, subjective), then it can only take it to the next level. The bassline heard here is eerily familiar to that from Travis Scott’s Tenet soundtrack. I dare not say anything, just that it’s uncanny to listen to Aeon and then, to Tenet (it wouldn’t be the first time a popular artist copied a less popular one (*cough* Will.I.Am. -> Arty *cough*)). The song is a dark atmospheric piece of progressive music, which lends itself on the phat bassline to carry it out throughout its duration, accompanied by masterfully chosen percussion, pads and plucks / synths. The HD820’s recessed midrange, again, makes the song incredibly tame, compared to any of the more revealing headphones out there. It also detracts a bit from its beautiful soundstage, which can be heard on the HD800S and it’s as expansive as it can be. Still, the reason I bought them is because I wanted a less revealing and vengeful pair for exactly this kind of music and for this, they fulfilled their duty with perfection.



Namatjira – I’ll Kill You (Original Mix) (320 kbps, 44.1 khz, MP3) – A progressive house piece which is both dark as well as calming, soothing in its rhythm and vocals. It’s a center stage song, with no show of soundstage whatsoever but it wasn’t meant to be this way. It’s a rather simple tune, with a kick drum, bass line, low saw pad, a few plucks / synths that get carried by a wonderful piece of vocal. The song itself has a few compressors added and it’s rather mid-range emphasized so it’s not something that I’d use to show the strengths of the HD820. Still, it’s more than satisfying and while this one never gets hot on either of my headphones, it still left me wanting a bit more presence out of the vocals.





Breakbeat / Drum and bass / Jungle



Aphrodite – Twilight (Original Mix)
(1411 kbps, 44.1 khz, PCM) – the godfather of jungle and drum and bass – Aphrodite. He’s old enough to be elected president of the U.S. of glorious America but he still hasn’t lost his touch (if one cares enough to listen to any of his recent releases). In this case, we’re talking about his 2016 release called Twilight, which includes the original mix alongside Slab Bass’ remix. I prefer the former, since it’s more up my alley and the first thing you notice is how similar is to another (almost soundtrack-like) tune – the one from the Friday the 13th franchise. Alas, it was a sample of Brian Bennett’s Glass Tubes which is also the theme of the song. The track is fairly simple in its construction, relying on two points of breakdown that slide into a saw bass beat, nothing fancy but it’s good enough for my drum and bass needs. It does go well into the sub bass territory and it does so with grace. I’d say it’s one of the more pleasant renditions of this song and this is a testament to Sennheiser’s craftmanship and the prowess of the ring driver used in the HD8xx series.



Spor, Ewun & Evol Intent – Levitate (1411 kbps, 44.1 khz, PCM) – a rather rhythmic track which changes beats halfway, preparing us for the breakdown. It goes well into the territory of sub bass and the HD820 does a masterful job at playing it back. It’s also a rather spatial sounding (at times) track, which is not at all specific to drum and bass but in this case, the HD820 fails to deliver the spaciousness that it’s younger sibling, the HD800S, manages. Nothing sounds recessed and as far as I’m concerned, I got my proper fix from it. I would have loved a tad more presence in the sub bass, say, a la Arya SE but sure enough, it came close and this, again, is nothing but praise at the HD820’s address.



Fallout – Scimitar (128 kbps, 44.1khz, MP3) – now this is a song you won’t find anywhere else on the web, regardless if we’re talking vinyl, CD or digital format. I’m not kidding! Go search for it and tell me if you found anything! I have carried this with me from back in the days of the Breakbeat terrorism forums and it was meant to be used as a soundtrack for an upcoming game, developed by the same artist that created the song, too – Fallout. It’s an incredibly atmospheric piece of dark drum and bass that really pushes the limits of what sub bass can be. God bless the Britains and their forum, for I have them to thank for this pure gem from 2003. Not many headphones manage to convey this track’s sub bass and while the HeKse does it better than the HD820, the Sennheiser is no slouch, either. There’s a flute-like sound (close to what Enigma uses in his songs, can’t find a better explanation for it, sorry) that adds to the mysticism of the track and in this case, it does sound just a tad recessed. This song never sounds harsh on any headphone and it’s most beautiful trait is the sub bass. To make it easier for you to understand what I’m referring to, here’s a link to it, uploaded on my Google Drive.






Aphrodite – Tower Bass (1002 kbps, 44.1 khz, FLAC) – back to grandfather Aphrodite and his 2009 release, Tower Bass. It’s proper jungle and it sounds as if it’s a binaural recording! Some of the percussion used at the start of the song tend to be a bit hot, on the HeKse, for example but nothing of the sorts on the HD820. Aphrodite’s skills can be heard throughout the entirety of the song and it’s a treat for the ears and mind. It’s rather mid bass heavy and it plays to the HD820’s strength. It’s one of the better renditions of this track and I’m quite happy with how it sounds since the mid range dip hasn’t affected anything from the track.



Beta – Headspace (Original Mix) (320 kbps, 44.1 khz, MP3) – Beta is the sushi master of breakbeat and you better be sure he never disappoints when it comes to layering his kicks and drums in such a way that even if you’re not a fan of the genre, you end up shaking your head to the tune’s rhythm. A rather complex song, that has passages which delve deep into the sub bass territory. One can hear the saw bass accompanying the sub bass and the pluck that comes in at 03:12, alongside the apex of the song sounds nice, clean and without a hint of resonance (while on other closed backs, such as Sony’s MDR-Z6, it makes my tinnitus call 911). Again, this is a testament to Sennheiser’s craftmanship and engineering skills! To be honest, I only listen to this song on my speakers + woofer setup, since it’s the only one that renders a good impression of the song but on the HD820, I kid you not, it sounds quite satisfying!



Other genres



Note: this is a set of impressions while listening to other genres of music. There’s no special way that I’m doing it, it’s just simply me browsing through my playlist and picking whichever song draws my attention. I’ll skip any sort of text regarding a specific song’s genre and just continue to write about my own subjective experience.



Loreena McKennitt – Bonny Portmore (768 kbps, 44.1 khz, FLAC) – Loreena McKennitt’s rendition of an old Irish traditional folk song, which is an ode to the fallen oak’s of the old Ireland but more specific, the Portmore Ornament Tree (wiki). I have to thank @Nomax for reminding me of both this song as well as the artist (he did it unintentionally but that’s not what matters here). The HD820 tames Loreena’s voice just a bit, not allowing it to reach the heights it does on the HeKse and this makes for a laid back representation of the song. This can be both a con and a pro, depending on everyone’s mood and listening taste. There’s no hint of sibilance or underemphasis. The soundstage they render is good, better than most of the open back headphones I have listened to but it’s noticeably more closed-in that on either the HD800S or the He1000se. If I were to blindly listen to the song, not knowing about the HD820’s existence and not knowing what I have on my head, I would never say “Hey, this is a closed back headphone!”. The lack of air and extension does make me want to switch back to the HeKse, for this particular song but this is not something I can attribute as a fault; it’s just the superiority of open back headphones and Hifiman’s prowess, for this particular track.



Fred again.. – Kammy (Like I do) (2117 kbps, 44.1 khz, PCM) – Well, it’s Fred, again! I rarely listen to modern music, especially EDM but this track (and a few others of Fred again..) brings me a sense of nostalgia. It’s a blend of new and old, breaks with vocals, pads which you usually hear in trance and electronic ambient tracks with an all around relaxed atmosphere to the song. The percussion seems to be a bit recessed while the kick drum is emphasized, according to the HD820’s specific tuning. The vocals are just a tad behind the scene and a pinch less present than on the HeKse. Sadly, at the moment of writing this, I no longer have the HD800S to compare them. What I do appreciate is that even though the kick drum is emphasized within the track, there is no hint of boominess and this is something I was afraid of, when first listening to this track. A great overall listening experience and the general feeling is that of “inside the club”, when listening to the HD820 while on the HeKse, it sounds more like “I’m at a festival”.



Florence and the Machine – Wish That You Were Here (848 kbps, 44.1 khz, FLAC) – Ah, dear old Florence and her soundtrack from a movie which I liked, despite the general bad reviews it got (I might be mistaking here but it seems that people were pissed that it wasn’t that faithful to the books? Too lazy to google it). There’s not much to say here except this: Don’t listen to this on the HD820. Nope. Skip it. Choose something else. Rihanna, maybe? Kiddin’! The voice is not recessed but rather subdued to levels where you think you’re listening to a pair of very bad speakers. Florence’s voice is powerful, intense and always takes the leading position on the scene, when listening to her songs but on the HD820, it sounds like she’s just drowning while an orchestra plays around her, waiting for her last breath to be had. The HeKse literally runs around the HD820, with this track. There’s no air, no space, no extension, no soundstage. It’s like this one was created just to show and emphasize the shortcomings that this pair of headphones has. I wish I could erase my experience listening to this song, on the HD820. Alas, after 10 beers, I still remember it.



Enigma – Endless Quest (871 kbps, 44.1 khz, ALAC) – One of the artists that makes me proud to be Romanian, Michael Cretu. The shakuhachi flute is the lead sound in this song while a set of drums with background vocals and the required percussion are following around. It’s a very meaty rendition of the song but with a lot of presence from the flute, something which I did not expect (I was expecting recession, as the one we’re currently going through). The sense of soundstage is there but the sound is not allowed to extend beyond a few centimeters from the ears. Good instrument separation but a bit muffled by the mid bass presence. It sounds very much like the Klipsch R51pm I have on my desk but with less bass coming out (not a fair comparison, since the Klipsch are connected to a SVS sub woofer). At around 1:18 in the song, the flute’s echoes can be a bit distracting, if listened to louder levels. Still, a good audition on the HD820. 7/10, would do it again.



Cigarettes After Sex – Apocalypse (822 kbps, 44.1 khz, ALAC) – When I first listened to this song, I thought it was a woman singing! It actually took me watching a live video of them to realize it’s a man and boy, was I surprised! This is one of the songs where I appreciate the HD820’s mid bass emphasis because it makes the song full while not subduing the vocals. The percussion is clear, the guitars are present, clearly discernable and everything is in order. One of the better renditions of this song and I cannot be happier with how it sounds! (It’s funny how if a song sounds great, there’s not much left to write than just this – that it’s great but if it sounds bad, boy do my fingers start moving on the keyboard).



Haggard – Herr Mannelig (5831 kbps, 192 khz, ALAC) – A Swedish ballad, sung in Italian by a German band. What a troll move! It’s actually amazing how good it sounds on the HD820! The electric guitar is perfectly accompanying the vocals, be it male of female, as heard throughout the song. The drums and background vocals are perfectly layered on top of everything and nothing sounds recessed! I don’t think there’s any surprises here, as the headphones were meant for rock, as well, given their tuning. “Herr Mannelig, Herr Mannelig, ta na na na na…” (can’t understand Italian that well, sorry).



