[Hifihedgehog]

   
 
What does its age have anything to do with its price? Performance does, and the HD800 is still one of the best headphones in the world. I would even go so far as to say its a bargain compared to the rest of the 1500+ dollar headphones out there. nothing pulls detail out like it does

Having heard or owning some detail-oriented IEM's (Phonak, Etymotic), I beg to differ. YMMV and FWIW.

 

[Hifihedgehog]

I am a bottom feeder. My future hd800's will be costing me less than $500.

Same here. A used or end-of-life HD800, or one of its descendants featuring its technology in a lower price bracket, will be what I bite on. Until then, it's not worth.

 

[akhyar]

I think a good alternative to the hd800 for a lower price is the he560. You can get them used for ~$650 which is a steal considering they're in the same realm as the hd800 in SQ.

Having extensively demoed the HE560, to me I consider them as the baby brother of HD800, sound quality wise.
So if someone likes the HD800 but finds the price is hard to stomach, can't go wrong with a second-hand HE560.
If I don't own the HD800, I would be happy with an HE560

 

[bavinck]

Has anyone ordered from these guys? I can't find any info on them anywhere.

I took advantage of that sale for a pair of w40s. They were very easy to work with, Super quick shipping and I could tell they really wanted me to be happy with my order. I usually buy from headphone bar, but I think my next purchase may come from headphones Canada.

 

[Change is Good]

 
Problem is that with only 2 days left, only 2 buyers have committed at that lowest price and 9 more are required to make it happen.

 
Which is why I posted it, here, to hopefully get it rolling for those interested.

 

[Hifihedgehog]

  Highly doubtful.
I've seen the HD800 go for as much as $900 flat at audio convention, NOT sold by Sennheiser themselves.
But most marketed product that is out on the market usually gets dropped, only if they're not being held by the manufacturer. 

As much as owners and fans of the HD800 (or any model of headphone, for that matter) don't like hearing this, the day will come when the HD800 will see a price drop. I personally see it in coming in the next couple of years and it will mean a shaking up of the high-end market as we know it. Currently, the high-end full-sized headphone market is in an up-swing thanks to Beats and other big names in the general consumer arena. However, there is only so much millage you can get out of advertising hype before the fad factor wanes--it's been quite a while so the potential for a drop in popularity is increasingly rising. Personally, I see it as only a matter of time before IEM's make full-size headphones drop in price simply due to a lack of interest in the later. The writing of the wall, I feel, is already there seeing how the IEM market has exploded in the last couple of years--just see ljokerl's massive assortment of IEM reviews for proof of this fact. The final step is seeing a major player in the consumer market mass market IEMs like Beats did with full-sized headphones.

 

[Keaton]

I took advantage of that sale for a pair of w40s. They were very easy to work with, Super quick shipping and I could tell they really wanted me to be happy with my order. I usually buy from headphone bar, but I think my next purchase may come from headphones Canada.

Thanks Bavinck! I'll try them out and report back, if anyone's interested.

 

[Allanmarcus]

  As much as owners and fans of the HD800 (or any model of headphone, for that matter) don't like hearing this, the day will come when the HD800 will see a price drop. I personally see it in coming in the next couple of years and it will mean a shaking up of the high-end market as we know it. Currently, the high-end full-sized headphone market is in an up-swing thanks to Beats and other big names in the general consumer arena. However, there is only so much millage you can get out of advertising hype before the fad factor wanes--it's been quite a while so the potential for a drop in popularity is increasingly rising. Personally, I see it as only a matter of time before IEM's make full-size headphones drop in price simply due to a lack of interest in the later. The writing of the wall, I feel, is already there seeing how the IEM market has exploded in the last couple of years--just see ljokerl's massive assortment of IEM reviews for proof of this fact. The final step is seeing a major player in the consumer market mass market IEMs like Beats did with full-sized headphoI think the IEM market is 

 
I think the IEM market is fairly mature. The full size market for hi end is seeing a resurgence because of all the planers like the PM-3, the EL-6, the ether, and many others. New entries like DefTech and other speaker manufacturers are also increasing the market for full size. There's only do much you can do with an IEM, but the tech for full sized cans, including various forms of wireless and built in DACS and amps are going to drive the full size market, and drive quite a bit of innovation. 

 

[Hifihedgehog]

   
I think the IEM market is fairly mature. The full size market for hi end is seeing a resurgence because of all the planers like the PM-3, the EL-6, the ether, and many others. New entries like DefTech and other speaker manufacturers are also increasing the market for full size. There's only do much you can do with an IEM, but the tech for full sized cans, including various forms of wireless and built in DACS and amps are going to drive the full size market, and drive quite a bit of innovation. 

