Sennheiser HD 820

Discussion in 'Headphones' started by iDesign, Apr 29, 2017.

  1. maverickronin

    maverickronin Friend

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    Likely the same two then. I only went through my test tracks with one though.
     
  2. raif

    raif Man made lobster/plankton

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    I was considering it but the measurements seemed kind of wonky to me. (which is a funny thing to say in a sennheiser hd8xx thread)
     
  3. Thenewerguy009

    Thenewerguy009 Friend

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    Could be that the HDV 820 amp/DAC it was connected to just wasn't doing it any justice.
     
  4. starence

    starence Facebook Friend

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    Also, I believe it may not be the final tuning. Still, not gonna get my hopes up.
     
  5. Maxx134

    Maxx134 Dunning–Kruger effect poster boy

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    Needed new earpads.
     
    Last edited: Nov 30, 2019
  6. Maxx134

    Maxx134 Dunning–Kruger effect poster boy

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    They should make leather pads option.
     
    Last edited: Nov 30, 2019
  7. Maxx134

    Maxx134 Dunning–Kruger effect poster boy

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    On a positive note:
    As it stands the 820 is a nice closed headphone with more modding potential.

    Materials & appearance do look more costly...
     
    Last edited: Nov 30, 2019
  8. DaveB

    DaveB Acquaintance

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    Well, two people that aren't fans.
     
  9. Lord Lunatic

    Lord Lunatic New

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    This might be an odd comparison due to form-factor differences, but out of curiosity, could anyone comment on how these compare to the IE800? Because ever since hearing it, I've been hoping they'd make a full size headphone, with the same sound - it has a much more full and weighty sound than Sennheiser has classically subscribed to...
    I'm currently trying to figure out if the 820 of Campfire Atlas would make for the better "upgrade" for me next :)

    I love the HD800, because I find it to be the most snappy, accurate headphone around, with a nice and punchy bass.. Sometimes I just want a "fuller" or more weighty sound like the IE800 provides... but the IE800's lack of being able to change the short cable is driving me up the wall... So I thought since I used to use the Beyer T1 portably, the HD820 might be my new thing!
     
  10. Metro

    Metro Friend

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    Could the IE 800 S work for you? Its cord is partially replaceable (up to the splitter).
     
  11. Lord Lunatic

    Lord Lunatic New

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    The IE800S is basically identical to the IE800 physically, just different colour - its after the split it's too short: if you're wearing it cable down, it creates a ton of cable noise when you move around, and around the ear, it sounds fantastic, but the split is so close to your neck, it looks/feels like you're wearing a bonnet...
     
    Last edited: May 15, 2018
  12. bFlat

    bFlat New

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    Now that HD820 have started to ship, any early impressions would be much appreciated although the $2400 price tag is not easy.
     
  13. pedalhead

    pedalhead Friend

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    I had a brief listen at the Sennheiser store in SF today. Apparently it's the only HD820 in the country at the moment. Well, whatever, I was not impressed. I find the midrange push around 1khz a problem on the HD800 and 800S, and the HD820 is even worse, very honky. EQ helps. I was hoping for a more full-bodied flavour to the HD800(S) but on this brief listen it seemed similarly lean. Totally underwhelmed, way too expensive imho.
     
  14. netforce

    netforce MOT: Headphones.com

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    Got our store pair last week. Had a quick listen and compared it to the HD800S. Had some pretty noticeable sub bass, soundstage wasn't too bad for a closed back but still sounds like a closed back, sounded closer to an HD800S than the HD800 from memory.

    Prototypes I heard in the past I was a bit iffy on, the final tuning was definitely better.
     
  15. Lurker

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  16. saint.panda

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    Had them for 2 weeks and returned them. Very nice with some classical and electronic music but prefer my modded HD650 80% of the time. Would recommend if you like HD800(S) but really need closed headphones. Worse than HD800(S). Bad value for money unless you really need closed headphones. The HD650 don't leak that much so it still sort of works in an open office environment.

