[433115]

   
The kind of mods done to the HD800 are very DIY.  And the upside is that they are very easy to reverse...

I thought I read where you have to do a lot of cutting and stuff of that nature? Truthfully I just stay away from those types of things since I'm the last person anyone would want doing them - shaky, nervous hands and a nervous attitude dealing with things.
 
Well in that case I suppose I could go for an HD800 and apply some mods. That is, assuming Senn will drop their price. If they don't think yeah I'll be sticking to existing plans.

 

[TMRaven]

  I thought I read where you have to do a lot of cutting and stuff of that nature? Truthfully I just stay away from those types of things since I'm the last person anyone would want doing them - shaky, nervous hands and a nervous attitude dealing with things.
 
Well in that case I suppose I could go for an HD800 and apply some mods. That is, assuming Senn will drop their price. If they don't think yeah I'll be sticking to existing plans.

The mod on Innerfidelity requires 3 dollars worth of felt and foam, and 30 minutes to cut out and install the shapes.  The shape is actually very simple to cut providing you've stapled down the template well enough and close enough to the cutting lines.

 

[LFC_SL]

It is certainly true that HP prices are getting well out of control at the moment, and it is likely that Sennheiser will play up to this by adding extra $$$'s to their latest and greatest. But...

When Sennheiser release a new flagship you can see the engineering and research behind it. When Shure release a new flagship you can see the engineering and research behind it. I have yet to see that from those others seeking to charge top bucks. That is not to say those products do not sound good, merely the big boys do not mess around. And hey at least Sennheiser are not pretending this is a HD900

 

[Zoom25]

Can there be a separate thread for HD800s impressions when they start flowing in, possibly linked on the front page.

 

[Draulius]

I wish they called it the HD850 and not the HD800S. It sounds like a plural HD800. Searching it will be really difficult for a while.

 

[prot]

It is certainly true that HP prices are getting well out of control at the moment, and it is likely that Sennheiser will play up to this by adding extra $$$'s to their latest and greatest. But...

There's a perfect opportunity for someone as big as Sennheiser to reign in the current pricing craziness by offering yet another defining HP that represents amazing value/quality rather than lots of extra $$$'s for marginal improvements.

Like the DAP market right now, there are plenty of new products and companies coming forward that are getting close to (or equaling) the highest priced units for basically a third of the cost, without really sacrificing anything in quality.

There's no reason why anyone should have to pay $2000+ for the best sound possible from a headphone, just good old fashioned greed.

I do so hope Sennheiser can be brave enough to buck the current trend, as there is a point in the future where their market (and all others) will be hugely disrupted by a product that does just that and kills the tradition markets. It's happened pretty much in every other tech arena, and it will surely happen here.

Come on Sennheiser! disrupt the market now by at least keeping the price the same and shaming the competition. Not least, you'll end up selling a whole lot more units because of it.

Sennheiser recently released $400 cables so dont get your hopes up.
Would be quite great though if you were right.

 

[sgtbilko]

Sennheiser recently released $400 cables so dont get your hopes up.
Would be quite great though if you were right.

I doubt I am, but the one thing about history is that it is littered with famous brands that thought they could continually fleece the public and found they had underestimated the market.  Of course there is always someone who will pay silly money for almost anything, but then you become a niche brand and not a market leader.
 
I might sound trite to many readers, but the reality is that human hearing is a finite thing, whereas technology is nowhere near its full potential. So at some stage, the tech will far outstrip our ability to appreciate it. This will inevitably lead to some form of market disruption and commodatisation. 
 
It's ironic really, as most people think Beats and Bose are as good as it gets, who will continue to crank their prices (always less than the really big buck players) and keep the majority of the market in blissful ignorance of what they are actually missing. So be it.

 

[prot]

I doubt I am, but the one thing about history is that it is littered with famous brands that thought they could continually fleece the public and found they had underestimated the market.  Of course there is always someone who will pay silly money for almost anything, but then you become a niche brand and not a market leader.

I might sound trite to many readers, but the reality is that human hearing is a finite thing, whereas technology is nowhere near its full potential. So at some stage, the tech will far outstrip our ability to appreciate it. This will inevitably lead to some form of market disruption and commodatisation. 

It's ironic really, as most people think Beats and Bose are as good as it gets, who will continue to crank their prices (always less than the really big buck players) and keep the majority of the market in blissful ignorance of what they are actually missing. So be it.

