The Build and SpecsConstruction of these headphones is some seriously solid work, proving to make these incredibly sturdy as well as surreptitiously stylish. The ear pads are made of Japanese Alcantara, a smooth felt-like material that gently cushions your head and never felt abrasive or warm under use. This is used again on the headband.
The plastic used in the frame of the Sennheiser HD 800 is made of a material that they claim was developed for the aerospace industry. While we'd try this out and see if they can survive re-entry, we didn't get time for that, but they do feel sturdy. The headband uses layers of this plastic interspaced with layers of metal, cutting down on vibration. On top of this is a stainless steel plate, complete with the serial number of the headphones.
This number refers to the kit itself, as well as a record of the individual drivers used in each cup, and their frequency response. What this means is that if your headphones stop working ten years from now, not only will Sennheiser be able to know what kit died and replace it, but they can also match the frequency response as closely as they can - meaning you'll get a set back that will sound bloody close to your old ones. We've never heard of this kind of support, and it's pretty amazing to see.
Weighing in at 260 grams without the Kevlar-strengthened-oxygen-free copper shielded 3m cable (it's a little bit of a mouthful), these use a ¼" or 6.3mm stereo jack, have a sound pressure of 102dB, and a frequency response of 6 - 51,000Hz! Just for a comparison of how excessively awesome this is, the average young person has a hearing range of 20 - 20,000Hz, meaning that there is a HUGE range of sounds that will be played that you're not even going to be able to hear!
Turn the page for our impressions of this technically impressive kit.
Issue: 133 | February, 2012