[up late]

It isn’t. There’s a lot that the 800S can do that the Focal headphones can’t. This is a ridiculous statement and is pure fanboyism. At this summit-fi level, it’s all about preference. I personally wouldn’t take any of the Focal’s over the 800S unless I was allowed to immediately sell them to fund a Sennheiser and pocket the difference.

i've heard the hd800 and hd800s a number of times and have compared them directly to the utopia. i didn't buy either of them but i bought the utopia, so i obviously think that it does things that the hd800/s don't. that's no slight against the sennheiser's btw.

The Utopia is the most overpriced headphone I can think of. The Clear is better, even disregarding price.

there's no denying that the utopia is an expensive headphone, but to say that it is overpriced implies that you know what its actual price is or should be, and i doubt that you do as only focal would know that. to say that "the clear is better, even disregarding price" is your opinion, which you're entitled to of course.

Absolutely. Everyone else saw the price first and decided to rave about it. The Clear's treble is much more even. Looks like Focal released it to fix the faults of the Elear and Utopia. At least the Elear is reasonably priced.

the problem with sweeping generalisations like that is they don't apply to everyone. i was interested in auditioning the utopia but had no intention of buying it. several months, auditions and a price drop later, i'd done the previously unthinkable. the clear's treble is more even according to tyll hertsen's fr measurements but that doesn't tell the whole story as we know. it doesn't indicate how the utopia's lighter and more rigid beryllium driver compares in performance to the clear's heavier and less rigid aluminium driver in the areas of resolution and imaging, for example. i think that the introduction of the clear has more to do with focal identifying and filling a market segment between the elear and utopia rather than it being an attempt to redress the faults of those models as you see them. focal can do that by introducing new interations of the elear and utopia. anyway, back to the hd820.

 

[Hifiearspeakers]

i've heard the hd800 and hd800s a number of times and have compared them directly to the utopia. i didn't buy either of them but i bought the utopia, so i obviously think that it does things that the hd800/s don't. that's no slight against the sennheiser's btw.


there's no denying that the utopia is an expensive headphone, but to say that it is overpriced implies that you know what its actual price is or should be, and i doubt that you do as only focal would know that. to say that "the clear is better, even disregarding price" is your opinion, which you're entitled to of course.


the problem with sweeping generalisations like that is they don't apply to everyone. i was interested in auditioning the utopia but had no intention of buying it. several months, auditions and a price drop later, i'd done the previously unthinkable. the clear's treble is more even according to tyll hertsen's fr measurements but that doesn't tell the whole story as we know. it doesn't indicate how the utopia's lighter and more rigid beryllium driver compares in performance to the clear's heavier and less rigid aluminium driver in the areas of resolution and imaging, for example. i think that the introduction of the clear has more to do with focal identifying and filling a market segment between the elear and utopia rather than it being an attempt to redress the faults of those models as you see them. focal can do that by introducing new interations of the elear and utopia. anyway, back to the hd820.

And there’s a lot that the 800S does that the Utopia doesn’t. And there’s a lot of people who prefer the 800S to the Utopia, which is why I said it’s all preference at this level.

 

[YesThisIs]

8.500€!!!!

I asked this from Sennheiser rep a while ago. It was designed for Asian market. And because Dior in itself is f*cking expensive (overpriced) brand.

And there’s a lot that the 800S does that the Utopia doesn’t. And there’s a lot of people who prefer the 800S to the Utopia, which is why I said it’s all preference at this level.

Including me. I have had 2-3 hours with both off them for A-B testing. And vastly preferred the HD800S. To me, the lack of soundstage of the utopia was the deal beaker. (Atleast it was noticeable when compared to HD800S huge soundstage)

 

[329161]

Yes and that fact that the 800s can be compared favourably to the Utopia at less than half the price proves the Focal is overpriced.

I can feel some post deleting coming on.

 

[up late]

And there’s a lot that the 800S does that the Utopia doesn’t. And there’s a lot of people who prefer the 800S to the Utopia, which is why I said it’s all preference at this level.

and vice versa. it's a combination of technical performance and personal preference as i see it.

Yes and that fact that the 800s can be compared favourably to the Utopia at less than half the price proves the Focal is overpriced.

