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Sennheiser HD 820 Closed-Back Headphones
$1999.95

Sennheiser HD 820 Closed-Back Headphones

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$1999.95
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audioFile299
0
Apr 2, 2023
Today i've had a chance to extensively demo both models at a store in Istanbul. My demo order was HD 800S, HD 820 and HD 600. HD 800S for me had no flaws, listening to The Weekend, Lindsey Stirling and Daft Punk everything felt just right. Soundstage was flawless, instrument separation and tonality were top notch. I use Clear MG and LCD-X at home with my current collection. 800S was superior compared to both. LCD-X had better bass that slams and knocks your socks off, Clear MG has good extension but treble is hot mess and i always felt a dip in the mid bass region. I can rank 800S = LCD-X > Clear MG. Therefore anyone questions ability of Elex should get an idea... HD 820 was 800S in closed back form but you can immediately feel you lose what makes 800S so damn special which is perfect tonality. HD 820 offers better bass extension at the cost of soundstage, imaging and tonality which makes realistic hi-hat, cymbal reproduction sound artificial. HD 600 was hanging there so i wanted to put them on to see what i'm losing out on at 10x price and difference was not in tonality but Soundstage and extended lower and higher regions of frequency range. I think it's still the best buy considering you can have %99 same sounding HD 600 at $180* on Drop which is 6XX. If Sennheiser updates those drivers and gives it more note weight like planar counterparts at the same price such as Arya that would do so well. One thing Planars can't do is imaging. Bells and chimes or footsteps in games coming over all places but with Dynamics its pinpoint and precise, you can understand left right back front and such. I'd get 800 if i had a quiet space but at discounted or used prices 820 will get you %90 there, which i think is a great closed back still in 2023.
thitcholover
0
Dec 6, 2022
If you guys are debating what amp to use with these, try the earmax pro.
Alex_1800
0
Jun 15, 2022
mfs really spent $1800 on a headset. who u producing for? God?
AngryPersian
113
Jul 24, 2022
Alex_1800Honestly I know it sounds crazy, but it's one of those things that starts relatively small like trying a premium (say $220) headphones and wondering where it goes from there, and there are some $1800 I would even swear by (the 800S, not the 820). It has to be much more expensive than it's worth because of what a niche market it is to make headphones even more premium than the beginner level, and then it also takes a lot of money in R&D so it's expensive. Yes, eventually they pay that up and are just profiting and could lower pricing, that's a bit unreasonable because the price tag is already there and being paid for now (so why would a company fight sticky pricing to charge less for a niche headphone, basically).
(Edited)
elmoisemo
5
Nov 23, 2022
Alex_1800you know there are headphones 10x the price right? and even more for speakers
As an ignoramus, how do these stack up against the Focal Elex? I am tempted to try out an upgrade, maybe to either these or something Planar magnetic. However I am on the fence and paralysed trying to consider all my options. I also had a look at the 8xx though seeing reviews about the 800s that it is based upon I am not convinced it would suit me.
SexPandaByOdeon
72
Nov 22, 2021
FlutteringRobotOther than the Elex being open back and the headphone tech being based of of a loud speaker I have no idea. Was wondering the same thing about the diff between these and the open back 800s.
