Dear Prudence

In post-recession 2010, fiscal restraint is the new status symbol, which makes it hard to justify technological luxuries like $1,500 headphones. But Sennheiser's HD 800 isn't an ordinary set of headphones. It's the German company's no-holds-barred flagship model. While the price is certainly dear, any audiophile will find it hard to be prudent after giving them a listen.

The HD 800 is hand-assembled at Sennheiser's corporate headquarters, and oozes made-in-Germany quality. The black-and-silver industrial design is gorgeous. The ear cushions are made of Japanese Alcantara, an easy-to-clean material that is very comfortable next to the skin. At 260g, the HD 800 weighs more than most headphones, but its circumaural design distributes the weight perfectly around the ears and head, so that the HD 800 never feels heavy.

Put on some music, and reason goes out the window. The transducers (ear speakers) are 56mm in diameter, the largest on any dynamic headphone. This allows for outstandingly deep, pure, effortless bass. Sennheiser says the diaphragm's ring design extends high-frequency response to 51kHz, way beyond human hearing. The earcups direct sound to the listener's ears at a 45-degree angle, making the sound more spacious than typical headphones. To my ears, the HD 800's rich, brilliant, spacious sound is comparable to a pair of $8,000 loudspeakers.

My take: the Sennheiser HD 800 isn't just a great headphone. It's a work of art.

Article Tags:  headphones, sennheiser, sound, design, spacious, headphone, HD 800, Sennheiser