A.R. Rahman – Mumbai Theme Tune (756 kbps, 44.1 khz, FLAC) – One of my favorite songs, all time. It’s simply amazing how much can be done with so little, instrumental wise. This song is all about space, distance, clarity and pure musical art. If anyone asks to listen to something “chill”, this is one of the first songs that pops in my mind, as a recommendation. Rahman is a musical genius, there’s no doubt about that and this song is, simply put, a journey. The HD820 doesn’t muffle any of the instruments. At 02:15, when the pads come, they do so gracefully and the mid bass pad used throughout the song is like a warm blanket on my ears. At 02:52, they go up an octave and I was expecting distortion and Sennheiser didn’t disappoint me; distortion I got. But just a BIT. Enough to be heard / felt but it was there; f*ck! A stain on an otherwise incredible rendition of the song. At 03:58, the violin comes and boy, no harshness whatsoever. This song cannot sound bad on anything, that’s what I came to think. BUT!!! – in comes the HeKse and everything seems to go up at least a level or three: the space, the graceful distancing from the instruments, the clarity of everything this song has to offer. I kind of saved the best for last especially since I am very intimate with this song and while I cannot fault Sennheiser here, the limitations of a closed back are obvious but ONLY when compared to something like the HeKse. I have listened to this song on the HD800S as well and the differences are noticeable. Not as bad as from the HD820 to the HeKse, given the similar tonality but they’re there (mainly in sound/head stage and over all clarity).

IMG_6245.JPG






End notes and conclusions


At the end of the day, the reason for my purchase of the HD820 was that I needed a pair which is better at electronic music than the HeKse and that’s what I got. What I also got, were bonuses on genres I did not expect them to perform so well. Most of my conclusions and impressions were done with a tad of harshness on my side, considering their price. I HAVE to point out faults or cons when paying 1600 EURO for a pair of headphones but to my big surprise, they weren’t that many (at least not as many as most reviewers out there made it look like). Not so long ago, I made a statement that the IE 900 are Sennheiser’s best product (except HE-1; have not got the chance to audition it and chances are I never will) and after listening to their entire top of the range line-up, I stand by my statement. But this is not to detract from the HD800S/820’s incredible sound quality and general musical prowess.



Are the HD820 worth 1600 EURO? Well, yes and no. I could easily live with them as my only pair of headphones, especially if I would of never had the chance to audition other pairs, such as HeKse, He1000v2 or the HD800S. In this case, they’re worth it. Otherwise, no, I think a proper asking price would be the same as for the HD800S, considering the trade-offs involved. But this doesn’t mean I don’t understand the “why”. It’s a tough feat of engineering to manage to make a driver sound in such a different way, regardless of what’s involved (acoustic absorbers and refractors, etc.). Out of all the pairs of headphones I have listened to, there is only one that I constantly miss yet, it’s the only one I never keep more than a month: the HD800S. But this will change, as after this long of a journey, I understand why I need them. But if you were to take the 820s away from me, I’d probably feel the same. There’s something about their sound which is not addicting but rather… symbiotic with my life style.



I would like to thank Sennheiser for provi….wait, no, scratch that. I bought them on my own, f*ck off Sennheiser, I won’t say good things about them! Well, I did, actually, because I love them and after close to two weeks of living with them, I can comfortably say that these are here to stay.



Most of the listening was done on the Woo Audio and less so on the Violectric. Why? Because to my ears, they sound better from the tube amp. The Violectric does manage to solve some of the shortcomings I’ve written about in this review, such as soundstage or clarity but at the cost of a tad more harshness at the top end of the spectrum and a bit less presence in the lower registers. Ideally, I would swap amps in accordance with the song I’m listening to and this is what I’ll probably do, from now on.



Regarding fit and seal, it seems that with enough time given, this becomes less of an issue. It’s easier to place them on my head and listen to music than it was at the start of this review. Yes, if you yawn, drink, eat or talk with someone, the seal is broken and the 4 riders of the Apocalypse shall ride onto Earth to bring about the End of Days…f*ck, sorry, wrong review!
IMG_6249.JPG





Thank you for reading and enjoy listening to music, regardless of your gear or genres. For me, it’s pure medicine and it managed to spare me of many trips to doctors, in search of something that was wrong when, at the end of the day, it was just over exhaustion and lack of proper “me” time.

P.S. Please, do excuse the mess that my desk is, right now. I still haven't got to replacing the surgical Hifiman cable (and i'm going through some "revisions" of everything so i'm moving my gear from one place to another). Also, the quality of the pictures is less than desirable, i know but i guess it'll have to do! Don't need another "hobby" such as photography. Yet.
C
csch92
i was trying the first song you posted in psytrance. thats something i really didnt tought would go trough as psytrance. but it really somehow tested the limits of headphones. my mezes still blow me away every time
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Rob80b
Rob80b
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A
anach
Beautiful work, thank you for sharing your thoughts!
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552609

1000+ Head-Fier
Great Gaming Headphones
Pros: Good quality bass
Good detail
Excellent soundstage
Good instrument separation
Great gaming performance/spatial imaging
Big ear cups
Good highs
Cons: Lower bass quantity
Mids are just OK
Build quality
Original Logo Small.png

Overview:

Up for review today are the famous Sennheiser HD820 (HD820.) The closed-back version of the HD800s adds gorilla glass to the sides to close off a lot more of the sound. I will be comparing these to the other closed-backs I have/recently had like the Sony MDR-Z1R (Z1R) and the JM Audio XTC-Closed (XTC-C.) The question here is whether these are worth a grab over the cheaper headphones listed above, or more expensive options like the Stellia. If you don’t feel like reading my ramblings below – you should, this is a complicated headphone.

820 Top.jpg


Build Quality / Comfort:

Sennheiser usually makes pretty darn good quality headphones. The HD820 comes with aluminum ear cups that are easy to rub the anodizing off of, cheap-feeling plastic headband pieces, and easily scratchable plastic on the headband. The ear cups also have a ribbed metal part that collects grime easily, making it hard to keep these clean. It’s nowhere near the quality feel my Momentums had back in the day. The gorilla glass feels really good quality and tough though. So, build quality is just OK – but is unlikely to fall apart or break. The cable is nice and thick, with no discernable microphonics, and comes in a 6.35mm plug size.

Comfort is OK, not the most comfortable, but not bad either – the ear pads are huge, so not even Dumbo's ears will touch the pads. The headband doesn’t maintain the setting you put it at (at least on my used pair.) Head clamp pressure and the headband are both decent, but not as comfortable as the Z1R or the XTC-C. I feel the top headband could become a hotspot over time, but that’s fixable with a headband cover and by lifting the heavy cable off the floor to rest on the desk.

820 Right.jpg


Sound / Source / Comparisons:

I’ve posted the frequency response graph from rtings.com to highlight how weird the frequency response on these headphones is. It’s not every day you see a bass response that has a peak in the high-bass and then a drop in the low-mids this sharp. It’s some weird tuning for sure – especially considering the massive drops in the treble as well. Audio Science’s frequency response charts is even more bizarre with more valleys and mountains than California – Crinacle’s graph isn’t much better. Ok, enough with the squiggly lines, how do these actually sound coming from my Burson Conductor 3X Performance (3XP) – 87/100 on low gain?

HD820.jpg


I don’t like breaking down headphones by each frequency since every song has bass, mids, and highs. So, I will start with bass-heavy songs, and break down each song by how all the pieces are presented. You can find my Tidal test tracks playlist in my signature if you want to compare them to your headphones. The first bass-heavy song I am using to test with is Skrillex’s “Scary Monsters and Nice Sprites.” The intro synths come in cleanly with an excellent soundstage and the bass and sub-bass are there with good rumble and detail, but more muted than on the Sony MDR-Z1R and JMA XTC-C. These headphones respond really well to more power, but if you turn them up to get more bass, the mids can start to become sharp and metallic. The vocals, which are pretty sparse in this song, come in cleanly, but further away in the soundstage – instrument separation is really good though on these, with excellent layering.

The HD820 is very similar in its technical capabilities to the Sony MDR-Z1R, but with a more subdued bass and better (less sharp) highs. The XTC-C has a smaller soundstage and less instrument separation, but better detail, closer mids, and better quantity bass in this song while using a lot less power (without scaling with more power.) The Knife’s “Silent Shout” highlights a similar experience, with some good quality bass thump, but not quite to the standards of other more bass-heavy headphones. The mids and highs here come in nicely if a little more distant than I prefer. So, despite these missing out on the bass QUANTITY present in some of the best closed-back headphones (XTC-C, Gjallarhorn, MDR-Z1R), the HD820s still have good quality, detailed, and tight bass which can scale up in quantity with more power at the cost of the mids quality.

So then, if they’re not the best basshead headphones, how do they do with mids? For a mids-test song, I am using HIM’s “Wings of a Butterfly.” The intro guitars sound crisp, if a bit metallic, and the bass guitars come in nicely if more forward than some headphones. The XTC-C does guitars better on this song, though the guitars in 3 Doors Down’s “Kryptonite” sound good on both headphones. The vocals are once again clean and clear, though more distant again, whereas the XTC-C has the vocals more to the forefront (my preference.) The soundstage on this song is once again apparent, these have one of the biggest soundstages I’ve ever heard in closed-back headphones. Elliot Minor’s “All My Life” is where the bass/mids power war comes in strongly. At 90/100 power on my Burson, the deep bass rumble at 0:45 comes in weak, but the transition at 1:21 sounds smooth. When I turn up the volume to 95/100, I get that bass rumble, but the transition at 1:21 sounds sharp and the vocals sound muted and the metallic sound becomes more apparent. Listening to the same song on the XTC-C, the bass rumble at 0:45 is perfect at a reasonable volume and the transition at 1:21 has no issues while maintaining a good balance and avoiding the metallic sound.

Switching over to Demon Hunter’s “I Am a Stone”, the bass and strings once again come in at the forefront (sounding like they’re behind your head – awesome spatial.) They are a bit overwhelming in a song that should have the vocals and strings more forward - displaying more reverberation than I would expect in this song. The highlight of this song should be the violin and the vocals, but they really take a back seat, and the bass overwhelms the song more than it should (confusing tuning). The XTC-C has a lot of that low-end bass, but with a better balance so that the vocals can be heard more clearly – I wouldn’t say any of the closed-backs I have manage to do this song justice though - the XTC-Open/Ether 2 are significantly better at representing this song (both open-back.)

