[rantng]

All I know is this means the price of a secondhand HD800s should be dropping so that’s good for me...unless the HD8xx just turns out to be a total nightmare in which case the HD800s will be even more sought after.

 

[Zachik]

- Silver finish would have looked nicer then the plain black. I personally like the look of the HD800 over the HD800S
- That blue ring on each earcup looks awful and out of place.

Funny, I actually think the color scheme is great! Looks way better than my HD800...
Different strokes for different folks, etc.

 

[Mrinfinity]

Insane how everyone is claiming sennheiser dropped the ball and its literally not even out yet lol

 

[Evshrug]

I kinda feel that this product is being bashed in an inorganic way. Seeing posts that are almost verbatim on reddit, here and on (mass)drop.
Being conspiratorial minded i would not be surprised if at least some of the negative posts are from shills working on behalf of competing brands.
Either way i look forward to having my baby in 9 months.

Dear Vinland Saga fan,
Thanks for your concerns... many of the questions asked here, Drop, and on Reddit will be answered in time by reviews (in advance of the shipping date, so cancellations and returns will be possible) and future correspondence by Sennheiser. As one entity addressing all, Sennheiser will take care in bringing more information – they don’t want to jump the gun and give incorrect information that would need to be redacted later. Like Sennheiser’s hand-built HD 8xx, it will take a bit of time, but it will be thorough and timely before the cancellation window.

In the end, through independent reviews and providing information about service, Sennheiser’s actions will speak louder than worries and conjecture. I’m working with them to help people have a firm grasp of what they’re getting, before they get it

 

[tkddans]

If Sennheiser released a variant of the 800S on their own site, for $1200, people wouldn't complain so much.

The critical spotlight feels a bit exaggerated here on the Drop situation maybe in part because of expectations that Drop products are "supposed" to be a whole lot cheaper.

I don't care who releases this thing. It's a freakin HD800S with a tuning improvement....for $1200 MSRP. This price is a launch price that is far cheaper compared to the HD800S launch price of $1700. Even now the HD800S MSRP on Sennheiser's site is $1400. You can find it on sale sometimes maybe, but right now it's $1400 on amazon and Sennheiser.

The 8XX is $1100 on pre-order with $200 back. There's so much ado about nothing right now...
- 9 months to wait for a shipment? I don't care about that. This is called a pre-order for a reason.
- Inability to repair outside of warranty? I've owned the HD800S since release and haven't needed to send it in for repairs. These things don't break on their own so easy. You have to mistreat them one way or another. Also, Sennheiser may be shutting down or selling their consumer headphones division anyway, so might this call to question the servicing of any headphones they sell? Idk, some good questions here but nothing to make me turn cynical about what will probably be great headphones.
- Expensive and no balanced XLR cable? Been over this. These are $1100 on preorder, plus $200 back on Drop. Compare this to $1700 launch price and $1400 current retail price of the HD800S. With such a better price difference, fine, get rid of the expensive Sennheiser branded XLR cable. You guys know you can get cheap aftermarket cables right? Anyway I have Sennheiser XLR cable anyway. I'll be using that. Thank you savings.
- We may not like the tuning changes. Do we really think this is the more likely outcome? Really? Am I the only one who thinks it's at worst going to be subjective whether you like the changes, and that more likely it'll be objectively as great as the original HD800S? Also, return policies exist here - even after you try them out. Don't like them, get your money back. Eesh.

 

[Makiah S]

For me the question is whether it will be better than HD800 minorly modded (felt mod solves the peak), as I've always preferred HD800 to the HD800S. This looks like a warmer and more bassy HD800S with a small 12k peak. Somewhat strange territory given the used market prices for HD800.

My thoughts exactly... I still own and enjoy my HD 800 SDR and to see another HD 800 with even MORE bass and warmth is... nice I guess but I was hoping with the removal of HD 800 non s from the new market this drop variant would feature the remaining stock of those units and reintroduce that tuning

Oh well... guess we'll see how and hear how it is soon enough

 

[Lolito]

still expensive. not so much worth it as 6xx.

