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Updated January 10, 2024·
If you prioritize superb sound quality and a highly immersive experience, the Sennheiser HD800S is excellent for music listening in quiet environments due to their open-back design and superior soundstage. However, they are much less portable, not suitable for outdoor use, and have no microphone, making them inappropriate for calls or mobile use. The Soundcore Space A40, on the other hand, is much more portable, offers good noise isolation, and a built-in microphone for calls, but doesn't match the Sennheisers in sound quality. They are also more versatile, suitable for exercise and travel with better durability and battery life, and have active noise cancelling for noisy environments. Give Feedback
this description is based on the product variant with some specs and product variant with some specs. At the time of writing, the variant with some specs cost some dollars and the variant with some specs cost some dollars.
Advantages of the Sennheiser HD800S
Best in class for music
Good for gaming
Best in class for TV and video
Very good for podcasts and audiobooks
Advantages of the Soundcore Space A40
Very good for air travel
Key differences
Music
9.9/10
7.7/10
The Sennheiser HD800S is best in class for music, while the Soundcore Space A40 is good.
Gaming
7.5/10
4.9/10
The Sennheiser HD800S is good for gaming, while the Soundcore Space A40 is poor.
Podcasts and Audiobooks
8.1/10
4.9/10
The Sennheiser HD800S is very good for podcasts and audiobooks, while the Soundcore Space A40 is poor.
TV and Video
9.7/10
5.3/10
The Sennheiser HD800S is best in class for TV and video, while the Soundcore Space A40 is poor.
Noise Reduction
2.5/10
9.1/10
The Soundcore Space A40 is excellent for noise reduction, while the Sennheiser HD800S is poor.
Battery
N/A
8.0 Hours
The Sennheiser HD800S does not have a battery. The Soundcore Space A40 has 8 hours of battery life.
Cost
$1,390
$80
$50
$100
$150
$200
$250
$300
$350
$400
The Sennheiser HD800S has a price of $1,390 and the Soundcore Space A40 costs $80.
Build Quality
9.0/10
8.5/10
The Sennheiser HD800S has excellent build quality, while the Soundcore Space A40 has very good build quality.
"The cans offer stellar sound quality, comfort, and good maintenance options—so they're an easy recommendation if you have the cash and the need for the last headphones you'll buy for years."
"The Anker Soundcore Space A40 is an excellent deal if you want affordable noise canceling earbuds with great sound. The baseline frequency response is enjoyable, and the many EQ presets to choose from plus the ability to customize your sound profile makes it good for pretty much anyone. The noise canceling is quite good, and the many ear tips to choose from ensure a good fit for the noise canceling and isolation to do its job."
Get a great deal on the Sennheiser HD800S or the Soundcore Space A40
About Sennheiser
A family-owned company, Sennheiser is a German, high fidelity, audio equipment manufacturer founded in 1945. Their consumer audio division is now owned by the Swiss hearing aid and cochlear implant manufacturer Sonova. Sennheiser offers a wide variety of, very high quality, audio equipment solutions, from headphones to earbuds, full sets of monitoring speakers, amplifiers and microphones. They also make what is widely regarded as the best, and most expensive, headphones in existence, the HE-1 Orpheus, costing a whopping $59,000 dollars.
About Soundcore
Soundcore is a sub-brand belonging to Anker Innovations. Starting in 2014, initially marketing wireless, Bluetooth, speakers, Anker now offers an array of, budget-friendly, wireless earbuds and headphones that directly compete, especially in the Active Noise Canceling field, with other brands several times as expensive.
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This information was produced and vetted by the PerfectRec earbuds & headphones team. We are a product research and recommendation organization that meticulously reviews and evaluates the latest earbuds or headphones information and makes it digestible for you.
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Joe is an entrepreneur and lifelong electronics enthusiast with a Ph.D in Economics from the University of Michigan.
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