A 300 Ω open-back that nearly every source treats as a technical benchmark: an exceptionally wide, out-of-head soundstage, fine layering and separation, reference-grade detail, light and gentle-clamping comfort, and a well-made, user-serviceable build. The bass is where most agree it falls short — the sub-bass rolls off and slam is limited, although it reaches deeper than the HD 600 family and a minority find it ample. Measurements from a dozen rigs agree on the shape: a dip of 3–7 dB around 1.5–3 kHz relative to the HD 600, a treble peak at 5.4–6.3 kHz, and very little unit-to-unit variation. The disagreements are the decision. A weighted majority (ASR, Sonarworks, Resolve, Crinacle and many owners) still hear the treble as too hot or fatiguing, while InnerFidelity, Headfonia, What Hi-Fi and others hear the 'S' fix as a success. The overall tuning splits almost evenly between a transparent reference and a lean, clinical listen, and the midrange between clear and realistic versus distant and hollow. Value divides exactly in half: worth it for what it uniquely does, or poor at $2,000 against far cheaper Sennheisers. It wants a proper amp, is fussy about pairing, and takes EQ unusually well — which is where much of the discussion ends.
About this product
Open-back, 300 Ω, 56 mm ring-radiator — Sennheiser's flagship. The 2015 revision of the 2009 HD 800, adding an absorber that tames (not eliminates) the original's notorious ~6 kHz peak. Units from about 2021 ship a 4.4 mm balanced cable instead of the earlier 4-pin XLR. Not the HD 800 (non-S), the closed HD 820, the Drop HD 8XX, or the cheaper HD 600/650 family.
The HD 800 S is Sennheiser's flagship open-back and, for a decade, the headphone the high end uses to define soundstage. Launched in 2015 as the revision of the 2009 HD 800, its angled 56 mm ring-radiator drivers sit in cavernous cups that throw an unusually wide, out-of-head stage. The 'S' added an absorber to calm the original's infamous ~6 kHz treble spike — the same problem enthusiasts had hacked with damping mods — and a touch more bass body.
Eleven years on it has no successor, and its list price has risen from $1,699.95 to $1,999.95 with no hardware changes. It remains one of the most polarizing purchases at its price: reviewers who prize its space and resolution sit beside owners who find it thin, bright or fatiguing, and a large share of both groups end the argument with an equalizer.