To test the highs, I switched over to Michelle McLaughlin’s “Across the Burren” as a very high’s intensive song that a lot of headphones do not perform well on. There is clearly less sharpness in the highs here than on the MDR-Z1R (which struggled with highs.) The song comes across beautifully and only occasionally hits a jarring note combo, which is very rare on this song – so the HD820s do a better job with low-highs than they do on the mids. Moving on to Panic! At The Disco’s “High Hopes”, the soundstage and separation are once again very impressive. The mids maintain their further away presence, but the strings in the background once again come in clearly and cleanly. This song can really highlight sharp “S” sibilance in a painful manner, and while the HD820s aren’t perfect here, they are far better with the sibilant “S” sounds than a lot of other headphones (Z1R.)

The HD820s have less bass than the Z1R, but less sharp highs and similar mids/soundstage/technicalities (mids can sound a little clangy/metallic.) Overall, the XTC-C is better (and cheaper) in most every way except for soundstage and instrument separation, though their highs are relatively comparable, and strings are more forward and clean on the HD820. A quick side note, if you remove these from your head, they will act like speakers and be quite loud, so don’t use them near sleeping people – they also won’t prevent a ton of sound from coming in (poor isolation). A quick note on gaming, which I don’t usually include in these reviews, but the HD820 may be one of the best gaming headsets I’ve ever encountered. The large soundstage and spatial sound placement are awesome for video games – Warhammer 40k: Darktide sounds really great with these on.

820 Left.jpg


Conclusion:

These are some of the most conflicting headphones I’ve ever listened to – I go back and forth between really liking them and finding issues. On the one hand, they can sound excellent on some songs, even beating the XTC-C. Then, on the other hand, they’re missing some of the bass that the XTC-C highlights so well and they can have a metallic twanginess in the mids that the warmer XTC-C doesn’t have. The highs are less sharp than the MDR-Z1R, but they are missing the bass the Sony has also. They have an excellent soundstage and good instrument separation – though they are not your best option for keeping your music in or the outside world out. But y’know what? If I turn the volume down and stop trying to analyze them, they are a fun listen and it’s hard to be mad at them. If you’re a gamer who wants good headphones to play with and listen to music too, these may be the best.

You can buy them from Amazon here: https://amzn.to/3HurGbg


Headphone Scoring - Each category can be split into quarter points:
Build Quality
0.5​
Design
1​
Cable
1​
Case
0​
Ear Pads / Tips
1​
Comfort
1​
Lows
0.5​
Mids
0.75​
Highs
0.75​
Price
0.75​
Total:
7.25
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tutetibiimperes

100+ Head-Fier
Beautifully Unique
Pros: Extremely Comfortable
High Quality Lightweight Construction
Satisfying Bass Extension
Excellent Soundstage and Imaging
Cons: Unique Frequency Response Doesn't Play Well With Some Music
Bass can be Boomy
Balanced Cable Uses Pentaconn Connection
Lack of Travel Case
Thank you to Sennheiser for sponsoring this tour and allowing me to spend two weeks with the HD820. This has been the longest experience I've had with an 8-series headphone from Sennheiser, having previously only experienced the HD820 and HD800S briefly at Axpona in 2018.

Associated Equipment

Source: Bluesound Node 2i with Apple Music Lossless and FLAC CD rips off of USB stick
DAC: RME ADI-2 DAC
Amps: Schiit Ragnarok 2, Bravo V2

overvirew.jpg


Build, Presentation, and Accessories

The HD820 is made predominantly of plastic, but plastic often gets a bad rap. High quality plastic, such as what's used in the HD820, can feel as premium as wood or metal, and that is absolutely the case here. There is no creaking or unpleasant flexing, this headphone feels solid like it will last for decades if taken care of.

The headphone comes in a high quality cardboard display box with foam cutouts that hold it securely. At this price point a true lockable storage/travel case would be a welcome addition however.

cupos.jpg


The pads are of a hybrid design with a velour surface that touches the face with leather surrounds. They're much larger than what comes on many headphones which came as a welcome surprise, making this one of the few headphones where my ears did not rub up against the inside of the pads while in use. Clamp force is also rather light, which combined with their light weight make these exceptionally comfortable headphones.

glass.jpg


The more notable design feature on the HD820 are the gorilla-glass panels on the outside of each cup. Designed to reflect the backwave in such a way that it doesn't create destructive interference, they're also look quite striking giving the HD820 a very futuristic aesthetic, though they are fingerprint magnets.

connector.jpg


The major complaint I have about the design of the headphone is with the proprietary Sennheiser headphone connectors. While Sennheiser is far from alone in using proprietary jacks, these connectors require more force to remove than should be necessary, and they make finding alternative cables more expensive. Going with a mini-XLR on the headphone end would provide just as secure a connection and also give much greater flexibility when it comes to aftermarket cables.

The cables that do ship with the headphone feel high quality, pleasingly thick with a nice cloth wrap, and are of excellent length, both being 3m. One problem, at least IMO, was the decision to ship a balanced cable with a 4.4mm Pentaconn connector instead of the much more common 4-pin XLR termination. While I can see the appeal for a Pentaconn connector on mobile DAPs, it has no business appearing on desktop products, and the 3m balanced cable is clearly not intended for mobile use.

Sennheiser used to include 4-pin XLR terminated cables on their products, and IMO this is something they should do again, or at least offer it as an option. At the price of this headphone it should even be possible to include three cables - perhaps a 3m 1/4" terminated cable, a 3m 4-pin XLR terminated cable, and a 1m Pentaconn terminated cable for mobile use.

Sound

The HD820 is notorious for having a rather unique frequency response, so I was very curious to hear it for an extended period with my own ears.

What immediately struck me was how detailed the sound was, some of the most detailed sound I've heard from a dynamic driver headphone. The soundstage is also wider than any other closed back I've heard, with imaging that's sharp and focused, creating a nice three dimensional sound field that can place instruments and voices in front of, above, behind, below, and to either side of the head.

Bass

The bass response out of the box is more prominent than many other headphones. There's a solid sub-bass emphasis that gives a nice amount of rumble to tracks with EDM bass or pipe organ, as well as a mid-bass hump that gives drums impact.

While on the above-average side when it comes to detail in the bass region, I did hear it occasionally become boomy and a bit hollow sounding depending on the track. On music that has complex production combined with a boosted bass track found in some modern pop such as BVNDIT's Jungle the bass could become uncontrolled and overshadow other elements of the production.

I also noticed that in certain acoustic tracks, such as Alison Krauss and Union Station's The Road is a Lover certain notes in the bass line would be emphasized over others, giving a somewhat uneven response.

Midrange

Midrange performance was excellent, with some of the most beautifully rendered male vocals I've heard on any headphone. One of the tracks on the Sennheiser supplied HD820 playlist, Chris Jones' No Sanctuary Here was new to me but left me speechless from how spacious and realistic the voices were rendered.

Another Sennheiser provided track, Manha de Carnaval, showed excellent timbre in the guitars with great detail in the finger action on the strings.

One area that I felt could use some improvement was in how female vocals were presented. On tracks such as Dreamcatcher's Locked Inside a Door or Hwasa's LMM the focal line felt more distant and less prominent than I'd ideally prefer. This may be an artifact of the tuning meant to create a more spacious sound, however.

Treble

I have no complaints with the treble response. Listening to Bach's Passacaglia and Fugue, Charles Ives Symphony No. 2, and Rimsky-Korsakov's Scheherazade the upper harmonics of the strings and brass all felt airy and open and never wandered into harshness.

Soundstage and Imaging

These are the raisons d'être of these headphones. The open-back HD800 and HD800S are widely known for their performance when it comes to a huge wide-open soundstage, and Sennheiser has done an admirable job of translating that into a closed-back headphone. While I wouldn't say it beats all open backs I've heard, it does beat a good many, which is a phenomenal accomplishment for any closed back headphone.

Imaging, while not quite as phenomenal as some headphones I've heard such as the Audeze LCD-5 or Beyerdynamic T1.2, is still very strong, leading to some fun moments in pop tracks and a realistic sense of space in orchestral works.

Pairings

While I ran the HD820 predominantly off of my Schiit Ragnarok 2, I did give it a whirl directly out of the headphone jack from my RME ADI-2 DAC as well as through a budget tube hybrid amp I happen to own, the Bravo V2.

I could not hear a major difference between the Ragnarok 2 and the RME's direct headphone amp on this headphone, likely because it's rather sensitive and doesn't require major current to get it going, though I would say bass and dynamics out of the Ragnarok 2 were superior.

The Bravo V2 resulted in a loss of fine detail but added a sharper edge to some music, making the HD820s feel more aggressive to a degree. While this was pleasant I felt that the loss of detail wasn't a worthwhile tradeoff.

Comparisons

Dan Clark Audio Ether CX


Another premium closed-back design with a high-quality futuristic lightweight design, and another that excels for a closed back when it comes to an expansive soundstage, the similarities end about there.

While the HD820 has an esoteric frequency response designed by Sennheiser to highlight music in a unique way, the Ether CX is devoutly neutral. While the HD820 is a high impedance design that can happily chow down on some tubes, the Ether CX is a very low impedance current-hungry design.

Stock vs Stock the HD820 has a more friendly tuning, as the Ether CX comes across as extremely bass light without EQ. The Ether CX brings female vocals more forward compared to the HD820, and when EQ'd can easily reproduce the same amount of bass quantity as the HD820, with added control and quicker decay as well.

In terms of build quality I'd call them comparable, whether high quality plastic and glass in the case of the HD820 or carbon fiber and high quality pleather in the case of the Ether CX, both feel premium in their own way.

Comfort however goes to the HD820, with it's larger more breathable cups, and less fiddly headband.

Focal Celestee

Focal's high-fashion premium closed back offering is striking in a very different way from the HD820, which plays to the more Teutonic aesthetic of form following function.

The Focal is an easier headphone to drive, easily being driven by an Apple Dongle from a mobile phone to volume levels beyond what would be safe, and has a more pleasing frequency response out of the box to my ears, being smoother overall with a tasteful bass emphasis combined with a smooth and forward upper midrange.

Comfort is comparable, the extra room in the HD820 pads is nice, but Focal's high quality leather hybrid pads are buttery soft, and Focal's headband design has always been one of my favorites.

Where the HD820 shines heads and shoulders above the Focal is in terms of its spacious sound. The Celestee is intimate to a fault. While excellent for pop tracks, it falls apart when asked to play orchestral music of atmospheric live jazz, areas where the HD820 shines.

Audio Technica WP900

Perhaps a slightly less obvious comparison as the WP900 is designed as a portable solution first and foremost, they're both premium closed back designs, taking different routes to get there, with the HD820 focusing on the hi-tech and the WP900 focusing on old-world craftsmanship.

There's a similarity between the two when it comes to the bass, with both having a boost above normal, though the WP900's bass boost is a broader plateau without the dips found in the HD820.

