[Music Alchemist]

  LOL, sounds like a HE1000

 
ahaha. I'm not much of an HE1000 fan either. Too lush, warm, polite, subdued, boring, etc. (Even from an amp that can output eight watts into it.)
 

Still, only the Mastering Folks like Bob Ludwig or Bob Katz will know if the results are accurate ( which I doubt ).  How can anyone other than the creators of Music know if the reproduction comes close? and then, how close? 

 
Although I respect some of them, I honestly don't put much stock in the opinions of studio professionals in general. Their job is primarily to make things sound "good" (whatever that means), not necessarily accurate. Many of them don't have a clue when it comes to audio fidelity. And even among those who do, they still tend to do things based on their own preferences more than objective criteria. I see your point, though. If you weren't involved in the production of the music, you won't have as much insight into how the recording was engineered to sound. But still...at least with acoustic instruments, I judge things on how the instruments are supposed to sound in real life, based on my experience of being a multi-instrumentalist (vocals, piano, guitar, trombone) my entire life, and also performing in bands, wind ensembles, orchestras, etc. (as well as attending live performances) where I could hear most other instruments on a frequent basis. If you listen to enough quality recordings, you can get a good feel for things that way.
 

I think that's a bit of a jump. Nothing has been proven, not a comparison even published.

 
Well, Jude did compare it to the SR-009 in his video in the first post of this thread, and said the HE 1060 sounded much better to him than the SR-009...but that's only one brief comparison, so...
 

I thought you could bypass the DAC?

  Yes, but then WHY inserting (and charging) for a DAC if it is not at the level of the rest of the system, and need to be bypassed to get all the benefice of this "stellar" headphone technology...

 
For some, not having the best DAC included in the deal is a disadvantage, but for others who would just connect a better and/or even more expensive DAC anyway, it's not an issue.
 

  Which sounds noticeably worse (or less good), to me, than the SR-009 by no small margin. That's why I'm so skeptical.

 
You may or may not know that there is variation between HE 90 (as well as HEV 90) units. For example, in Jude's original SR-009 review video, he said the SR-009 sounded better to him than the HE 90...but in the new HE 1060 video, the HE 90 he heard courtesy of Sennheiser themselves sounded better to him than the SR-009. (This is just an example to illustrate the point of variation between HE 90 units. I'm not implying anything here, and in the end, personal preference is what matters.)
 

  You'd probably have to have a nice home and a $100k plus car before you would think about buying $50k headphones...but idk people do as people do, and I personally would buy these if I had the money.

 
All I would need is a robust security system to protect it.

 
On a related note, there are articles about how many/most billionaires don't even drive ultra-expensive cars.

 

[mulder01]

I'm sure you would be able to bypass the dac - if this thing doesn't have at least 1x XLR and 1x RCA input then that's a pretty big oversight. They probably won't be releasing user changable usb input cards as technology evolves either, so if you do keep this system for 20 years, you don't have to be worried about it being outdated because the analogue inputs will always be there.

Why include a dac at all if it's not the 'world's best' too? If you believe the figures and the members over in sound science, the difference betwen well designed dacs of any price is inaudible anyway - maybe sennheiser are of the same opinion. Seems like they've done their research. I'm sure nothing sub standard goes into a cost-no-object system.

 

[Music Alchemist]

I'm sure you would be able to bypass the dac - if this thing doesn't have at least 1x XLR and 1x RCA input then that's a pretty big oversight. They probably won't be releasing user changable usb input cards as technology evolves either, so if you do keep this system for 20 years, you don't have to be worried about it being outdated because the analogue inputs will always be there.

 
You indeed can. In the review video, an external DAC was used.
 

Spoiler: photos of the back

 

[subtle]

 
Lastly, look at the price. We are fast approaching the ridiculous, if we're not already there. Suddenly, the $3,500 AK380 DAP doesn't seem so pricey anymore. It's just crazy to watch and see how we're becoming used to such pricing in personal audio.

Honestly the price disgusts me.  So much so that I will no longer purchase anything made by Sennheiser.  I truly love my HD800 but that's where my business with them ceases.  No ridiculous double priced HD800S and certainly no HE1060 that is nearly the price of a new BMW M4.  It's absolutely hilarious to me how we as a collective and community continue to stomach these ridiculous price increases on headphones over the last ten years.  It's the same as with everything else.  People in general these days simply have zero to 0.0001% willpower.  The "have to have it" mentality is just rampant and eventually leads to ridiculous tripe like this.

It's a damn shame that the majority of people that will purchase this system will simply do so because they can, not because they can appreciate or even care about the sound quality it may or may not reproduce.  This is simply another item for the superficial, shallow and gaudy of the world to display in their homes and brag about how much it cost them.

Prices of everything in the world continues to skyrocket, even when oil is at an all time low and no corporation is willing to reflect their lower transportation costs in their pricing, yet wages stay the same for the last thirty years.  Makes complete sense.

 

[saidentary]

  On a related note, there are articles about how many/most billionaires don't even drive ultra-expensive cars.

Possible explanations that spring to mind:
-They have jets. 
-They have chauffeurs. 
-They're too old to drive at all.
-They already bought one of the new Sennheiser headphone systems and now they can't afford a car at all, much less an expensive one.

