[XM3orZ7m2]

Last major release for Sennheiser before selling their business. I think this might mean this will invoke a similar love-or-hate response like the HD-820, given it's ridiculous price. For this price it's competing against the ier-z1r. I would really love them to redesign their hd 600 which is almost 20 years old now before they quit the consumer market. Hopefully this announcement means there's still some releases to come in the near future.

 

[joshnor713]

Last major release for Sennheiser before selling their business. I think this might mean this will invoke a similar love-or-hate response like the HD-820, given it's ridiculous price. For this price it's competing against the ier-z1r. I would really love them to redesign their hd 600 which is almost 20 years old now before they quit the consumer market. Hopefully this announcement means there's still some releases to come in the near future.

Sometimes I feel like those coming in here complaining about the price are new to the high-end IEM world. Maybe folks upset there's a new in-ear flagship but not over-ear? This price is fair with respect to the high-end IEM market.

The ier-z1r launched at $2K. Not close.

 

[ericpalonen]

Last major release for Sennheiser before selling their business. I think this might mean this will invoke a similar love-or-hate response like the HD-820, given it's ridiculous price. For this price it's competing against the ier-z1r. I would really love them to redesign their hd 600 which is almost 20 years old now before they quit the consumer market. Hopefully this announcement means there's still some releases to come in the near future.

Fact checked: Sennheiser is not quitting the consumer market.

 

[KPzypher]

Sometimes I feel like those coming in here complaining about the price are new to the high-end IEM world. Maybe folks upset there's a new in-ear flagship but not over-ear? This price is fair with respect to the high-end IEM market.

The ier-z1r launched at $2K. Not close.

$1,300 is a lot, but I believe it's far more respectable/justifiable than multi off the shelf BA IEMs with 10-20 drivers in a plastic resin with colorful faceplate that costs $2k~. How people gawk over those and not complain about price is beyond me.

 

[AlwaysForward]

$1,300 is a lot, but I believe it's far more respectable/justifiable than multi off the shelf BA IEMs with 10-20 drivers in a plastic resin with colorful faceplate that costs $2k~. How people gawk over those and not complain about price is beyond me.

Haha ditto. There’s a bit of bias towards cottage industry offerings in echo chamber forums like this. I first noticed the behavior in guitars, especially with guitar pickups where there’s an entire mini industry of overpriced and under engineered offerings that circulate as the flavor of the week.

I have a deep appreciation for exceptional engineering and am excited about the direction that sennheiser is taking here.

On the note about acrylic structure bodies: I think it’s an artifact of CIEM-first models which need a universal option. The more I think about it, the more I feel the IE900 is an exceptional TOTL value.

 

[Ryokan]

Considering the work involved: new tech development and the machining processes I wouldn't say these are expensive, especially considering the cost of many totl iems today. I don't generally take much notice of Sennheiser iems/headphones but I'm intrigued by these.

 

[feverfive]

^^ Yep, design/tech/build quality really matters to me. I know, I know: 'round these parts, sound quality is what matters, but for me, if build is ****, that doesn't matter. YMMV. I am girding myself up to buy these if for no other reason than to support a legacy company putting out a seemingly well-made, robust product. We'll soon see how the community responds to its sound.

 

[ericpalonen]

^^ Yep, design/tech/build quality really matters to me. I know, I know: 'round these parts, sound quality is what matters, but for me, if build is ****, that doesn't matter. YMMV. I am girding myself up to buy these if for no other reason than to support a legacy company putting out a seemingly well-made, robust product. We'll soon see how the community responds to its sound.

We're trying to give you both

 

[Scubadevils]

As I've said earlier in this thread (or maybe the other one!), these are tiny IEMs, disappear into my ears... side by side below with the MEST MKII. Considering the sound quality in such a small unit, quite remarkable engineering!

 

[cgb3]

FOUND YOU!
I’ve been looking for this post for at least an hour and a half, naturally I checked the HD 800S thread first

Apparently, it IS in stock, and now that I’ve alerted them they’re going to look into why it’s not showing. Best process (USA) to get one (and I need one too!):

Part # 534406 $30.27 HD800 headband cushion
Call 1-877-736-6434 extension 1, and reference the part #.

Many, many thanks!!!

 

[Otto Motor]

$1,300 is a lot, but I believe it's far more respectable/justifiable than multi off the shelf BA IEMs with 10-20 drivers in a plastic resin with colorful faceplate that costs $2k~. How people gawk over those and not complain about price is beyond me.

There are zero tolerances in such Sennheiser products. Even their cheaper IE series earphones had impeccable channel balance. I treasure my IE 400 PRO and also my Beyerdynamic Custom Pro for having been manufactured in Germany. Rare these days.

 

[alchemical]

Any confirmation on when pre-orders/release will be in Australia? Press release suggests July but the AU product page on the Sennheiser site lists June.

 

[CK Moustache]

I would really love them to redesign their hd 600 which is almost 20 years old [...]

Aren't the HD 660S supposed to be the successors to the HD 600 (and apparently also the HD 650)?

Either way, I just noticed that Sennheiser also (recently?) changed the HD 600 and HD 650s' design to match the HD 660S', and the Sennheiser logos are not centered anymore but on the head band's left hand side (which was by the way the deciding factor for why I removed the HD 660S from my wish list).

(Like many others, I really like my HD 600 (furtunately mine are still from the time when the Sennheiser logo was centered), and think that they are overall Sennheiser's best dynamic driver headphones. Aside from resolution and imaging precision where they are inferior, I definitely prefer their more natural tuning to the brighter v-shaped nature that my HD 800 have.)

 

[dsrk]

Considering the work involved: new tech development and the machining processes I wouldn't say these are expensive, especially considering the cost of many totl iems today. I don't generally take much notice of Sennheiser iems/headphones but I'm intrigued by these.

Absolutely sounds reasonable when some hardly known manufacturers are charging $6k for IEMs, that's insane pricing.

 

[Ryokan]

Absolutely sounds reasonable when some hardly known manufacturers are charging $6k for IEMs, that's insane pricing.

If the $6k ones are as good as people report then maybe it's justified. It will be interesting to read the comparisons.