The WP900 also excels when it comes to upper midrange and treble, presenting a forward and clarion-clear vocal presentation with a pleasant amount of zing and edge to female vocals, brass, guitars, and strings.

The HD820 presents a much larger soundstage, the WP900 is rather intimate in that regard, and also beats the Audio Technica in terms of comfort, those huge pads and wide headband being easily preferable to the just-large-enough-to-not-be-on-ear pads and super-thin headband on the WP900.

Conclusions

I enjoyed my time with the HD820, leaving quite impressed with Sennheiser's engineering skills to create a closed back that can isolate you from atmospheric noise, and isolate those around you from what you're listening to, while still delivering the spacious sound of an open back headphone.

The bespoke tuning, however, does occasionally run into trouble with certain songs and certain genres, seemingly being more at home with less-busy tracks.

If you predominantly listen to acoustic, orchestral, jazz, and simpler-produced pop tracks and need a closed back headphone this one deserves a solid look.
X
xingfei
Nice review, but if the SONY MDR Z1R came also with a "traveling case" Then you could imagine the price increase it would bring to the already expensive headphone, So saying and giving it a 4 star review(1 Star off)/a con, simply because the Sennheiser HD820 does not come with a "carrying case" is 'silly', because on top of the original price we would see an increase on this headphones MSRP, which people were already complaining when the headphones came out. So even if the HD820 came with a "portable case" It would not be wise to be wearing this headphones on the street, have you seen the news? World is going mad.
You are missing what this headphones are being targeted to and their usage.
ralphp@optonline
ralphp@optonline
A very nice and wonderfully written review. I own the HD 820s and I agree with most of the points raised in the review. I was super impressed with tutetibiimperes' writing skills. Bravo!
T
tutetibiimperes
@xingfei

That's not the only reason, as I noted the strangeness in the FR, while it works very well with some music, isn't universally suited for all, and the potential for boomyness in the bass and odd decision to ship with a Pentaconn cable instead of something XLR terminated for balanced use also play into it. I do think that at the price point a carrying case should be standard though. Focal manages to do it with their Celeste which costs much less and is also made in Europe, as does DCA with their Ether and Aeon series headphones, which also come in at lower price points.

Ichos

Reviewer at hxosplus
Almost perfect
Pros: + Fun and enjoyable
+ Full and well extended bass
+ Mostly natural timbre
+ Smooth treble response much improved over the rest of the HD8 family
+ Best soundstage on a closed back headphone
+ Huge and holographic
+ Phenomenal positioning accuracy
+ Resolving and detailed but not analytical
+ Great looks
+ Excellent build quality
+ Lightweight and comfortable
+ Two cables of good quality
+ Handmade in Ireland
Cons: - Inconsistent bass response
- Bass can become hollow and boomy
- Mid - bass masking
- Fragile glass needs careful handling
- 4.4mm cable too long for portable use
- A carrying case is missing
- Not suitable for outdoor use
- Low clamping force may result into poor sealing
- Average noise isolation
This review was made possible thanks to the Sennheiser HD820 tour that was organized by the brand for Head-Fi.
My sincerest thanks for letting me participate.

Introduction

The HD820 is Sennheiser's closed - back flagship headphone building upon the success of the HD800S.
They share the same famous 56mm Ring Radiator dynamic transducer system and then incorporate various novel innovations to overcome the laws of physics in order to provide open back performance from a closed back headphone.
The most notable ones are the Concave Gorilla Glass reflectors, that deliver impressive spatial sound reproduction and the acoustic absorber system that prevents frequency masking for unheralded detail.
The HD820 is Axel Grell's latest creation before he left Sennheiser to found his own headphone brand.

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All technical specifications are available at the Sennheiser website.

Build quality and aesthetics

The HD820 is one of the best built headphones in the market, hand - made in Sennheiser's Ireland facilities with carefully selected materials and excellent craftsmanship.
Most of the parts are made from high quality plastic and fit together with great precision.
The adjustable headband is reinforced with a metal band and has an inner damping element with a microfiber padding for extra comfort.
The newly designed earpads are hybrid, a combination of synthetic leather at the outside with microfiber on the interior.
Aesthetics are subjective, so you might feel different but I love the industrial and futuristic looks of the series even more in the HD820 with the concave gorilla glass outer parts that offer visibility of the internal driver.

Fit and isolation

The HD820 weighs only 360g and has a medium clamping force, just as needed for securing them at your head.
Due to the low pressure there is a chance that the ear cups may not seal as perfectly as it is needed for achieving the best isolation and bass response.
Sealing for my head and face shape was perfect but I can see some people with smaller heads and leaner faces having some trouble in finding the perfect fit.
Bending the headband carefully might solve the problem.
The ear pads are -D- shaped, the same as in the HD800S, so they can easily accommodate larger ears.
One positive difference is that they are slightly thicker so they feel even more comfortable and the ear cannot touch the inner mesh.
My wearing experience with the HD820 was that of great comfort, no pressure points, the headband felt well rested and I was able to use them for more than a couple of hours without any kind of annoyance minus some heat and sweat issues, something regular for all closed back headphones.
Sound isolation was perfect during use in the noisy household environment but not sufficient for blocking louder sounds.
But then I don't see many people using them while traveling or commuting.

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Cable and accessories

The HD820 package includes a sturdy storage case, a microfiber cloth, instruction manual, two cables, and a USB flash drive.
That drive contains a copy of the manual in PDF form and a diffuse-field frequency response curve for your actual pair of headphones.
The two, 3m long, detachable cables feature the lemo connectors and are terminated with 6.35mm and 4.4mm plugs respectively.
The cables are of good quality, they have a cotton sheath outer reinforcement, they are not microphonic but they do have the tendency to become tangled.
The storage case is bulky and pretty useless, it would have been much better if a nice carrying case was included instead of it.

Associated equipment

The HD820 is a $2400 pair of headphones so I guess that most people who can afford them already own a couple of high quality pieces of audio gear.
High Z Sennheiser headphones are synonymous with OTL headphone amplifiers so it would be a serious omission not to test them with the Feliks Audio Euforia.
Then for solid state duties I engaged the class A beast, the Flux Labs FCN-10, one of the best "all in one" pieces of headphone equipment.
With a sensitivity of 103dB, the HD820 is not as hard to drive as you would imagine and they can be used with high quality portable devices.
Like the exquisite FiiO M17 which proved more than sufficient for driving the HD820 with excellent control, spare headroom and high quality sound.
The stationary sources included the Lab 12 dac1 reference NOS DAC, the Audiolab 8300CDQ and the Mhdt Audio Toucan.

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Listening impressions

Although I was the second person to receive the review sample nonetheless I left the headphones playing some music for about 100 hours.

The Sennheiser HD820 is another example of a headphone where the frequency response measurements don't exactly align with the actual listening experience.
I guess that most of you have already seen the frequency response graph with the weird peaks and dips that may suggest that the HD820 is going to sound strange and out of tune.
Well, this is quite far from the truth since the sound is pretty even, with deep bass response, slightly forward mids, present treble and satisfying timbre consistency.
Let's start with the timbre which is mostly natural and not too artificial or metallic sounding, instruments and voices are heard quite realistic and balanced.
Mids are more intense and forward but not in an annoying manner that would lead into a heavy mid - centric presentation.
Although this is not a strictly reference tuning, the end result is very emotional and musical, mids do get a great share of the show but they are not overbearing, nor are shouting or piercing.
Electric guitars, blazing horns and solo singers sound pleasing and engaging with great presence, good attack and fine articulation.
I enjoyed rock songs and baroque arias alike.
The mids are full bodied, with roundly shaped edges and great depth of expression while they are counterweighted by the sparkling treble which is present and luminous as to add the necessary energy and contrast to the mix.
Speaking of treble, the HD820 is the most smooth sounding of the whole HD8-- series, including the HD8XX.
Of course DNA is still the same, slightly bright, unforgiving, detailed and very resolving but this time there are no alarming peaks or a treble plateau to cause listener fatigue and any kind of ear piercing harshness.
Timbre is much improved and more natural when compared to the HD800S.
Instruments sound closer to reality, decaying is relaxed, percussion instruments are heard more splashy and the overall body weight is increased.
Nonetheless there are still some traces of artificiality and the sound is a bit leaner and skinnier when compared with other headphones.

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The bass under the microscope

The bass is tastefully elevated above the neutral reference point with great sub - bass extension that has good rumble and satisfying quantity to cater for modern electronic music.
This is the most bassy headphone of the series, full bodied and fun, yet fast, clear and controlled, a great performer minus a few quirks.
There is a mild mid - bass emphasis that makes the overall presentation a mixed bag.
The hump is not too severe as to annoyingly let the bass bleed into the mids or overshadow the treble, two parts of the region that already get their own share of boost to counteract to this gain and retain their space and freedom of expression.
The problem is focused on the bass line itself which gets self - masked and sometimes cannot be expressed with the desired clarity and layering.
With less demanding material where we have a simpler bass line the problem is not that pronounced and the bass expression ranges from very good to excellent.
As an example the "Sultans of swing" sounded fun and enjoyable, electronic music was a pleasure to listen and in string quartets, the solo cello was heard slightly colored but still in tune, tight, layered and contrasted to the viola.

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Moving into more complex and demanding material is a different story though.
In large symphonic works, with heavily populated bass lines, the headphone is not up to the task as someone would expect.
There is a great inconsistency to the bass reproduction which ranges from clear, fast, tight and well layered to boomy, muddy and hollow according to the type and number of instruments that are playing simultaneously.
As an example you can clearly hear the solo bassoon or solo cello but after a while they get lost under the massive orchestral tutti when groups of lower bass instruments are engaged simultaneously.
Masking effect can become quite pronounced and there are also times when you can hear an intense cup reverb and echo.
The dynamic behavior is mostly good with contrast and muscle but sometimes the sound becomes hollow and uncontrollable like listening to the droning effect of speakers placed in an undamped room.
Stavinsky's ballet suites are quite telling of the above mentioned issues where you can hear the inconsistency of the bass response from track to track but at the same time it can also highlight the best virtues of the HD820 like the immaculate soundstaging.

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Soundstage master

Soundstage is almost on the same level with the HD800S and truly remarkable for a closed back headphone, it trumps a lot of open back headphones.
Soundstage is extended, airy, wide and spacious with one of the most accurate positioning I have ever heard.
The soundscape arrangement stays always natural and the headphone is highly adaptable to the size of the ensemble never sounding artificially diffused.
The HD820 is doing an excellent job in communicating the ambience of the recording venue while the presentation is large scale and grandiose with great layering and expanded holography.

