Has anyone compared the HD8XX to the HD820?
Yes, I switch between both often. I don’t have an issue wearing the HD 820 for hours… in fact, the thicker ear pads settle in nicely, and I’ve always loved the 800 series headband. Just learned how to change the headband on my HD 800 this year, but I haven’t gotten around to it yet because I’m listening to the HD 820 and HD 8XX more…
Technically, the open back principle allows for higher performance and a more believably natural sound. However, the HDV 820 sounds less resonant and better able to present depth than my other closed back headphones and most other closed back headphones I’ve tried, while also being able to dampen out the last bit of road noise and lawn-mowing neighbor sound that makes it into my home office, and increasing the sub bass presence fun more than the open back HD 800 and 8XX. It’s not isolating enough to block the sound of a crying baby, which if I have a baby I feel like I ought to continue to be aware of that to some degree, but it is enough to quiet my cat begging at my office door
The HD 8XX is nice because it gives me the space and crispness of my HD 800 while taking the edge off female vocals and other upper mids. My ears are pretty sensitive in this area, so the slightly more laid back presentation is good for me and slightly “hot” recorded songs, but maybe not for people who are less sensitive or prefer more. The shape of our ears will dictate what we actually hear (and our past loves may influence what we prefer
, so YMMV. The other effect of reducing the upper mids a bit is it espouses and emphasizes the small increase in bass a bit more: this is all psychoacoustics, but the upper mids won’t mask the bass as much. In the grand scheme of things, it’s a noticeable but not wild change from the usual HD 800S flavor, and I was one of the ones who appreciated the contrast.
I think Dr Dre sounds like a rapper, but I don’t think he has directed the tuning of headphones for many years.
