Sennheiser HD820
Aug 10, 2018 at 11:14 AM Post #2,011 of 4,346
Honkyness to me has always been a case of crappy reverb from improper dampening vs beautiful musical reverb that adds color and life to the music. Bass is more textured and lively vs bloated and farty and muffled mess. It's hard to mimic the airy feeling of open with closed can as the cool air is not flowing in keeping things nice and pressure free relatively speaking. Open sounding and open feeling are two different things in my book.
Thanks, got it.
 
Aug 10, 2018 at 11:20 AM Post #2,012 of 4,346
Honkyness to me has always been a case of crappy reverb from improper dampening vs beautiful musical reverb that adds color and life to the music. Bass is more textured and lively vs bloated and farty and muffled mess. It's hard to mimic the airy feeling of open with closed can as the cool air is not flowing in keeping things nice and pressure free relatively speaking. Open sounding and open feeling are two different things in my book.

I totally agree with this
 
Aug 10, 2018 at 10:10 PM Post #2,013 of 4,346
i don't. i associate this honky quality with some a-t closed-back models, which also happen to have tight, textured bass. they don't fit the description of sounding like "a bloated and farty and muffled mess" to my ears either. anyway, back to the hd820.
 
Last edited:
Aug 10, 2018 at 10:32 PM Post #2,014 of 4,346
Honkyness to me has always been a case of crappy reverb from improper dampening vs beautiful musical reverb that adds color and life to the music. Bass is more textured and lively vs bloated and farty and muffled mess. It's hard to mimic the airy feeling of open with closed can as the cool air is not flowing in keeping things nice and pressure free relatively speaking. Open sounding and open feeling are two different things in my book.
If "honkyness" means "non sequitur", you nailed it.
 
Aug 10, 2018 at 11:11 PM Post #2,015 of 4,346
I spent 2 weeks with the hd820 and now my impression has changed a bit the first thing I want to say is that the headphones really grew on me. Although I prefer the HD800S. I was able to get more use out of the hd820 with my sony wm1a..Now it definitely is the most open closed back I have heard. Jungle boogie is a good song to test the sound stage on these. I really truly do feel like these headphones are great now for what they are trying to be. The vocals did sound congested at times to me but man I can't really say I hate these anymore. The price as of now is the only thing that stops me and when these come down to the same asking price of a hd800S then I will definitely grab these. For me at my office and even just hanging out outside these headphones really did work their magic keeping the sound I love from my hd800S as close as it could.
 
Aug 11, 2018 at 4:02 AM Post #2,016 of 4,346
I spent 2 weeks with the hd820 and now my impression has changed a bit the first thing I want to say is that the headphones really grew on me. Although I prefer the HD800S. I was able to get more use out of the hd820 with my sony wm1a..Now it definitely is the most open closed back I have heard. Jungle boogie is a good song to test the sound stage on these. I really truly do feel like these headphones are great now for what they are trying to be. The vocals did sound congested at times to me but man I can't really say I hate these anymore. The price as of now is the only thing that stops me and when these come down to the same asking price of a hd800S then I will definitely grab these. For me at my office and even just hanging out outside these headphones really did work their magic keeping the sound I love from my hd800S as close as it could.

Now congestion is something I do hear in lower voice frequencies occasionally, like the musician is too close to the mic on the leading edge of the sound. Not enough to bother me though (and not what I would call “honky”). I find it’s greatly decreased for me by wearing the headphones looser with the top of the headphones slanted forward more.

It’s been lovely having the 820s on my trip to the Pearl Jam shows in Seattle. They make for great hotel listening while my son is banging away on his computer.

It was my first chance to take the Hugo2 on the road as well. Very happy with the pair for road trips. Maybe I should test them on Mt. St. Helen or Mt Ranier this coming week? :p

E9C00459-D917-4977-81A1-20DDE90271BC.jpeg
 
Last edited:
Aug 11, 2018 at 5:06 AM Post #2,017 of 4,346
So these are my thoughts:
  • The HD820 is a closed version of the HD800S. Those who love the 800 or 800S and need a closed version urgently should buy it.
  • They have a tad more bass than the open versions.
  • The soundstage is smaller than the open versions have.
  • They need a good amp to really shine, the same goes for the open versions.
  • I will not purchase it.
  • My Z1R runs circles around the HD820 regarding bass quantity, maybe not quality.
  • The Z1R has a bigger soundstage than the HD820, kudos to Sony.
  • The Z1R is not for everyone, the HD820 neither.
  • I prefer people to mix with the HD820. The final mixing product matches my Z1R perfectly.
That's it, all I can say after a 30 minutes listening session under perfect conditions.


Thank you, Pietcux, for this. This was exactly the info I was looking for. Like you, I then see no need to further change my headphone "endgame" setup which are the HD800S and the Z1R. I love both .... but if I had not this setup, I'd probably get the HD820 to narrow it down to one pair.
 
Aug 11, 2018 at 10:12 AM Post #2,019 of 4,346
Being a Sennheiser Fanboy. I wanted so much to like this. But no, it wasn't to be.

Oh? What was it that didn't work out for you? And perhaps a point of reference, i.e. you're benchmarking HD820 against previous Sennheiser's flagship, like HD800S / HD800?
 
Aug 11, 2018 at 3:32 PM Post #2,020 of 4,346


Being a Sennheiser Fanboy. I wanted so much to like this. But no, it wasn't to be.
I could easily like it and decide against it. I I was in need of a closed HD800S variant I would use it right now. But I was not.
 
Aug 12, 2018 at 2:51 PM Post #2,022 of 4,346
Fortunately, I get the best sound quality to my ears with the cups more forward (the back edge closer to the back my ears), which allows me to lightly rest my head on my memory foam pillows while slightly propped up in bed.

If I have them closer to the middle of my ears, the panned sounds start to sound like they’re not a part of the central soundstage anymore.

I actually just turn them around in bed, so that the cable connectors do not bother in the back anymore. They are now in front, Works wonders.
 
Aug 12, 2018 at 8:45 PM Post #2,024 of 4,346
How is the sub bass. Any one have phantoms? Empire ears. To compare.
 
Aug 12, 2018 at 8:52 PM Post #2,025 of 4,346

Users who are viewing this thread

Back
Top