Vs the Meze Audio Liric

Non audio comparison


In the non sound related stuff, the Liric is of better build quality, more premium materials are used and it radiates more luxury.
The Liric is also more portable despite not being foldable but on the other hand the HD820 has more roomy earpads and less weight.
In actual use both feel very comfortable and are well designed for long listening sessions without causing any discomfort.
The Liric offers a slightly more stable fit and it isolates better from external noises.
The Liric comes with an excellent carrying case which is more useful than the large storage case of the HD820.
There are two detachable cables included with the Liric, a 1.5m soft TPE cable with 3.5mm jack and a 3m with 3.5mm jack and while the HD820 cables are of better quality, the Liric cables are more easy to replace thanks to the generic 3.5mm connection plug.

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Audio comparison

Sound-wise the most notable differences are related to the bass response.
The HD820 has deeper sub - bass extension and can move more air but the bass on the Liric has a considerably more reference and natural tuning up to the lower mids.
There is no mid - bass emphasis and the presentation is way more technical than the HD820.
Bass is faster, cleaner, more controlled and tight, with better layering and can resolve much better, even during the most populated passages without the slightest hint of masking.
The Liric Pressure Equalization System is working wonders, there is no pressure build up, no cup reverb or echo and the bass never sounds boomy, hollow or artificial.
Thus said, the HD820 bass is heard more visceral and full bodied with slightly better dynamics.

Unexpectedly so, the Liric sounds more sterile when it comes to the mids, with a leaner and slightly brighter character.
The sound is more clear and clean on the Liric but vocals are more shouting and leaner than in the HD820 which in contrast is more lush, pleasing and musical.

Upper treble is a touch more hot and artificial sounding on the HD820 than the Liric which has a somewhat better timbre consistency while they both resolve and detail like champs without being analytical.

The HD820 triumphs in the soundstaging abilities by a fair margin, the Liric can't touch the overall openness and sense of space nor present the sound with the same grandeur.
Thus said, the Liric has equally amazing positioning accuracy.

Both headphones deserve their flagship status as they offer truly exceptional sound quality with two different flavors to choose your favorite.

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In the end

The Sennheiser HD820 should always be judged while keeping in mind that it is a closed back headphone with all the shortcomings that apply to this principle of design.
It is only under this perspective that becomes clearly visible why it is one of the best closed back flagship headphones you can buy.
And rightfully so because of the top tier sound performance and the excellent job done by the Sennheiser engineers to successfully address most of the associated shortcomings and give it a strong technical background.
It is not perfect but only when compared to some open back flagships and then again it is almost there.

Test playlist

Copyright - Laskis Petros 2022
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Ichos
Ichos
Thank you very much, it was my pleasure indeed!
J
JKTRRT
I like my Sennheiser HD 820 headphone but the foil Sennheiser logo stickers on both sides are peeling off! One fell off completely. I tried to glue them back on no luck. The replacement part article 581440 is not available.
Ichos
Ichos
Hi you should contact Sennheiser, especially if you are still under warranty.

Barra

Headphoneus Supremus
Sennheiser HD820 Review – A Modded HD800 Sound in a Closed Design
Pros: HD800 Modded Sound, Closed Design, Additional Coherency, Closed Design to Eliminate Outside Sound
Cons: None other than I wish it was free. :)
When Sennheiser created the HD800 audiophile headphone in Jan. 2009, it not only created the best-sounding mass-produced consumer headphone of its day – it also created a cult following and ultimately ignited a new genre of cost-no-limit audiophile headphones going forward. Even more importantly, the HD800 was unique as it became a platform for tweaking and hacks called “Mods”. While this is an HD820 review, there is history here that needs to be considered, so we will be taking that detour first before discussing how glorious the HD820 sounds. 😊

HD800 – A Mods Platform​

Living in Seattle, I was part of a crazy group of extreme audio scientist HEADFIERS who held “mini-meets” between official HEADFI events to showcase their individual HD800 hacks and creations. While the HD800 was the best-sounding mass-produced headphone of its time, known for the biggest sound stage ever and gobs of detail you just do not get anywhere else, the bass was not known for its slam. The platform was built around the biggest dynamic driver available so this Seattle audiophile extremist group felt that there was no excuse for the lack of slam. They are not bass heads and appreciate the polite sound that the HD800 provided that allowed the intense detail, but they wanted to bring the extremely detailed bass a little forward.

Beyond the traditional shelving foam mods, these scientists would create their own optimized cables and soldered them to the HD800 for additional returns in sound quality eliminating known weaknesses in the sound chain. Some of these individuals would pull dedicated high-gauge electrical wires from their garage panels into their living room setups and would upgrade their home electrical panels with specialized grounding options to eliminate additional noise. They even built their own HD800 optimized amps and patch cables to ensure optimal sound quality. Sonarworks was eventually introduced into the equation to tweak the existing frequency curve which paid huge dividends in moving the bass-forward – Abyss level bass. This group even hacked the Sonarworks algorithm which was limited to 20hz-20khz to boost the sub-bass outside that range.

In the end, we were able to raise the bar on the HD800 so far that we could go head-to-head with the Abyss costing two to three times the HD800. Blind testing vs. the Abyss is not really possible given the Franken-headband of the Abyss vs. the top-in-class comfort of the HD800 fit, but as a group, we had mixed results across the board where the HD800 could even match the Abyss bass slam. That is saying a lot. Of the ten doing the head-to-head testing, 6 went with the Abyss narrowly with 4 going for the modded HD800 narrowly. Truthfully, it was pretty much a tie with the Abyss in sound quality.

My HD800 Setup​

Personally, I wanted an HD800 setup that I could take with me to meets, so I ended up purchasing a particular mod from a fellow HEADFIER, obtaining my favorite HD800 cables as pictured below – the Forza AudioWorks Noir Hybrid HPC, and cheating with Sonarworks tuning products of which I am currently using their True-Fi add-in.

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My best setup today uses:

Amazon HD Music >> Sonarworks True-Fi (HD800 Curve) >> Digital Glass Optical (Bluejeans Cables) >> Burson Conductor 3 Reference (DAC) >> Bluejeans Cable Patch >> Eddie Current Zana Deux Tube Amp >> Forza AudioWorks Noir Hybrid HPC >> HD800 (Modded)

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I have lost track of the particular mod name but will add it to the review when found. This system sounds spectacular and has left me satisfied which is rare as a HEADFIER. This is my reference system by which I measure everything else. I have auditioned every major competitor from the RAAL to the LCD-5 to the HE1000 to the Abyss to the Utopia to the Shangri-La to the STAX 009/007 to even the Sennheiser Orpheus/HE-1. Yet, I do not feel that I am missing anything.

Source​

I have a vast collection of 20,000 HD AIFF files that I love to use but have lately focused on Amazon’s HD Music setup to play new music. I found Amazon HD Music when researching a new technology used by services to digitally optimize streamed output. The list of steaming services that used this technology included Amazon which I had a free trial and tried. I was shocked at the results as streamed music often sounded better than my highest resolution files. In particular, this works well in raising the bar on my to-go music by using Amazon HD Music iOS app on my iPhone with my in-ears. It also plays well with my listening practices of mixing genres to shock my senses – piano following metal following EDM, then Enya. I have also found some great channels within that allow me to regularly discover new music.

Sonarworks​

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Sonarworks is a huge win for me. As you can see in the True-Fi picture above, I am using an HD800 curve. The Sonarworks people have taken a number of HD800s into the lab and pulled their sound curve to get a manufacturers average curve as seen in grey above. You can see the HD800 drop off in bass broad peak in mids, then sharp peak in treble. Sonarworks applies their algorithm to adjust that curve to match the Harmon’s curve as seen in orange. The also have age adjustments as well as optional bass adjustments which you can see that I have boosted a bit.

Best of all, the True-Fi UI offers an “Enable” button. By clicking it on and off, you can hear the True-Fi benefits in real-time – true head-to-head auditioning. It is very easy to see immediately the improvements that True-Fi offers. Yes, they do have a curve for a majority of headphone products so you can easily adjust the headphone curve with the headphone dropdown to accommodate other headphones.

For those that have not tried Sonarworks, I highly recommend taking advantage of their free 30-day trial and click away at that “Enable” button to hear for yourself.

The net results for my group of scientists were the pounding and controlled bass we were looking for – Abyss level bass – that does not interfere at all with the soundstage or details that the HD800 offers.

HD800 vs. HD820 Filters: This is where the HD820 gets very interesting. The HD800 with the HD800 filter is fantastic and clicking on and off makes the sound go from dead to alive in a snap. Yes, the HD800 sounds wonderful without the filter, but the filter is like listening to the HD800 on the world's best high-end tube setup offering an unparalleled richness that it does not have in the stock polite sound. Click the filter on and if the HD800 was a 10 before, now it is a 13 on the same scale. Playing the HD820 on the HD800 filter has the same effect...POW, magic. However, moving to the HD820 filter with the HD820 headphones and there is an additional magic taking it from the 10 to now a 15. The extra magic now seems to be a more rounded 3d sound stage with complete coherency. The HD800 with the HD820 filter seems to work well together with a more mid-centric sound, but not as coherent as the HD820. The HD820 filter seems to bring more treble forward offering a more detailed sound. The HD800 with the HD820 filter feels more lively and forward vs. the HD800 filter which is more laid back and wider in the soundstage. This gives me something to play with when I have to ship out the HD820, but the HD820 with the HD820 filter is clearly the better-sounding headphone setup.

New HD800 Product Options – The HD800S and HD820​

Yes, I am satisfied with my current setup, but when Sennheiser launches new flagship products everyone that I know listens. The HD800S was launched in February 2016 and yet I have shamefully not found a single place where I can audition this headphone. I moved to a new state losing my mini-meet options, and then the Covid thing happened, so I have not heard it. My understanding is that it sounds like a modded HD800 lifting the bass and saving us the trouble of having to self-mod the original HD800. The HD820 launched a couple years later in Summer 2018 which I had not had a chance to hear until now for the same reasons. For that reason, I was very thankful to Sennheiser who offered to tour the HD820 on HEADFI where I was selected to be a participant. As a participant, they shipped what seems to be a new HD820 in a retail box and have allowed me to audition it for a month in exchange for an honest review. Given the performance of the HD800 and its popularity and the similarity of the HD820, this was a pretty safe bet for Sennheiser that they would get a positive review….just sayin’. 😊

What interested me in the HD820 was community feedback of the HD820 being what they called an HD800 S closed option. I say HD800 S as they have described it as having the modded sound with raised bass coming from the HD800 S, but in a closed design. In listening, I have found this to be pretty accurate as I will explain later. The reason that I am interested in the HD820 is several fold – (1) my HD800 is starting to show its age so I would like to have another option to slow down its demise, (2) a closed design will limit the sound leakage from the headphone as my listening station is close to the master bedroom forcing me to lower my volume at night, and (3) the closed design looks sturdier than the HD800 which is important to someone like me with young kids.

