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Sennheiser HD 800 S Anniversary Edition – It is the 75th anniversary…

The epitome of extraordinary sound with a history of 75 years should be understood as the new Sennheiser HD 800 S Anniversary Edition, a special series of the outstanding Sennheiser HD 800 S headphones, which the German audio specialist Sennheiser electronic GmbH & Co. KG is now selling. And in limited numbers, because worldwide there will only be 750 pieces of the Sennheiser HD 800 S Anniversary Edition.


Sennheiser electronic GmbH & Co. KG has been a proven expert in the field of headphones for years, but the company is also intensively involved in solutions for professional environments, including headphones, microphones and wireless systems in the studio, live performance and conference solutions. An always important area for Sennheiser electronic GmbH & Co. KG is research in the field of immersive audio, which is grouped together under the name Sennheiser AMBEO Immersive Audio and which, in addition to numerous solutions for professional environments, has also resulted in the Sennheiser AMBEO Soundbar.

The company was founded in 1945 and since then has pursued its self-imposed goal of shaping the future of the audio world and creating unique sound experiences for customers. To this day, Sennheiser electronic GmbH & Co. KG is still an independent family business, now in its third generation and managed by Dr. Andreas Sennheiser and Daniel Sennheiser.

In 2020, the aim is to celebrate the 75th birthday of Sennheiser electronic GmbH & Co. KG, and the German company is celebrating this appropriately with outstanding products such as the Sennheiser MOMENTUM True Wireless 2 Anniversary Edition in-ear headphones and a special series of these headphones, which are already exceptional in their conventional production version. The Sennheiser HD 800 S is now available as the Sennheiser HD 800 S Anniversary Edition, albeit in a limited edition of – how could it be otherwise – 750 units worldwide.

The Sennheiser HD 800 S had been carefully chosen as the basis for the Sennheiser HD 800 S Anniversary Edition for the company’s 75th anniversary model, as these headphones represented exactly that philosophy of the company. Innovative products are designed to provide music lovers with a unique sound experience, a task which the Sennheiser HD 800 S, as the reference model for audiophiles, is able to perform brilliantly with brilliant sound reproduction and impressive three-dimensionality. As the Sennheiser HD 800 S Anniversary Edition, the headphones feature a particularly exclusive design in matt gold and an individual serial number laser-engraved on the earpiece.

“Our 75-year history is not only marked by extraordinary ideas and innovations, challenging projects and numerous successes – this year, in particular, we are celebrating an unbroken passion for outstanding sound.”

Dr. Andreas Sennheiser, Co-CEO Sennheiser electronic GmbH & Co. KG

At the centre of both the series model and the special model, which is identical from a technical point of view, is a so-called ring radiator converter, i.e. a driver that is based on a diaphragm with a diameter of 56 mm, and for which the developers used a driver developed by Sennheiser electronic GmbH & Co. KG’s patented material called Duofol Transducer. This is intended to provide the basis for a particularly accurate music reproduction, as only the slightest distortions of less than 0.02 percent occur here. The so-called masking effect, an acoustic phenomenon which means that the human ear cannot perceive higher tones at low volume if significantly louder tones occur at the same time in a low frequency range, is to be countered by means of special absorber technology. This absorbs the energy of the resonances and thus prevents unwanted peaks in the frequency response, according to the manufacturer’s description, thus guaranteeing the reproduction of even the finest nuances of the music over the entire frequency range. And this frequency range is really impressive in the Sennheiser HD 800 S and therefore also in the new Sennheiser HD 800 S Anniversary Edition, as it is specified at 4 Hz up to 51 kHz. The impedance is 300 Ohms.

In order to ensure that the drivers are used to their full potential, the earcup also had to be carefully designed, with a slightly angled positioning of the drivers. In this way, the sound waves are directed directly into the auditory canal and a natural and spatial sound experience is guaranteed.

The basis for the ear-enclosing ear cups is a particularly solid construction, which allows the open design. This is why glass-fibre-reinforced plastic is used here, which is normally black, but in the Sennheiser HD 800 S Anniversary Edition is matt gold. This material combines a particularly low weight with enormous rigidity, thus guaranteeing robustness for many years to come.

For the ear cushions, soft upholstery with a velour cover is used, although according to the manufacturer, this is vegan velour. The grille on the outside is made of stainless steel as is the grill to protect the driver. The joints as the transition between the earpiece and the temple are also made of matt gold and, together with a decorative ring and a shell ring, are intended to set visually attractive accents.

“Our reference headphones HD 800 S are proof of the passion that has driven us for 75 years. They are appreciated by audiophiles around the world, which is why we would like to celebrate our anniversary with a collector’s edition of this very special model”

Daniel Sennheiser, Co-CEO Sennheiser electronic GmbH & Co. KG

The 750 pieces of the Sennheiser HD 800 S Anniversary Edition are, of course, produced exclusively by hand directly at the company’s headquarters in Wedemark. Each piece comes with an individual laser engraving with the serial number on the headband and a printout of the individual frequency response.

The scope of delivery of course also includes cables, two of which have a practical length of three metres and terminate in either a 6.3 mm stereo jack or 4.4 mm jack. This means that the new Sennheiser HD 800 S Anniversary Edition can be operated either unbalanced or balanced, with an optional 4-pin XLR cable also being available.

The limited special series Sennheiser HD 800 S Anniversary Edition will be available from 22 September in the Sennheiser webshop, although you will need to budget € 1,599 for this.

Getting to the point

The Sennheiser HD 800 S had been carefully chosen as the basis for the Sennheiser HD 800 S Anniversary Edition for the 75th anniversary model, as these headphones represented exactly that philosophy of the company. Innovative products are designed to provide music lovers with a unique sound experience, a task which the Sennheiser HD 800 S, as the reference model for audiophiles, is able to perform brilliantly with brilliant sound reproduction and impressive three-dimensionality. As the Sennheiser HD 800 S Anniversary Edition, the headphones feature a particularly exclusive design in matt gold and an individual serial number laser-engraved on the earpiece.

Manufacturer:Sennheiser electronic GmbH & Co. KG
Distribution:Sennheiser electronic GmbH & Co. KG
Price:€ 1.599,-
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Michael Holzinger

Michael Holzinger, founder and editor-in-chief of HiFi BLOG and sempre-audio.at, has been working for years as a journalist in the fields of IT, photography, telecommunications and consumer electronics.

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