Sennheiser HD 800 S

A short old/new HD800 comparison here:

I used a variety of songs with strong female vocal that could get a little shouty on the original 800′s and a few other tracks with strong bass lines to see if this is an area that has been improved on the 800S’S, so how did they sound?

The short answer is that the higher frequencies are definitely more controlled, slightly smoother whilst retaining all the detail that the 800′s are known for, you get a more natural presentation but for me the extra bass at the bottom end is the real improvement, again it is not a huge difference, it doesn’t turn them into a Audeze LCD-2 :-) but it is definitely more defined with a little more punch which helps track the bass line of any song better giving a more rounded sound.

I used the HD800 (serial number 30466) with the Solo Ultra-linear and the bass performance was fantastic; was not lacking in weight or extension in my opinion. There was no "hump or thump" in the bass either; simply very resolving and articulate. I didn't have any issue with a fatiguing treble either; all-in-all, it was a properly scaled up version of the HD540II that I compared alongside it. Superb sound; just a shame about the lack of musical engagement and the needlessly large "coffin box", huge instruction manual and heavy fabric-sheathed cable. They were clearly trying to cater for snobs, not sensible engineers.

I have a sneaking suspicion that this harsh characteristic of the HD800 is in how its phasing presents microdetails. The noise and low level nuances are placed more in your face than just "being there" in the background, where you would still otherwise hear them because all the frequencies are so level that its inevitable that you're going to hear it. Just my thoughts.

I've now had a good listen to the new HD800S & to my ears they are much better than the originals,
particularly in the treble which is now smoother without the hard, bright edge.
The clean, clear treble is actually some of the best I've heard from headphones.
They retain the open & detailed sound of the earlier version.
Bass is a little deeper - I think this may improve with more use.

Hats off to the Solo ULDE for making these differences clear to hear.