The headphone came apart with a slotted screwdriver. As headphones aren’t really user serviceable, here is a unique look at the inside of the H800. The speaker is glued securely to the inside of the headphone. There is no real padding or dampening material on the inside, but there are two tiny air holes on the outer shell for ventilation. Here we see the enameled copper wire soldered to the speaker.

Observations & Testing:

The Edifier H800 Hi-Fi Stereo Headphones was tested using the built in audio headers of my DFI NF2 Infinity Ultra Motherboard. Quake III Arena supplied the soundtrack for game play tests, and various genres of music were played back via a JVC home theatre receiver. The receiver was also used to playback audio from various movies and TV shows.

A set of Sony MDR-605’s have been my work horse in the headphone department for over 5 years now. Transferring to the Edifier H800’s has been quite a change. The H800 feels a bit heavy, and the sound dampening of the ear pads took a bit of getting used to. Regardless of the weight, the headphones are sturdy, and I could run around the block with these things and be confident that they don’t slip or fall off unlike my Sony’s. For starters I will say for that I am no audio purist, nor do I pretend to be. I feel that I am moderately picky about my audio hardware; however I don’t sit in a dark room for hours on end analyzing the "image" produced by my stereo speakers when listening to Pink Floyd. I pay careful attention to the quality of my wiring, and usually purchase quality, yet affordable, stereo hardware. With that here is my acoustical analysis of the Edifier H800 headphones.

The lower end frequencies of the H800 are present, but subtle. When listening to aggressive rock tunes, the power of the low rumbling electric guitars was shadowed by the sharp mid tones of the vocals and highs of the percussion. When listening to country and alternative rock I was impressed by how well the mid range frequencies are re-produced, and again the highs are dominantly present. Shifting gears I listened to some dance/techno and found that the dance genre is where this set of headphones really shines. The pounding rhythm of the synthesized bass is right in the 100Hz range.

Click image for larger view

Click image for larger view

In games the Edifier H800 Hi-Fi Stereo Headphones performed very well, with it’s built in attention to mids and highs. The headphones are perfect for FPS games where attention to noises such as footsteps and dialogue are a must. This characteristic also bodes well for watching DVD/DivX movies on your PC.