The Sennheiser HD 800: The First Listen, The First Review - Page 22

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good chance they'll never be able to fulfill that preorder

i bet the price will go down to around the 1000 mark within a year. i also don't think the HD650's price will drop too much (if at all).

Posted on wired.com

Sennheiser's HD 800 Headphones: Audiophiles Only Need Apply

By Eliot Van Buskirk January 08, 2009 | 1:26:04 PM -- Categories: CES 2009 LAS VEGAS --

Some people think "audiophile" means "someone who loves music," but they're wrong. Audiophiles carefully consider their choice in speaker wire and spend thousands, if not tens or even hundreds of thousands of dollars on their audio set-up. With a lofty price tag of $1400, Sennheiser's HD 800 headphones are for them.

"It's going to be the new standard for audiophile headphones," explained Eric Stubbert, industry team manager for consumer electronics at Sennheiser. Like most audiophile headphones, these ones are open, meaning that sound escapes from each side. The key to the HD 800's wide-ranging frequency response, according to Stubbert, is a "completely new" ring-shaped transducer.

This hole was necessary because Sennheiser increased the size of the transducer to 56 millimeters, in its quest for deeper bass, that the transducer was no longer capable of moving fast enough to reproduce high frequencies. The hole allows the headphones to reproduce low bass and high treble with clarity.

Each pair of Sennheiser HD 800 headphones is hand-assembled in Germany. Audiophiles might also be pleased to note that the headphones' cable is made from silver-plated, oxygen-free, Kevlar-reinforced copper.

^Agreed. There are other online retailers who sell for much less than Amazon.

Wow Jude, thanks for your impressions.
It sounds very exciting.

Im sure they sound fantastic but they look like a prop from a sci-fi movie.

transducer is sized at 56 millimeters - that's freakin' huge

LOL - It reminded me of the Sony MDR-SA5000 when I first saw it.

The only bigger HP news would be if Grado announced a $300-400 woodie.

like an RS2?

In a feverish search as we speak - and Alex (APS) lives about 15 minutes away from me. I plan to reterminate the stock cable to XLR, and let him voice a cable for the HD800 using my pair. No problem.

Thank you, thank you, thank you Sennheiser! This is awesome!!!!

Free shipping

Speculation on this thread is that it's not really very big because it's a ring.

this is good news. count me in for first batch.

Right. The big AKGs have 53mm drivers that don't have a 25mm hole in the middle.