Drop + Sennheiser 8XX Loaner Program
- Thread starter michaelDrrrrr
- Start date
Not here either. I’ve given up.
Makes me wonder if the reviews were not so positive and Drop decided it's better not to publish them.
michaelDrrrrr
Sponsor: Drop
Hi everyone -- it's been a long time but the loaner unit is finally making way towards the first set of Head-fi reviewers. We only had one unit in circulation for this review round-robin and as you might have guessed, there were a lot of people waiting in line!
The review is positive and is going to be published in about a week.
Got an email today from Michael that I’m up next - very much looking forward!
DivineCurrent
500+ Head-Fier
Hey guys, I posted my short review/impressions for the loaner program here: https://www.head-fi.org/threads/off...has-been-sold-gt-heck-ih.955266/post-16712661
Thank you @michaelDrrrrr for organizing this!
I believe @Strat1117 you are next!
Thank you @michaelDrrrrr for organizing this!
I believe @Strat1117 you are next!
Cool! Still waiting for confirmation from MN that they are headed my way. Thank you!!
Edit: I take it back - just got an email from MN with the tracking number and they should be here tomorrow.
Last edited:
I’m happy to report that the loaner HD8XX unit arrived safely at my home this afternoon, and I’ve had a chance to listen to a couple of cd’s through them: Bill Frisell and Vinicius Cantuaria - Lagrimas Mexicanas, and Gateway - In The Moment. I listened side by side with a pretty new set of HD660S. CD player is a naim cd3.5 with flatcap 2, into my Plinius Hautonga integrated amp. The Burson Soloist is fed by the line out of the Plinius.
A bit about me for context (reviews are useless without context) - I am 62 years old and I have been a serious music listener since about age 13. Starting in my twenties and well into my 50’s, I was an all tube analog guy, until one day about 5 years ago when I sold my mono VTL amps and tube preamp and bought the Plinius integrated. My main speakers are a pair of Totem Forest Signature, which work great in my room. I’ve also owned several Vandersteens, Wilson Watt/Puppies, Joseph Audio Pearls and a pair of Quad esl-63 with all the right modifications. My primary sources are vinyl and cd, although I use Spotify for convenience, but I don’t consider it a ‘serious’ source. I have learned the hard way to listen to music instead of listening to the stereo, and I’ve never been happier. I’ve always been a Sennheiser fanboy - I had a pair of HD430 from the early 80’s until I got the HD580 in the mid-90’s. They have just been retired. I now have 600 (marble), 650 and 660S (also on trial). All of my 6x0 series are modified in one way or another - foam removed, copper weights, leather earpads, mogami cable - you name it, I like to tweak. I have owned in the past two years: 2 different pairs of HD700 (love/hate), 2 different pairs of Hifiman HE560 (don’t ask - I thought these were it but couldn’t squeeze that last drop of bass that I wanted out of them), Sundara, Ananda (beautiful, but lacked bass in my system), Audeze LCD-2 (2021, rosewood), LCD-X (I regret having sold these), Focal Elear, Quad era-1 and probably one or two others I’m forgetting. I listen primarily to jazz - bop, fusion, free - but also plenty of classical and, of course, some Clapton, Dead, Allman Brothers, Phish, etc. I do NOT listen to rap, pop, dance music, electronica (maybe a little taste from time to time), or metal. But I listen a lot, I know what I like, and I have a pretty good idea of how live music should sound. I played guitar and sang in a Grateful Dead cover band for years, and still pull out the old Martin from time to time. I tell you all this so you have a background against which to view my opinions (and they are just my opinions - no judgment, no facts).
Now that that’s out of the way, my first impressions of the HD8XX are great! Immediately enjoyable and fun to listen through. The Frisell album was sweet and appropriately intimate, especially the vocals. The Gateway CD was presented in all its power and glory. Dave Holland’s bowed bass on the second track was especially beautiful to hear through the 8XX - sweet and lovely. Not unexpectedly, although the 8XX sound more extended than the 660S in both frequency extremes, they also sound a bit leaner, less tonally saturated to my ear. So, for example, the 8XX highlighted Dave Holland’s note choices and bowing technique, while the 660S was a little more visceral and highlighted the vibration of the wood of the instrument, with slightly less note differentiation at the very bottom than the 8XX. This is merely an observation, not a criticism. Both headphones sound wonderful, and which presentation you prefer is purely a matter of personal taste. Also, I don’t mean to imply in any way that the 8XX are threadbare - they are certainly not. They are leaner in a comparative sense, not lean in an objective sense. I heard nothing unpleasant at all from the 8XX treble. In fact, to my mind, at least at this early stage, the treble is the key to this headphone. It is detailed, airy, ephemeral, pristine, pellucid - all that great stuff. And if you crave air and space and outside-your-head imaging, these headphones have it in spades. By comparison, the 660S is definitely more closed in and in your head - but also intimate and detailed and quick in its way. Again, you could not be faulted for preferring one or the other. Keep in mind, too, that I am using a Class A SS amp. If you are using tubes, for example, what I hear as ‘leaner’, you might hear as ‘more transparent’.
