Best Noise Canceling Headsets

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Sennheiser HD800 Premier Headphone Review by Shannon

My Overall Rating:

Available on Amazon for $1,399 here.

There has always been a debate between electronic reproduction and natural sound. The Sennheiser HD-800 headphones have been specifically designed inreplicating the basic acoustic conditions of natural hearing. This level of performance has yet to be matched by any other competitor. The HD-800 are the ultimate headphones to deliver natural sound. Over 60 years of research and headphone engineering has gone into the Sennheiser HD800 Premier Headphone.

Incorporating Sennheiser’s most advanced driver technology these open, circum-aural dynamic stereo headphones redefine what reference-level audio is all about. You will get a new level of sonic perspective as you experience a high-fidelity natural listening experience. Top quality parts have gone into their production, the transducer is encased by a precision material which is made of stainless steel; the ear pads are made of special high quality Japanese Alcantare; while the headband and headphone mounting utilizes the most advanced development from the aerospace industry.

In terms of connectivity, the Sennheiser HD800 Premier Headphones utilize specially designed, four wire, high performance connections with Teflon insulation. These headphones have been developed to provide the closest match to “being right there” than any other headphone out there. The Sennheiser HD-800 is for the discriminating audiophile seeking the best and most natural sound available. From rich bass lows to definitive highs, the Sennheiser HD-800 headphones deliver the exclusive sound that nature had intended.

Check out this video review of the Sennheiser HD800 Headphones

You can purchase the Sennheiser HD800 Headphones through this link at Amazon (cheapest price online)

Product Features:

• Natural hearing experience – realistic and natural sound field with minimal resonance
• Biggest transducers ever used in headphones up to today – new innovative dynamic transducer design
• Uncovered earcups for acoustic and stylistic reasons
• Metal headband with inner damping element
• Specially tuned symmetrical, impedance matching cable with low capacitance

The Story of the Sennheiser HD800 Headphones:

The story of the Sennheiser HD800 began with a huge dream of building headphones that go way beyond conventional equipment to become music phones, or even perfect sound phones. The dream of making a hi-fi device that sounds as brilliant, clear, and undistorted as if you were right there. The dream of creating an acoustic experience more amazing than anything ever heard through dynamic headphones: in spheres that no other category is capable of reaching–right there where perfection begins.

The HD 800 is built with a totally new transducer and only the best materials have been installed: with each part being carefully inserted by hand. We are talking about manufacture in the truest sense of the word, right from the initial drafts to individual handcrafting “made in Germany”. Above everything else the Sennheiser HD800 Premier Headphones personifies the creative force of the company that created it: by displaying the passion for perfect sound that has been driving Sennheiser innovation over 60 years.

The Principle of Spatial Listening:

The impression of spatial listening is created by a minute time lapse with which one and the same sound wave arrives at the inner ear. Ideally, the sound waves produced by a hi-fi sound system reach the listener at an angle of 60 degrees. The sound waves do not reach the ear straight on, but through a slightly angled sound front. This causes some of the sound impulses to reach the nerve ends of the inner ear earlier than others. The resulting time lapse is a matter of split seconds, but it is exactly this phenomenon that gives the impression of spatial listening.

When you are wearing the Sennheiser HD800 Headphones you will enjoy much more than just a sound experience of outstanding brilliance. You will experience a form of spatial listening that you have never heard before. You will actually get the feeling of being in the studio with your favorite recording artist. The HD 800 makes spatial listening possible through a combination of the large transducer surface and the angle at which it is suspended. The slightly angled sound front effectively simulates the principle of the spatial sound experience. No other manufacturer comes as close to producing a natural sound experience as Sennheiser with the HD 800.

Outstanding Sound:

The lightweight ring transducer precisely delivers sound without harmonic distortion
The superiority of the HD 800 is based on a completely new principle, right at its very heart: The transducer is designed in the shape of a ring. Basically, the larger the surface of the transducer the purer the sound—particularly when it comes to the low notes. A large surface area, however, also generates disruptive spurious oscillation at higher frequencies, so-called eigenmodes.

This is primarily due to the fact that conventional-sized transducers do not have a satisfactory way of controlling high-frequency oscillations. The ringed shape of the new transducer effectively solves this dilemma: Its broad area oscillates in an extremely controlled way due to the large coil and the two supporting surfaces. This results in a previously unheard-of degree of freedom from distortion and thus the greatest purity and brilliance of sound.

And when it comes to the naked technical facts, the HD 800 doesn’t save on superlatives: The 56-mm-wide transducer is the largest of its type. The same goes for the aluminum coil (40 mm) and the 42-mm magnet system.

Cords and Connections:

The symmetrical cords are designed with twin-core, high-performance, Teflon-insulated connections on each side. They are additionally covered with high-quality material for better shielding from oscillations caused by ambient noise. The jacks are exclusively produced for the HD 800 in Switzerland and feature gold-plated bunches. Gold has the highly positive property of having a very low transfer resistance, thus guaranteeing excellent contact without interference.

Headband and Mountings:

The headband consists of a sandwich design in which a metal layer is covered with several layers of plastic. The high-tech plastic possesses incredible attenuation characteristics and ensures that oscillations are not transmitted to the headphone mountings.

The headphones of the HD 800 are only mounted on one side, to make sure they fit optimally over the ear. The relocation of their point of balance towards the back of the head also enhances comfort for the wearer.

A special kind of Japanese Alcantara has been selected for the ear pads. This material is extremely comfortable to wear and easy to maintain. Leona, an ultra-light, high-rigidity special plastic, is as hard as titanium and thus yielding extremely low oscillation. Hi-tech stainless steel mesh–the ideal material for three-dimensional sound–combines all the properties of stainless steel with an incredible degree of transparency.

The Pros:

• You can wear the HD 800s all day and they still feel comfortable
• Nothing comes close to the Sennheiser HD800 Premier Headphones as far as sound quality
• Recordings sound as close to the original studio master as anything you have ever heard
• Bass lines are also very clearly revealed when listening through the Sennheisers
• once you hear these, there’s no going back to lesser headphones.

• You can purchase the Sennheiser HD800 Premier Headphone right here at Amazon (cheapest price online)

The Cons:

• The only negative thing i can say about the Sennheiser HD800’s is the price. $1400 can be a lot of money to shell out for headphones but you will find no better headphones on the market.

CONCLUSIONS:

The best high fidelity is of the utmost importance. I highly recommend these headphones to anyone who wants to listen to music the way it originally sounded in the studio and can afford the price tag because i can promise that you will hear sounds that you have never heard before and in some cases you might hear things that the studio engineers never intended to be recorded but didn’t pick up on their own equipment. One more thing anyone considering these headphones should know; it is critical to have a great headphone amp if you are going to get the best out of this product.

Let’s see what other customers have to say about the Sennheiser HD800 Premier Headphones

Review by R. Thompson

Kudos to Amazon for the detailed product description above; that makes my job much easier as I won’t attempt to delve into technical aspects of the design. Suffice it to say the HD800 is beautifully designed and artfully executed in regard to materials and construction; these headphones are beautiful to look at and handle and are supremely comfortable to wear.

Review shortened for size – read full review here