Hey guys! Got our first sponser - Send them my thanks and check out there quality stands here - soundrisepro.com On a side note - Sponsers directly help and support the channel, and are WAY less annoying than KZfaq ads (which sponsorship allow me to remove) :) win win for everyone... unless you have adblock. Than I am sorry. So very sorry.

No, wife said I don’t need another headphone. No, wife said I don’t need another headphone. No, wife said I don’t need another headphone.

17:50 - For anyone interested in how these do for gaming

Freaking awesome I’ve been waiting for this one and just asked you in the last video!! Thank you so much josh! These are headphones I’d like to listen to before I die.

Joshua, you have a unique ability to speak “sound”. I really appreciate your descriptions it’s almost as if I was listening my self. Thanks for the effort you put into these.

Congratulations on getting sponsored! I'm really enjoying your music recommendations, especially Avi Kaplan.

Finally! That’s my baby! For music, movies and gaming. 👍

I´m glad that you finally made some justice to the HD800(S), you nailed it in this review. I´ve modded mine with the SDR long time ago, and coupled with a Burson Conductor is my go-to headphone for classical/instrumental music and movie soundtracks. The clarity, soundstage and transparency are outstanding. For vocals and pop/rock you need a complementary HP like an LCD2 and you´re set with the best of both worlds.

I listened to Hans Zimmer on the 800S at Warsaw Audio Video Show 2019 and I had little tears in my eyes... great headphone! LOVE IT! and I love standard 800 too!

I just got a pair of the HD800S's and I absolutely love them! Plugged into my Neve RNHP, it is sonic bliss! I never heard anything better than these.

Total beginner here, but I walked into to local HiFi store thinking I was going to buy this but just wanted to audition other stuff just to see what's out there. Tried this against a hifiman Aeon (didn't have the Arya) a focal elegia and clear, and some others I can't remember. Walked out empty handed cause I liked the focal clear better but couldn't say why. Before that all I had was a Shure 535. Saw your focal clear review and a few others comparing this and the Clear and ended up purchasing the Clear. Bottom line was the balance. This 800s is a surgical scalpel and efficient in the hands of a professional, wasn't for me at all. The Clear just makes stuff sound beautiful especially female vocals. I appreciate your work and it really helps those of us getting into the hobby understand what it is we are really looking for when we don't know the words to express it.

Great Video! I think the quality got even better in the past videos. I like it a lot (in Jim Carrey voice). Also: thanks for the awesome song recommendations. Please include more of it. This way we all can build our own audiophile playlists. 🤘

Great review. The passion and enjoyment, pros and cons all came through in an engaging way.

I thought you'd never check these out since you weren't a fan of both the 800 and 820. Glad to see another vid!

Joshua Valour Very objective, truly and neat review, Congrats Josh!.

40k subscribers with such amazing production? How are you not over a mil yet?

I admire your ability to describe a sound experience with words. You are a master at this!

Finally, thanks Josh!

Someone who can actually talk in sound tech language. Great review. Good communicational review

Get sponsored son! Nice. Great review. As an Arya owner looking forward to your comparison. Pls throw in the LCD-X too.

I own this headphone since 2017 and I love it for what it is. I think that you are spot on. I use the THXAAA789 with it and thats a fantastic match!!! I also use the Chord Hugo 2 as a DAC/AMP or as a DAC with the THX and the resolution is insane. Great review!!! 👍 Love your content ❤️🙏

Your intro's are insane Josh, keep going mate!!

13:34 I think you meant "Chris Jones". I enjoy that song too. Very good!

The Sennheiser HD800S is the improved version of the HD800 which corrected an audible and distracting midrange resonance issue. The 800 and 800S are renowned for their highly accurate, highly detailed sound, localization and enormous sound stage. The 800 and 800S are open ear headphones, which I believe are best for acoustic and classical music. Bass heavy dance music and rock music are not going to sound great on the 800 or 800S. The sound produced is so accurate it will be uncompromising in revealing deficiencies (flaws) in the recording, mixing and mastering process.

