Sennheiser HD800 S Impressions Thread (read first post for summary)
Jan 21, 2016 at 5:52 AM Post #16 of 8,481
  It might not be entirely OT, but I wrote up some brief impressions of the HD800S in the context of a comparison on this thread: http://www.head-fi.org/t/759662/hd800-vs-he1000-mhp1000-impressions-suprises-all-around/270#post_12257818 - just thought I'd share!

 
Thanks!
Now it's even more interesting - 'closed' McIntosh MHP1000 (made by BEYER) and 'opened' Sennheiser HD800S.
But the price of MHP1000, actually upgraded re-make of the few years old BEYER and even more expensive than HD800S...
 
Jan 21, 2016 at 6:24 AM Post #17 of 8,481
   
Thanks!
Now it's even more interesting - 'closed' McIntosh MHP1000 (made by BEYER) and 'opened' Sennheiser HD800S.
But the price of MHP1000, actually upgraded re-make of the few years old BEYER and even more expensive than HD800S...

 
The MHP1000 isn't actually made by Beyerdynamic, though Beyer were consulted during the design phase (hence they look a lot like Beyers) and the drivers do utilize Tesla technology - but the headphones are made in Mc's own factory.
 
I do agree that they don't represent value for money, especially compared with the HD800S, which actually seem pretty competitively priced to me, in the same way T1 v2 is. I guess bigger companies like Senn and Beyer benefit from economies of scale though, and can afford to price lower than more niche companies who just won't shift as many units and don't have the range either, focusing exclusively on the high-end market.
 
Jan 21, 2016 at 6:37 AM Post #18 of 8,481
   
The MHP1000 isn't actually made by Beyerdynamic, though Beyer were consulted during the design phase (hence they look a lot like Beyers) and the drivers do utilize Tesla technology - but the headphones are made in Mc's own factory.
 
I do agree that they don't represent value for money, especially compared with the HD800S, which actually seem pretty competitively priced to me, in the same way T1 v2 is. I guess bigger companies like Senn and Beyer benefit from economies of scale though, and can afford to price lower than more niche companies who just won't shift as many units and don't have the range either, focusing exclusively on the high-end market.

 
Thank You for adding details about McIntosh production... which is already little complicated to 'see through' (who is actually doing 'engineering' or how owner of McIntosh, CLARION, is involved, etc.?)
 
Jan 21, 2016 at 8:00 AM Post #19 of 8,481
@prot
 more impressions please! Do you think you will spring open the ATM for these?

Going directly for the million dollar Q, huh? :)
My answer cannot help you much unfortunately.. it's a pretty cleat 'not now' because I have upgrades for my speaker setup planned next .. and I'm quite happy with the he400i that I bought less than a year ago and I'm not one of those impatient hp fanatics that have to change cans every month.

I can surely recommend it though. The BQ is as good as you's expect from a 'made in germany' product, all needed high-end accesories are there and the cans sound great .. for me much better than the hd800. The price is high and personally I'm not sure if any HP is worth over $1000 .. but considering the prices of the concurency it's actually a bargain. .. and if you like that kind of detailed and precise sound, the hd800S is a no-brainer.

dharma I thought the mcintosh owner was FineSounds (owns sonus faber, wadia,etc). That mcintosh brand is changing hands every month lately...
 
Jan 21, 2016 at 8:55 AM Post #20 of 8,481
@dharma I thought the mcintosh owner was FineSounds (owns sonus faber, wadia,etc). That mcintosh brand is changing hands every month lately...

 
as little off-topic (sorry!)  - Yes, its little confusing ownership now:
'Fine Sounds SpA Company execs Mauro Grange and Charlie Randall, along with two European investment firms, plan to buy Fine Sounds group, which includes McIntosh Labs, Audio Research, Wadia Digital, Sumiko and Sonus faber.'
Hope, that it goes 'to benefit headphone users' too!
 
