Sennheiser HD 800 S

Sennheiser HD 800 S: the reference open-back headphone

The HD 800 S is the updated version of the 2009 HD 800 and is still the yardstick for open-back dynamic headphones. Compared with the original, the finish is now matt black and, above all, an internal acoustic absorber has been added.

The ring driver

At its centre sits a 56 mm ring driver: Sennheiser has never fitted a bigger one to a dynamic headphone. The diaphragm is fixed at both its outer and inner edge, so it moves a lot of air while staying stiff. The drivers are angled inside the earcups and send sound to the ear from the front, much like a pair of loudspeakers.

The absorber

Taken from the IE 800 earphones, the absorber damps the resonances that would hide the faintest high-frequency details (the masking effect). Every unit ships with the response curve of its own drivers, measured and paired at the factory in Ireland.

• Ring driver of 56 mm, dynamic; open earcups
• Impedance: 300 ohms · Sensitivity: 102 dB (1 V)
• Bandwidth: 4 Hz to 51 kHz
• Weight: 330 g
• Supplied: 3 m cable with 6.35 mm jack and balanced cable with 4.4 mm jack