[QueueCumber]

I'm an adult and can hear to about 18 kHz. Also I don't hear the dips in the bass when using a sine sweep.

What you can hear in a vacuum and what you can meaningfully hear in music are two different animals. Above 12k is lost to the more sensitive hearing ranges, particularly the ranges at 6k and below.

 

[ruinedx]

Well, I have a pair arriving Thursday.

For a little background, in the past I've previously owned quite a few sennheiser phones in the HD5xx and below category.

More recently I've owned HD600 and HD800 (both sold). Did not find HD600 to my liking at all (boring/flat) and I (mostly) loved the sound HD800 but it physically made my ears hurt. The biggest weakness I found in the HD800 sound is I probably was playing it too loud to get the bass/dynamics response I wanted on the low end and this contributed to a treble that hurt my ears no matter what gear I paired it with, maybe that's why it hurt my ears.

My current go-to headphone is still the HD700, which I really enjoy and have not found a more well-rounded headphone to replace it with. Ironic given it was discontinued and many did not like it, yet I have none of the problems I had with the HD800 on any of the gear I've used the HD700 on (except maybe the Oppo HA-1, the HD700 was too bright on that). Also use the HD25 for portable use, plus the GSP500&GSP600 for gaming regularly. I will likely still keep the HD700 even after this purchase since I like it so much and its probably going to be more forgiving than the HD820, plus its more compact and will give me a highend-ish open option.

I debated a bit between the HD800S and HD820 but my environment really benefits from a closed headphone at times and it seems the HD820 improves more upon the biggest weaknesses I found in the HD800 than the HD800S did - lack bass quantity and piercing treble - while retaining some of that headphone's other characteristics. Anyway, looking forward to trying this out in a couple days.

 

[PointyFox]

What you can hear in a vacuum and what you can meaningfully hear in music are two different animals. Above 12k is lost to the more sensitive hearing ranges, particularly the ranges at 6k and below.

If that's true then it applies to everyone, not just people with mild high frequency hearing loss.
Also what's that have to with not hearing dips in the frequency response in the bass region?

 

[QueueCumber]

If that's true then it applies to everyone, not just people with mild high frequency hearing loss.
Also what's that have to with not hearing dips in the frequency response in the bass region?

Yes, it applies to everyone (Is this possibly why Sennheiser doesn’t list the FR above 12khz?).

Bass region: Spread spectrum / broad band noise would seem to me to be more helpful to ‘hear’ dips in a frequency response, while something like a sine sweep seems better for equalization programs that can extrapolate response curves. I personally hear it at the lowest acoustic guitar notes on my pair (but as you can see they all differ a little in measurement).

 

[ruinedx]

So I am listening now. NOTE I am using for HPA/DAC the EVGA NU AUDIO (AKM AK4493 + ADI OP275). More than enough juice to drive the HD820 at 50-65% amplification depending on song.

Ironically, using this cheap HPA/DAC, the HD820 overall sounds better than any configuration I could muster with $1000+ HPA/DAC combos w/ the HD800.

The sound to me on this, sounds like a hifi/upgraded HD700. Or, the sound you would get if an HD800 and HD700 had a baby. Doesn't surprise me that this headphone is controversial as the HD700 was also controversial.

I have not been able to direct A/B vs the HD800 on this HPA/DAC, but I think they shaved off just enough treble and added just enough bass to the HD800 - which I tried to get to a listenable point with multiple HPA/DACs, EQ, etc and failed. So far the HD820 sounds great on the very first HPA/DAC I tried with zero EQ.

The isolation on this is very nice but it is only moderately sound-isolated - in loud environments you can still hear background noise. Nowhere near the isolation of my GSP600 headphones, for instance. Still, a lot better than my open cans, and I'll take the extra noise in exchange for the better soundstage.

So far, the best thing is that this headphone doesn't hurt my ears like the HD800 and sounds notably better than the HD700. I can also listen at a moderate volume and be happy with the dynamics, instead of cranking it to get more bass response.

I will have to spend some more time with this, and while this headphone did not blow me away with its soundstage like HD800, it is so far a much more listener-friendly headphone. I owned the HD800 for a couple months before I gave up on it, and found the HD800S was not different enough to give it an ownership try after comparing the HD800S to the HD800 for some time at a Sennheiser store. The HD820 is a similar, but much different sound. You get a little taste of the HD800 soundstage, a little bass response of a closed headphone, and a tuning that is less fatiguing than the HD800 or HD800S.

If the HD800 was problematic for you - and it was for me in a big way no matter what I paired with it - this one might be giving a shot for a similar but more conservatively tuned sound that is frankly a lot more balanced. The fact that I think like it sounds like a high fidelity/upgraded HD700 is perfect for me as I love the HD700.

