Which Senn HD?

[CTR640]

Hi,

when I first entered the Dark Side of the Hifi audio, I appreciate great sounds and designs and I'd like to get another headphone but not sure I'll buy it.
The Sennheiser HD series seems to be highly appreciated and there are some HD700's on eBay.
Which one should I get? The HD820 or the HD700? The HD800S lack in bass from what I understand from the owners but I can't tell anyway.
Do they have wide soundstage? And why is the HD820 much more expensive?

 

[go_vtec]

Would it be possible for you to audition them both? I did try HD700 and found it to be not the best sonic signatures in HD family (it is quite a bit off from HD800/HD800S to make me think it is not a baby brother of HD800/HD800S nor it does not sound like bigger brother of HD650/HD600). If you like vocals, HD650 is hard to beat. If you like good a "reference" sonic signature, HD800S is a good choice with superwide soundstage. HD700 is not a bad headphones, but it lacks the characters and sonic signatures of HD families. I also did audition HD820 for a few days at home and didn't quite like its midrange compare to HD800S and HD650. If you are a basshead, you may think HD800S lacks the bass, but I think it has sufficient amount of bass as a great all-around reference pair of headphones.

HD820 sounded to me that it has more bass than HD800S, but at the cost of a narrower soundstage and slightly unnatural/recessed/less-luscious mids/vocals. If the cost of HD820 were to be significantly less, I can sort of see myself to own one just for a sake of owning great close Sennheiser headphones with some obvious yet acceptable flaws. To my ears and my use cases, I found HD800S and HD650 more of my liking than HD700 or HD820. I can see someone may still choose HD700 or HD820 over HD650 or HD800S, especially when you consider HD700/HD820 can be bought substantially cheaper in the used market. Your mileage may vary so I suggest you audition them first before you put your hard earned money toward them. IMHO, any flagship headphones should do few things really well, but you can't expect to be perfect for everything. However, if you cannot tolerate their less than perfect aspects, you will be glad that you auditioned them before or bought them from a reputable headphone shop which allows a return.

 

[CTR640]

@go_vtec
Some good advice you got there. The only way to audition them is to buy the HD800S and 820 first and if not satisfied, return them and those are from webstore here in the Netherlands. The HD700 on the other hand is from eBay, from the US to be precisely and of course, they are not cheap so import taxes... But it's not really a must to own one of them as I got other headphones that I really enjoy so I might keep my hard earned cash in my pocket.

And oh, regarding the vocals, you mean like the vocal are more clear than other sounds like background sounds? I like it how my Amiron Home presents the vocals.

 

[DuncanDirkDick]

Are you willing to EQ? If so you can make the 800/800s sound pretty good and get a decent amount of bass. I like the 650's presentation more than the 700's. And you can get away with minimal EQ (or none). Personally I would never consider the 820. It's overpriced and performs sub par even in the <1000USD category (just my opinion).

 

[CTR640]

Well, I would be using it only for my PC so I got the APO Equalizer with Peace addon if EQ is needed like for my DT770 and 880.

I suspected the 820 is overpriced. Why is it much more expensive than the 800S?

 

[go_vtec]

HD820 is a technically a closed version of HD800S with fancy earpads (yet more fragile), thus fetching a higher price tag than HD800S. One thing to notice is that if you buy HD800S used and good price here at the forum, you won't have much trouble selling it back at nearly same cost, which is like a free audition with some minor fees for shipping. If you buy HD700, it will be slightly more difficult to sell it since many folks (but not all folks) could share similar opinions like mine.

 

[DuncanDirkDick]

Only Sennheiser knows. In your case the HD800 could be a bang for the buck headphone. I don't know about the 800s. It's double the price of the 800 and 5 times the 650. I guess that's a decision you have to make.

 

[CTR640]

Has the HD800 been discontinued? Stores here only sells the HD800S (And the 820 too of course)

I have been thinking and having many headphones is nice to use depending on usage and mood but I can hardly find any legit reason now to get one of them after your inputs.

