[AppleheadMay]

Rock on dude.

It's also the name of the guy from the Matrix. Boom


I'm thinking that in ten years after this is released they make another one called the Neo. It will be "the chosen one"

 
 
Nope, Neo will be "The Closed One". 

 

[Jones Bob]

Should sell well in China, until HiFiMan rips off the looks in a $5000 copy.

 

[complin]

There is a brief write up by someone who attended the launch event in London but its in German but in some areas the details are a little unclear in the translation
He is calling it the Sennheiser Orpheus 2
There are some better images though
 





 
Quoting from part of his write up... there are some inconsistencies .....and so far there is nothing to corroborate these statements.
 
  "The basis of the new headphone amplifier is a  Sennheiser HDVD 800. On the connector panel are the differences in detail. The Sennheiser Orpheus 2  headphone amplifier provides both the input and at the output XLR and RCA connectors. Two headphone connections are combined with up to two models and could allow the operation of a second.The digital input board is equipped with USB, coax and TOLSINK ports. So far so good, so standard. One of the highlights of the Sennheiser headphone amplifier is certainly its selected tube placement. Six ECC803S located during operation in highly visible field on the amplifier. Is this out, they go back into the housing. So here only arise any microphonic effects, the outer housing is made of Carrara marble. As a little gimmick of the marble cladding is shaped Sennheiser typical curved logo design. 
What would be a headphone amplifier without the appropriate playback device? The headphone Elektrostat sits directly on top. The internally stored Sennheiser Orpheus headphone 2 is located in the case along with XLR connector permanently installed right next to the tube Armada.

About the Sennheiser headphones Reshaping Excellence is not much else known.In ultrathin membranes, developers can detect any sonic benefits. Therefore, the electrostatic headphone is equipped with platinum 2.4-micron membranes. And what will now cost the Sennheiser Orpheus 2 package? This question we asked the team not just once, but received no answer. In terms of technical complexity of the product and the exclusive choice of materials, we anticipate an average five-figure euro range."  

.So is this a hybrid amplifier with SS (HDVD 800) front end with tube output stage? I thought  ECC803S/12AX7 were a preamp tube so perhaps its the other way around?
Are all 8 tubes ECC803S or just the 6 as per the quote?
 

 

[Peti]

Could you drop a link with the original german text by any chance?

 

[RCBinTN]

HD1000 > HE1000 ?

 

[complin]

http://www.modernhifi.de/sennheiser-reshaping-excellence-150828/
 
Quote:

  Could you drop a link with the original german text by any chance?

 

[Peti]

 

Thank you very much indeed!

 

[vnmslsrbms]

I like the look. Seems most are quite a conservative lot. It looks modern to me. I don't like how the headphone storage is just stuck on top. It's not even really integrated. And are there any pictures of it actually taken out? The way they describe it, I almost think the he-1000 is a good deal now. What is the world coming to?

 

[listen4joy]

i dont have problem to save for it and buy it, the only problem is until i will finish to save up all the units will be sold out to millioners if it will be limited edition....

 

[jibzilla]

 

 

 


Mmm.....it is still valid, if only to establish the performance differences of this rare headphone against your garden-variety TOTL HPs.

 
Mmm...still not valid. My Apex Teton is uber rare and will most likely stay that way. Only $5k, $4750 with purchase of hd800 at $1249, combo. With the same source I'm positive the Teton/hd800 will smoke this abomination and you still have a very rare amp that looks just as good.
 
Speaking of source, does this have a dac in it? If so flop #2 and this is even worse than flop #1. Isn't it bad enough we have to buy the amp and headphone together? Now your going to tie the dac up into it? Really???
 
If Sennheiser really cared about anything but money they would have reached out to Frank Cooter and offered him unlimited panzerholz/ exotic worthwhile materials to build amps with. Frank can not be bought. However I think the offer of free unlimited panzerholz and totl machinery would have been too much for him to resist. Think of Gus showing off the meth lab to Heisenberg. Walt couldn't resist.
 