    General
    - Minimal sound leakage
    - Isolation not great. Doesn't block much noise in an open office

    Pros:
    - Very clean bass. Hits hard on the right setup
    - Impressive soundstage for closed headphones. Still sounds like a closed headphone but impressive nonetheless.
    - Details, instrument placement, clarity. Similar traits as HD800.

    Cons:
    - Just too bright for my tastes and not enough body in the lower midrange. Funky upper midrange. Probably fixable with EQ.
     
    Last edited: Jul 23, 2018
  17. Kattefjaes

    Kattefjaes Mostly Harmless

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    It seems to me that for office use, the same money could buy you buttock-tighteningly good CIEMs- I got your isolation, detail and kicking bass right here.

    (Personally, I am just using some HD598c, which don't seem to leak and have reasonable* isolation. They sound surprisingly nice out of a Vali 2. They are weirdly sensitive, so I stuck 20dB of attenuation between the Modi Multibit and Vali to be able to run the amp in high gain and have play on the volume. Not sure I want more distractingly intense sound in an office- you're not supposed to zone out in the music constantly :D )


    *More than HD650, less than CIEMs. It takes the edge off, with music playing at a low volume.
     
    Last edited: Jul 23, 2018
  18. allegro

    allegro Friend

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    Second that recommendation. I still have a pair of Ultimate Ears UE-10 Pros bought 13 years ago that work just fine. I believe they advertised 26 dB isolation. I still use them when the neighbors get rowdy and I need some really good noise isolation. They cost $1000 at the time plus $50 for the ear canal impressions. When I have then in my ears no outside noise gets through. If I was buying a new pair of IEMs today I would definitely go the custom route. Do they sound as good as my HD800S? Nope, but they are sure handy to have around.
     
  19. Ash1412

    Ash1412 Friend

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    CIEMs were so much more popular than normal IEMs at the high end a few years back. Now IEM makers are moving towards doing more with the housing than making them look pretty out of easy to break acrylic. A cool new development that tries to marry both approaches is custom tips (campfire is gonna start doing custom tips). If that turns out to be good, I'm willing to jump down the high end IEM rabbit hole.

    This just seems like the Senn team tackling an engineering problem that few people wanted solved in the "make it desirable" way so many things are engineered these days e.g thin phones with glass backs.
     
  20. Lurker

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    From a German tech-journal:
    [​IMG]

    Blue curve is the 820's frequency response measured with the Minidsp EARS
    Yellow curve is the HD 600's FR also measured with EARS
    Red curve: They basically put 1/3 octave noise on both the test headphone and the HD 600. The loudness of that noiseband was then matched (by ear) to be equal to the HD 600. They did this for every band between 20Hz to 20kHz which results in the stepped graph. If you put the negative of the red graph into an equalizer the 820 should sound somewhat identical to the HD 600.

    Translation of the text:
    The HD 820 is the closed brother of the HD 800 S.
    Of note are the transparent glass panels on the outside of the cups. They have a concave curvature and are supposed to minimize resonances by reflecting the sound into the (ear?)pads. Thanks to the large cups the headphone sits very comfortably on the head.

    Compared to the HD 800 S the differences are minimal:
    The sound signature is just as detailed and airy and extracts noticeably more nuances out of the music compared to the HD 600. Because of the small dip between 3 and 5 kHz voices appear less intrusive. The HD 820 sounds more spacious than a lot of open headphones.

    Noticeable is the relatively strong dip of the frequency response at 300 Hz. It aids the transparency of the sound, however it also makes voices appear thin. Compared to the HD 800 S the bass response is more potent.

    Because of this the HD 820 is, not only for jazz and classical, a good choice.

    ^ very detailed and spacious
    ^ very comfortable
    v voices seem somewhat thin
    2400€

    Article can be found here: https://www.heise.de/ct/ausgabe/2018-17-Acht-High-End-Kopfhoerer-im-Vergleich-4123110.html
     

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