The Tour Kit​

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The tour kit is simply a retail HD820 and it appears to be brand new. Having spent time with the unit, burn-in was not an issue. Brand new out of the box, it sounds as wonderful as today. This is not always the case with a dynamic driver. The kit comes with the headphones and two sets of cables, one 6.5mm and one 3.5mm. This is convenient for me as the 3.5mm allowed me to plug the HD820 into my second headphone output on the Burson Conductor 3 Reference to do a true head-to-head comparison. There is also a USB key with manuals and other stuff including the frequency response curve for this headphone as seen below.

Comparing Cables: The stock cables seem to be an upgrade over the original HD800 cables as you might expect given the difference in the launch date. Therefore, the upgraded Forza AudioWorks Noir Hybrid HPC cables have less impact than they did with the original cables, but there is still a clear difference, a noticeable upgrade in sound. The Noir Hybrid cable has more girth to them and just feels like they carry more signal. Not only do they carry more to the bass impact, but they have a finer detail in the treble with bringing a weightier treble at the same time. The comparison is like comparing the detail offered when turning the volume up 10 percent without the higher volume wearing on your ears. There is something more to the cable upgrade that I cannot explain, but a lot of it is a luxurious look and feel that is added. However, this new cable seems to have a lot more girth and offers more luxury than the original cables as well. Just look for yourself in the pictures above. The extra set of cables is also a very welcome addition.

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HD820 Sound Testing and Comparisons​

As mentioned earlier, the HD820 has the modded bass bump right out of the box as suggested with the HD800 S and it is a closed design. This bass enhancement shows in the provided curve image above when compared to the HD800 curve seen in the True-Fi screenshot. My HD800 is modded to have that same bass bump so they are very similar in signature. So my modded HD800 and the new HD820 do sound very much the same. However there are noticeable differences. The closed design of the HD820 seems to offer a little less sound stage than the vastness of my HD800, but just a little…I am nit picking here – both vast, the HD800 is just a little bigger when compared side-by-side. On the other hand, the HD820 seems a little more coherent and intimate. Again, just a little, but it is noticeable. Probably the biggest listening difference is the lack of outside sound leaking in due to the closed design offering more focus on the detail that comes through. Another difference is the pads – my older pads need replacement, but they were never as full as the HD820 pad – see the picture below. Both are very comfortable, but the HD820 pads block outside sounds better in combination with the closed design. I will probably get something similar when I replace my HD800 pads. So in general, my sound conclusions are that the HD820 is a closed design and that is where most of the differences lie. There are more similarities that differences so in general, which do you like the looks of better and is the open or closed design better suited to your use case?

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My Interest Justifications Tested​

As mentioned earlier, the reason that I am interested in the HD820 is several fold – (1) the HD800 is showing its age so I would like to have another option to slow down its demise, (2) a closed design will limit the sound leakage from the headphone as my listening station is close to the master bedroom forcing me to lower my volume at night, and (3) the closed design looks sturdier than the HD800 which is important to someone like me with young kids.
  1. HD800 Backup Option: Yes, this works – it offers comparable sound with some interesting upgrades in coherence that I would like to explore more. I love the look and it is different enough that it appears to be a different headphone. Why not just buy a different headphone such as the Focal Utopia or LCD-5…because I am set up perfectly for the HD820 to maximize the SQ and the others are twice as much plus will need additional tweaks/equipment.
  2. Closed Design: Yes, while there is significant sound leakage from this new closed design, the leakage is muted enough to allow me to comfortably listen while my wife sleeps next door. Side-by-side, the leakage reduction was minimal, but enough. Plus, the leakage was directional from my head seal rather than radiating in all directions as with the HD800. This solves my problem, but probably would not be a solution in an open work environment.
  3. Sturdier: Yes, it is definitely sturdier. My kids have already damaged my HD800 band which is very similar, but the headphone itself feels more solid. My only concern would be the glass panels in the side. I was not concerned until I saw the warning stickers on the new units.
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Conclusion​

So will I buy an HD820 based on my needs – yes I will…but also because it is just that cool and I cannot resist cool designs. Sennheiser has another winner on their hands that answers the closed-back user use case needs. It is similar enough to satisfy my HD800 cravings, but different enough to excite me into new experimentation to see how far I can push the HD820. If I was starting from new, I would either go HD800 S or the HD820 to avoid having to do my own mods. However, the HD820 sits higher on my value list as it solves the closed issue without losing that soundstage that Sennheiser lovers crave.
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Sennheiser
Sennheiser
Thank you so much for spending some time with the HD 820, and your helpful 800-series context. Great photos and setup too! The 820 pads are indeed thicker than the 800 out of the box, so while your 800 pads may have compressed, its probably not much but the "out-of-box thickness" of the 820 pads may highlight even minor differences (so, you're not losing your mind there is still a difference haha). We appreciate the comments about the environmental isolation it offers; many potential listeners have loud neighbors, constant nearby traffic or different work/sleep schedules—things you don't have to worry about getting in the way of your hi-fi fix. Any key tracks you audition with that you want to share?
X
xingfei
Great review! people always talking negative about this headphone. Your review shines light into the HD820 benefits. I own a pair, they are keepers. Just like my HD800 S

kmmbd

500+ Head-Fier
Almost Famous
Pros: - Excellent design and build quality
Very comfortable for long sessions
Highly resolving
Superb treble extension
Staging and imaging capabilities can rival many open-back headphones in the TOTL space
Fairly easy to drive
Very low distortion driver facilitates equalization
Cons: - Gorilla glass sides pick up smudges and fingerprints
Bass presence depends a lot on the seal and requires experimentation
Mid-bass dip makes the bass sound somewhat disjointed at times
Lack macrodynamic punch and slam
Some nasality in deep male vocals
Lower-treble peak can induce fatigue
Price premium over the open-back HD800S
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Sennheiser’s HD series of headphones have spanned multiple decades and are still going strong. The HD820 are their current consumer-grade flagship (discounting the unobtanium HE-1) and aim to bring the staging and imaging properties of the HD800S into a closed-back form. Easier said than done, so let’s see how close Sennheiser gets to the mark.

This review was originally published on Headphonesty.

In the box​

  • Sennheiser HD820 headphones
  • 3 meter 6.35m single-ended cable
  • 3 meter 4.4mm pentaconn cable (can be swapped for XLR at purchase)
  • A USB drive
  • Microfiber cloth
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The cables are too long for regular desk use. Other than that, they have excellent build quality and should last a long time.

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Design​

The HD820 share a similar housing design to the HD800 and HD820S with the major difference being the Gorilla Glass on the earcups. The glass has a concave shape and reportedly disperses the resonant frequencies that form within the earcup. The build material is mostly high quality plastic, with the earpads having a leather surround and velour top.

The headband is stainless steel and has a smooth, clicked adjustment mechanism.

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The housings have detachable cable with connectors unique to the HD8X0 series (ODU circular connectors). Aftermarket cables can run expensive for this reason. The earcups have a moderate amount of swivel and rotate about 30 degrees to the left and right for better adjustment.

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The earpads can be easily replaced (simply pulling on one end does the trick) and have a different design to the HD800 or HD800S earpads. The HD820 earpads form a tighter seal and have a softer surface.

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My biggest “gripe” about the HD820 build is the glass side panel. The glass catches smudges and fingerprints and needs maintenance to look good. Other than that, build quality is excellent.

Comfort and isolation​

Comfort is excellent, which is rare for many TOTL headphones. The relatively light weight of 360g, combined with adequate padding and the redesigned earpads, facilitate long-term wearing. Isolation is great as well, as the Gorilla Glass earcups block outside noise effectively.

Internals​

The most fascinating aspect of the HD820 are their ring-radiator drivers.

In fact, the ring-radiator driver technology deserves its own article to cover the technical design in how it differs from a regular dome-shaped diaphragm. Briefly, in a typical dynamic driver, the dome and the surround acts as a single unit during pistonic motion (as in whenever there is any audio signal).

However, at higher frequencies, the voice coil moves faster than the surrounding, resulting in phasing issues. This results in two audible phenomena: noticeably worse imaging and higher distortion at high frequencies.

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To combat this, Sennheiser removed the central dome and mounted the inner and outer ridges of the driver diaphragm directly to the chassis. The voice coil was then placed in the middle of these two ridges, allowing for uniform movement across the entire diaphragm.

A rather ingenious solution in theory. So let’s see how the driver system performs in practice.

Sennheiser HD820 - Driver.jpg


Sound​

The following sound impressions were formed with the stock earpads, stock cable, and the iFi xDSD Gryphon, SMSL SP400, or Questyle CMA-400i as sources. Test tracks available on Tidal as a playlist.
The Sennheiser HD820 have a warm sound signature with some lower-treble focus. What stands out the most though is the soundstage, as these rival many open-back headphones in that regard. One major “caveat” of these headphones is how seal-dependent the sound is. The seal can break with little jaw or head movements and can attenuate the bass. Probably something to keep in mind during auditions.

Sennheiser HD820 - Gryphon.jpg

Bass​

Bass is not the HD820’s strongest suit. However, in terms of absolute extension, they deliver. You can hear the sub-bass tones until 25Hz rather easily and they will provide some rumble when called for. However, bass slam is lacking and bass texture is not the best. There is some haziness in the bass region that masks some low-level details.

The proverbial fly in the ointment is the bass "cut" around 300Hz. This frequency cut ensures that there is little bass bleed from the boosted 100-200Hz region. At the same time it creates a strange hollowness while transitioning from upper-bass to lower mids. In tracks with heavy bass-line and accompanying vocals, this lack of weight is exacerbated. Case in point: Passenger’s Things You’ve Never Done.

All of these culminate into a bass response that is, perhaps, the weakest aspect of the HD820.

Midrange​

Sennheiser HD-series headphones usually have good midrange tuning. In fact, their HD600, HD650, and the HD800S have masterful midrange tuning and are often considered reference headphones for that reason.

The HD820s are a slight deviation from that lineage. The midrange issues start from the aforementioned upper-bass cut that can make certain low-level tones sound odd. Baritone vocals have a strange chestiness to them that’s not there in the original recording.

Sennheiser probably chose to add a bump between 1-1.5KHz to counterbalance this bass cut. While this does flesh out some of the thinner male vocals, they do so at the expense of vocal articulation. There is some nasality in male vocals that is hard to ignore once you hear it.

Upper-mids are tuned fairly close to reference, but can be too forward for those who prefer a laid-back signature.

Treble​

The treble is characterized by a low-treble peak near 5kHz. This peak is nowhere near as distracting as the OG HD800 but it does rear its head from time to time. On those occasions, vocals can sound shouty and string instruments may sound grating. Fortunately such instances are rare.

