[immtbiker]

Does that mean, if we don't paint it, you'll never take us seriously?

 

[haloxt]

You can also photoshop it to a better color.

 

[k3oxkjo]

Quote:

Originally Posted by paulb09 /img/forum/go_quote.gif As it seems though, this topic is slowly boiling down simply to some thinking that the metallic-like paint on the HD800 is just trying to fake its appearance.

Have we ever verified whether the composite plastic in the HD-800 is:

A) painted
B) pigmented before molding
C) used in it's natural color

Just curious...

 

[davidhunternyc]

Yes, it was verified earlier in this thread:

Hello-
Thank you for your inquiry and interest in Sennheiser.
The finish is applied after the mould is created. If you are concerned about paint defects or painting, you should not be.
_________________

Eric Palonen
Sennheiser USA

 

[k3oxkjo]

Quote:

Originally Posted by davidhunternyc /img/forum/go_quote.gif As far I know, this is the first time you've asked me this question. Up until this point you have assumed that I have not seen them. Yes, I have seen them in person. I have felt them, handled them, and listened to them. Also, amongst all the posts in this thread, myself and others have commented about the design of this headphone in detail.

Nothing personal, but it seems to me that no one should have to ask the question. In order to put your comments in context, this would be an important point to disclose!

I think the assumption that you hadn't any direct experience was quite reasonable since I don't remember you saying you specifically did until now. If you did I apologize, but really, I would expect that up front in the first thread post where you set up your premise (even if it had to be a later edit).

As it happens, your disclosure in my mind strengthens your argument...

 

[k3oxkjo]

Quote:

Originally Posted by davidhunternyc /img/forum/go_quote.gif Yes, it was verified earlier in this thread: Hello- Thank you for your inquiry and interest in Sennheiser. The finish is applied after the mould is created. If you are concerned about paint defects or painting, you should not be. _________________ Eric Palonen Sennheiser USA

Thanks, I couldn't find anything searching myself.

 

[UezeU]

Quote:

Originally Posted by immtbiker /img/forum/go_quote.gif This comment might have been made to make a point, but it is a direct attack which cannot be misconstrued.

This thread is filled with underhanded comments and ignorant assumptions. You can dress up an insult real nice, but it is still an insult.

 

[wnmnkh]

Quote:

Originally Posted by UezeU /img/forum/go_quote.gif This thread is filled with underhanded comments and ignorant assumptions. You can dress up an insult real nice, but it is still an insult.

This thread is started by one underhanded issue ("OMG it uses plastic"). Do you really expect that anything better than original question would come out?

 

[JaZZ]

Quote:

Originally Posted by UezeU /img/forum/go_quote.gif This thread is filled with underhanded comments and ignorant assumptions. You can dress up an insult real nice, but it is still an insult.

Yeah, sorry for my slightly arrogant response (in case you were addressing me)! I was just annoyed by all the voices complaining about plastic, irrespective of the positive properties which they don't seem to care about. There's an optimal material for every application, and for a headphone earpiece polymers with high inner damping are the best material in my book – not metal and not wood, which may look nice and precious, but have decisive technical/acoustical disadvantages.

Now it's up to everyone to consider the «metal» look of the HD 800's plastic parts fake metal ot just a form (made of any material) with a shiny surface.
.

 

[dharma]

good, that we are not in automobile forum, i can imagine, what complaints can be for different car outlook/finishing (a'la: your Ferrari is just plastic toy, made from carbon fiber, but my aluminiumbodyed car is real ...)

 

[nor_spoon]

Oh man... I really hoped this thread was buried and forgotten now...

 

[paulb09]

Quote:

Originally Posted by nor_spoon /img/forum/go_quote.gif Oh man... I really hoped this thread was buried and forgotten now...

x2

 

[ford2]

47 pages on the use of Plastic in phones,maybe the 850's will have a magnesium frame,then we can start another post on why they changed it.

Some posts never die.

 

[davidhunternyc]

I am sure that there are many people here on Head-Fi who wish that this thread would have seen its final death by now. Conversely, sometimes I feel that this topic is my cross to bear. In the big scheme of things, my cross and the anger it has generated is nothing compared to what is going on in the rest of the world at the moment. Recently, someone has asked me what role emotions have to play in the world of design and how that influences our purchasing decisions. The following thoughts were meant as a response to automotive design but I thought the principles are the same with headphone design. Take it for what its worth...