 

[saidentary]

 
Honestly the price disgusts me.  So much so that I will no longer purchase anything made by Sennheiser.  I truly love my HD800 but that's where my business with them ceases.  No ridiculous double priced HD800S and certainly no HE1060 that is nearly the price of a new BMW M4.

I bet you'd buy one if it went on blow-out clearance sale.  (Like, less than $1000-you have to admit, that would be pretty cool.) 

 

[LFC_SL]

Before people take the moral high ground and indignant, remember that personal audio hardware is a discretionary hobby. No more and no less. After all one can enjoy music tuning into an FM radio broadcast. Sennheiser is not selling medicine or food. Sennheiser are not the reason there is war and suffering. It is a toy for the well heeled. Last I checked, Sennheisser sell sub-£20 headphones. Relax and breathe

 

[Sal1950]

 
Honestly the price disgusts me.  So much so that I will no longer purchase anything made by Sennheiser.  I truly love my HD800 but that's where my business with them ceases.  No ridiculous double priced HD800S and certainly no HE1060 that is nearly the price of a new BMW M4.  It's absolutely hilarious to me how we as a collective and community continue to stomach these ridiculous price increases on headphones over the last ten years.  It's the same as with everything else.  People in general these days simply have zero to 0.0001% willpower.  The "have to have it" mentality is just rampant and eventually leads to ridiculous tripe like this.

It's a damn shame that the majority of people that will purchase this system will simply do so because they can, not because they can appreciate or even care about the sound quality it may or may not reproduce.  This is simply another item for the superficial, shallow and gaudy of the world to display in their homes and brag about how much it cost them.

Prices of everything in the world continues to skyrocket, even when oil is at an all time low and no corporation is willing to reflect their lower transportation costs in their pricing, yet wages stay the same for the last thirty years.  Makes complete sense.

+1 with ya there 100% subtle,

 

[scorpio187]

When Sennheiser first debuted the Orpheus back in 1991 it cost (if I am not mistaken) $16,000. Now that was a lot of money back then, wasn't it? 

 

[madwolfa]

 
KC world champs, I could spit.   
 
I had money on the Mets. 
 
Somebody jinxed my Mets, I'm blaming you KC fans!
 
Tony in Michigan

 
Hehe.

 

[bmichels]

   
It's just with 8x internal DACs (one per channel)...

One ESS9018 chip; like the 4 years old $ 1000 iBasso DX100 portable DAP.... while the $ 5000 Resonessence Labs Mirus DAC uses...two ESS9018 chips !
 
No stellar specs in this DAC ! at least on paper.... (OK OK I Know the story: it is not the Chip that count but the implementation....

 

[Sal1950]

  I bet you'd buy one if it went on blow-out clearance sale.  (Like, less than $1000-you have to admit, that would be pretty cool.) 

Well maybe below  around $500 if I had the room. One of them works of machining art $200,000 turntables would be nice too. They sure are purdy. Wouldn't even buy any vinyl for it either. The snap, crackle, pop would just spoil the effect
Lots of that stuff is just beautiful art, don't even need to turn it on.

 

[fiascogarcia]

 
Honestly the price disgusts me.  So much so that I will no longer purchase anything made by Sennheiser.  I truly love my HD800 but that's where my business with them ceases.  No ridiculous double priced HD800S and certainly no HE1060 that is nearly the price of a new BMW M4.  It's absolutely hilarious to me how we as a collective and community continue to stomach these ridiculous price increases on headphones over the last ten years.  It's the same as with everything else.  People in general these days simply have zero to 0.0001% willpower.  The "have to have it" mentality is just rampant and eventually leads to ridiculous tripe like this.

It's a damn shame that the majority of people that will purchase this system will simply do so because they can, not because they can appreciate or even care about the sound quality it may or may not reproduce.  This is simply another item for the superficial, shallow and gaudy of the world to display in their homes and brag about how much it cost them.

Prices of everything in the world continues to skyrocket, even when oil is at an all time low and no corporation is willing to reflect their lower transportation costs in their pricing, yet wages stay the same for the last thirty years.  Makes complete sense.

Yes, I have also boycotted Ferrari and Lamborghini, as they have refused to build me a $50,000 exoticar.

 

[Music Alchemist]

  When Sennheiser first debuted the Orpheus back in 1991 it cost (if I am not mistaken) $16,000. Now that was a lot of money back then, wasn't it? 

 
$12,900. Compensating for inflation from 1991 to 2015, that's over $22,600 in today's dollars.

 

[superlowfi]

  Yes, I have also boycotted Ferrari and Lamborghini, as they have refused to build me a $50,000 exoticar.

 
Car analogies really don't work, because there are clear measures of performance with cars and not so with headphones. You can't just say "I subjectively prefer the speed of this Camry to this Ferrari and it subjectively goes around the track faster", that is nonsense, but you can easily say the same regarding even the original Orpheus and something like the HD650.
 
The elephant in the room is, if Sennheiser electrostatics were so damned awesome, why can't they compete with Stax at a fraction of the price with their volume manufacturing advantage? The answer is exactly the reason why these car analogies don't work.