Sennheiser HD800

Sennheiser HD800, $1,400 sennheiserusa.com

Think of the HD800 as the largest speaker you can stick on your head. The sound-producing driver on each side measures 2.2 inches wide, compared with 1.6 for conventional headphones, which gives them the deepest bass of any pair we’ve ever heard. But they can also handle the rest of the musical scale.

Large drivers usually sound terrible at higher frequencies because they resonate too much and cause distortions, so Sennheiser removed some material from the center and added a stiff supporting ring to control vibrations more precisely.