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  1. Table of Contents
  2. Top
  3. Main Differences
  4. Design
    1. Style
    2. Comfort
    3. Controls
    4. Breathability
    5. Portability
    6. Case
    7. Build Quality
    8. Stability
    9. Headshots 1
    10. Headshots 2
    11. Top
    12. In The Box
  5. Sound
    1. Sound Profile
    2. Frequency Response Consistency
    3. Raw Frequency Response
    4. Bass Accuracy
    5. Mid Accuracy
    6. Treble Accuracy
    7. Peaks/Dips
    8. Imaging
    9. Soundstage
    10. Weighted Harmonic Distortion
  6. Isolation
    1. Noise Isolation
    2. Leakage
  7. Microphone
    1. Microphone Style
    2. Recording Quality
    3. Noise Handling
  8. Active Features
    1. Battery
    2. App Support
  9. Connectivity
    1. Bluetooth
    2. Non-Bluetooth Wireless
    3. Wired
    4. PC / PS4 Compatibility
    5. Xbox One Compatibility
    6. Base/Dock
  10. Comments

HiFiMan Edition X vs Sennheiser HD 820

Side-by-Side Comparison

Products

HiFiMan Edition X
Sennheiser HD 820

Tested using Methodology v1.3.1

Updated Mar 24, 2022 08:45 PM

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Amazon.com

Tested using Methodology v1.3.1

Updated Sep 26, 2023 01:56 PM

SEE PRICE
Amazon.com
HiFiMan Edition X Picture
Sennheiser HD 820 Picture

Variants

  • Edition X
  • HD 820

Our Verdict

HiFiMan Edition X

Sennheiser HD 820

The HiFiMan Edition X are a better critical listening headphone overall when compared to the Sennheiser HD 820. The HifiMan are better balanced throughout their entire response and cater well to instruments and vocals, sound clear, and have enough bass for most tracks. However, the Sennheiser have a closed back design, which means they isolate more and leak less. The Sennheiser have slightly more bass and a much more premium and durable build quality than the HiFiMan. They're also slightly more comfortable and come with more accessories and cables.

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Check Price

Standard
Edition X
SEE PRICE
Amazon.com
Standard
HD 820
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Amazon.com
Standard
Edition X
SEE PRICE
Walmart.com
Standard
HD 820
SEE PRICE
BestBuy.com
Standard
Edition X
B&H
Standard
HD 820
SEE PRICE
Walmart.com
Standard
Edition X
BestBuy.com
Standard
HD 820
B&H
Standard
Edition X
Samsung.com
Standard
HD 820
Samsung.com

Main Differences for

Threshold 

0.10

Mixed Usage 

5.5
6.0

Noise Isolation 
 

0.7
5.8

Leakage 
 

0.1
5.5

Full Comparison

Design

Style  

Design Picture 2  

HiFiMan Edition X Design Picture 2
Sennheiser HD 820 Design Picture 2

Type  

Over-ear
Over-ear

Enclosure  

Open-Back
Closed-Back

Wireless  

No
No

Transducer  

Planar Magnetic
Dynamic

Show text

Comfort 
 

8.0
8.0

Comfort Picture  

HiFiMan Edition X Comfort Picture
Sennheiser HD 820 Comfort Picture

Weight  

0.88 lbs
0.8 lbs

Clamping Force 
 

1.16 lbs
0.7 lbs

Show text

Controls 
 

0.0
0.0

Controls Picture  

HiFiMan Edition X Controls Picture
Sennheiser HD 820 Controls Picture

OS Compatibility 
 

Not OS specific
Not OS specific

Ease Of Use  

N/A
N/A

Feedback  

N/A
N/A

Call/Music Control  

No
No

Volume Control  

No
No

Microphone Control  

N/A
N/A

Channel Mixing 
 

N/A
N/A

Noise Cancelling Control  

N/A
N/A

Talk-Through 
 

N/A
N/A

Additional Buttons  

N/A
N/A

Show text

Breathability 
 

6.2
6.8

Breathability After Picture  

HiFiMan Edition X Breathability After Picture
Sennheiser HD 820 Breathability After Picture

Avg.Temp.Difference  

6.6 °C
4.8 °C

Show text

Portability 
 

5.1
5.2

Portability Picture  

HiFiMan Edition X Portability Picture
Sennheiser HD 820 Portability Picture

 

9.45"
7.6"

 

7.09"
7.6"

 

3.94"
4.4"

Volume  

263.5 in³
260 in³

Transmitter Required  

N/A
N/A

Show text

Case 
 

0.0
0.0

Case Picture  

HiFiMan Edition X Case Picture
Sennheiser HD 820 Case Picture

Type  

No case
No case

 