One question for owners. I only got two cables in the box. Some are saying original versions of this shipped with the CH 800 S but as the Sennheiser website states it was apparently "optional" in my kit. I got it from an authorized dealer so I don't think anything was taken out of the box, but have others experienced this?

Also my graph:

 

[ruinedx]

Man I can't believe how well this EVGA NU AUDIO (link: https://www.evga.com/articles/01281/evga-nu-audio/ ) pairs with the HD820. Not sure if that's due to the EVGA NU AUDIO being an overperformer for its price, or the HD820 being TONS more forgiving than the HD800 (or combo of both).

Everything sounds amazing. And I can actually listen to it for extended time without eventually grimacing unlike the HD800.

In my book if the HD800/HD800S is worth $1600, HD820 is worth $2400. Far better all rounder that works with all genres while still having that impressive HD800 sound signature.

edit: the beginning of Lionel Richie's Dancing on the Ceiling is a great demo of the soundstage potential of the HD820

 

[PointyFox]

the beginning of Lionel Richie's Dancing on the Ceiling is a great demo of the soundstage potential of the HD820

Haha wow. That's impressive.

 

[ruinedx]

Haha wow. That's impressive.

Right? I was like What!

You know what song is a good demo of the HD820 is "Standing Still" by Jewel. Has some typical female vocals the HD800 would do well on, but also has some pop guitar etc that would probably make ears bleed on the HD800, but sounds great on HD820.

 

[flailure]

While I think there is more to transducers than just frequency response charts, that looks to me just like it sounds, fairly identical to the hd800s, but with a more aggressive bass and slightly more aggressive mids. The upper bass/lower mid dip was either where they had some resonance that needed to be tamed or they wanted to control the bass and keep it cleaner and away from bleeding into the mids. My guess is maybe both, with a nod towards taming resonances, particularly with the smaller dip at 80hz, kind of gives the impression that there was a resonant frequency in there, and it was suppressed. Its in a good spot at any rate, really does a good job of cleaning up the bottom end at the expense of slightly thinner mids. It sounds good to me without eq for most genre's, with maybe the exception of songs with an emphasis towards acoustic guitars. For those, I do tend to eq that lower mid dip a bit, (+5 db) but I would not change anything above 1k on an eq, really nailed the hd800 sound in a closed back. I prefer the soundstage on these vs the original, seems more natural from a headphone, with one note worthy exception. The bass does weird things on some recordings when it pans extreme left or extreme right. Luckily I've only found a few recordings that this occurs in, and all of them were older masters.

I do think that the people who enjoyed the treble out of the hd800 would find these less impressive. Functionally the upper frequencies and sound are nearly identical between the 2 headphones, but the increased bass, and even the more moderately increased mids do over shadow some of the sparkle. I don't hear a loss of detail or imaging though, just a different tonality.

Other things I have noticed, and I'm not a bass head by any means, but the increased bass pressure really makes these a joy to listen to at all volumes, even lower volumes. The reduced amount of stray peak resonances also makes these headphones much less amp picky than the original hd800. Running them balanced out of my fiio x7ii low gain at the moment, mostly because I have been bed ridden, and they still sound great. I find these more versatile towards many genre's of music. Like I was saying before, for acoustic guitar tracks it is nice to add some upper bass back in, and for some of the older orchestral recordings that I have I find a reduction of bass helpful. But the fiio x7 has one of the worst equalizers (if not the very worst) of all time, so the last few weeks with no eq, have shown that they can get by quite nicely with no eq at all.

Sound quality, can see these priced at 2400, though build quality is another matter. Functionally there is nothing wrong with the build quality, as they are very comfortable, even for extremely extended listening sessions, adjusting the cups up or down is easily accomplished one handed, pads are decent and appear to be long lasting, not enough clamping force though that may appeal to more sensitive heads out there. However, these are definitely 2 hand headphones, try to lift these headphones from the headband if they are on their side and quite likely the headband will snap off from the flexing (it snaps right back in, but...), there is no bending allowed if you want to tighten the clamping force, hinges creak intermittently, and certainly could benefit from having either stiffer materials used in its construction, or additional stiffening added in certain places. These are definitely a case where the headphones exist as both having way too much plastic, but not enough plastic. For 2400 dollar headphones, way too utilitarian and flimsy. Sound quality is still really good and worth the cost, though I wonder if they could have achieved more if they had used better materials in the cups. Not likely to tell anytime soon, and fortunately for me, I like the sound enough to put up with some misgivings. I won't be parting with mine anytime soon, and I see them both as functionally improved over the original hd800, in that they are closed back and more suited to different uses, and I also hear them as a sound quality upgrade, though this is certainly subjective and subject to priorities and taste. YMMV


I still have not been able to work on my full review, its on my computer, currently using this tablet my son rigged up for me for bedside use. Hopefully it will be more cohesive than what I have gotten typed out here, between my current headstate, and big fat fingers, can;t seem to express what I am thinking very well. Be safe and enjoy what you have.