I got mine in this week and can certainly see what you mean about the treble being bright and the Ses are a bit sibilant at times. Overall they sound fantastic even on my 2019 Jotunheim (I think something changed since your review of it as I hear no compression compared to my husbands Magni Heresy). Currently waiting for the Dekoni Elite Hybrid pads to come in as a few audiophile friends said they help alot with everything on the headphone (like you did) once the pads break in. Thank you for this awesome and honest review as It helped me decide if I wanted to take the plunge on my dream headphones.

Great review! How do you clean your headphones? Especially the pads? Thanks

Awesome, Review, need these headphones asap.

Good review 👏🏼👏🏼👏🏼

Nice review once more... can you upload a list of albums you prefer according the headphones you use? like the recomendations for hd800s...

Dunno why I'm watching this while using my 800S. But I agree with what he says. I don't have fatigue when listening to my music. Let some of my friends try it who have no experience with pricey audio gear and they all agree it sounds amazing.

The best headphone I've ever had was the HD800s paired with the Schiit Loki and the bass turned up by 1/3. After that it's perfect!

I love playing Destiny with you my man!

Love the professional feels, I'll subscribe then

Good review Josh. Worth pointing out that the 800S includes a quality balanced XLR cable which makes up a good portion of the price difference over the 800. Would love to see a comparison review to Beyerdynamic T1, which I think is likely the closest competitor to the 800S.

Excellent review and production. Josh, you and I have very similar taste in sound signature and what we like. I also own many of the headphones you reviewed. I also prefer pleasure of critical listening. Please make a comparison with Ayria and the HD800S. Maybe even LCD X but I feel my LCD2C is good enough so would rather see the other two compared.

Nice review. I have SDR modded HD800 (modded by myself) it sounds exactly the same as HD800s. I like how it sounds but dynamism, smoothness and low frequencies extension on my SR007mk2 is far better.

Listen to the Buena Vista Social Club album, it is AMAZING with HD800S.

Very comprehensive review. I bought these pretty much the day I heard that they came out, having used the HD650 from 20 years ago, followed by the HD700. What I learned from those applies to these as well. Sennheiser, in my view at least, uses some of the worst headphone cables ever out of the box. I changed the cables on these to Cardas latest "Clear" cable, and that took a great headphone over the top. It's a pure Litz wire that has exceptional high end transparency, while the stock wire sounds gritty and noisy to me. This also shifts the balance away from the distracting high frequency noise and the bass and mods become bigger and more balanced, while not losing anything in terms of the huge soundstage or detail that you describe so well. There are online stores that allow you to try out and return cables, and I strongly recommend to anyone that is considering these that they experiment with a very high end wire. Thank you for your review.

The B roll footage is very nice.

Hey Josh, did you notice if the soundstage was altered for gaming or otherwise with the Dekoni Elite hybrid pads? I game with an original unmodded HD 800(on your advice)with a Woo Audio WA7tp. I have not done the SuperDupont resonator mod as I read that it reduces the soundstage(apparently similar to the slightly reduced sound stage on the HD 800S compared to the stock HD 800). I'm treble sensitive but love my current expansive and immersive soundstage. I would love to hear your thoughts on the pads and must say what an absolutely beautiful song you ended the video with! Thanks again, Josh. Congrats on your first sponsor!

good review! i really want these when the ps5 comes out!

Spot on! Great and accurate review like always Joshua! Maybe Sennheiser 800s will be my next headphone. Recently I just bought a dt1990pro ( because of your review) and I would like to ask you if is it good for competitive gaming too? For Bf5? Thank you and keep up the exellent vids!:)

I like this guy. Mysterious. Good review.