I can feel some post deleting coming on.

it doesn't prove any such thing. just because i may think that the sound of a stax sr009 paired with a head-amp blue hawaii se is comparable to a sennheiser he 1, that doesn't make the latter overpriced in any objective sense. you'll be resorting to car analogies comparing honda civic's to bugatti veyron's next. the deletion of these tiresome off-topic arguments wouldn't be a bad thing imho.

 

[dontfeedphils]

Yes and that fact that the 800s can be compared favourably to the Utopia at less than half the price proves the Focal is overpriced.

I can feel some post deleting coming on.

I got some bad news for ya, pal. Almost everything in this hobby is "overpriced".

We're talking about paying four figures for headphones, lets not get lost in our own hobby and forget how ridiculous the whole thing is to most other people.

 

[andromeda1954]

I had the opportunity to Listen to the HD820 at my local dealer for about 2 hours and was first impressed by the sound . The sound signature is lthe same as the HD 800S with a little less soundstage airiness and definition and a little more bass but not much. After 2 hours I did put on the HD 800S for comparison . I was surprised to hear the HD 800S sounded definitely better than the HD 820 Better soundstage better instrument separation more involvement .So for me the 820 is not a improvement over the 800S .

 

[329161]

I got some bad news for ya, pal. Almost everything in this hobby is "overpriced".

We're talking about paying four figures for headphones, lets not get lost in our own hobby and forget how ridiculous the whole thing is to most other people.

I've said it before. Release retail prices for pretty much all headphones are too much for what they're worth. Having said that, I'd rather pay half overprice for something which does a better job than something double overpriced which is inferior (YMMV ....goes without saying on Headfi).

 

[pietcux]

I've said it before. Release retail prices for pretty much all headphones are too much for what they're worth. Having said that, I'd rather pay half overprice for something which does a better job than something double overpriced which is inferior (YMMV ....goes without saying on Headfi).

@jude, I want the popcorn emoticon back, please!

 

[dontfeedphils]

@jude, I want the popcorn emoticon back, please!

Yea, I'm gonna withdraw my role from this OT BS. Back to the HD820.

 

[up late]

Yea, I'm gonna withdraw my role from this OT BS. Back to the HD820.

poor signal to noise ratio as usual but at least someone has posted an hd820 impression on this page, which is welcome

 

[Beagle]

Interesting how nobody has commented on the sound in any detail as of yet. Hope it's not a bad sign. Hopefully we can get a comparison with the HD800 in the near future.

 

[QueueCumber]

Is the general consensus that the HD820 doesn’t sound as good as the HD800S?

 

[Bern2]

Is the general consensus that the HD820 doesn’t sound as good as the HD800S?

Not enough out there to make any conclusions.

Bern

 

[Giraku]

Ok. I received mine yesterday and have been listening for total of 6 hours now. Although it is too early to make any conclusive opinion, here is my quick initial impression.
I used to own HD800S but sold them after 3 months of use due to their bright and thin sound signature.

Comfort: Much better than HD800S probably because of the deeper (taller) ear pads. Nothing touches my earlobes. HD800S had much shallower and harder ear pads that I did not like.
Isolation: This morning, I listened to HD820 throughout my long morning commute using public transportations to NYC (ferry -> bus -> subway). Source was WM1Z with ALO SXC8 balanced cable (4.4mm). Isolation was pretty good, but I had to turn up the volume from 92 to 100 (max 120) on the ferry and the subway. It was not so enjoyable listening due to loud environmental noise. However, on the bus and during city walking, I could enjoy music.
Sound: Sound stage is smaller compared to HD800S, but large enough for closed cans. Bass is well extended but not much in quantity. Depending on the music I listened, I craved for more bass slam. But in general, bass quality is excellent with just enough quantity. Mid sounds much fuller than HD800S to my ears, which I really like. Resolution and separation are excellent but slightly inferior to HD800S. No sibilant issue in treble section, which is really important to me as I could not bear with the bright treble on HD800S.

Summary: Once again, it is too early to make any conclusive statement. But so far these are keeper to me. If you are looking for "The One" HPs for your end game, probably HD820 is not for you. Technically, HD800S is better, especially sound stage, resolution, and separation departments. But if you are looking for closed cans for better isolation or mobile use, HD820 can be a great choice. To me, fuller sound of HD820 with more intimate presentation (still very well organized in a spacious stage) is the key features I really like.