Is the HD800 overpriced? - Page 7

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They don't ugly at all.

The Silver construction in conjunction with black outlines make it look truly hifi. Probably if there was less silvering and about 40% dragon type solid black coloring the front, it would make them look so bad ass.

but yeah, IMO, they are pretty over priced.

I think they should fixed at 1 grand.

Hrm, interesting. Have you listened to the O2 or any Stax outside of the local meets? Surely you're not referring to your time with them at local meets, as you've only listened to my O2 for about .5-1 minutes and my Lambda for about 1-2 minutes at the last two local meets. At least from what I've seen. You also seemed to be pretty amazed at the low price of the Lambda when I told you they could be found for under $250 at the meet you hosted.


As for the topic, this is a personal question and there's really no way to give a correct answer. The HD800's strengths can play perfectly to one person's desired sound or perfectly against another person's desired sound.

If you want my personal opinion as to whether or not the HD800 is overpriced, I would say maybe. As far as dynamics go I think the HD800 is one of the best, pretty much only topped by out of production headphones (R10, K1000, Qualia). So as far as dynamics go, I don't think they're a bad option although I have zero interest in owning a set. If you factor electrostats into the mix, I would then consider the HD800 overpriced. There are a number of Stax systems that could be bought for less that I think are better to way better than the HD800. A simple Stax Lambda with SRD6 is, IMO, better than any HD800 system I've ever heard (many of which have had thousands of dollars worth of upstream gear) and can be had for $250 plus cost of speaker amp. Replace the SRD6 and speaker amp with an actual electrostat amp for a sizable step up in quality, etc etc.

Ultimately it's up to you as to what is or isn't overpriced, and nobody here can give you an answer. Every thread like this one (and there have been many) goes the same way.

they are worth twice the price....yes I would pay $2800 for headphones this good.

I've got some nice California real estate if you're interested.

Sure, and he should now better....

This is such a silly stance. I always get a kick out of it when people claim they will deprive themselves of a headphone because of its physical appearance. As if they actually take hours during their listening sessions to vainly inspect themselves in the mirror while wearing them. Who gives a crap how it looks? Headphones and speakers are all about the sound. Nothing more.

Also, the HD800 does not come in a metal case.

Hehehe, what about the ED9 they are overpriced?

???

Here you go again... The T1s can be had for $995 and I own the T1s and have spent some time with the HD800s on a my own setup. Both are excellent cans. Just different. I preferred the T1s...so I own them. Now you have another man's opinion that's the opposite of the one you posted.

Build quality wise, the T1s are sturdier (and have a 5 year warranty not 2 years) and sound wise BOTH are equal in detail retrieval. I found the sound stage better on the Senns, but musicality and bass had more impact on the T1s.

n3rdling,
I spent time with them at CanJam as well, a lot more time than at the meets. Deadneddz described stats best to me, that the treble has a whispy quality to it and he's absolutely correct. The treble just sounds artificial to me on any stat I've heard (maybe with the exception of the HE90). Mids are sublime, and bass is usually decent depending on the model.
Like I said, we all have different tastes. Plus, my bigger ears seem to ruffle the stators or, maybe it's something else in there. I can feel my ear lobe rubbing against something and making a clicking noise when I first put them on. Heck, my right ear rubs against the logo on the cloth covering the driver in the HD800, so I asked Sennheiser to remove the raised logo when they make the new ones that don't shed, and they said they would.

Hmmm...are they overpriced? Maybe...and maybe not.

I'm going to buy a pair in the next month or so when my bonus comes in. At that time, I will happily plunk down $1400. I've heard them on a few different occasions, and when I first heard them I was absolutely expecting to be disappointed.

I wasn't...too bad, as it would be nice to have that money to spend on something else.

I'd compare them to the K-1000, which I owned for 4+ years, in terms of impact and natural soundstage and detail.

BTW - I'm curious if anyone else thinks that there are more than a few folks in this thread who have never heard the HD800.

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OK, I've had to prune some combative posts. Let's just ease up a bit please...thanks.

What bugs me about the price of the HD800 is that it could very easily be artificially high. Senn's resale price maintenance agreements with its retailers and hard line on undercutters arguably is anticompetitive, although the US Supreme Court recently decided otherwise, turning decades of antitrust law on its head. So without meaningful competition on price--and in the era of the internet, not a whole lot of competition on service--the price is too high almost by definition. Or put another way, if a competition authority decided that RPM is again per se unlawful, then what would happen to the price of the HD800? My intuition is that the price would plummet. However, I readily admit that I do not have any data to support my belief. I'd love to see Senn's elasticity studies. But I'd wager those won't see the light of day any time soon, to the extent that they exist at all.

I only have 1 > $1000 cans, which are 800. So no comment. But w.r.t. 701, ad900, or d2000, 800 are better. Certainly not as good as the price difference would impose upon but when it gets to high-end dynamic, the law of diminishing returns becomes quite transparent. Will compare it to the ps1k when it arrives tomorrow.

Here I go again?? Actually you agreed with me, you didn't present an opposite opinion; however, I can see that you're going to follow me around and attempt to continue to argue with me after I already dropped things in the T1 thread. If you read the quote of mine you referenced you will clearly see that it states "Some of those that have reviewed the T1 have stated that they prefer its sound signature". You and Skylab were clearly two of those I was alluding to with that statement, so I already said you preferred the T1. Really not sure at all where you are getting this opinion is the opposite of what I posted business? Perhaps it's just a desire to bicker?

Also, build quality wise the T1s are by no means sturdier. They come with the same cheap style quality headband as their lower end. Nothing special really. Warranty means absolutely nothing when it comes to products like this. I've never once had to take advantage of a warranty on any product I've owned. True manufacturer defects are rarely present and a warranty, whether it's 5 years or not, will never cover user error and damage. If one knows how to properly handle their material items a warranty is pretty moot.

It's cute that you want to claim that the detail retrieval is equal between BOTH of them. It's common for one to want to make exaggerated claims in order to justify their expensive purchases, to prevent buyers remorse and all that. Forgive me but I'll continue to put more faith in the impressions from Gu Sensei, neptius, and Skylab when they clearly state otherwise.