Jan 21, 2016 at 9:47 AM Post #21 of 8,481
Jan 22, 2016 at 8:04 AM Post #22 of 8,481
Here is an interview with Axel Grell from Sennheiser at CES 2016. You can hear what he says about the new orpheus or skip to around the 5 minute mark and hear what he says about the new S and how it is different from the classic.
 
 
 

 
This is a paraphrase of what is in the video:
 
  1. HD 800 is very analytic (sic) if your sound recordings are not perfect …you will hear it right away.
  2. The HD800S is more forgiving.
  3. We reduced the peak 4.5-5 khz frequency range.
  4. We gave it some more lower frequency range, over all a more full bodied sound reproduction.
  5. Even if your recording quality is  not the best this one will give you hours and hours of listening pleasure.
  6. And in case you have both so you don’t confuse them the new one is black
 
Jan 22, 2016 at 8:14 AM Post #23 of 8,481
Being discounted already!
 
I found a 1319 euro price at this place until tomorrow. Don't know if they ship outside Espana...
 
http://www.novomusica.com/tienda/imagen-sonido-profesional/sennheiser/sennheiser-hd800s-auriculares
 
 
If I didn't have mine already....
 
Jan 22, 2016 at 8:30 AM Post #24 of 8,481
  Being discounted already!
 
I found a 1319 euro price at this place until tomorrow. Don't know if they ship outside Italia...
 
http://www.novomusica.com/tienda/imagen-sonido-profesional/sennheiser/sennheiser-hd800s-auriculares
 
 
If I didn't have mine already....

 
Doubt it - there's no other language options on the site and nothing about shipping policies that I can see. It's surprising they're discounting so early though - why do it? Surely there wouldn't be any problem shifting them at RRP...
 
Jan 22, 2016 at 10:03 AM Post #25 of 8,481
FYI, if you're ordering outside the EU (i.e., no VAT), that price is only 21 euros less than Meier Audio's listed price  (€1340/$1475), and Jan Meier seems to have a rock solid reputation based on comments in the "Sennheiser HD800S Unveiled" thread. Lots of satisfied customers there. Don't know about the Novomusica's shipping charges, but Meier's shipping seems to be included in the quoted price.
 
Jan 22, 2016 at 11:15 AM Post #27 of 8,481
Oh, and I just looked a bit more closely at the Meier Audio website and found that orders over €1000/$1100 get a 6% price reduction. This means the final price there would be €1259.60/$1386.50.
 
Jan 22, 2016 at 1:24 PM Post #28 of 8,481
  Here is an interview with Axel Grell from Sennheiser at CES 2016. You can hear what he says about the new orpheus or skip to around the 5 minute mark and hear what he says about the new S and how it is different from the classic.

 
Thanks for the vid. Gotta say, the host doesn't seem very clued up
biggrin.gif
 Headphones + headphone amps don't seem to be his speciality! It is a general electronics show I guess.
 
Jan 22, 2016 at 2:27 PM Post #29 of 8,481
   
Thanks for the vid. Gotta say, the host doesn't seem very clued up
biggrin.gif
 Headphones + headphone amps don't seem to be his speciality! It is a general electronics show I guess.

It's interesting to hear how Senn is trying to position the new headphones, not wanting to actually come out and say that the treble was too hot for a lot of people  (especially in the audiophile press) and the silver paint chips too easily... I instead the S is "more forgiving" of less than pristine recordings and the black color is to help owners of both headphones tell the difference.... Also, I don't know if he misspoke but up to now most of the ringing and resonance issues were around 6khz rather than 4.5-6. And their own silly graphs seem to support the idea that the issue was around 6. The real question is is everything else besides the resonator and the paint exactly the same?
 
Jan 22, 2016 at 3:16 PM Post #30 of 8,481
Final update re Novomusica.com: I just e-mailed them about it, and they replied:
 
"Sorry but no shipment to America. Transportation costs are quite high."
 

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