[thatonenoob]

If they are able to transplant an open hd800 into a closed form, that'd be achievement itself. Though the price aspect has of course, been mentioned.

 

[zmhaha]

If they are able to transplant an open hd800 into a closed form, that'd be achievement itself. Though the price aspect has of course, been mentioned.

Exactly what I was thinking..

I think HD820 has better aesthetic appearances than HD800(s).
On top of this, if the HD820 also does not compromise any acoustic aspects of HD800(s) while being closed, I think its a very worthy product.

As for the price, I really can't tell anymore because of the flagship wars non-sense among Focal, Hifiman, and Audeze. I'd hate to see Sennheiser joining them...

 

[MrMan]

Who are these targeted towards? The price tag of $2,400 is outrageous for a pair of closed headphones. The only place I could see these plausible is at someone's job. Sennheiser stick to open headphones.

 

[fuhransahis]

I am happy they endorsed the 4,4 mm balanced new standard which is quite robust. Too bad that A&K stick to their "fragile & toy like" 2,5 mm balanced standard !

But... I read that it is a 300 Ohm drivers, which means not very appropriate for our portable DAP /Amps !

I'm curious why they went with a 4.4mm termination when they are 300 ohms and not really suitable for most DAPs? If they require power from a full size amp then why not use XLR?

Hopefully they are somehow easy enough to drive from a good DAP, and be transportable.

This is the only Sennheiser product I've been very interested in.

 

[Harry Manback]

I'm curious why they went with a 4.4mm termination when they are 300 ohms and not really suitable for most DAPs? If they require power from a full size amp then why not use XLR?

Hopefully they are somehow easy enough to drive from a good DAP, and be transportable.

This is the only Sennheiser product I've been very interested in.

Why does 4.4mm have to mean portable? These would look really silly on your head in public in my opinion.

 

[MaceHane2]

Exactly what I was thinking..

I think HD820 has better aesthetic appearances than HD800(s).
On top of this, if the HD820 also does not compromise any acoustic aspects of HD800(s) while being closed, I think its a very worthy product.

As for the price, I really can't tell anymore because of the flagship wars non-sense among Focal, Hifiman, and Audeze. I'd hate to see Sennheiser joining them...

Alas, with this they HAVE joined them. What’s next, beyerdynamic releasing a ‘flagship’ for two grand+ ?
I set myself a ceiling that I wouldn’t go beyond, being £1000. I got a brand new HD800s with money to spare, and a T1 2nd with lots to spare, and I love them both, along with my HE6. Aesthetically I think these look the business but they are that price just for the sake of fitting in with others.
What governs this is I think perceptions; if their new queen isn’t priced to match others then consumers perhaps will not regard it as worthy, so an arbitrary sum is flung on top just because.
I think looking at what AKG did with the 872 is worth thinking about. At currently around a grand or so it is (whilst still being very, very expensive) keeping in line with the 812’s release price and subsequent shift downwards.
This mad pricing of flagships is very sad. I wish Sennheiser had had the guts to play both sides against the middle, and come out on top in the long run.

 

[Makiah S]

Who are these targeted towards? The price tag of $2,400 is outrageous for a pair of closed headphones. The only place I could see these plausible is at someone's job. Sennheiser stick to open headphones.

Price seems to compete again'st the Sony MDR Z1R, so I imagine they are targeting the same audience. But with a different sound of course

I'm curious why they went with a 4.4mm termination when they are 300 ohms and not really suitable for most DAPs? If they require power from a full size amp then why not use XLR?

Hopefully they are somehow easy enough to drive from a good DAP, and be transportable.

This is the only Sennheiser product I've been very interested in.

I too agree that the 4.4mm is a goofy choice. At this price point I hope they'd at least include a 4pin XLR as well but I doubt it.

Why does 4.4mm have to mean portable? These would look really silly on your head in public in my opinion.

Because 6.5mm is an at home standard. But if 4.4 can replace 6.5mm and 3.5/2.5mm balanced I'm all for it... it really is a nice happy medium

Sound wise here's to hoping they impressive. I've been curious as to what could serve as a "closed back hd 800" and I guess this would be it!