 

[Evshrug]

My thoughts exactly... I still own and enjoy my HD 800 SDR and to see another HD 800 with even MORE bass and warmth is... nice I guess but I was hoping with the removal of HD 800 non s from the new market this drop variant would feature the remaining stock of those units and reintroduce that tuning

Oh well... guess we'll see how and hear how it is soon enough

But the “remaining stock” of the HD 800 sold out years ago... the HD 800S doesn’t stay on shelves long either.

 

[ciber]

Drop has a hidden rule: no reward points or credit for purchase with reward points. If you buy the headphone all from reward points or credits, there will be no reward points back to you.

 

[joshnor713]

Why do people keep calling this a tuning improvement? This is just a different take on it.

 

[Hifiearspeakers]

Why do people keep calling this a tuning improvement? This is just a different take on it.

Why can’t a different take be an improvement? Everyone has different preferences.

 

[tkddans]

Why do people keep calling this a tuning improvement? This is just a different take on it.

True. It’s only an “improvement” if you like the changes. They did make the changes with community commentary, made over the years, in mind. People have long stated that the 800 lacked bass, and that there was still some harshness in areas higher up.

So the tuning change are indeed intended as an improvement, at least for that audience.

I love my 800S though. As much as I’m hoping their magic won’t be lost in the 8xx tuning change, we’ll have to see.

 

[Makiah S]

But the “remaining stock” of the HD 800 sold out years ago... the HD 800S doesn’t stay on shelves long either.

Well I was unsure if Sennheiser held onto spare drivers and stop assembly, but thank you for the confirmation

 

[Maxx134]

@Sennheiser
Drop officially said they won't entertain out of warranty services. Meaning if your 8XX dies after 24 months, you are left on your own to try to find someone to fix it or deal with it yourself.

All the HD800 variants have same base design, and it is one of the few drivers that can literally sustain transient pops that could blow your eardrums before any remote possibility of damage to occur. You can search such an occurance I posted years ago in my littledot MK6 mod thread.

So I am quite confident the possibility of any of HD800 variants getting damage is remote.
Check history of build quality in threads, which is also rock solid with the open designs.

I think this is a great idea and it sounds like a promising product.

Exactly, this is the position to have.
I myself made exhaustive alterations on the original and from all the trouble I went thru, the main point is that any improvements are welcome, because the fact is that these versions maintain "TOTL" resolve level, regardless of what other models come and go.
You can literally just place them straight to a speaker amp without hum or need for headphone adapter, and they just keep scaling up.

The last iterations with resonator actually benifit solid state amps more so, than tubes and higher impedance amps.
I found this out when changing my tube amps output impedance. The original HD800 has better mids with a higher impedance amp, and the resonator in the 800S version brings this effect to low impedance amps.

I don't care who releases this thing. It's a freakin HD800S with a tuning improvement....for $1200 MSRP. This price is a launch price that is far cheaper compared to the HD800S launch price of $1700. Even now the HD800S MSRP on Sennheiser's site is $1400. You can find it on sale sometimes maybe, but right now it's $1400 on amazon and Sennheiser

Agreed.
While it's human nature to be doubtful, the track record is still solid.

I've owned the HD800S since release and haven't needed to send it in for repairs. These things don't break on their own so easy. You have to mistreat them one way or another.

I myself been thru many units in past.
Zero breakages. Only the infamous tiny paint chips which made a demand for custom paint jobs. Too bad colorware stopped doing them..

Sennheiser quality is renowned.
Even measuring drivers of different latter units, I came upon zero variance, except for only one very early model, and even that one has matched drivers.

Bottom line is any "improvement" is welcome, because your not going to get this level of resolve in other brands without going higher in price.
Yes we all know its still not going to satisfy everyone, but if the paint job is any better than the past, then its looks like a good deal.

 

[gordec]

I really wish Sennheiser's R&D will move on from the HD800. It's a legend, but every legend needs a successor. We can skip HD900 and head straight for HD1000.