As far as build quality, the 8XX are top shelf all the way. They look and feel like a >$1,000 headphone should. They come packed in a standard high end Sennheiser box - no point in detailing that. And they are by far the most comfortable headphones I have ever put on my head. I never realized how comparatively small other earcups are until I slipped my ears into these cavernous cans. What a treat!
Anyway, that’s it for my personal intro and first impressions. This weekend I’ll play some vinyl and we’ll really hear what these things can do!
Thanks for reading.
A bit about me for context (reviews are useless without context) - I am 62 years old and I have been a serious music listener since about age 13. Starting in my twenties and well into my 50’s, I was an all tube analog guy, until one day about 5 years ago when I sold my mono VTL amps and tube preamp and bought the Plinius integrated. My main speakers are a pair of Totem Forest Signature, which work great in my room. I’ve also owned several Vandersteens, Wilson Watt/Puppies, Joseph Audio Pearls and a pair of Quad esl-63 with all the right modifications. My primary sources are vinyl and cd, although I use Spotify for convenience, but I don’t consider it a ‘serious’ source. I have learned the hard way to listen to music instead of listening to the stereo, and I’ve never been happier. I’ve always been a Sennheiser fanboy - I had a pair of HD430 from the early 80’s until I got the HD580 in the mid-90’s. They have just been retired. I now have 600 (marble), 650 and 660S (also on trial). All of my 6x0 series are modified in one way or another - foam removed, copper weights, leather earpads, mogami cable - you name it, I like to tweak. I have owned in the past two years: 2 different pairs of HD700 (love/hate), 2 different pairs of Hifiman HE560 (don’t ask - I thought these were it but couldn’t squeeze that last drop of bass that I wanted out of them), Sundara, Ananda (beautiful, but lacked bass in my system), Audeze LCD-2 (2021, rosewood), LCD-X (I regret having sold these), Focal Elear, Quad era-1 and probably one or two others I’m forgetting. I listen primarily to jazz - bop, fusion, free - but also plenty of classical and, of course, some Clapton, Dead, Allman Brothers, Phish, etc. I do NOT listen to rap, pop, dance music, electronica (maybe a little taste from time to time), or metal. But I listen a lot, I know what I like, and I have a pretty good idea of how live music should sound. I played guitar and sang in a Grateful Dead cover band for years, and still pull out the old Martin from time to time. I tell you all this so you have a background against which to view my opinions (and they are just my opinions - no judgment, no facts).
Now that that’s out of the way, my first impressions of the HD8XX are great! Immediately enjoyable and fun to listen through. The Frisell album was sweet and appropriately intimate, especially the vocals. The Gateway CD was presented in all its power and glory. Dave Holland’s bowed bass on the second track was especially beautiful to hear through the 8XX - sweet and lovely. Not unexpectedly, although the 8XX sound more extended than the 660S in both frequency extremes, they also sound a bit leaner, less tonally saturated to my ear. So, for example, the 8XX highlighted Dave Holland’s note choices and bowing technique, while the 660S was a little more visceral and highlighted the vibration of the wood of the instrument, with slightly less note differentiation at the very bottom than the 8XX. This is merely an observation, not a criticism. Both headphones sound wonderful, and which presentation you prefer is purely a matter of personal taste. Also, I don’t mean to imply in any way that the 8XX are threadbare - they are certainly not. They are leaner in a comparative sense, not lean in an objective sense. I heard nothing unpleasant at all from the 8XX treble. In fact, to my mind, at least at this early stage, the treble is the key to this headphone. It is detailed, airy, ephemeral, pristine, pellucid - all that great stuff. And if you crave air and space and outside-your-head imaging, these headphones have it in spades. By comparison, the 660S is definitely more closed in and in your head - but also intimate and detailed and quick in its way. Again, you could not be faulted for preferring one or the other. Keep in mind, too, that I am using a Class A SS amp. If you are using tubes, for example, what I hear as ‘leaner’, you might hear as ‘more transparent’.
As far as build quality, the 8XX are top shelf all the way. They look and feel like a >$1,000 headphone should. They come packed in a standard high end Sennheiser box - no point in detailing that. And they are by far the most comfortable headphones I have ever put on my head. I never realized how comparatively small other earcups are until I slipped my ears into these cavernous cans. What a treat!
Anyway, that’s it for my personal intro and first impressions. This weekend I’ll play some vinyl and we’ll really hear what these things can do!
Thanks for reading.
Last edited:
Users who are viewing this thread