Human hearing is surely finite .. unfortunately other human "qualities" are not

 

[jbarrentine]

A $2000 price tag is (hopefully) market suicide on Sennheiser's part. It's time to let these companies know that the outrageous pricing structures they have started to put in place aren't acceptable. Even at $1500 800S would be something I debate for quite some time. The HD600 does its job so well that while I can imagine better I don't actually NEED better. 
 
That money can easily go into new a new handgun and rifle combination instead. Don't screw this up Sennheiser.

 

[derbigpr]

  It's ironic really, as most people think Beats and Bose are as good as it gets, who will continue to crank their prices (always less than the really big buck players) and keep the majority of the market in blissful ignorance of what they are actually missing. So be it.

 
What's even more ironic is the fact that nowadays, people who buy Beats and Bose really aren't missing all that much, in fact, they get far more for their money than we who buy high end headphones do. They're probably more satisfied with what they buy for 300 dollars than what we buy for 2000, and on top of that, usually get a sound that fits the music they listen to very well. To be perfectly fair, the last three headphones from Beats and Bose that I've heard, which are the Solo 2, Studio Wireless and QC25, are not at all bad sounding, I don't mean "not bad for Beats or Bose", I mean, not bad at all for their price, I'd even dare to say great sounding. Blissful ignorance? Maybe, but they're getting closer to what we're getting, and their approach to making headphones is more relevant for the future of headphones than the approach of any high end brand.

 

[korotnam]

Unfortunately this means we can expect a higher price tag than the 800s.

 

[derbigpr]

Human hearing is surely finite .. unfortunately other human "qualities" are not

 
 
Oh yes, about the human hearing, we're far from being able to match the ability of our hearing with headphone technology, there's still A LONG way to go when it comes to headphones, but the approach will have to change. As I said many times, the future of high end headphones will HIGHLY depend on digital sound processing in order to calibrate the headphone to a particular customers anatomy and physiology, as well as overriding the obvious physical limitations that headphones have,  just high resolution drivers won't cut it anymore if we want to make the headphones sound more like the real thing, or at least like speakers.

 

[RCBinTN]

   
What's even more ironic is the fact that nowadays, people who buy Beats and Bose really aren't missing all that much, in fact, they get far more for their money than we who buy high end headphones do. They're probably more satisfied by what they buy for 300 dollars than what we buy for 2000, and on top of that, usually get a sound that fits the music they listen to very well. To be perfectly fair, the last three headphones from Beats and Bose that I've heard, which are the Solo 2, Studio Wireless and QC25, are not at all bad sounding, I don't mean "not bad for Beats or Bose", I mean, not bad at all for their price. Blissful ignorance? Maybe, but they're getting closer to what we're getting.

 
I bought the Bose QC20 noise cancelling IEM when I heard Jude uses them for jet travel.  This is my first trip with them.  They work well on the jet and in a quieter environment the SQ is decent for a $300 IEM.  Driving with my AK120ii.  My only IEM comparison is the $550 SE535.
 
BTW, Shure just launched their electrostatic IEM.  It's on Moon Audio for $3000.
 
Cheers -
RCBinTN

 

[prot]

What's even more ironic is the fact that nowadays, people who buy Beats and Bose really aren't missing all that much, in fact, they get far more for their money than we who buy high end headphones do. They're probably more satisfied by what they buy for 300 dollars than what we buy for 2000, and on top of that, usually get a sound that fits the music they listen to very well. To be perfectly fair, the last three headphones from Beats and Bose that I've heard, which are the Solo 2, Studio Wireless and QC25, are not at all bad sounding, I don't mean "not bad for Beats or Bose", I mean, not bad at all for their price. Blissful ignorance? Maybe, but they're getting closer to what we're getting.

That's an interesting way to put it. And I gotta agree, the QC25 are a solid pair of cans and surely a much better deal than any 2000+ HP.
Or hd650, or momentums, or pm3, or he400s or fidelio X/L...there are many really good HPs in the $3-500 space nowadays, no need to go overboard.
My upper limit would be $1500 and I may pay that much for an improved hd800. But I seriously doubt that the hd800s will stay in that price range.

 

[rawrster]

A $2000 price tag is (hopefully) market suicide on Sennheiser's part. It's time to let these companies know that the outrageous pricing structures they have started to put in place aren't acceptable. Even at $1500 800S would be something I debate for quite some time. The HD600 does its job so well that while I can imagine better I don't actually NEED better. 

That money can easily go into new a new handgun and rifle combination instead. Don't screw this up Sennheiser.

2k price would definitely not be market suicide and would be cheaper than I'm expecting. Considering their previous models 2k msrp would probably do very well.