Joshua adds the 800S to “his top recommended”.... who cares this headphone is the most sold high end headphone for few years already. If you see his videos you know that he is obsessed with ‘’vocals’’ but if you are the kind of person that loves musical instruments, harmonies, melodies, harmonics, room detail, spaciousness, recording detail, texture and maybe complex music like classical orchestral or jazz no doubt this is your headphone. By the way singers sounds amazing here too just the headphone don’t put them in your face. Ahh and bass is also Amazing is just not emphasised like the audeze headphones. I agree in some cases the headphones could be a bit thin sounding but that is not necessarily bad. Actually that is very realistic sounding. This headphone can make you look to your room asking yourself where the sound is coming from more than any other headphone. I’m happy he start appreciating this cans, it was taking you a while. Thank you for the review very enjoyable

You might want to hold off for the new Air Motion Transformer based HEDDphone, some early impressions have suggested its very close the LCD4 for nearly half the price.

2:50 - serious audiophile look

Hi, I really enjoy your video. after watching it, I decide to buy one of the HD800s and LCD - x, any suggestions?

So they let their customers fix it and then sold that fix to their customers for a big premium? Pulled a real Bethesda there...

Love your reviews! Any plans to review the Schiit Magni 3+ and Magni Hersey? Interestingly the Hersey measures better but some say the 3+ sounds better objectively. Both put out 2.4w which for $100 is great. Or even a $100 headphone amp shootout :p

Great video. Any chance you may review the monoprice retros?

If you want to judge a headphone like the HD800, throw classical music at it, not just a bunch of songs. When the gear calls for it, as it does here, you should be able to discuss how it handles symphonies, piano concertos, string quartets, etc. Of course, that would not sound cool to your target audience, but at least you would have done these headphones justice. I just saw Currawong's review of the HD800S. He basically described it as a dumbed-down HD800. I have to trust his review more than yours since at least he knows that you judge the HD800 more by how it handles a symphony orchestra than a show tune.

Nice review. What camera do you use, so sharp!

Hope you can get your hands on some LCD-4z as they are exactly the sound signature you are describing to be your preference!

Joshua, odd question, but what wristwatch are you wearing in this video? Awesome review of the HD 800 S!

Hey Josh, one thing I would love to see you do in the future is start weighing the headphones with and without cables. I am finding manufacturers claims of weight to be very misleading.

I am actually considering getting one of the 4 headphones you mentioned in the video, and I don't know which one to go for... Will have a listening demo soon, but currently I own a HD 58X and I am loving them. Which one did you end up going for?

Bought a pair of HD800s after seeing this. Going to be used for gaming, discord and music. Thanks for the gaming part of the video :)

Arya, bro. Best of both worlds; fun and analytical.

Will you review some of the ZMF headphones, like the Aeolus, in the near future? Would be curious whats your opinion on them.

Hi Joshua i have a question. Do you use ATMOS for headphones or DTS x for gaming or do you leave it on default stereo ?

I have a big pile of headphones here including Audeze but I'm listening to my Sennheiser HD590s out of my Gilmore Lite Mk2, the tear drop cups are just so comfortable. lol

That’s a dope hoodie

What microphone do you use in this recording? That's clean af...

This review confirms the impression of others that the HD800S headphones are very revealing which can be a very good thing if that is what one is looking for.

Really interesting review, I'm looking at either the HD800s or HD820 - does the latter have too many flaws / overpriced to choose it over the former? I currently own a pair of Momentum 3's and looking for a higher end offering to enjoy when I'm not travelling.

ZMF verite? Sounds to be exactly what you said at the end. Detailed and almost as 3D stage as the 800s but fully with more body and musicality.

HD800S best gaming headphone. Focal Clear MG my favorite headphone of all time. My daily combo. Thanks Joshua.

Get yourself an ifi Zen Can and turn the bass boost on. It’s phenomenal on this headphone imo

The lcd-gx headphone in the background!? Interesting!

At the end of the day it’s all about personal taste. I liked the HD-800 very much and I like the HD-800S even more. I think they are both fantastic in their own way.

Currently I got the HD 660s. Would these be a direct upgrade or is the soundstage a lot different? I am looking to these and the ZMF Auteur.

Sold my 800s after demoing the Utopia and Clear. For me the Clear is the complete package and now have it as my daily driver.