Other than that, treble extension is excellent, cymbal hits sound natural and have a raw bite to them without sounding tonally off. Even super-fast drum sections do not sound smeared. Lamb of God’s Ruin, for example, retains every hit of the blistering fast drum section around the 2:40 mark.

Overall, treble is the strongest aspect of the HD820’s sound signature which is quite ironic given many user’s struggles with the OG HD800 to tame this region.

Soundstage and imaging​

Staging is exceptional and I have not heard a closed back yet with such expansive staging. The HD820s will put many open-back TOTL headphones to shame. If staging is your concern, these will probably exceed your expectations given the form factor.

Imaging is precise with even the slightest shift in position being picked up. Center-imaging is excellent as well. Can’t pick any fault here.

Dynamics and speed​

Microdynamics (subtle gradations in volume) are delightfully portrayed. Counting Crows’ Miami acts as an excellent showcase in this regard. The driver is also very fast with only a handful of planar and electrostatic driver headphones outpacing the HD820s.

Where the HD820s fall short is microdynamics or sudden changes in volume. Bass slam lacks impact and sudden bass drops lack the dramatic effect one should experience.

Comparisons​

vs Audeze LCD-XC​

Audeze’s LCD-XC is a closed-back version of their venerable LCD-X. Sporting a 106mm planar magnetic driver, the LCD-XC weigh noticeably more than the HD820 (670g vs 360g) and are far from comfortable. In terms of usability, I’d always pick the HD820 over the LCD-XC.

Then comes the sound, and the bass response goes strongly in favor of the Audeze. Bass notes have superb articulation and texture, coupled with excellent slam and rumble. The midrange is tuned similarly in terms of upper-mids, though the LCD-XC have a better lower-midrange reproduction (with male vocals especially).

Treble is where the HD820 flex their muscle. LCD-XC have slight graininess in the treble and percussion instruments sound somewhat compressed. Treble extension is also too focused on the air frequencies and this can cause fatigue in long-listening sessions.I prefer the HD820 style of treble tuning: brilliant-yet-inoffensive.

Soundstage and imaging also go squarely in the HD820’s favor. Microdynamics are better on the HD820 whereas macrodynamic punch is superior on the LCD-XC. General resolution is high on both, although I think the HD820 slightly outresolve the Audeze LCD-XC, especially in the treble region.

In the end, I think tonally the LCD-XC are better, though in terms of technicalities the HD820 remain unscathed. Both deserve an audition if you are after a pair of TOTL closed back headphones.

Where to Buy​

Sennheiser HD820 - Cover 2.jpg

Conclusion​

The Sennheiser HD820 look great, the build is fantastic, and comfort is superb. Couple these usability perks with excellent treble, class-leading soundstage, outstanding imaging, and a highly resolving signature, and you should have a winner.

The reality is a bit more complicated. The bass response fails to impress and the midrange has tonal oddities. This leaves a bittersweet aftertaste, as you think about what could have been instead of what the HD820s have already accomplished.

All that being said, the Sennheiser HD820 deserve an audition and I am going to cautiously recommend them based on their exceptional technical performance.
Sennheiser
Sennheiser
Thank you for your review, insight, and supplemental photography! We’re glad you were able to experience the stereo spread the engineers worked hard to achieve. Indeed sealed headphones all need a good seal and think your detailed synopsis will urge those looking for a TOTL sealed set of cans to take the 820 for a spin. Looking forward to working with you again. Cheers!
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xingfei
Seems like the reviewer is highlighting common sense things that can be easily avoided by the listener itself/owner.
It presents the review of the headphone as in-perfect. I ask then What is Perfect?

What if life is perfect?

peterinvan

1000+ Head-Fier
HD820 Review Tour 2022 (vs. LCD-XC and Elegia)
Pros: Lightweight, comfortable, detail, soundstage
Cons: Treble may fatiguing for some listeners.
HD820 REVIEW 2022 TOUR
I am thankful to Anne at Sennheiser headquarters for the opportunity to trial the HD820 headphones. I received no financial incentive for this review, and I will forward the phones to the next person on the tour after my two weeks are up.

I am the kind of audiophile that’s always looking for the value-for-money factor in my equipment. I am retired and enjoy this hobby for several hours per day. I have slight tinnitus in both ears at about 6500 Hz, but it doesn’t usually distract when listening to music. My high frequency hearing drops off at about 12000 Hz. I listen to many genres of music, but mostly acoustic jazz and classical, with Pop/EDM on earphones for the gym or when walking. I suspect that these headphones may be targeted at my demographic. Since the HD820 has been available since 2017, there are many reviews and opinions on the web. So instead of the traditional background, unboxing, photo type review, I am simply providing my experience hearing them for the first time. I made a point of not reading any HD820 reviews before my evaluation, so this review is my opinion, and your experience may differ.

HEADPHONES USED:
There are many competitors in closed headphones in this price bracket. I compared the HD820 against the two other quality headphones I own:
  • Sennheiser HD820 Lightweight (382 gm). Leather/velour pads. 300 ohms. $1,800 USD retail. $1,650 open box.
  • Audeze LCD-XC (2019) Sheepskin pads. 730 gm. 20 ohms (purely resistive). $1,300 USD at 2021 prices. $1,100 for open box deals.
  • Focal Elegia with Dekoni Fenestrated Sheepskin pads. 35 ohms. 451 gm. $561 USD on Amazon.
SPEAKERS:
KEF LS50 Wireless with SVS1000 sub. This is my reference for sound stage, bass, imaging.

HD820 FIRST IMPRESSIONS:
The headphones ship in a large 27x35cm wooden box padded with dense foam. Since no carrying case is supplied, I guess Sennheiser expects these phones to be used only in the home. Top quality ¼” and 4.4mm terminated cables, 3m long are included. The proprietary connectors are easy to insert, but very difficult to remove. The L/R embossing on the headphone plugs is almost impossible to see. A red shrink wrap on the right would help if you plan to swap cables a lot.

On first unpacking, the plastic cups and headband look cheap and flimsy, but this is the tradeoff - these are the lightest and most comfortable headphones I have sampled. On closer inspection, the plastic construction seems durable. They would suit a person that listens for several hours without a break (perhaps with EQ using a -2db shelf at 5000Hz to tame the higher frequencies). One attribute I like is that you can listen at lower volumes and not lose much detail (I like to protect my hearing).

The oversized leather/velour pads hug your head without much clamping force. However the isolation and leakage is only average (similar to the Elegia, worse than the LCD-XC).

The headband adjustment slips every time I pick up these phones and stretch the cups apart to put them on my head. I used two strips of gaffer tape to hold my preferred setting.

At 300 ohms they require about 25% more volume on my DAC/AMPs to volume match the Elegia or LCD-XC.


MAIN TRACKS FOR COMPARISON
  • Walk on the Wild Side (Lou Reed)
  • Slow Dance (Anna Popovic).
  • Bad Guy (Billie Eilish). This is a torture test on the sub-bass.
  • Mozart: Clarinet Concerto, K.622. 1. Allegro (Russian National Orchestra)
See my test tracks playlist:

https://tidal.com/browse/playlist/fa6622ac-b9ca-4482-97a4-24e6480b4449


DAC/AMP: Centrance HiFi M8 (AK4493). 1000 mW. Medium gain. Single ended. This is a powerful, neutral DAC that Tyll called “gain on a wire”. No EQ applied.
V10:00 means 10 o’clock on the volume knob.

LISTENING:

Walk on the Wild Side
(Lou Reed)

HD820: V11:00. Nice wide sound stage, isolation, and imaging. Lou’s voice in the foreground sounds natural. Backing vocals emerging from the back stage have great depth. Bass is fast and taught. Strings and drum kit are clear but with a slightly sharp finish. Sax at the end sounds natural, but with a slight glare.

LCD-XC: V09:30. The bass is much more natural and emphasized; I can hear the wood in the bass. Lou’s voice has more echo. Strings are clear in the background, natural sounding. Strings and drum kit are clear with no glare. Sax at the end sounds natural, but a bit “honky” compared to the HD820.

ELEGIA: V10:00. Lou’s voice is somewhat enclosed in a tunnel, not the natural ambiance I hear from the LCD-XC and HD820. Sound stage and instrument isolation is good. Sax at the end is similar to the HD820.



Easy Money (Ricky Lee Jones)

HD820: V10:30. The opening acoustic bass line is fast and taught. Vocals sound a bit shrill (some sibilance). Tambourine sounds harsh and unnatural. Vibraphone solo at the end of the track sounds very metallic. Drum kit and piano sound natural.

LCD-XC: V10:00. Ricky Lee’s voice is prone to sibilance, but it sounds more natural on the LCD-XC. Bass is enveloping, but fast and taught. Vibraphone sounds more natural. The most enjoyable of the three with this track.

ELEGIA: V10:30. I can’t hear the natural wood sound of the acoustic bass; it sounds like the bass is made of carbon fiber (hard to describe). The tambourine sounds harsh compared to the LCD-XC. Ricky Lee’s voice is forward on the sound stage, but not as warm or intimate as the other two phones. Piano stands out but sounds natural. Snares and vibraphone sound natural.



Slow Dance (Ana Popovic)

HD820: V10:30. Vocals sound natural with no sibilance. Nice ambiance. Backing vocals clear and well isolated. Wide sound stage at about 160 degrees. Electric bass is fast and taught. Kick drum fast and clearly isolated. High hats are clear.

LCD-XC: V10:00. Bass is warm and a bit more enveloping than the HD820. Vocals are clear, crisp, with no sibilance. Kick drum is fast and clear. Cymbals, drum kit, and guitars are well positioned and crisp. High hats and rim shots are a bit louder than the HD820. Backing vocals at about 3’00” are clear and slightly back on the left of the soundstage. Nice ambiance and wide sound stage. My favourite of the three headphones with this track.

ELEGIA: V10:00. Nice bass foundation, with clear kick drum. Clear and fast rim shots on the snare drum. Vocals clear but a bit brighter than the other two phones. Sound stage and isolation is good. The organ at the end stands out, and sounds natural.



Bad Guy (Billie Eilish).

HD820: V10:00. Main electronic bass track is warm and impactful. Sub-bass around 2’30” is impactful, but a slightly distorted. Billie’s seductive voice sounds natural with no sibilance. Background finger snaps and hand claps (on left and right) sound sharp. Masterful pinpoint isolation of the multiple background tracks laid down by Finnias.

LCD-XC: V09:00. A warm bass cocoon. Main electronic bass track is tight, warm and enveloping. Sub-bass around 2’30” is deeper, but again slightly distorted, but in a different way to the HD820. It’s like the planar diaphragm can’t handle the extension as well as my SVS100 sub. If I turned down the volume a bit the distortion was eliminated. Billie’s voice is more forward and warm than HD820. Nice blend of Billie’s track into the overlaid vocals. An overall smoother presentation. Background finger snaps and hand claps sound more natural but still sharp. These phones are my first choice for EDM music.

