That open quality was definitely a plus in our home-theatre auditions, in which the sound appeared to almost come from the screen. We watched State of Play, and the 800s put us right inside the newsroom, with ringing telephones, the clatter of keyboards and voices of other reporters filling a huge space. We soon forgot that we were wearing headphones and lost ourselves in the film. The 800s have a special affinity for movie dialogue -- it was the most natural we've ever heard from a dynamic headphone.
Moving to action films, the King Kong DVD's ample dynamics were very good, but lacked the impact we heard from the Grado PS1000 headphones. During the scene with the rampaging dinosaurs, we could almost feel each thump on the ground with the PS1000s. By comparison, the 800s softened the blows.
Up to this point we listened to the headphones exclusively over our Onkyo TX-SR805 receiver. For CDs, we switched over to our Woo Audio WA6 Special Edition headphone amplifier, which significantly improved the 800s' overall sound quality, most notably in the dynamics and resolution of fine detail.
With CDs, the 800s sounded clear but laid-back compared with the PS1000s and Ultrasone Edition 8 headphones. The latter two had much brighter treble and more bass oomph than the 800s, so it was easier to follow the guitar lines when rocking out with the Rolling Stones' remastered Sticky Fingers CD. The bass and drums were more 'live' sounding with the PS1000s, and to a lesser extent, the Edition 8 headphones.
We think those two headphones are less accurate than the 800s, though. If accuracy is your top priority, go for the 800s. For our tastes, the PS1000s were more exciting and engaging. The Grado headphones would be the ones we'd buy.
To finish up, we played the 800s over an iPod. The sound was spectacular in every way but one: it couldn't play very loud. It was loud enough for us, but, if you really like to crank up your tunes, the 800s won't be a good match with an MP3 player. The Ultrasone and Grado headphones were better in that regard.
Conclusion
The Sennheiser HD 800s are in the top tier of ultra-high-end headphones. If you're in the market for super-luxurious 'phones, they should definitely be on your list, if not at the very top of it.
Additional editing by Charles Kloet
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User reviews3
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Adam Versteegh 19 July 2011
Good: just THE BEST HEADPHONES EVER
Bad: price, obviously
Comment: i went and tried these badboys the other day, and they are brilliant! they are worth the price but i would never pay that much for headphones. well maybe if i become a millionaire someday.
Doratiog 15 January 2010
Good: Sound
Bad: Price
Comment: I have forgotten to say something about the AKG 1000 mentioned in the review. The price was incredibly low at the very beginning. I only paid in Spain 82.000 old pesetas, €296 (€1=166,386 pesetas); it was even cheaper than the Sennheisers 600 and 650. Later, the price reached more than 1000 dollars. With the passing of time I had to order to AKG Austria once and then to the distributor in Spain some leather pads I had to replace that AKG Austria sent me absolutely free qith a generosity I had never seen. The cables I ordered ito Madrid with some connectors were paid but the leather pads were a generous Austrian gift. Nevertheless, the true present is the spectacular sound of the K1000 (authentic loudspeaker left side number 04885). Those who like this sound can buy the K701, the sound is spectacular as well, in spite of the difference when listening; since the K1000, if correctly placed opening the moving earloudspeakers is similar to listening to a pair of professional loudspeakers in stereo sound.
Doratiog 15 January 2010
Good: Sound
Bad: Price
Comment: In the past, both the 600 and 650 models had and still have a reasonable price. The new and greedy price is scandalous, ridiculous, irresponsible and unjustified. These people must be joking, they are not serious about prices any more.
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