HD 820

Released 2018

The HD 820 are Sennheiser's flagship closed-back dynamic headphones, with 56 mm ring radiator transducers and Gorilla Glass reflectors behind them, suited to critical listening where an open back would leak.

Type: Over-ear
Noise cancelling: No
Battery: –
With case: –
Best codec: Wired
Weight: 360 g

Over-ear

What reviewers say

Reviewers praise the build and comfort but differ on the sound: What Hi-Fi? found it full-bodied, detailed and entertaining with agile bass, while RTINGS and HiFi Critic found it falls short of the open HD 800 S, HiFi Critic judging it thick in the bass and lacking life. What Hi-Fi? and RTINGS both questioned the price over the HD 800 S.

From whathifi.com, rtings.com and enjoythemusic.com

Specifications

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Sound

Type: Over-ear
Noise cancelling: No
Driver size: 56 mm
Back: Closed
Impedance: 300 ohms
Bluetooth codecs: None (wired)
Drivers: 56 mm ring radiator dynamic transducers, closed-back, behind convex Gorilla Glass reflectors that direct rear sound into damped chambers; 12 – 43,800 Hz (–3 dB), 6 – 48,000 Hz (–10 dB); 103 dB SPL at 1 kHz (1 Vrms); THD ≤ 0.02% (1 kHz, 100 dB SPL); diffuse-field equalised; max. 500 mW long-term input power

Battery

Listening time (maker's claim): No battery (wired)

Design

Weight: 360 g
Headphone cable: Yes
Fit and ear tips: Over-ear (circumaural), closed-back; contact pressure approx. 3.8 N ± 0.3 N; attenuation up to 25 dB
Works with: 3 m silver-plated OFC cables, balanced, shielded, para-aramid reinforced, with gold-plated 6.35 mm unbalanced or 4.4 mm balanced plugs; the maker also lists an XLR-4 balanced connector, but no XLR-4 cable is in the box
In the box: HD 820 headphones, cable with 6.35 mm plug (unbalanced), cable with 4.4 mm plug (balanced), instruction manual, storage box, microfibre cloth