Sennheiser Hd 800 Reference Dynamic Headphone Review

It is a great headphone case. B&H displays it at the bottom of the Sennheiser HD 800 listing, which at least suggests the HD 800 would fit in it. It is not even close. The HD 800 heaphones do not fit in this case.

I didn't know this even existed until I saw it in a B&H e-mail. It is perfect for holding my heavy Sennheiser HD 800 headphones on top of my stereo components. This stand is light, sturdy, perfectly sized, and even looks good. Highly recommended.

The HD 800 S is very comfortable and feel exactly the same as the old HD 800. The sound stage and imaging are amazing (like before) and Sennheiser (finally) fixed that high peak and added a little more power to the bass. However, I feel that they are still as picky in terms of amp-pairings. Definitely do your homework on pairings (try them out at a local hi-fi store/audio meet) before dishing out for these. They may sound fine on some amps but are lackluster on others and require more power than most other headphones out there. Accessories are the usual except they now come with the balanced cable -- which used to cost $400 separately. I can't comment on the difference in sound between the unbalanced 1/4 and balanced XLR cables as I haven't spent the time to A/B test them, but it's nice of Sennheiser to include this if you ever need to switch to an amp with only balanced outputs. The included cables are a bit long if you're not in a studio, but if you have the money for this pair of headphones, you can probably afford a custom, shorter cable for portable/at-home use.

An essential accessory piece for my dynamic Sennheiser E835 mics!

Although I wouldn't call the X2HR a reference style open back headphone, I would say they are a very enjoyable pair to listen to all kinds of music on. I've listened to everything from Jazz, Classical, Hip Hop, old school to modern R&B, all eras of rock to Death Metal, and the X2HR sounded great with all of them. Great detail, ample bass that holds together and the soundstage is wide but not so much that you lose the mix or the vocals. The X2HR is bright, but never sibilant and the treble range allows for great resolving of ear candy usually lost or hard to hear in poorer performing headphones. I would say the EQ is a bit more of a V shape, but there is enough midrange where recordings never sound hollow. I find the fit very comfortable for my large head and the build quality is excellent. I will say that ear fatigue settled in for me after about 2 to 2.5 hours of listening at a moderate volume. All in all, a great set of cans.

Reference has breathed new life into my Sony MDR-V6's which have been faithfully serving me for more than 10 years. The only qualm I've had with the Sony's are an apparent sibilance, even if it can be pleasant at times. Reference improves that problem (including an issue with bass) to flatten the response. This has helped immensely with mixing, but has also made general listening more enjoyable and less fatiguing. SONARWORKS has reviewed lots of headphones and rated them based on their before and after calibration performance, so if you're on the market for new headphones, that might be a good starting point for reference. They also offer an additional service for individual calibration which requires sending your headphones in so they can produce a personal profile for your headphones, as opposed to using the general profiles included with the software (you can also purchase a new pre-calibrated pair from them). That's all of course if you're looking for some kind of edge and really find yourself doing a great deal of work on headphones; it could certainly be worth the extra cost particularly for mastering headphones. Pairing this software with something like CanOpener (to simulate monitor crossfeed) will put you pretty close to a solid monitor mixing environment, so this is incredible software particularly for compact or mobile headphone-centric setups, or as a compliment to a studio setup that utilizes headphones in any critical way. Looking forward to using it with new headphones when the time comes. Highly recommended. Be sure to check the full headphone compatibility list to be sure they at least have a general profile for your particular model.

Why anyone spends money on Beats headphones is beyond me. These are the reference headphone standard for the price point. Flat response, compact design. Add Scruffies for the winter or when the earphone material gets chapped.

I was recording a few singers in an apartment and needed more headphone outs than what my interface had. I didn't need them to be reference quality, because it was just for tracking. This gave me everything I needed for under $ bucks. Perfect.

Mounting two Sennheiser Receivers to a small HD Camera

My reference for years has been the Sennheiser HD650, and I've been an open-back guy ever since I first heard them. But the AA Hi-X55 is better in nearly every way, especially in comfort and detail. It may lack just a bit of that airiness that is the signature of open-back 'phones, but in staging and definition it's a significant step up. I can't speak to durability--only a week in--but so far I am thrilled. Highly recommended.