HiFiMan Edition X vs Sennheiser HD 820

Which Headphones Are Better?

Products

HiFiMan Edition X
Sennheiser HD 820

Tested using Methodology v1.3.1

Updated Mar 24, 2022 08:45 PM

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Tested using Methodology v1.3.1

Updated Sep 26, 2023 01:56 PM

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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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Variants

  • Edition X
  • HD 820

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Standard
Edition X
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Standard
HD 820
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Standard
Edition X
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Standard
HD 820
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B&H
Standard
Edition X
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Standard
HD 820
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Standard
Edition X
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Standard
HD 820
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Main Differences for
Mixed Usage

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  

Type  

Over-ear
Over-ear

Enclosure  

Open-Back
Closed-Back

Wireless  

No
No

Transducer  

Planar Magnetic
Dynamic
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Comfort 
 

8.0
8.0

Comfort Picture  

Weight  

0.88 lbs
0.8 lbs

Clamping Force 
 

1.16 lbs
0.7 lbs
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Controls 
 

0.0
0.0

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
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Breathability 
 

6.2
6.8

Breathability After Picture  

Avg.Temp.Difference  

6.6 °C
4.8 °C
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Portability 
 

5.1
5.2

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
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Case 
 

0.0
0.0

Case Picture  

Type  

No case
No case

 

N/A
N/A

 

N/A
N/A

 

N/A
N/A

Volume  

N/A
N/A
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Build Quality 
 

7.5
8.5

Build Quality Picture  

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Stability 
 

5.5
6.5

Stability Picture  

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Headshots 1  

Angled Picture  

Side Picture  

Headshots 2  

Front Picture  

Rear Picture  

Top  

Top Picture  

In The Box  

In the box Picture  

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Sound

Sound Profile 
 

Frequency Response  

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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  

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Consistency R  

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Avg. Std. Deviation 
 

0.41 dB
1.22 dB
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Raw Frequency Response 
 

Raw FR L  

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Raw FR R  

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Bass Accuracy 
 

8.8
8.9

Bass  

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See details

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
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Mid Accuracy 
 

8.5
7.3

Mid  

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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
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Treble Accuracy 
 

8.8
7.5

Treble  

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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
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Peaks/Dips 
 

8.3
6.9

Peaks/Dips Graph  

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Peaks 
 

1 dB
1.74 dB

Dips 
 

1.26 dB
2.29 dB

Imaging 
 

8.8
8.3

Group Delay  

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Phase Response  

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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
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Soundstage 
 

9.1
6.9

PRTF  

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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
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Weighted Harmonic Distortion 
 

8.7
8.0

Weighted Harmonic Distortion  

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See details

WHD @ 90 
 

0.079
0.245

WHD @ 100 
 

0.092
0.094
Isolation

Noise Isolation 
 

0.7
5.8

Noise Isolation  

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See details

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
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Leakage 
 

0.1
5.5

Leakage  

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Leakage Audio 
 

Overall Leakage @ 1ft 
 

69.45 dB
47.56 dB
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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  

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
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Noise Handling 
 

0.0
0.0

Speech + Pink Noise  

N/A
N/A

Speech + Subway Noise  

N/A
N/A

SpNR 
 

N/A
N/A
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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
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App Support 
 

0.0
0.0

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
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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  

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

HiFiMan Edition X

Sennheiser HD 820

Comments

  1. Comparison

HiFiMan Edition X vs Sennheiser HD 820: Main Discussion

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