N/A
N/A

 

N/A
N/A

 

N/A
N/A

Volume  

N/A
N/A

Show text

Build Quality 
 

7.5
8.5

Build Quality Picture  

HiFiMan Edition X Build Quality Picture
Sennheiser HD 820 Build Quality Picture

Show text

Stability 
 

5.5
6.5

Stability Picture  

HiFiMan Edition X Stability Picture
Sennheiser HD 820 Stability Picture

Show text

Headshots 1  

Angled Picture  

HiFiMan Edition X Angled Picture
Sennheiser HD 820 Angled Picture

Side Picture  

HiFiMan Edition X Side Picture
Sennheiser HD 820 Side Picture

Headshots 2  

Front Picture  

HiFiMan Edition X Front Picture
Sennheiser HD 820 Front Picture

Rear Picture  

HiFiMan Edition X Rear Picture
Sennheiser HD 820 Rear Picture

Top  

Top Picture  

HiFiMan Edition X Top Picture
Sennheiser HD 820 Top Picture

In The Box  

In the box Picture  

HiFiMan Edition X In the box Picture
Sennheiser HD 820 In the box Picture

Show text

Sound

Sound Profile 
 

Frequency Response  

See details on graph tool
See details on graph tool

Bass Amount 
 

-3.33 dB
-2.06 dB

Treble Amount 
 

-1.44 dB
-2.38 dB

Frequency Response Consistency 
 

7.9
5.5

Consistency L  

See details on graph tool
See details on graph tool

Consistency R  

See details on graph tool
See details on graph tool

Avg. Std. Deviation 
 

0.41 dB
1.22 dB

Show text

Raw Frequency Response 
 

Raw FR L  

See details on graph tool
See details on graph tool

Raw FR R  

See details on graph tool
See details on graph tool

Bass Accuracy 
 

8.8
8.9

Bass  

See details on graph tool
See details on graph tool

Std. Err. 
 

1.59 dB
1.58 dB

Low-Frequency Extension 
 

33.15 Hz
10 Hz

Low-Bass 
 

-2.52 dB
-0.52 dB

Mid-Bass 
 

-0.36 dB
0.71 dB

High-Bass 
 

1.74 dB
1.89 dB

Show text

Mid Accuracy 
 

8.5
7.3

Mid  

See details on graph tool
See details on graph tool

Std. Err. 
 

1.96 dB
3.64 dB

Low-Mid 
 

2.04 dB
-2.29 dB

Mid-Mid 
 

1.91 dB
3.81 dB

High-Mid 
 

-0.26 dB
3.09 dB

Show text

Treble Accuracy 
 

8.8
7.5

Treble  

See details on graph tool
See details on graph tool

Std. Err. 
 

2.51 dB
3.94 dB

Low-Treble 
 

1.23 dB
-1.7 dB

Mid-Treble 
 

-1.15 dB
0.2 dB

High-Treble 
 

-1.58 dB
-4.39 dB

Show text

Peaks/Dips 
 

8.3
6.9

Peaks/Dips Graph  

See details on graph tool
See details on graph tool

Peaks 
 

1 dB
1.74 dB

Dips 
 

1.26 dB
2.29 dB

Imaging 
 

8.8
8.3

Group Delay  

See details on graph tool
See details on graph tool

Phase Response  

See details on graph tool
See details on graph tool

Weighted Group Delay 
 

0.2
0.52

Weighted Amplitude Mismatch 
 

0.18
0.93

Weighted Frequency Mismatch 
 

1.86
1.45

Weighted Phase Mismatch 
 

5.45
5.1

Show text

Soundstage 
 

9.1
6.9

PRTF  

See details on graph tool
See details on graph tool

PRTF Accuracy (Std. Dev.) 
 

2.85 dB
3.21 dB

PRTF Size (Avg.) 
 

6.11 dB
3.33 dB

PRTF Distance 
 

17.95 dB
24.23 dB

Openness 
 

9.8
4.0

Acoustic Space Excitation 
 

9.9
5.6

Show text

Weighted Harmonic Distortion 
 

8.7
8.0

Weighted Harmonic Distortion  

See details on graph tool
See details on graph tool

WHD @ 90 
 

0.079
0.245

WHD @ 100 
 

0.092
0.094
Isolation

Noise Isolation 
 

0.7
5.8

Noise Isolation  

See details on graph tool
See details on graph tool

Isolation Audio 
 

Overall Attenuation 
 

-1.16 dB
-14.94 dB

Noise Cancelling  

No
No

Bass 
 

0 dB
0.59 dB

Mid 
 

0.66 dB
-14.45 dB

Treble 
 

-4 dB
-32.42 dB

Show text

Leakage 
 

0.1
5.5

Leakage  

See details on graph tool
See details on graph tool

Leakage Audio 
 

Overall Leakage @ 1ft 
 

69.45 dB
47.56 dB

Show text

Microphone

Microphone Style 
 

Integrated 
 

N/A
N/A

In-line 
 

N/A
N/A

Boom 
 

N/A
N/A

Detachable Boom 
 

N/A
N/A

Mic  

No
No

Show text

Recording Quality 
 

0.0
0.0

Microphone Frequency Response  

HiFiMan Edition X Microphone Frequency Response
Sennheiser HD 820 Microphone Frequency Response

