Sennheiser HD820
Jan 26, 2020 at 4:21 PM Post #2,958 of 4,346
Not completely sure but I think they used to be sold with two cables at first then later this was changed to two cables, so now you can only get the two cable version anymore and have to purchase the XLR cable separately.
From two cables to two cables?
 
Jan 26, 2020 at 4:32 PM Post #2,959 of 4,346
They initially shipped with all three, but then they cheaped out and eliminated the XLR4 but kept the price the same.
 
Jan 27, 2020 at 6:32 AM Post #2,964 of 4,346
Violetric V280 as far as I know from reading. I just received one but I won't have any opinion for a while yet. And I have the Sennheiser 800, not the 820.

Update: I was responding to somebody asking about what amp would be a good match but now I can't find the post and my post looks totally out of context. Either the guy edited his post or bad day to give up something or other on my part :D
 
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Jan 27, 2020 at 2:06 PM Post #2,965 of 4,346
Yeah and I resent having to buy a balanced cable for my 800s also. But I did not throw away 300 pounds on the Sennheiser cable!

While we're on the topic of business practices that could be improved I have a few observations for Sennheiser. And this is coming from a guy who has not bought a lot of headphones over the years but what I have bought since 1980 was mostly Sennheiser.

1. For a premium headphone we expect it to come shrink wrapped or in a sealed shipping box. The guys who work at stereo shops retailers might be very interested in spending time with your new expensive Sennheisers before you buy them. It should be obvious whether we're getting a new pair, or demos, slightly-used sold as new, etc. The cardboard boxes that look like an afterthought are just bad from every possible angle. Seriously.

2. The cardboard "case" inside the cardboard box you're selling the headphones in is really not very impressive, even when lined with the fancy-looking but undoubtedly cheap material. Maybe it looks ok the first two times you open it but mine was frayed on the edges when I first took it out of the outer cardboard box. I don't use it because it's junk, but I wouldn't expect it to last. How about a nice hard case with form-fitting foam? I don't want to pay extra for a mahogany box but a plastic hardcase would be a good middle ground.

3. XLR cable. Yeah, those of us who buy high-end headphones expect a reasonable balanced cable. If not, the price you're charging is not the final price. If I need to spend 100-125 euros for a hard case and another 300 for an XLR cable, your 2000 euro headphone just became a 2400 euro headphone. And don't think we didn't notice...
 
Jan 27, 2020 at 2:39 PM Post #2,966 of 4,346
Yeah and I resent having to buy a balanced cable for my 800s also. But I did not throw away 300 pounds on the Sennheiser cable!

While we're on the topic of business practices that could be improved I have a few observations for Sennheiser. And this is coming from a guy who has not bought a lot of headphones over the years but what I have bought since 1980 was mostly Sennheiser.

1. For a premium headphone we expect it to come shrink wrapped or in a sealed shipping box. The guys who work at stereo shops retailers might be very interested in spending time with your new expensive Sennheisers before you buy them. It should be obvious whether we're getting a new pair, or demos, slightly-used sold as new, etc. The cardboard boxes that look like an afterthought are just bad from every possible angle. Seriously.

2. The cardboard "case" inside the cardboard box you're selling the headphones in is really not very impressive, even when lined with the fancy-looking but undoubtedly cheap material. Maybe it looks ok the first two times you open it but mine was frayed on the edges when I first took it out of the outer cardboard box. I don't use it because it's junk, but I wouldn't expect it to last. How about a nice hard case with form-fitting foam? I don't want to pay extra for a mahogany box but a plastic hardcase would be a good middle ground.

3. XLR cable. Yeah, those of us who buy high-end headphones expect a reasonable balanced cable. If not, the price you're charging is not the final price. If I need to spend 100-125 euros for a hard case and another 300 for an XLR cable, your 2000 euro headphone just became a 2400 euro headphone. And don't think we didn't notice...


Yes I agree with you. I was about to buy an HD820, but in fact now I'm less certain, I really feel like Sennheiser sometimes takes people for idiots!
 
Jan 27, 2020 at 2:49 PM Post #2,967 of 4,346
I think they partially don't get the high end market. They have been selling great headphones for a very long time but the prices lately have gone nuts and by comparison the 800/820 is still far from exotic. I think they don't really understand the market has changed and people are expecting great headphones that are also good values and have nice accessories and appropriate packaging so the customer feels like he got a good deal on something that's special. And maybe (I hope this is true) the company is run by engineers instead of salesmen. In that case I could forgive them somewhat...

I would say you should definitely audition the 820 with music you know very well. The 800 is a very unforgiving headphone and it was hyped heavily. It makes a lot of recordings start to sound like crap and you don't get the wow moment except wow! this music sounds like crap, you get a lot of detail and it is not dark like the Sennheiser house sound but rather pretty flat and very slight bright... If somebody was going to buy one high end can it should not be an 800/800S. I got a pair of LCD-3F at the same time and the LCD is a much more enjoyable headphone over all. I am not sorry I got my 800s but I need to find the magic sauce (recordings/amp etc.)
 
Jan 27, 2020 at 4:21 PM Post #2,968 of 4,346
Not completely sure but I think they used to be sold with two cables at first then later this was changed to two cables, so now you can only get the two cable version anymore and have to purchase the XLR cable separately.

I just purchased the Sennheiser HD820 from Amazon and it did arrive with two cables the 4.4mm and 6.3 mm cable but there was a card in the box for a free XLR cable from Sennheiser. So I'm not sure if that happens based on purchase vendor or not but just throwing it out there.
 
Jan 27, 2020 at 4:35 PM Post #2,969 of 4,346
First time I heard that, maybe it's something new they started with?
Good thing though, saves them money by not including a cable that won't be used by many (I can imagine quite a few HD820 users don't have a balanced amp) and people who want it can get it.
But then I can also imagine everyone ordering the extra cable for free in case they'll need it later on or want it in case they sell their phones.
 
Jan 27, 2020 at 6:45 PM Post #2,970 of 4,346
I guess I am lucky. I got all 3 cables with my HD820's before Sennheiser decided to not include the 4-Pin XLR in the box.
 

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