ELEGIA: V09:00. Less bass pressure than other two phones, but fast and taught. Billie’s voice and backing tracks sound natural with no sibilance – well isolated. Background finger snaps sound natural. Sub-bass around is tight, with less distortion than the other headphones, but I might be hearing a higher octave harmonic than listening with speakers and my SVS1000 sub.

LS50W+SVS1000: Listening to my speakers, the electronic bass track is centered, clean with no distortion on the sub-bass. Finger snaps and hand claps are natural, with no sibilance.

Mozart: Clarinet Concerto

HD820
: V12:00. Big sound stage with great imaging and isolation. Good detail; I was able to pick out tiny sounds across the stage. Clarinet is left of center, several rows back on the stage, clear and natural. The double bass on the left with the violins (?) are clear and well blended into the orchestra. Horns are clear at the back. Violas and cellos are clear on the right. An enjoyable listen with no distracting elements.

LCD-XC: V10:30. Matches the HD820 in the sound stage and pinpoint isolation. Bass is hard left behind the violins. Bass sounds louder, but less distinct than the HD820. The lower registers on the clarinet sound sweeter than the HD820. All the strings sound lifelike, with no harshness. A more relaxed listen than the HD820, with the only distracting element being the wooly bass. Overall my favourite of the three for this type of music.

ELEGIA: V50. Sound stage is a bit more congested. A step down in imaging and isolation from the HD820. Clarinet is not as natural – a bit harder in timbre. Violas and cellos on the right are a bit subdued.


ALTERNATE PAIRINGS:

With Cayin RU6 DAC

This R2R DAC/AMP is very accurate, with big sound stage, but it adds some brightness. This exacerbates the brightness on the HD820, making it sound somewhat metallic. I would say not a good match.


With Fiio M11 Pro DAP (twin AK4497, THX amp, balanced out)
This DAP is a good match with the HD820. It gives a warmer presentation. Listening to the Buena Vista Social Club album is a pleasure, with no EQ required.


SUMMARY:


HD820LCD-XCElegia
Comfort
5​
3​
4​
Sound stage & Imaging
4.5​
4.5​
4​
Detail Retrieval
4​
4.5​
4​
Speed & Dynamics. Is it fast?
4.5​
4.5​
4​
Timbre & Tonality
3.5​
4​
3.5​
Is it tight in the bass?
4​
5​
4​
Is it well controlled in the treble?
2​
5​
3.5​
Mid-range; vocals
4​
4.5​
4​
Isolation/leakage
3.5​
5​
3.5​
Response to EQ
4​
4​
4​
Total (assumes equal weighting)​
38.5
44
38.5

I gave the HD820 about 50 hours of break in to loosen up the diaphragm and surround. The initial sharp edge was diminished a bit. I would place these in the “bright” class of headphones, with a wide sound stage, accurate imaging, and pleasant ambiance (in live venue or with DSP echo). Good depth and 3D like soundstage. Lots of detail: small background instruments are easy to pick out.

The HD820 sounds to me like a closed back HD800. The emphasis on the higher frequencies makes them a fatiguing for my ears. After an hour or so my tinnitus was exacerbated. I returned a pair of Sennheiser HD800 a couple of years back because of the same issue. I read that the HD800S has attenuated the annoying spike in the treble… it would be interesting to hear a closed version.

The LCD-XC provides a more relaxed and warm listen, with accurate detail retrieval, music and vocals sounds more realistic. However they are not as comfortable due to double the weight.

I would say the HD820 are overpriced, and would have to be at HD800 prices ($1,600) or lower to compete in today’s market.

The Elegias are very good value for money. They are hooked up all day to my iPad Pro via a Cayin RU6.
Last edited:
RuslanG
RuslanG
Thank you!
Sennheiser
Sennheiser
Thank you for the highly detailed review and breakdown by track. Awesome music choices here! We totally agree that the HD 820 is fantastic at localizing classical instrument recordings. It sounds like you prefer a more relaxed signature and you picked some nice gear pairings to find lean in that direction. Thanks again!
J
JKTRRT
Foil Sennheiser Logo stickers peel and fall off! I need to get the replacement parts Article 581440. Help

FourT6and2

100+ Head-Fier
Pros: Punchy low-end
Musical mid-range, great for heavier styles of music
Highs are there but not overly bright or thin
Comes with three great cable options (4-pin XLR, 4.4mm, 1/4"
Cons: Horrible fit (for my head)
Price: Not worth $2400 for a mass-produced product. Maybe with some cooler materials like titanium or carbon fiber or carbon-reinforced plastic.
General
Now that I've descended into the rabbit hole that is high-end headphones, I picked up a pair of HD820s to A/B against my others (Sony Z7M2, Focal Elear, Focal Elegia). Sound-wise, the HD820 are clear winners. The tonality is perfect, the low-end is punchy, the mid range lets guitar breath without sounding too crunchy, and the highs don't seem harsh. The frequency response on these is great for my preferences and listening to heavier styles of music (rock, metal, prog). They also do sound great for other, softer genres. And I like the included cables—three different options, all plenty long. Most stock cables are too short, so this is great. Sound-wise, I'd give them 4 stars. That said, one glaring problem is the fit.

Fitment
Absolutely the worst fitting headphones I've tried. One star. It's just me. My head is narrow and long, so there's barely any clamping force. If I move my head at all (up, down, left, right) the headphones slosh around. If I open my mouth, swallow, or yawn the headphones move around. I have to remain perfectly still and that's no bueno.

If I put slight pressure against the ear cups with my fingertips, it's perfect. The sound is awesome. Bass hits like a sledgehammer. But just wearing them without holding them, there's less bass from the loose fit. If the ear pads/cushions were a little thicker, that would solve the problem. This would put pressure against the headband, increasing clamping force. Maybe a third-party company will come out with thicker pads at some point. I'm going to keep these headphones though just because they sound so good, and deal with the fitment somehow.

Compared to Focal Elegia
They both have a similar mid-range emphasis to my ears. Not squawky or honky. But they definitely aren't scooped or U shaped. High-gain, distorted guitar doesn't sound fizzy or buzzy or thin. Instead, these cans bring out that muscular growl that most heavier styles of music rely upon. However, the HD820 are more balanced than the Elegia since—unlike the Elegia—they have a prominent low-end thump and a bit more air in the high end. The Elegia sound almost like an AM radio in comparison. I can correct this by adding EQ. But without EQ the HD820 takes the cake. The Elegia also breaks up and distorts easier. The HD820 seems to have a bit more headroom before the low-end flubs out. Kick drums are beastly and clean.

Compared to Focal Elear
Being open back, the Elear certainly have more air and space. They are sweeter sounding. Great for more chill styles of music. They do fine for heavy stuff, but the HD820 have them beat in that department. The Elear break up even sooner than the Elegia. It's easy for bass and drums and high-gain guitar to all mush together into a farty mess with these things, even at low volumes. Elear have more bass than Elegia though. But lack the prominent mid-range bias the Elegia and HD820 have. I should also mention that the Focals fit much better. Good clamping force, thick pads, easy to get a seal around my ears.

Compared to Sony MDR-Z7M2
Fit, like the Focal, is great. lightyears better than the Sennheisers. Incredibly comfortable. Sound wise, They have a nice punchy low end, but it's not as hard-hitting as the HD820. A bit softer and lush sounding. Like a thick hot cocoa. It's deeper. But has a longer decay maybe? Mid-range is incredibly scooped and smooth. Highs are pronounced and a bit thin at times. More headroom than the Focals, but not as much as the Sennheisers. If the the Z7M2 had the Elegia's prominent mid-range, they would sound pretty close to the HD820, just not as surgical and tight.

Surgical. Tight. Punchy. Musical. That's how I would describe the HD820. They are like the Porsche GT3 of the headphone world. Purpose-built. No frills. Exciting. I just wish the fitment were better for my head. The headband could use a redesign to make the clamping force better or at least more adjustable.
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depsibob

New Head-Fier
Pros: Soundstage, detail, comfort
Cons: Does not get my head nodding, too analytical and a bit cold
This will be my first review so bear with me :relaxed:

I’m currently looking for a replacement for my B&W P7. I have used them directly connected to smartphones and been happy with the sound on these. But after getting a Chord Hugo2 I can really hear the limits of the P7. They are not bad but you sense there is so much more from Hugo2 that is missing from them. So after reading lots of reviews of over ear headphones I narrowed the list down to HD800S, HD820, Focal Clear and Utopia. One of my requirements where weight, they should not be too heavy.

Visited a dealer shop in Stockholm and listened to HD800S, HD820 and Focal Clear.

So my comparison will be from these two. I’t no use comparing to P7 as these are in another league.

I’m using my smartphone (Huwaei Mate 8) with an app called USB Audio Pro, connected via USB OTG to Hugo2. Music are Flac files with different sample rates from 44.1KHz to 96KHz, 16-bit and 24-bit. No external amplifier is used, only Hugo2.

First impression of HD820 is that they have and unbelievable sound stage, though a tad bit smaller than HD800S but not by much. You can head every instrument clearly and it has it’s own spot which no other instrument intrudes in. So there is no problem following a violin or a low sounding instrument regardless of volume of more frontal instrument or singer.

Lots of reviews say HD820 (and HD800S) sounds a bit cold. I can agree here they have a coldish sound in the middle highs. It feels a bit sterile to my ears.

I was a bit worried that I would feel they lacked bass as my P7 are rather bass focused and I enjoy feeling bass on some tracks. But I was positively surprised, they are no booming headphones but the bass is clean and distinct with lots of details. So I did not miss out at all.

Comfort then, yes they are very light and they sit very relaxed around the ears. I had a 4 day stubble so the ear pads where stuck even when moving my head around Don’t know if they would do the same newly shaved…. It felt like the headphones just disappeared after having them on a while. So comfort is very good.

Summary
For me both HD820 and HD800S are fabulous headphones but they do not engage me in the music they are more for listening and analysing every detail and instrument in a track.
HD820 has a bit more bass and slight narrower sound stage than HD800S.
If you are a car enthusiast like me you could compare both HD’s as a McLaren, very precise and correct but not so envolving. While Focal Clear was more like Lamborghini, more fun and envolving, gets my head nodding with the music :L3000:
mainguy
mainguy
Man I know what you mean, I demo’d the hd800s and focal clear, and found the hd800s to be quite clinical. Took the clears home, although I’d say technically the hd800s is better. By the way, if you want an even more engaging, head nodding (and imo better) listen than the focal clears, grab some bowers and wilkins P9 :) you wont be dissapointed as a P7 fan
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