FlutteringRobotI have an HD 820, HD 800, and HD 8xx. Seems crazy even to me, but it’s great to feel like I’ve got a flagship with great imaging and soundstage for any situation. The HD 800 has such a large driver (it’s unique, a ring driver instead of a cone, with excellent stiffness) that it presents a flat “plane” of air to your ear and ear canal, so you feel the sound along with hearing it, and some of the sound waves reflect around in your outer ear in a way similar to speakers, in part because they are angled to match the angle of most ears. Another benefit of this design is that the cavernous earcups don’t let anything touch my ears at all 😉 Physically, the divot at the peak of the headband, light clamp, and surprising light weight make the HD 800 and all it’s successive variants very comfortable for me, sometimes letting me forget I’m wearing headphones. The HD 800 is fairly “reference” tuned; the frequencies are pretty balanced with eachother once you take into account our ears’ sensitivity to midrange and vocals. However, that means the sound doesn’t have the extra bass found in most home theater/HiFi setups where the bass emitting out the back of speakers is reflected off walls and back to the listener… the HD 800 has good bass extension, but it feels “airy” and lighter in bass than many people are used to, especially today with bass heavy pop like Rihanna or hip hop music. I wish “Angel” by Massive Attack had a bit more grunt and threat to it, but the rest of the album (and other Massive Attack albums) sound great! I like to use my HD 800 with rock and roll, movie and classical orchestral work, singer-songwriter pieces, alt-rock, and jazz. I recently discovered using vinyl and removing a DAC from the equation really seems to clear any sense of glare, but I also don’t have glare issues when I use my Cavalli amps or the HDV 820 amp. I also enjoy using the HD 800 while playing videogames… it’s so transparent and immersive that it’s like virtual reality in audio, and it’s super revealing for competitive play, but it can get a little fatiguing if I have the opportunity to play for two hours or more. I though I have lots of thoughts on gaming audio, see my video: https://youtu.be/42SRsSlIj-c The HD 8XX shares many of the traits of the HD 800 like great sense of direction and distance, clarity, however it was changed specifically to make the upper mids more laid back and add just a drop more weight to the bass. This makes female vocals less shouty (so something like Doja Cat’s latest is a bit smoother and IMO more pleasant here), and personally I find it easier to enjoy the lows and highs with this variant, though arguably it has a less “studio accurate” sound, and it’s still not a bass cannon. For a WFH headphone, this has basically taken over as a high-end headphone I can listen to all day with my library on shuffle. The HD 820 is closed-back, and has the deepest pads. It also has the most bass perceived among these three headphones, and that can be very entertaining. I use this when I want to block the sound of air conditioning, house creaks, street noise… and just focus on my music. It’s also great when I don’t want sound to leak or bother other people. For a closed-back headphone, the sound still manages to seem like it extends out beyond the limits of the earcups, and there’s a dip in the midbass (combined with the unique concave earcup design) that manages to almost eliminate the typical honky reverb and bass bleed that masks detail and defines most closed headphones. One thing that surprised me about this headphone was the fit… I still find it comfortable, but there’s a “sweet spot” for audio quality that you have to experiment to find, but then everything is heavy, particularly once you break in the pads a bit and they mold to the shape of your face. I don’t find this to be picky with song choice either… but I often gravitate to songs that show off its strengths in soundstage. The Elex is kinda like Drop’s version of the Elear, with a few changes like pads. The Elex has a warmer, thicker sound. I don’t own one, but the Elex is probably more of a crowd pleaser sound.
Link4
12
Sep 9, 2021
you can get these for 6 cents less from the manufacture
AngryPersian
113
Aug 6, 2021
Rant about original listing price taken out. edit: The listing price for this has become much more reasonable now. Edit 2: was able to verify that any of the listings that were above Manufactured Authorized Pricing were unintended errors. The price drop was a correction.
(Edited)
TeddBoya
243
Jul 19, 2021
The fact that this is currently outselling HD 800s makes me really sad
The magic sauce in these headphones is Gorilla Glass. Because if it’s good enough for your phone it’s good enough for your eardrums or something else equally nonsensical.
SquirrelPorridgeThe stiff/hard glass is like a convex lens that redirects back waves from the driver to sound absorbers, away from your ear. That’s part of what makes these less honky and less resonant than other closed headphones. But some people like extra bass reverb, so YMMV.
Failscalator
17
Feb 20, 2021
Hey drop, I thought the marketing behind your service was that if enough people bought, the price would be reduced. I don't think any of us care about your imaginary reward points. Other retailers have better deals.
Anzial
1494
Feb 20, 2021
Failscalatorehh, it's hasn't been so for years lol They even rebranded themselves because they gave up on providing a group discount.
(Edited)
Failscalator
17
Feb 20, 2021
AnzialRIP MassDrop
The_Almighty_Juan
7
Feb 14, 2021
Bathtub acoustics lmao
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