 

[flailure]

One question for owners. I only got two cables in the box. Some are saying original versions of this shipped with the CH 800 S but as the Sennheiser website states it was apparently "optional" in my kit. I got it from an authorized dealer so I don't think anything was taken out of the box, but have others experienced this?

There were 3 cables in mine, but it was purchased used. I'm not sure if you were shorted, or if the person I purchased from had purchased a third cable before he sold them to me. Which 2 do you have, mine had a 6.5, a 4 pin xlr, and a 4.4 pentaconnector. Seems rather redundant to me though, probably going to lop off about 3 feet and solder on a 2.5mm trrs male, and then made some extension cables with different ends so that I can swap easier between amps, and only add length if I need it. Guess it depends on use though.

 

[PointyFox]

The newer HD820s don't include the XLR cable.

 

[ruinedx]

I have run into a strange issue.

Listened to a ton of music, and two tracks both exhibited a problem that make me question if there is an issue with my specific headphone. Then again it may just be an odd resonance or something.

The introduction of both WHITE ZOMBIE's THUNDER KISS 65 and OZZY OZBOURNE'S CRAZY TRAIN (which both have distorted guitars) result in a couple of brief and SUBTLE high pitch but low volume buzzing/rattling instances in the right earcup . It is something you really have to listen for to notice . Has anyone experienced this? Could possibly be recording as well (or my hearing, I can hear higher frequency with my right ear than left) its hard to tell with the wide soundstage of this headphone but with these two songs I am hearing it. I've listened probably to over 100 songs of varying genres and haven't heard it anywhere else, even at high SPL.

I don't believe its a power issue as both of these passages just have electric guitar and I've played tons of much more power-demanding material with no issue.

 

[QueueCumber]

It sounds good to me without eq for most genre's, with maybe the exception of songs with an emphasis towards acoustic guitars.For those, I do tend to eq that lower mid dip a bit, (+5 db)...

The bass does weird things on some recordings when it pans extreme left or extreme right. Luckily I've only found a few recordings that this occurs in, and all of them were older masters.

Yeah, hits the mark with my experience of the lowest notes of guitar. The notes separate out between the higher and lower harmonics and I’m left with an instrument that is smeared/distorted/split in half with most of the sound (the high lows to highs) closer towards center stage and the lowest half closer towards the ear. It doesn’t sound terrible, but it breaks the illusion of the instrument being in one place and coherent as a single instrument.

Thankfully most material conceals this weakness, but songs like Nora Jones’s Painter Song bring it out real quick...

 

[ruinedx]

Yeah, hits the mark with my experience of the lowest notes of guitar. The notes separate out between the higher and lower harmonics and I’m left with an instrument that is smeared/distorted/split in half with most of the sound (the high lows to highs) closer towards center stage and the lowest half closer towards the ear. It doesn’t sound terrible, but it breaks the illusion of the instrument being in one place and coherent as a single instrument.

Thankfully most material conceals this weakness, but songs like Nora Jones’s Painter Song bring it out real quick...

I haven't really noticed this at all TBH. Throw on "All of my Days" by Alexi Murdoch for instance and the acoustic guitar comes through beautifully. I'll have to check out the mentioned song above.

Headphones are all about tradeoffs anyway, and the ones that on paper that don't seem to have many frequency response tradeoffs like the HD600 sound the worst to me...

This HD820 doesn't have the magic "wow factor"soundstage that the non-S HD800 had but it's damn good and I can actually listen to this one for hours without pain unlike the HD800.

For me this HD820 is pretty much has the perfect tradeoffs. I wouldn't want any less bass though I don't really need any more, top end is just right, and non fatiguing. Bonus with the sound isolation even if only moderate.

In other words, this is a keeper for long term use out of the box rather than one which sounds amazing at first then quickly grows tiring and requiring mods/EQ to be bearable.

 

[QueueCumber]

I haven't really noticed this at all TBH. Throw on "All of my Days" by Alexi Murdoch for instance and the acoustic guitar comes through beautifully. I'll have to check out the mentioned song above.

The issue becomes much less pronounced the more centered the low frequency notes are in the soundstage, so if the guitar is fairly centered you won’t hear it as much. But also, some of these 820s have less shelving than others in that frequency range (as can be seen in some of the posted graphs).

The 820s were and still are keepers for me. Despite any issues that appear from here to there with the shelving, it’s an amazing sounding closed-back.