[Dobrescu George]

I only said what I said because I go through phones more than your average person lol.

Agahahaha

I only had Xiaomi Mi Max phones for the past months. They are the only phones large enough for my hands

 

[Beagle]

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

Any headphone over $2000 is overpriced, even if it sounds great. It's still only a headphone. And yes, I own overpriced headphones.

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..

Sounds wonderful but we'll have to wait and see if it actually works or is just fancy-shmancy jargon designed to impress and justify the asking price.

Hey, I was one of the first to get excited at the prospect of a closed HD800. I just was not ready for nor expecting the price tag attached to it.

 

[Dobrescu George]

Any headphone over $2000 is overpriced, even if it sounds great. It's still only a headphone. And yes, I own overpriced headphones.

Sounds wonderful but we'll have to wait and see if it actually works or is just fancy-shmancy jargon designed to impress and justify the asking price.

Hey, I was one of the first to get excited at the prospect of a closed HD800. I just was not ready for nor expecting the price tag attached to it.

This should be really nice though, like, it is the one thing I've been searching for a long while. A closed back HD800S!

Really eager to read some more on it, and test them, assuming there'll be a demo pair somewhere in the warm lands of Romania

 

[trellus]

... they are? Sennheiser makes a product at pretty much every price point there is.

+1 ... I paid $25 for my Sennheiser HD-202ii a couple of years ago, and I think they're absolutely stellar for the price. Ditto for the HD 558 which I bought for $99.

 

[Juanma]

Very expensive if it is like a HD800/S but closed.
I hope will be much better than HD800/S.
The price of the new flagship is crazy.

 

[EddieE]

Any headphone over $2000 is overpriced, even if it sounds great. It's still only a headphone. And yes, I own overpriced headphones.

Let's be clear what you mean when you say overpriced?

Do you mean that they are selling it for much more than they need to in order to make reasonable returns?

Or are you saying that the ambition of manufacturers should be within set parameters to ensure that the end product never hits a certain price point?

I don't think any of us have the evidence to claim the former, which basically makes it an unfounded accusation. The latter is more of an interesting question.

In my mind, so long as there is a market for it, there should be no limits to how far things can be pushed in any area of technology or engineering, personally speaking.

If manufacturers can sell headphones for £2k, £4k, and the crazy products we have seen of late and in the past, why shouldn't the envelope be pushed?

 

[pearljam50000]

Any headphones over 1000$ are overpriced because you can get the regular HD800 and never need any other headphones EVER.

 

[EddieE]

Any headphones over 1000$ are overpriced because you can get the regular HD800 and never need any other headphones EVER.

There are cheaper headphones still that many would be happy sticking with for good. Many have bought an HD600 and been happy enough to stop right there.

That's not really the point.

The point is that if headphone manufacturers feel that they can make something better, and there are people out there willing to pay what it costs, why shouldn't they?

Why put an artificial limit on how expensive headphones are, and hence limit how far the technology can go, just because a £300 headphone can sound great? Or a £1,000 model?

It's like saying there should be no such thing as Formula 1 because a VW Golf will get you where you need to go just fine.

 

[Hifiearspeakers]

There are cheaper headphones still that many would be happy sticking with for good. Many have bought an HD600 and been happy enough to stop right there.

That's not really the point.

The point is that if headphone manufacturers feel that they can make something better, and there are people out there willing to pay what it costs, why shouldn't they?

Why put an artificial limit on how expensive headphones are, just because a £300 headphone can sound great? Or a £1,000 model?

It's like saying there should be no such thing as Formula 1 because a VW Golf will get you where you need to go just fine.

Brilliant!

 

[Alcophone]

Any headphones over 1000$ are overpriced because you can get the regular HD800 and never need any other headphones EVER.

Ah, yes, a non-collapsible, open headphone for the subway, and walking around where it might drizzle, and use in an open office around colleagues... truly unlimited in its usefulness!

 

[Mediahound]

Also keep in mind that a closed design lowers the noise floor, an automatic gain in signal to noise ratio and thus an increase in quality.

