[Hifiearspeakers]

Stick some gorilla glass on the end and charge over a grand more,ridiculous!!

 

[Audioholic123]

Making an open can closed is no easy task, the HD569\HD598cs has made the 5 series suitable for on the go use whilst improving on the 558 sound. The 558 was always the 598s poor relation.

I respectfully disagree. I managed to do it with a Sennheiser HD600 2 years ago and there was no issues with the resulting sound.
I think Sennheiser are just showing off with the design of the HD820, they could've saved themselves time and probably made more money by making it a normal closed-back headphone (such as Beyerdynamic T5P, Sony Z1R or Fostex TH900). Many people will have been put off by the design and exorbitant price.

I know I won't be buying any Sennheiser headphones anytime soon, they are not the best imo. Of course, the actual drivers of Sennheiser headphones have lots of potential, but I really don't like the designs of the headphones.

 

[headr]

You guys heard it here first. The community has successfully designed a DIY HD 800 which bests Sennheiser's best engineering talent. Why didn't the great minds of Sennheiser think of this? Simply amazing engineering:

 

[paul2qute]

Next year they will bring out the gorilla glass 2 then maybe put a camera on it

 

[RamblerBoy]

Also from the Sennheiser site:

https://en-us.sennheiser.com/high-end-headphones-audiophiles-hd-820

"For audiophiles there wasn’t any doubt: When it came to circumaural headphones the very best sound required an open back design. This axiom has now been rendered obsolete by the youngest member of the Sennheiser Audiophile Range: The closed dynamic HD 820 employ an innovative technology that makes them sound breathtakingly transparent and natural. Developed and made in Germany, they offer an incredibly realistic, natural sound field and also stand apart by the extraordinary attention given to every detail of their design. Their soft comfortable microfiber ear pads are hand crafted, providing excellent attenuation of ambient noise, while the robust metal headband includes an inner damping element. Get ready for an unparalleled listening experience."

I think it's plainly obvious that Sennheiser is positioning them as their TOTL in the 800-series. It's plain from the price. It's plain from the numbering scheme (820 > 800). It's plain from the language they use to describe it above (particularly, "an unparalleled listening experience").

Instead of going back and forth dissecting marketing schinanigans, which isn't really a good use of anyone's time, it would be best to focus on if anyone has heard these at CES and try to get some early impressions. It was the first full convention day today, so hopefully someone can chime in.

Sorry but it does really seem like you are advocating hd820 right from your very first post even without having a glance at what it really looks like in person.
Hopefully hd820 might provide something better than or atleast equal to the hd800s (with added advantage of isolation) else i would not find it worth the price.

 

[QueueCumber]

Pre-ordered the 820s when they went up on the site. Looking forward to the long wait until release....

 

[GoodBoy]

Quite a generalistic assumption, I doubt that Grell stated exactly this. There are open headphones with 10 Hz flat and very low distortion (see Audeze for example). They don't lack bass. Even the hd800 has 30Hz flat (vs 1 kHz) and 20Hz @ about - 3 dB. That's not missing bass, although it sounds more expanded and diffuse due to the particular cups.

Didn't say open backs have no bass at all, but they're definetly lacking compared to closed backs. The proof is in the pudding...

 

[YesThisIs]

 

[god-bluff]

I will only get them if they fixed the bass of the HD 800 / HD 800 S. Else I will wait for the Focal closed headphone.

?!?! Closed headphones is all that Focal used to make

 

[ubs28]

?!?! Closed headphones is all that Focal used to make

I am obviously talking about a high-end closed headphone from Focal. Probably will be based on the Focal Clear I guess.

 

[SHAMuuu]

GOOD LAWD, those are the nicest headphones i've ever seen
I have on dt100, and think to myself, i've failed in my audio...quest

j/k dt100 are dope

but that hd820 actually looks like a headphone that should be out in 2018. Perfect. Can you imagine a limited run of 100 units.

wish it was solid magnesium chassis though, for what they're asking.

 

[Arniesb]

Yeah man. Can You imagine how sick it would look with HD800S side by side on 2 cool looking stands.

 

[GoodBoy]

Innerfidelity initial impressions. Tyl says HD820 are bass-light, but supposedly tuning is not yet complete...

 

[LaCuffia]

They look pretty amazing. I can’t imagine the bass staying on the light side. That’s usually something closed headphones don’t lack.

 

[Hifiearspeakers]

They look pretty amazing. I can’t imagine the bass staying on the light side. That’s usually something closed headphones don’t lack.

Very true. Plus, we all know Tyll prefers a warm sound signature. So bass light to him could be slightly north of neutral to most.