The Sennheiser HD 800: The First Listen, The First Review - Page 29

Originally Posted by lmilhan

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...

Originally Posted by Uncle Erik

Frequency ranges don't top out at 20kHz for SACD, vinyl and other hi-rez formats. Not that you can hear them, but extended frequency response usually means that everything in between is easier to drive. One way to think about it is if you had a car with a maximum speed of 55 MPH and one that can go 100MPH. Both can go 55MPH, but the car limited to 55MPH will be struggling at that speed while the other one won't. Not the best analogy, but that's sort of how it works.

Originally Posted by subtle

What do you mean "on a Sennheiser headphone"? There are plenty of people willing to spend $1400 on headphones period, let alone one made by Sennheiser. Are you familiar with the HE60 and HE90? What about the majority of current and out of production former flagships. R10, HP2, PS1, L3000, OIIMKI, ED7, ED9, Qualia, and the list goes on and on. All sell used for over $1400 and most sell for $2000+. People were only turned off by the price here because they were expecting something a little more in line with 580/600/650 pricing.

There ain't going to be a swift price drop on this one. Sorry. Sennheiser will just pull back on production if the demand isn't there. They aren't going to flood the market with these like an HD600/650.

Tell you what. Meet me back here in six months and we'll see who gets the first slice of pie.

Originally Posted by Skin

See thats the problem, you're mentally comparing the HD800 to Limited headphones or ones done in house by, comparatively, very small companies. Its not the same thing. Like it or not the HD800 is simply replacing the HD650 as their top of the line reference model and will drop in price accordingly as time passes by.

Originally Posted by kool bubba ice

No 1,400 headphone will sell well. Only headphone fanatics and people who can afford a luxury like the 800. 99.9 of the population won't buy a 1,400 headphone. Most think 200 is too much. 6-8 hundred would have been reasonable. If Sennheiser wants these phones to be the succeesors to the 650, they will need to mass marketed at a price point that people are ok with..I'm sure the 800s are worth the asking price, but doesn't change the fact they are still over a grand. Yes, I buy when they are under a grand. On a side note, If the transients are faster then the 48s I'd be very impressed.

Originally Posted by F107plus5

Wow! I have been gone for a while!

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

Originally Posted by oldson

you lot must have "more money than senns"