[cmacsocial]

All this criticism of the choice of 4.4 mm Pentaconn connector has me baffled. One of the problems with high-end headphones today is that you end up owning a bunch of different cables if you have more than one amp/DAP. Here is a new connector that can be used both balanced and single-ended and supports microphones. We should be cheering and demand that all other companies follow suit. Finally, one connector to rule them all. Why are folks so afraid of using an adapter? What is the big deal that justifies such anger? Especially when the headphone ships with two other cables for those who have a phobia of adapters.

Agree! It's like how HDMI took away the fuss of component + optical. Think this connection would make it to high-end DAPs?

 

[FlyingWing]

Yet... it absolutely WILL do just that.
The HD 800 had a near-kilo ohm impedance spike at about 120hz.
Since it's the same motor, you will need much more current than recent mobile solutions offer.

Edit: Wait for a closed-back Utopia, you can actually sort of drive that one with mobile equipment.

 

[Bastianpp]

It's a hdd800s but... closed¿

 

[Art Garfunkel]

Absolutely not. I owned HD800's and now own HD800S. I like them a lot, especially on a tube amp.

I also own Clears and L700's. An improved HD800S is no way worth north of two grand. It's time for people to put their collective foot down and put an end to this nonsense.

I relate to your obvious frustration. In scanning this conversation, I have noted that quite a number of people are speculating on how great the bass is going to be, for example, or how wonderful this new HD820 is going to be, without having heard it. It is almost a built-in mentality, in that because it commands a high tariff, that automatically guarantees it will reach new heights in sonic bliss. I cannot help but think that we tend to talk ourselves into something to "force" it to be good when it arrives. This can only lead to disappointment and a risk of whole-hog nihilism following the inevitable failure to satisfy preconceived notions and unwarranted expectations?

 

[chimney189]

This happens with every single expensive headphone release: a bunch of people claim that it is over-priced without any evidence that it is.

Something's eventual price is a combination of a number of factors. R&D costs, manufacturing costs, marketing and distribution costs are part of it, and then it comes down to how many they need to sell and at what price to make a respectable return. This is less of a science. You can make it cheaper and make less profit on each unit and sell more, or you can make more profit on each unit and sell less. There is a sweet spot and it comes down to how many units they realistically expect to sell.

Just barrelling onto a thread and accusing a manufacturer of trying to rip people off is pretty short-sighted. We don't know the figures attached to any of the above. We have no clue, so what are we really trying to say? That we'd like it to be cheaper because we can't afford it?

For me, a headphone of this price is too rich for me to consider buying it right now, but that doesn't bother me at all. I don't see my personal budget as the ceiling of what a headphone manufacturer should strive for. I don't get angry that things exist that I can't afford and I don't claim they should definitely be cheaper just because I want them to be.

Sennheiser alone make headphones for people with a £100 budget, a £200 budget, a £300, £500, £1,000, hell £30,000 budget. That's just one manufacturer, there are good products for everyone at every price point.

We don't know how much more these cost to develop and make than an HD800S. We literally have no clue. It's clear from just glancing at them that they cost more to make than the HD800S, that's for sure, but I don't pretend I can glance at a photo of a product and determine that a £600 increase in price is definitely over the top. I also don't claim its definitely fair. I don't know. Anyone who acts like do is talking nonsense.

What I will say is this: the engineering problems in developing high-end closed-back headphones are a lot more complicated than those facing open cans. That's why open cans exist: a capitulation over the fact that it is just too difficult to get good sound without letting the backwave from the drivers escape. Since open cans were invented (by Sennheiser in fact if I remember rightly) the attempts at making closed back cans that were genuinely uncompromised have largely been unsuccessful. I can count the closed back headphones I would really call contenders on a single hand and have fingers free.

Maybe the HD820 is yet another failure. Yet another high-end manufacturer thinking that sticking a back on an open design and hoping for the best will have to do (mentioning no names here, but there are headphones out there that cost a lot more than these that don't do much more than this, and suffer for it). But if they have cracked it, then it is a big achievement and likely took a lot of research to get there.

If this beats the Mr Speakers Ether Flow C, then it is worth £2,000 as far as I am concerned. So let's just wait and see.

Exactly, I don't like it because I can't afford it.
It frustrates me that Sennheiser is not taking the average consumer into consideration.
Why is that so surprising?

 

[trellus]

Exactly, I don't like it because I can't afford it.
It frustrates me that Sennheiser is not taking the average consumer into consideration.
Why is that so surprising?

These are high-end headphones. The truly "average consumer" wouldn't even bother with them. It's a different market.

 

[boomtube]

Exactly, I don't like it because I can't afford it.
It frustrates me that Sennheiser is not taking the average consumer into consideration.
Why is that so surprising?

I know for me personally...I won't be able to get near these until used ones start to pop up FS.

 

[hifiman33]

2009 - Sennheiser HD800 - 1000 EUROS
2015 - Sennheiser HD800S ( almost the same but in black color ) - 1600 EUROS
2018 - Sennheiser HD820 ( closed HD800 ) - 2400 EUROS
2019 - 10th Anniversary Sennheiser HD820S - ( HD820 in white color . one side open , one side closed and bluetooth ) - 3500 EUROS

 

[FlyingWing]

You Sir...



are getting the scheme.

 

[amartignano]

Summary of the thread until now:

"Few girls over there..."

 

[Malfunkt]

The thinking behind the HD820 glass reflector reminds me of the R10 cup design. These kind of solutions should be easy to produce - though not design - with CNC and 3D-printers.

Also gonna check out my HD250 which as I remember was a very "open" closed headphone.

My 600 ohm HD250 Linear Mk1 sounds more open than an HD650, more because of it's DF tuning and frequency curve - it is not 'veiled' nor overly bright. It can sound very open, realistic and natural. Just the right amount of air, very linear mids, and maybe a bit too much bass, but still enjoyable.

Technically, it has a bit too much distortion in areas, but nothing that is going to really hurt the overall enjoyment.

People choose the HD600 and 650 over the HD800 for their presentation, and some may go as far as saying the HD540 / HD250 of yore could be preferable over both.

I even prefer my HD250 over my HD630VB for strict naturalness. Actually, in this regard, it even edges out the LCD2 as it has better air and treble balance. That said, HD630VB is incredible - total guilty pleasure headphone. 630VB actually has lower distortion throughout the mid-range than the 800. It is like listening to a bell. Only let down a bit because of some of those reflections, a bit of peakiness. Not really comparable though, as the HD820 seeks to be your top-end headphone in a closed format whereas the 630VB is a truly portable hi-fi sound system

 

[FlyingWing]

Let's all save up for it, then.

 

[chimney189]

These are high-end headphones. The truly "average consumer" wouldn't even bother with them. It's a different market.

That makes sense.

 

[Mediahound]

Don’t confuse these with normal closed back headphones. They’re basically open, with isolation. Sennheiser is reflecting frequencies into absorbers to make it perform like an open headphone but with isolation.

Versus a true closed back headphone which uses the cup design resonance as part of the actual speaker.

 

[Jodet]

I wonder if it will come close to beating Stax L700 or Stax 007, Stax 007 is somewhat closed if I remember right...

Not if you're listening to Norah Jones, James Taylor, Sarah McLachlan, etc. Stax on that kind of stuff is unbeatable.