 

[AxelCloris]

I quite like using 4.4mm for desktop use, and their HDV 820 has two 4.4mm connections, so Sennheiser using a 4.4mm cable makes sense.

 

[Vigrith]

Beautiful.

Way too expensive for me though, especially if they're just 800(S) drivers with a pair of gorilla glass tupperware lids on either side; I'd say we should reserve this sort of judgement for when Sennheiser actually announces the drivers inside of these and discloses why these cost like a grand more than the open backs but ey, wouldn't be the first time companies just slap a higher price tag on their new TOTLs so that they can convince people they are competing with x or y headphones from z company that cost more than their previous top dog.

 

[UtzY]

Hope it is another kind of paint!
On the open models WAS the worst paint of all headphones I've owned.

If with HD650 (headband chip) worked, here it is inadmissible with a price like that.
Pads are also a mess on my HD800 (not Alcantara as we were teased)

Looking forward to some measurements Tyll and Jude and others, tough -- not making same mistakes twice.

 

[fuhransahis]

Why does 4.4mm have to mean portable? These would look really silly on your head in public in my opinion.

I said transportable, not portable. Bring to the office for use there, and bring back home for use at night.

And I ask because the vast majority of the amps that I have seen that have a 4.4mm output are transportable or portable, very few come to mind that have 4.4mm output and are for home-only use.

Because 6.5mm is an at home standard. But if 4.4 can replace 6.5mm and 3.5/2.5mm balanced I'm all for it... it really is a nice happy medium

Precisely, and agreed! Forward-looking wishful thinking, I'd like 4.4mm as a universal option as well.

I quite like using 4.4mm for desktop use, and their HDV 820 has two 4.4mm connections, so Sennheiser using a 4.4mm cable makes sense.

Well that makes more sense now, in-house self-promotion. Very Apple-like lol.

 

[thatonenoob]

Well hopefully we should have plenty of time before release to get impressions in on these.

 

[svk7]

Sennheiser is jammed up. The cash-cow 800 series is facing serious competition from Mr. Speakers and Focal. The 'bread and butter' part of the line has been chewed up by massdrop sales.

Solution? I know, we'll put twenty dollars worth of gorilla glass on our flagship can and bump the price up seven hundred dollars.

For less than the price of these you can get a pair of Stax L700 (best Lambda can they ever made) AND a very nice 353X amp to run them.

I mean… how else is Sennheiser going to pay the $100,000 salary of the engineer—I mean marketing person—who came up with “enhance microfiber earpads” and the idea of slapping some Tupperware on the side of HD800S-es? /s

 

[nanaholic]

And I ask because the vast majority of the amps that I have seen that have a 4.4mm output are transportable or portable, very few come to mind that have 4.4mm output and are for home-only use.

There's actually more home use amps with 4.4mm than portable - you have the Sennheiser's own HDV820 and Sony's TA amp.
For portable amps there's only Sony's offering in the form of the PHA-2A. DAPs has more options true, but 300ohms is not really a big issue if the sensitivity of the headphone is high enough. I've re-terminated my T1 (600ohms) to balance and used it with the Sony WM1Z and they sound pretty darn good because the T1s are sensitive.

If the goal is to have the phone to sound "good enough" from a portable and "brilliant" with a desktop amp while not having to change bloody balance cables every time you want to go from one to the other and wear out the connectors, then 4.4mm balance is the best choice there is, and I wish more OEM will take that to heart.

 

[fuhransahis]

There's actually more home use amps with 4.4mm than portable - you have the Sennheiser's own HDV820 and Sony's TA amp.
For portable amps there's only Sony's offering in the form of the PHA-2A. DAPs has more options true, but 300ohms is not really a big issue if the sensitivity of the headphone is high enough. I've re-terminated my T1 (600ohms) to balance and used it with the Sony WM1Z and they sound pretty darn good because the T1s are sensitive.

If the goal is to have the phone to sound "good enough" from a portable and "brilliant" with a desktop amp while not having to change bloody balance cables every time you want to go from one to the other and wear out the connectors, then 4.4mm balance is the best choice there is, and I wish more OEM will take that to heart.

Still very few home ones, BUT if it's as you say and as I hope and they're sensitive enough to drive from a powerful DAP (DX200 with Amp 4 in my case), then that would be sweet.