I appreciate you guys your replies!

 

[go_vtec]

Has the HD800 been discontinued? Stores here only sells the HD800S (And the 820 too of course)

I have been thinking and having many headphones is nice to use depending on usage and mood but I can hardly find any legit reason now to get one of them after your inputs.

I appreciate you guys your replies!

HD800 had some known issues and many folks started to make some modifications to make it sound better. Here "better" is relative term, some still like HD800 better than HD800S. HD800S is a Sennheiser's attempt to fix the issues from the factory at slightly higher price tag. A modded HD800 and standard HD800S sound fairly similar to casual listeners, and most of folks here (non-casual listeners) agree that there are still few minor refinements advantage goes to HD800S. I haven't checked to see if HD800 is still for sale.

 

[DuncanDirkDick]

Yes, I think as of 2019. Having multiple headphones to switch is fun, I don't think should be only Sennheiser

 

[CTR640]

HD800 had some known issues and many folks started to make some modifications to make it sound better. Here "better" is relative term, some still like HD800 better than HD800S. HD800S is a Sennheiser's attempt to fix the issues from the factory at slightly higher price tag. A modded HD800 and standard HD800S sound fairly similar to casual listeners, and most of folks here (non-casual listeners) agree that there are still few minor refinements advantage goes to HD800S. I haven't checked to see if HD800 is still for sale.

How are/were the modifications made? I mean like which ones? Modding the drivers or using better cables?

Yes, I think as of 2019. Having multiple headphones to switch is fun, I don't think should be only Sennheiser

Exactly. The only Sennheiser I have is the HD560S and the rest are Beyerdynamics, Klipsch and Meze 99 Classics.

 

[go_vtec]

How are/were the modifications made? I mean like which ones? Modding the drivers or using better cables?


Exactly. The only Sennheiser I have is the HD560S and the rest are Beyerdynamics, Klipsch and Meze 99 Classics.

You can google this forum for more info on the mod.

 

[DuncanDirkDick]

How are/were the modifications made? I mean like which ones? Modding the drivers or using better cables?

Search for "sennheiser SuperDupont Resonator"

 

[nasty nate]

Just my 2 cents - I've owned lots of Sennheisers (see my signature below for all of them) - and my favorite is easily the HD800S.

The HD600 are a classic, and so are the warmer HD650 - each have their own unique sound signature and all excel at different things. I've found recently that the HD800S with proper amplification achieves a lot of what the others do - plus better technical performance, better soundstage, (all things better in my humble opinion). I found the HD700 to have a rather painful peak in the treble so I gifted them away - even with a tube amp they had peaks that would cause sensitivity after short listening sessions.

I can listen to my HD800S for an entire day...

Like said above - the HD800S may seem like they lack bass but it's really all represented - they don't "slam" like bass-head headphones or planars, but everything is well presented in my opinion with great detail and loudness and I listen to music like Deadmau5, Emancipator, Tycho, and other electronic music (in addition to the typical audiophile genres).

Keep in mind that Sennheisers will scale infinitely with better amp and dac/source stages - for example the iconic HD600 sounded great on my Dragonfly, then better on the Asgard 2, and even better on the Lyr 3, and so on... etc

 

[Deolum]

Hi,

when I first entered the Dark Side of the Hifi audio, I appreciate great sounds and designs and I'd like to get another headphone but not sure I'll buy it.
The Sennheiser HD series seems to be highly appreciated and there are some HD700's on eBay.
Which one should I get? The HD820 or the HD700? The HD800S lack in bass from what I understand from the owners but I can't tell anyway.
Do they have wide soundstage? And why is the HD820 much more expensive?

How did you actually make it to pick the two worst regarded headphones in the Sennheiser Lineup?

If you're looking for an impactful bass you shouldn't take any headphone of the Sennheiser brand.