If you really want to be a true blue audiophile then you need to put in a good decade of hard work and befriend Frank Cooter like OP did. That is a true blue audiophile and his amp is ten times better looking than this cutting board. What's even scarier is that Jude's amp is not Frank's best work imo. This Orpheous 2 is just a joke.  

 

[complin]

The Teton is a fine amplifier I have an Apex amp for my HD800's BUT designing and producing an amp for electrostats is a very different matter.
The most prolific and long standing designer of these amplifiers is Kevin Gilmore and without his generosity of sharing his designs we would mostly be limited to Stax fare.
I've heard of Franlks' 845 DHT electrostatic amplifier and if its like his other creations is probably really top notch, but having never heard it I cant comment unlike the Senn Orpheus.
 
You also need to remember that Franks productions are DIY not commercial, so in their current form could not be sold commercially as they need to comply with many in country regulations, and able to be used world wide. Producing DIY for your own use and commercial product sold worldwide through a dealer network is very, very different! 
 
Once again you are making extravagant claims for something you have never heard no doubt. Well I can assure you from my own experience the Teton/800 would not smoke as you put it the original Orpheus. The original Orpheus is superior in every way possible compared to the Teton/800 and it should be as when it was produced in 1991 costing $15,000, which would be equivalent to $27,000 today. I cant say how the Orpheus 2 will compare but I would anticipate its not going to perform less than the original!
 
Quote:

   
Mmm...still not valid. My Apex Teton is uber rare and will most likely stay that way. Only $5k, $4750 with purchase of hd800 at $1249, combo. With the same source I'm positive the Teton/hd800 will smoke this abomination and you still have a very rare amp that looks just as good.
 
Speaking of source, does this have a dac in it? If so flop #2 and this is even worse than flop #1. Isn't it bad enough we have to buy the amp and headphone together? Now your going to tie the dac up into it? Really???
 
If Sennheiser really cared about anything but money they would have reached out to Frank Cooter and offered him unlimited panzerholz/ exotic worthwhile materials to build amps with. Frank can not be bought. However I think the offer of free unlimited panzerholz and totl machinery would have been too much for him to resist. Think of Gus showing off the meth lab to Heisenberg. Walt couldn't resist.
 
If you really want to be a true blue audiophile then you need to put in a good decade of hard work and befriend Frank Cooter like OP did. That is a true blue audiophile and his amp is ten times better looking than this cutting board. What's even scarier is that Jude's amp is not Frank's best work imo. This Orpheous 2 is just a joke.  

 

[OddE]

  There is a brief write up by someone who attended the launch event in London but its in German but in some areas the details are a little unclear in the translation
He is calling it the Sennheiser Orpheus 2

 
-Yes, but he stresses that 'Orpheus 2' is the name used by the Modern Hi-Fi magazine, and not something they've gotten from Sennheiser. "Der von uns intern als Sennheiser Orpheus 2 gehandelte Kopfhörer..."
 
(Unless my German proficiency is a lot poorer than I thought it was; definitely an option!)

 

[complin]

Yes thats correct both terms are used including SENNHEISER Reshaping EXCELLENCE HEADPHONE AMPLIFIER and Orpheus 2, 
There are other commentators out there also using the term Orpheus 2, but as I said so far there is nothing to corroborate this against other people who attended the event.
 
Quote:

   
-Yes, but he stresses that 'Orpheus 2' is the name used by the Modern Hi-Fi magazine, and not something they've gotten from Sennheiser. "Der von uns intern als Sennheiser Orpheus 2 gehandelte Kopfhörer..."
 
(Unless my German proficiency is a lot poorer than I thought it was; definitely an option!)

 

[jibzilla]

 

 
This is Panzerholz. Not mdf. Not Yuck imo.

 

[complin]

Yes its basically bent plywood but I still think this could be improved upon as it looks a bit mass produced and this product is trying to be high end artisan