The Sennheiser HD 800: The First Listen, The First Review - Page 27

You'd never be happy with only 12oz of coffee beelee

Why only show the frequency response between 90 and 15khz, I got hold of a version where the truth is revealed, and this may come as a supprise to some


But seriously, why only 90 to 15khz??
A bit wierd when they brag about 14-44khz response +-3db

Does anyone suppose they will as demanding on the amp as the HD600/650, and will end up needing to be balanced to get the most out of them?

If they follow the standard industry cost structure I bet the street price will be somewhere between $850 to $1000 after the initial rush ends....

For instance the D7000 msrp is $999 and the dealer cost is under $500. That's why there are people offering them in the $600 to $700 range.

I held on as long as I could, this old Grado guy basking in old dynamic dominance with his mountain of posts. But it's a new Senn day, and perhaps time for friskier posters to continue the good fight for great tone. I'll definitely give these cans a fair run when they hit NYC - if they finally knock off the Darth Grados you'll be the first to know! Color me excited!

Wow! I have been gone for a while!

NOW my HD600s are "finally" startin' to look old!

I remember falling hook, line and sinker when a similar glowing review was posted when the Grado GS-1000s were released at one of the past national meets. I was one of the first batch of people to buy the phones sight unseen based on the glowing hype and praise that the GS-1000s received. I mean the GS-1000s were made out to be like the second coming of Christ...

As it turned out, the GS-1000s didn't come close to what was written in the reviews, at least not for my ears / opinion (in the end I decided that I enjoyed the RS-1s considerably more). Luckily I was able to sell the GS-1000s before their re-sale value dropped so dramatically. Oh well, lesson learned.

With that said, I think I will lay low for quite a while until the excitement and hype die down, the price inevitably drops dramatically (hopefully by 400 to 500 dollars), and then I will be sure to have a lengthy listen for myself. Who knows, maybe Sennheiser will finally release a pair of phones that don't make me want to fall asleep. It certainly looks like they took a very radical design approach with regard to these new phones, to which I say Bravo.

But I can certainly understand why people get so excited over stuff like this. My advice is to not make them out to be so amazing in your own mind before even hearing them for yourself, because you may be setting yourself up for a disappointment.


As for looks, all I can say is thank GOD they aren't iPOD white ( I am SO happy that that stupid trend is finally dying off). I don't think they look all that bad, but to be honest I couldn't give a flying **** less what a pair of headphones look like, as long as they sound great and are comfortable.

At any rate, it is very cool that Sennheiser gave Jude the honor of releasing the first impressions for these phones. Kudos to Jude - he certainly deserves such an honor. Sounds like you are having a blast out there! I so wish I could be there...

Nothing wrong with wishful thinking, but I honestly don't think we will see prices fall under $1000 for at least the first six months. This is a hand made headphone, not some factory line product. Sennheiser just doesn't have to cater to the headphone market the same way Denon does. The street price will be $1400...no way around it.

Jude should be given free phones eh?

paara : I reckon they only demonstrated 90 to 15kHz because this is the sensitive part of our hearing? Nonetheless, I agree that they should've given a wider frequency response graph.

What for? He's a customer like the rest of us.

If I go create an online community devoted to exotic cars, should Bugatti hook me up with a Veyron?

They would if you could write a review that would guarantee the production run would be profitable...

I'm actually very interested about what goes on below 90Hz... you could say I'm not exactly an Etymotic guy when it comes to bass.

Pardon my lack of knowledge, but I think the diffuse field equalization is used to compensate for frequency attenuation and the unique sound production of headphones in our ear canals. Perhaps Sennheiser only matches the frequency response to the target DF curve from 90 to 14k hz because that's the frequency range that gets affected the most.

As for the whole frequency response, I think the 14-44khz (-3db) specification should be of interest. Unless Sennheiser used some deceptive method of measuring frequency response, I've never read of any transducer with such a good frequency response (especially in the bass region). *Edit: HE90 is better in the high frequencies!

I found HE90's frequency response here:

7-100,000 Hz (-10 dB)
14-85,000 Hz (- 6 dB)
25-75,000 Hz (- 3 dB)

The problem with the glowing reviews of the 2 prototype GS 1000s at the National meet, was that the production GS. 1000 are different!!!!! I had the chance to listen th them side by side (Bosebuttons, and Jude ended up with the 2 prototypes from the meet. gifts I belive, from grado.) and Bosebuttons brought his set to the NY meet a year ago or was it 2 years ago any way, the Prototypes are amazing!

PS. I lost at least $200.00 on my first GS 1000 just like you did. (bought new in a Hot market. Didn't like them, then sold them used in a cold market.)

I want to see these go up against the R10. If they could unseat those...

On a different note: When I made my previous post last night (my time), it was on page 25 of this thread. Today it is on page 17. Did something go wrong with the forums?