Even if these sound exactly the same as the HD800S, the isolation is a big benefit in most all environments.

 

[EddieE]

Also keep in mind that a closed design lowers the noise floor, an automatic gain in signal to noise ratio and thus an increase in quality.

Even if these sound exactly the same as the HD800S, the isolation is a big benefit in most all environments.

I can't imagine how they would sound exactly the same. They are sealed, and the HD800 is about as open as they get. Even the ear cup is open, not just the back.

These will almost certainly sound different, but that doesn't mean they won't sound good.

In general closed headphones can achieve much better bass extension, for a start, and I'm hoping that is the case with these.

 

[Mediahound]

I can't imagine how they would sound exactly the same. They are sealed, and the HD800 is about as open as they get. Even the ear cup is open, not just the back.

These will almost certainly sound different.

Only maybe. If you read their information on the website, they state they engineered the HD820 to perform as an open headphone by reflecting frequencies normally exiting out in to the open, back in to sound absorbers/cancellers. So, it's a closed headphone which according to them performs just like an open headphone.

Whether or not they actually achieve this we don't know yet.

"The sound field of the HD 820 is wide open."

"The concave glass reflects the sound waves from the rear of the transducer to an absorber, which results in minimal resonance. Thus, the sound waves are effectively “gone” like they would be in open headphones."

https://en-us.sennheiser.com/high-end-headphones-audiophiles-hd-820

 

[EddieE]

Only maybe. If you read their information on the website, they state they engineered the HD820 to perform as an open headphone by reflecting frequencies normally exiting out in to the open, back in to sound absorbers/cancellers. So, it's a closed headphone which according to them performs just like an open headphone.

Whether or not they actually achieve this we don't know yet.

https://en-us.sennheiser.com/high-end-headphones-audiophiles-hd-820


"The sound field of the HD 820 is wide open."

"The concave glass reflects the sound waves from the rear of the transducer to an absorber, which results in minimal resonance. Thus, the sound waves are effectively “gone” like they would be in open headphones."

Yeah I read that, and it sounds very cool. But that is just the back wave.

But even if this technique 100% emulates the open-backed approach (which I am cynical about), the HD800 have perforated metal sheets making up the ear cup, so they are 'open-fronted' as well as open-backed. Having a sealed ear cup will definitely change the sound.

And then there is the pads. Anyone who has tried different pads on headphones will know how much they change the sound, and the pads are different.

A lot of people over-focus on drivers, and they are probably the most important factor in how a headphone sounds, but everything affects the sound.

What's behind the driver, what's in front of the driver, the materials the assembly is made of. It all has an effect.

Personally, while I find the HD800 mids to be lovely, and soundstaging to be out of this world, I never was a fan of the peaky treble or the lack of deep bass extension, so I'm not that bothered if they sound different. I might well prefer them.

 

[pearljam50000]

What i meant is that the HD800 is the benchmark.
No headphones that cost less than HD800 will satisfy true audiophiles, and i have tried headphones that cost more than the HD800 that didn't sound as good.
When i listen to them i reach audio nirvana, yeha it's also personal taste but they will satisfy 99.9% of audiophiles .
Soundstage is amazing, seperation is amazing, highs are crystal clear, lows are tight, insanely detailed. .. i mean what else could you want?
So... for a 1000$ you can get world class sound that won't leave you wanting anything more in headphones or speakers EVER, plus great build quality.
I really don't see the point in buying more expensive headphones.
For the extra cash that the Utopia costs i can get a pair of great studio monitors and be done for life , audio wise.

There are cheaper headphones still that many would be happy sticking with for good. Many have bought an HD600 and been happy enough to stop right there.

That's not really the point.

The point is that if headphone manufacturers feel that they can make something better, and there are people out there willing to pay what it costs, why shouldn't they?

Why put an artificial limit on how expensive headphones are, and hence limit how far the technology can go, just because a £300 headphone can sound great? Or a £1,000 model?

It's like saying there should be no such thing as Formula 1 because a VW Golf will get you where you need to go just fine.