I use these headphones with soundblaster x7 for some console gaming. BF4 :) Great audio quality

Nice review! That song in the intro sounds great. Who is it and does somebody know the title?

Its crazy how tube mess with audio your voice is like a whole other person without a tube

Is there a playlist for the recommended songs?

Hi. New to the stream. I love your comments and expertise. Pity I can't afford most of the headphones you experience. But lovely and clean videos however.

About the Dekoni pads.. does the inner fabric not bother you by how they touch the tip of your ears? I've been debating cutting out the fabric and giving them a try again. I just got some for my HD800's today and not sure if I like them yet or not.

How do they compare to the Elex, in general? Are the 800s the best gaming headphones on the market today? How much of an upgrade on the Elex for gaming?

I use Sonarworks SoundID to EQ it, if you’re fine doing so you’ll have an amazing time with them.

Thanks great info and review, hope to one day have a HD800S. BTW shazam is absolutely useless in identifying your lead in and exit music tracks..

What are you using for virtual surround in games? Dolby Atmos / DTS X or just stereo?

Little lion man sounds amazing on this

Would you ever consider any ZMF dynamic headphones to buy for yourself?

I spy an IFI Pro Stack ha , much agree with your opinion of the 800S , have mine through the IDSD and Procan , having the tube on it is quite pleasing

Those song recommendations are just mind-blowing. Listening HD598's Dragonfly Cobalt through Tidal MQA. WOW! I can't wait until the HD800S's are in my life and I'll come back to these.

the best headphones reviewer

Fantástico vídeo 👍👍👍

man, that Outtro track was nice. what was it?

For anyone considering buying the Dekoni Hybrid Pads, I recommend just sticking to the stock pads as: 1. The Dekoni's make the headphones sound different but not better, would need to tweak eq settings to match stock pads. 2. The Dekoni's have a dust cover that touches your ear that you will likely just cut off and end up using sennheisers dust cover. 3. The velour is not as comfortable as the sennheiser microfibre pads imo but this is just my own qualm with the pad. TLDR: Stock is probs better save alot of money and get some knockoffs of the stock pads off amazon or just get the replacement stock pads from sennheiser.

Hi Joshua, I have ordered HD800S to pair it up with Fiio M17 and PL50 combo. I am wondering which tube amp would you advice to my chain to warm up the headphones and give bottom end little more slam. I have been looking at Feliks - Echo 2, would it be good enough for my chain or you have different opinion? Thank you in advance!

I have the Dekoni Fenestrated pads which I really like; are the sound signiture differences similar to the Fenestrated with the Hybrid pads? If you have tried the Fenestrated pads?

Brilliant review though I shall stick to my humble but excellent HD660s for a while as I’m sure my wife will say no to another pair of headphones lol.

Hey just in time! I ordered a pair of HD800S a couple of days ago, should be here in about a week

@Joshua Valour What is the name of the intro song please? I think its "Coat of many colors" but which version? Thank you! Fantastic review!

Can you compare this to DT1990 ? I'm really curious about your opinion.

Is the driver angled? Can you make a video about headphones with angled drivers? And talk about the soundstage they bring out with hearing things behind you.

Don’t be so treblesome 🤣😜 Just bought it sounds great on the Astell and Kern KANN Alpha. Love the HD800s

I bought the dekoni pads for it and I wasn't sure if they helped or hurt the sound. Couldn't make up my mind. May have to try them again. I think you can use oratory1990 eq and get a really amazing sound from these. And when you game leave them stock for all the detail and width.

Joshua Valour I just bought these headphones yesterday brand new from a Sennheiser authorized dealer for $1,275. I was waiting for your review before I bought them but I couldn’t pass that deal up. Now today, you review them lol. I purchased these specifically for gaming. I have Fostex th900 for my electronic/hip hop listening. Does adding those pads you recommended help that mid range and bass dryness you spoke about? Worth upgrading to those pads for gaming? Also I love the comfort but I noticed the headphones move when I look down or up, does those pads keep the headphones in place a little more?