[DefQon]

Just because you've had bad luck with a few high end gear you can't dismiss everything high end as failure on quality aspects.
 
That said, HD800 paint chipping happens easily even if you baby them, I know this coming from 3 HD800's the last one I recently sold and I would most likely buy again in the future when I don't have Stax fever. I have to agree that Sennheiser put effort into a world class headphone but only using schitty paint that easily comes off, which why I would be buying from Colorware in the future.
 
But to be honest I think high-end gear is not for you as you seem cursed with them
 
Maybe stick with mid-fi gear?

 

[MelvinV]

Quote:

Just because you've had bad luck with a few high end gear you can't dismiss everything high end as failure on quality aspects.
 
That said, HD800 paint chipping happens easily even if you baby them, I know this coming from 3 HD800's the last one I recently sold and I would most likely buy again in the future when I don't have Stax fever. I have to agree that Sennheiser put effort into a world class headphone but only using schitty paint that easily comes off, which why I would be buying from Colorware in the future.
 
But to be honest I think high-end gear is not for you as you seem cursed with them
 
Maybe stick with mid-fi gear?

I love the way the HD 800s looks with the default paint job but even paper is more durable than that. All of Colorware's custom paint jobs that I've seen look like shiny ****ty cheap plastic, wanna-be Beats style I'd say. Default HD 800 is just classy and has a wow-factor to it when you first see it. Can't say that of rainbow colours and such.
 
And mid-fi is... mid-fi, and the sound is just a lot worse.

 

[DefQon]

Quote:

I love the way the HD 800s looks with the default paint job but even paper is more durable than that. All of Colorware's custom paint jobs that I've seen look like shiny ****ty cheap plastic, wanna-be Beats style I'd say. Default HD 800 is just classy and has a wow-factor to it when you first see it. Can't say that of rainbow colours and such.
 
And mid-fi is... mid-fi, and the sound is just a lot worse.

Yeah that's what I originally thought as well with Colorware HD800's till I shot an email to them, they said besides using durable pressured paint spray on there HD800's, all Colorware HD800's are then coated with a thick layer of clear enamel to prevent easy scuffs and scratches, which at least you have to admit sounds a lot promising in terms of durability then Sennheiser's stock silver paint.
 
Wouldn't say mid-fi stuff sound lot worse, some of them do just as good if not better than some of the "sound-flawed" flagships or higher end equipment gear (amp/dac).

 

[wink]

QuoteefMan

Wouldn't say mid-fi stuff sound lot worse, some of them do just as good if not better than some of the "sound-flawed" flagships or higher end equipment gear (amp/dac).

True, dat.

 

[Audio Jester]

Harping back to the OP.  This is not just an audio thing.  Ever owned or know someone who owns a hotrod?  How about a bespoke architecturally designed home?  The thing is that with most hand made/ limited run items there is variability in the construction process and there is always a chance that something will fail in an unexpected way.  As well as that, many hand made high end items have not had the wealth of trial and error that exists with an item that has been around for a long time and has had many iterations to overcome flaws that only raise their head after a long period of time.  I can tell you many stories of high end, super expensive custom joinery that has been put into a building and even though it has been designed by people who know how to properly design these things and it has been crafted by master craftsmen the item has still failed somehow.... not every item does, but it happens from time to time.
I am a little surprised that your HD800's had problems.  I would have expected Sennheiser to have had enough experience with that model that most creases were ironed out.  Irrespective of that there are still variations in the manufacturing process that are unavoidable.   It is a bit of a shame about the paint though.

 

[MelvinV]

Quote:

Yeah that's what I originally thought as well with Colorware HD800's till I shot an email to them, they said besides using durable pressured paint spray on there HD800's, all Colorware HD800's are then coated with a thick layer of clear enamel to prevent easy scuffs and scratches, which at least you have to admit sounds a lot promising in terms of durability then Sennheiser's stock silver paint.
 
Wouldn't say mid-fi stuff sound lot worse, some of them do just as good if not better than some of the "sound-flawed" flagships or higher end equipment gear (amp/dac).

I actually didn't like any of Sennheisers headphones except for the HD 800s (HD-25II not included), the HD 650s were just bad imo and the HD 598s just lacked something.
Not to mention the new portable wubwub headphones...
I also listened to the T1 as it was either the T1 or the HD 800s but the HD 800s' clarity is just better, it does feel a bit like magic. The T1 sounded a tad dark-ish to me where as the HD 800 is the sparkly stuff that I like. The T1 had much better build quality though, the HD 800s felt fragile when I picked them up for the first time and now I know why.
Quote:

Harping back to the OP.  This is not just an audio thing.  Ever owned or know someone who owns a hotrod?  How about a bespoke architecturally designed home?  The thing is that with most hand made/ limited run items there is variability in the construction process and there is always a chance that something will fail in an unexpected way.  As well as that, many hand made high end items have not had the wealth of trial and error that exists with an item that has been around for a long time and has had many iterations to overcome flaws that only raise their head after a long period of time.  I can tell you many stories of high end, super expensive custom joinery that has been put into a building and even though it has been designed by people who know how to properly design these things and it has been crafted by master craftsmen the item has still failed somehow.... not every item does, but it happens from time to time.
I am a little surprised that your HD800's had problems.  I would have expected Sennheiser to have had enough experience with that model that most creases were ironed out.  Irrespective of that there are still variations in the manufacturing process that are unavoidable.   It is a bit of a shame about the paint though.

Hotrod in the Netherlands? No way! x)
Huge mansions in the Netherlands? Not unless you're a superstar.
But hand-made to me means that every solder joint is done by a person, which means that the person sees the joint and sees if he failed and can therefore correct the joint.
The DAC probably failed on day 1 or day 2, I just never used the headphone-output after the initial 5 minutes or so.
 
I still don't understand how a cable can start go bad, especially when it's a €180 MSRP (IIRC) fancy Kevlar™ 1337 silver-plated OFC hur hur durp cable. I never had a cable fail on me and the KSC75 cable is pretty damn thin...
At least my dealer was nice, they sent me the cable of their demo HD 800s and I may or may not have to send back the old one.

 

[DefQon]

Quote:

Originally Posted by MelvinV /img/forum/go_quote.gif
 
I actually didn't like any of Sennheisers headphones except for the HD 800s (HD-25II not included), the HD 650s were just bad imo and the HD 598s just lacked something.
Not to mention the new portable wubwub headphones...
I also listened to the T1 as it was either the T1 or the HD 800s but the HD 800s' clarity is just better, it does feel a bit like magic. The T1 sounded a tad dark-ish to me where as the HD 800 is the sparkly stuff that I like. The T1 had much better build quality though, the HD 800s felt fragile when I picked them up for the first time and now I know why.

The T1's are not bad but no where near in the same class as the LCD2's/HD800's etc.
 
You need to listen to a pair of HD580/600 on a Crack Bottlehead amp or something synergistic similar of delivering sweet notes for the high z headphones, much more neutral than the 650, less dark or warm and the sound signature wise, the HD800 is the bigger brother of the HD600.  

 

[barid]

Kind of feeling the same way as the OP.  I've had pretty decent luck with my gear (a cable failure here, blown speaker there), but I get the serious impression that failure rates of high end gear is actually higher than the mid tier-ed stuff. It's kind of counter-intuitive because you expect that better quality control comes along with the higher price tag...but I think a lot of that is just the hazard of pushing the limits of new tech.
 
I could be way off base here and maybe people with failures are just more vocal when it's the top end stuff vs cheaper gear.  Just anecdotal evidence from myself and people I know.