Quote:

Originally Posted by Altazi I am sure this is just a disconnect on my part, but I do not understand how one can have an emotional connection with a vehicle - a thing. I'd love to hear an explanation, if anyone is up to it.

I myself studied painting at the Art Center College of Design in Pasadena, California. When I was in high school, I even took life drawing classes there and it was at this point I became enamored with automotive design. Art Center has one of the best automotive design programs in the world. During my studies there I would often wander into the automotive design classes and look at the work that was being done and I would often spend hours looking at the automotive designs in the school gallery. I chose to be a painter instead of an automotive designer but your question remains the same for both. A painting and a car are inanimate objects and how can one have an emotional attachment to them? For starters, there are three words that popped into my mind when you asked this question: fetish, anthropomorphize, and phenomenology. Here is what they mean:

fe·tish
1 a: an object (as a small stone carving of an animal) believed to have magical power to protect or aid its owner ; broadly : a material object regarded with superstitious or extravagant trust or reverence b: an object of irrational reverence or obsessive devotion : prepossession c: an object or bodily part whose real or fantasied presence is psychologically necessary for sexual gratification and that is an object of fixation to the extent that it may interfere with complete sexual expression
2: a rite or cult of fetish worshipers
3: fixation

an·thro·po·mor·phize
: to attribute human form or personality to
: to attribute human form or personality to things not human

phe·nom·e·nol·o·gy
1: the study of the development of human consciousness and self-awareness as a preface to or a part of philosophy
2 a (1): a philosophical movement that describes the formal structure of the objects of awareness and of awareness itself in abstraction from any claims concerning existence (2): the typological classification of a class of phenomena

I am sorry to have posted such lengthy definitions but I thought these would be more thorough than if I had defined them myself. Sigmund Freud has written extensively about fetishes. For instance, according to Freud, a golf club can be a fetish; it is a subconscious representation of the penis. Therefore, an emotional attachment to a golf club can be an expression of ones own attachment to the penis and in some cases be an expression of castration anxiety. This is just one example of a fetish and of course an automobile can be a fetish as well. There can be many different permutations of fetishes and explanations about them but lets move on to the next word that popped into my mind; anthropomorphizing. Being a painter and being an avid student of art history, I have often heard explained that the surface of a painting can be seen as a kind of second skin. Painters have been concerned for centuries with "anthropomorphizing" the surface of a painting, by trying to make the painting come "alive." This is done through the painters "touch." An aritsts sensitivity to the layering on of paint and varnish expresses this aspect of painting. In addition, sometimes unsuccessful works of art are said to lack this feeling. The famous 18th century French painter Ingres said that, "oil paint was invented to paint flesh." Some psychoanalysts have even promoted the idea that the very idea of painting is a regression back to childhood sexual development. In regards to automobiles, the body of a car, its curves and color is often expressed in anthropomorphic terms. In addition, anyone can walk into a hardware store and something as simple as a screw is described as being either male or female. Phenomenology is interesting too. I remember reading this one essay about how women used to wear these large ornate hats and would somehow walk through doorways without so much as ruffling a feather. These women would bend their knees just at the right moment and ever so slightly to avoid potential catastrophe. The point to this essay was that perhaps ones sense of personal space extends beyond the reaches of your limbs. Likewise, to bring this all back to the subject of cars, ones personal space can be felt beyond the placement of your hands on the steering wheel. Have you ever felt an acute awareness of the front corners of your car? The point being is where does one draw the line between the body and the object? I propose that this line is often difficult to delineate and that bodies and objects flow fluidly in and out of consciousness. Since I am artist, the degree in which these ideas of the fetish, anthropomorphism, and phenomenology, are expressed in my emotions will differ perhaps than that of an engineer. In fact I am quite amazed with what I've read on other posts about the Chevy Volt from people with a more scientific bent. In the end, I think that these concepts are immanent in all people, but of course, the vast role that emotions play in our lives isn't limited by these ideas. What I have said is just a framework in which to explain how people become emotionally attached to things. There are a myriad of approaches to this subject, but for a post on a forum such as this, I think I have introduced a few ideas. I know this was a long winded answer but at least it was an attempt to answer your question thoughtfully. Take care

 

[hawat]

I think it would have been better if they had just left alone the simple black/dark plastic instead of painting it with metal. My hd800 aren't that old and the painting on some angle is starting to peel. For a headphone of that price that looks really cheap.