Sennheiser HD 800

Design

The DT 990 PROs don’t have much of a design flair, but we like that about them. They look like nice headphones without yelling, ‘I AM A NICE PAIR OF HEADPHONES’ directly into the faces of astonished onlookers. The message the HD 800s convey is, ‘My time machine has broken down and I am stranded in this, a most distant past.’

Sennheiser HD 800	Beyerdynamic DT 990 PRO

Frequency Response

Apparently there’s an agreed-upon ideal for excellent frequency response, because both Sennheiser and Beyerdynamic have produced very similar-sounding headphones here.

Sennheiser HD 800	Beyerdynamic DT 990 PRO

Distortion

Again, no one will notice any distortion here.

Sennheiser HD 800	Beyerdynamic DT 990 PRO

Tracking

If you apply our new tracking test limits to the Beyerdynamic’s graph, you’ll find the two headphones have very similar results.

Sennheiser HD 800	Beyerdynamic DT 990 PRO

Isolation

Neither have good isolation. Use them in a private listening environment.

Sennheiser HD 800	Beyerdynamic DT 990 PRO

Comfort

Both headphones are very, very comfortable. The problem with the DT 990 PROs, however, is the band doesn’t have the best padding. After a few hours, it started to hurt our soft skulls. We didn’t find this was as much an issue with the HD 800s.

Wear
Sennheiser HD 800	Beyerdynamic DT 990 PRO

Verdict

This match-up is basically a personal challenge to you, as an audiophile. The DT 990 PROs are significantly less expensive and offer much the same audio quality. People who aren’t really into headphones will notice virtually no difference between these two. Those that are will find the HD 800s offer superior clarity as well as a host of other subtle qualities.