Recorded Speech 
 

N/A
N/A

LFE 
 

N/A
N/A

FR Std. Dev. 
 

N/A
N/A

HFE 
 

N/A
N/A

Weighted THD 
 

N/A
N/A

Gain 
 

N/A
N/A

Show text

Noise Handling 
 

0.0
0.0

SpNR  

HiFiMan Edition X SpNR
Sennheiser HD 820 SpNR

Speech + Pink Noise  

N/A
N/A

Speech + Subway Noise  

N/A
N/A

SpNR 
 

N/A
N/A

Show text

Active Features

Battery 
 

0.0
0.0

Battery Type 
 

N/A
N/A

Continuous Battery Life 
 

N/A
N/A

Additional Charges 
 

N/A
N/A

Total Battery Life 
 

N/A
N/A

Charge Time 
 

N/A
N/A

Power Saving Feature 
 

N/A
N/A

Audio While Charging 
 

N/A
N/A

Passive Playback 
 

N/A
N/A

Charging Port  

N/A
N/A

Show text

App Support 
 

0.0
0.0

App Picture  

HiFiMan Edition X App Picture
Sennheiser HD 820 App Picture

App Name  

N/A
N/A

iOS  

N/A
N/A

Android  

N/A
N/A

macOS  

N/A
N/A

Windows  

N/A
N/A

Equalizer 
 

N/A
N/A

ANC Control 
 

N/A
N/A

Mic Control  

N/A
N/A

Room effects 
 

N/A
N/A

Playback Control 
 

N/A
N/A

Button Mapping  

N/A
N/A

Surround Sound  

N/A
N/A

Show text

Connectivity

Bluetooth 
 

0.0
0.0

Bluetooth Version 
 

N/A
N/A

Multi-Device Pairing 
 

N/A
N/A

NFC Pairing 
 

N/A
N/A

Line of Sight Range 
 

N/A
N/A

Default Latency 
 

N/A
N/A

aptX Latency 
 

N/A
N/A

aptX(LL) Latency 
 

N/A
N/A

Show text

Non-Bluetooth Wireless 
 

0.0
0.0

Non-BT Line of Sight Range 
 

N/A
N/A

Non-BT Latency 
 

N/A
N/A

Wired 
 

9.5
9.5

Cable Picture  

HiFiMan Edition X Cable Picture
Sennheiser HD 820 Cable Picture

Analog Audio 
 

Yes
Yes

USB Audio 
 

No
No

Detachable  

Yes
Yes

Length  

10 ft
10 ft

Connection  

1/8" TRS
1/4" TRS

Wired Latency 
 

0 ms
0 ms

Show text

PC / PS4 Compatibility 
 

PC / PS4 Analog 
 

Audio Only
Audio Only

PC / PS4 Wired USB 
 

No
No

PC / PS4 Non-BT Wireless 
 

No
No

Xbox One Compatibility 
 

Xbox One Analog 
 

Audio Only
Audio Only

Xbox One Wired USB 
 

No
No

Xbox One Wireless 
 

No
No

Base/Dock 
 

0.0
0.0

Type 
 

N/A
N/A

USB Input 
 

N/A
N/A

Line In 
 

N/A
N/A

Line Out 
 

N/A
N/A

Optical Input 
 

N/A
N/A

RCA Input 
 

N/A
N/A

Dock Charging 
 

N/A
N/A

Power Supply 
 

N/A
N/A

Show text

Check Price

Standard
Edition X
SEE PRICE
Amazon.com
Standard
HD 820
SEE PRICE
Amazon.com
Standard
Edition X
SEE PRICE
Walmart.com
Standard
HD 820
SEE PRICE
BestBuy.com
Standard
Edition X
B&H
Standard
HD 820
SEE PRICE
Walmart.com
Standard
Edition X
BestBuy.com
Standard
HD 820
B&H
Standard
Edition X
Samsung.com
Standard
HD 820
Samsung.com

HiFiMan Edition X

Sennheiser HD 820

Comments

  1. Comparison

HiFiMan Edition X vs Sennheiser HD 820: Main Discussion

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