What you just related back is the state of the audiophile market, there specifically about what I refer to as the "in-between" ($500 to $1000) market sandwiched between the Hi-Fi ($200 to $500) and Summit-Fi ($1000+) markets. As much as I would want our niche audiophile market to drive the headphone market at large, it just never will--it's too far out of the reach of the average consumer. Our niche brands represent maybe 0.1 to 1% of the headphone market at large and currently Beats is the top seller of high-end headphones. Now, those headphones you named are good and all but they still priced a bit too high to make any difference at all for the average consumer. I believe something in the $200 to $300 price range for IEMs is coming and it will change the market there and, in doing so, attract many audiophiles in the process. Could it possibly be a newer variety of bluetooth IEM that marries style, size and sound in an appealing, cost-effective way--who's to say? Besides, what you said about there being only so much you can do with an IEM was also said a decade ago and look where we've gotten now! Portability is a key feature for users, which is why I think IEMs are going to be dominating the market in less than a decade.

 

[money4me247]

  I think the IEM market is fairly mature. The full size market for hi end is seeing a resurgence because of all the planers like the PM-3, the EL-6, the ether, and many others. New entries like DefTech and other speaker manufacturers are also increasing the market for full size. There's only do much you can do with an IEM, but the tech for full sized cans, including various forms of wireless and built in DACS and amps are going to drive the full size market, and drive quite a bit of innovation. 

I don't think so. I don't really follow IEMs, but the amount of new driver tech & different designs in the past few years as been quite astounding with advancements in the dynamic driver and balanced armature transducer designs. also the amount of drivers they are fitting into an IEM is getting pretty crazy. also the increase in popularity of CIEMs is pretty cool. I think IEM tech still has a lot of room for further advancements.
 
for headphones, dynamic drivers have pretty much been optimized & can be easily produced at high-quality at very low prices. people have been seriously working on dynamic drivers since 1943 when Koss popularized stereo headphones for music listening. Orthodynamic technology is really where the new advancements will come from (imo) as that technology is relevantly more immature. Kinda fell off the radar & outta of popularity. Only been about the last 5-6ish years when manufacturers really got serious about developing ortho tech with the lcd-1 & he-5 coming out in 2009. I think orthodynamic is really growing at a really exciting rate. (especially after hearing the HE-1000).

 

[klfl]

   
I think the IEM market is fairly mature. The full size market for hi end is seeing a resurgence because of all the planers like the PM-3, the EL-6, the ether, and many others. New entries like DefTech and other speaker manufacturers are also increasing the market for full size. There's only do much you can do with an IEM, but the tech for full sized cans, including various forms of wireless and built in DACS and amps are going to drive the full size market, and drive quite a bit of innovation. 

 
 
I agree with mr Allanmarcus, there are actual innovation in full sized headphone market, this cannot be said to the current IEM market.Manufacturers like Senn/Beyer/Audeze/Hifiman all design their own drivers on high-end models.
 
IEM market is growing fast right now because it is extremely easy to "design" your own model and start a new brand. Most "high end" IEM manufactures puts off-the-shelf Knowles/Sonion drivers together and claim they have invented something new.That's why people see a new CIEM model appear every few days, but it took years for Hifiman to replace HE-6 with HE-1000.
 
Anyways this is the deals discussion thread so please move further discussion to related threads. Most people here hate to see their subscription light up but the new post is not deal related.
 
Thanks all. 

 

[jcwyly]

Looks like BuySonic has a few LCD2s on sale again. $800 new for LCD2 Bamboo/Leather https://www.buysonic.com/products/audeze-lcd-2/
 
Also ALO has added a few more open box amps, specifically the Pan Am for $390 (reg $500) and Island for $180 (reg $300) http://warehousedeals.aloaudio.com/amps

 

[money4me247]

  Looks like BuySonic has a few LCD2s on sale again. $800 new for LCD2 Bamboo/Leather https://www.buysonic.com/products/audeze-lcd-2/
 
Also ALO has added a few more open box amps, specifically the Pan Am for $390 (reg $500) and Island for $180 (reg $300) http://warehousedeals.aloaudio.com/amps

lcd2 all gone already lol!

 

[cel4145]

I don't think so. I don't really follow IEMs, but the amount of new driver tech & different designs in the past few years as been quite astounding with advancements in the dynamic driver and balanced armature transducer designs. also the amount of drivers they are fitting into an IEM is getting pretty crazy. also the increase in popularity of CIEMs is pretty cool. I think IEM tech still has a lot of room for further advancements.

Advancements in IEM design are also happening because of the hearing aid market. Where does everyone think the tech to create custom IEMs comes from?

 

[thedude22]

I thought headphones like speakers are kind of maxed out in potential.
 
 
Also I wouldn't be surprised if the only thing Sennheiser's doing anything is rebranding. Imagine what they're thinking when they do all this r&d and most of the market share goes to beats ect. I seriously doubt they're going to try to erase these sku's and replace them with something with better technology.