[jude]

Fig.1 (above): Sennheiser HD800S frequency response, average of four seatings.

NOTE: When these measurements were made, the Sennheiser HD800S under test had only been worn by measurement fixtures, so the earpads were in new condition.

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]The measurements in this post were made using:

• Brüel & Kjær High-frequency Head and Torso Simulator (HATS) Type 5128
• Audio Precision APx555 Audio Analyzer (with Bluetooth Duo Module)
• Audio Precision APx1701 Transducer Test Interface
• Herzan custom-designed acoustic & vibration isolation enclosure

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[alpha80]

Much appreciated !

 

[SilverEars]

The measurement reveals it's a compensation for aged hearing loss.

What I would do to improve:

Cut 6-9k, and elevate 300hz down.

Drop, there's your true 8XX.

 

[holodor]

The measurement reveals it's a compensation for aged hearing loss.

One thing I noticed is that when I searched to see if there was a thread about average age already, the replies talk as if there was a poll, but they are missing now:

(2009) https://www.head-fi.org/threads/what-is-the-average-age-of-this-forum.409637/

(2007) https://www.head-fi.org/threads/head-fi-demographics.273651/

Not sure if lost forever or maybe a misconfiguration when upgrading the forum

The biology of hearing loss is actually really interesting, I remember there was some outdoor concert and dad didn't believe that the sound was causing pain - over time the cilia hairs in the ear actually die off, and because of how small and fiddly they are no one's figured out any kind of counter to this so far. Apparently MIT's 'Frequency Therapeutics' in the USA is recruiting for a 124-person human trial of a drug to try create regrowth, supposedly will have the results of the experiment ready in early 2023.

 

[SilverEars]

If you overlay 650 response, you get a good idea how the tonal response differs, and especially informative if you have heard both headphones.

You can see that the response leans upward as it gets toward the high frequencies. It's the example of an analytical response.

 

[whitedragem]

a few home remedies, but more along the lines of 'preventative maintenance' ; the best video on the subject I have ever seen is Hans Van Beekhuyzen project covering hearing loss.
He looks at aspects of audio such as how much 'typical music' is contained in frequencies above 11khz, and talks about aspects such as how an 'old hat' like him, can smoke the younger reviewers when it comes to reviewing kit.
Hans is the nicest guy and isn't arrogant (even if I made him sound that way), he won't make subjective calls on systems he hasn't heard, and understands the importance of system synergy etc.. as someone who has been reviewing kit for more decades than most, and 'really knows his stuff', his take on most things audio makes him one of my favorite internet chewyyoobers.. the hans van beekhuyzen project is a great channel...
his take on 'hearing loss as it relates to audio' is a point that most never consider and is very helpful when coming to this hobby for those with concerns...
Cheers

 

[ADUHF]

Diffuse field compensated graph of the Sennheiser HD800S's frequency response, based on Jude's HBK 5128 plot above. Calculated with the HBK 5128 DF response curve.

The blue line represents a -1.25 dB per octave slope. The sound power response of a neutral loudspeaker is usually between about -1.0 to -1.5 dB per octave. So I'm using the above slope as a very rough guide for that.

 

[ADUHF]

A slightly different view of the same plot above. This also shows the HD800S's DF compensated response compared to a -1.25 dB per octave slope. The whole graph has also been compensated with the inverse of a -1.25 dB per octave slope though, so the slope now appears as just a flat blue line.

 

[ADUHF]

This is similar to the last graph above. But the orange line on this graph does not represent a slope. It represents the average sound power response of ten well-extended neutral loudspeakers (which is shown on the graph just below with a -1.25 dB per octave slope). And the HD800S with DF compensation, represented by the black squiggly line, is now being compared to that.