Sennheiser HD 800 S

Yes, definitely.
I listened to music for several hours last night with the new 800S. I tended to find the originals
a little fatiguing after a while.
They sounded involving & dynamic at quite low listening levels too. The volume control on the
Solo was set mainly to '9.30 - 10 O'clock' . Previously the volume control would often be much
higher to get an involving & engaging sound.
Interestingly the specs for the two versions are nearly identical. The frequency response
of both is shown in the manual & the bass of the 'S' has a very slight lift, with a drop at around 5KHz.

I did in general prefer the 540II to the older 800, mainly because I found the 540 had a
much better treble.
Yes, the 'S' is better than the 540II. It has the extra scale & openness & an even better
high frequency performance. I think Sennheiser have done an excellent job with the new version
& I don't honestly know why they are continuing with the original silver 800.

For the price paid for the 540IIs - almost knocking the last nought off the HD800S's price -  The 540IIs are unbeatable.

The detail these 'phones reveals is astonishing on good recordings - ' mere' CD resolution too.
Things like the odd grunt from conductors or musicians, score pages being turned, faint background
traffic noise just not noticed before. It can be strange to hear this sort of thing & also a bit funny.

With Solo ULDE the sound is wide open, clean & clear with great dynamics, resolution & no fatiguing drawbacks at all.
Brilliant at 'sensible' lower volumes to boot.


Edited by RichW - 15 Mar 2016 at 10:17am