[Mediahound]

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.

Sennheiser is very unlikely to deviate much, if at all, from their HD800 series house sound.

 

[Beagle]

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?

It's a device to put over your ears to listen to music. Anything over $2000 is utterly ridiculous. High end audio is filled with components (to simply play back music) that cost the same as a car or a house. But sometimes ya gotta do what ya gotta do if you wanna play that game.

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?

'Better' as in what? Measure 'better'? Sound 'better'? There are $500 headphones that measure and sound great. So exactly where are we going?

 

[EddieE]

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.

It is indeed personal taste. I was never a fan of the HD800 personally, although I did admire a lot of things about them. Nothing is better at soundstage or separation in the headphone world, I will concede that. The frequency response just isn't realistic to me, particularly in the treble, and the lack of bass extension detracts from the realism too. That's just my taste.

But if they are the perfect cans for you, then you're lucky. Keep them, resist the temptation to try others, and save yourself a lot of money!

It's great when you find a product you're happy to stop with. My speakers, the Harbeth M30.1 did that for me, and I personally listen mostly to speakers now except for my commute. I doubt I will buy another pair of speakers unless they pack in.

 

[EddieE]

It's a device to put over your ears to listen to music. Anything over $2000 is utterly ridiculous. High end audio is filled with components (to simply play back music) that cost the same as a car or a house. But sometimes ya gotta do what ya gotta do if you wanna play that game.

It depends. I've never spent that much on headphones, but my speakers cost me around that sort of money and I never regretted it.

People routinely spend the same sort of money on a vacation, and that's gone when it's gone. My music gets to sound great forever, and I listen to music every day.

At the same time, people routinely spend more than £2,000 more on a car than they have to, hell many thousands more, for a slightly nicer one.

Both cars will get them where they need to go, but they spend many thousands more for one that is a bit nicer. Why? Because they like nice cars.

The end of the day, we all go to work five days a week, what is it all for if not to spend our money on things that make us happy?

 

[EddieE]

Sennheiser is very unlikely to deviate much, if at all, from their HD800 series house sound.

Well its not a matter of choice is it? We're talking about physics here, ultimately. The movement of air in an acoustic space.

Sennheiser didn't intend for there to be a peak in the HD800s treble. They didn't desire it to be missing sub bass. They tried to make the best headphone they could that they could sell at a price people would pay for it.

The same will be true of the HD820. They will have done their best to make the best sounding closed headphone that they could. There are hard limits to what can be achieved, otherwise every headphone would sound perfect, right?

 

[talan7]

The idea of making these closed, as if people are going to say “wow, closed 800s, I’m going to get a pair do I can ride the bus.” These phones, at $2500 are never going to leave the house. At home, who cares about isolation. Open headphones aren’t that loud. I can sit and listen to open headphones while my wife watches tv with no issues.

 

[Alcophone]

The idea of making these closed, as if people are going to say “wow, closed 800s, I’m going to get a pair do I can ride the bus.” These phones, at $2500 are never going to leave the house. At home, who cares about isolation. Open headphones aren’t that loud. I can sit and listen to open headphones while my wife watches tv with no issues.

Rich software engineers in offices with terrible open floor plans.

 

[Snowpuppy77]

The idea of making these closed, as if people are going to say “wow, closed 800s, I’m going to get a pair do I can ride the bus.” These phones, at $2500 are never going to leave the house. At home, who cares about isolation. Open headphones aren’t that loud. I can sit and listen to open headphones while my wife watches tv with no issues.

Do you own a pair of HD800 or HD800S? I do and I can tell you they are very loud and disruptive to others in the room. Not to mention I do not like hearing other noises in the house. Perhaps your wife is very tolerant. Mine certainly is. However I have seen her put in earbuds because my open HD800S are too loud for her to comfortably hear the show. And conversationally I can hear the TV which is distracting. If I could get closed headphones that sounded as good as my HD800S I would chose them in a heart beat over open backs for home use.

 

[Brahmsian]

"The closed-back HD 820 headphones deliver astonishingly transparent sound, thanks to a unique glass transducer cover that minimizes resonances."

Apparently the glass serves a function and is not just for looks, though judging by the pictures I for one like the way it looks. But with so many good headphones out there (the Aeon c, for instance) a closed HD800 for $2,500 needs to justify its price with truly spectacular sonics. Sennheiser just produced a dud with 660, at least according to Tyll Hertsens, who thought it didn't improve on the 650.

 

[shockwaver]

I'll be disappointed If it turns out to be HD800S with just better(=flat) bass response.

 

[talan7]

I wonder what happens to the sound of you tape over the glass.

Regarding regular HD800 And HD800 S, can they take eq in the bass? How about like 15 dbs in the low bass? HD650 can’t really take it

 

[AlwaysForward]

I'd be stoked for an HD800S with better bass and isolation that retains even 80-90% of the soundstage. Someone posted impressions to fit that bass is very light, however.

 

[Mediahound]

I wonder what happens to the sound of you tape over the glass.

I don't know, but if you tint the glass, it gets darker.

 

[thatonenoob]

Honestly, i would've prefered some ether c level portability. Am really looking for a closed can to bring around that is also subtle enough not to make me look insane in say, a library. But just my 2c.

 

[exdmd]

First impressions on HD 820 from /u/pridetwo on reddit:

Only listened to a handful of songs in the Sennheiser listening booth. I've also never tried an hd800 before so I'm coming in a bit blind.

First impressions, it's an incredibly good looking headset in person. The promo images show the glass with a yellowish tint but the example they had was fully clear. This was a sample unit and since the full launch is months away, it's possible that this wasn't the final glass, but I think someone at Senn's marketing department just fell in love with the sepia filter.

Housing is all plastic except for the obvious metal parts like the headband and drivers, so it feels very light both in hand and on your head. Was a little iffy about all the plastic on a headphone at this price point, but it is high quality plastic and the weight savings are significant over an Audeze, though not so much to make it noticeably lighter than the Utopia I tried out a few weeks back. It just feels like it's a very low density headset.

Driving out of the hdv820, I'd probably listen to it at home around 11 o'clock but didn't push it too far since I didn't want to be the asshole to break the very first hd820 available to the public.

Quick sound impressions, excellent soundstage, very light on bass but the extension is insanely, you could call it bright but it doesn't reach harshness at all. Tried the star wars ep4 theme, ride of the Valkyries, the skyfall theme, around the world (daft punk) and a couple Joe satriani songs.

Classical music needs volume in this headset. Low volumes lose quite a bit for classical, though that could be the noisy environment. I can say these headphones absolutely came alive when I played Joe satriani. Anything missing in punch or impact from even daft punk immediately came alive with rock guitars.

That's about all I could glean from my quick listening session, but I can say the Sennheiser team at the booth was really nice and very happy to help me demo the headset. Great team out there.