The HD800 & HD800S thread

Discussion in 'Headphones' started by sorrodje, Oct 11, 2015.

  1. mk801

    mk801 Almost "Made"

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    The scenes when the HD8XX arrives in one of those newer throwaway boxes that Sennheiser uses for their refreshed HD600 and HD650, lol.
     
  2. Huhnkopf

    Huhnkopf Friend

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    Hifiman HE-HD800 so he can finally claim having nuked Sennheiser.
     
    Last edited: Feb 18, 2021
  3. Ksaurav402

    Ksaurav402 Friend

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    As long as we are talking about old meme. Below never gets old but does need some modification for new 8XX
     
  4. mk801

    mk801 Almost "Made"

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    Well, DaBianMan already has the HE-1000 (1000 > 800). Now with an SE version no less!
     
  5. wadec22

    wadec22 Almost "Made"

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    This is a real blown opportunity. I was genuinely excited to see how they modified it.

    The HD800 modding alone couldn't fix the OG without EQ for me. I liked the convenience of the HD800S variant. Added bass was fine for me. The stage & imaging seemed to be where it lost its magic vs OG.

    I'm with others here, not only is FR unfortunate but that paint job is horrific.

    I guess my excitement now moves to the MG Clear? Crossing fingers but not holding breath lol
     
  6. crenca

    crenca Friend

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    Lol..say it is not true
     
  7. Soups

    Soups Sadomasochistic cat

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    Learned from some hospice nurses that when people are at death's door, they'll often have this unexpected burst of energy/activity shortly before they pass. This sudden change often fools family members (and even patients themselves) into thinking that they're getting better. Can't blame 'em. But usually, it's all just a brief grace that allows people to say final good-byes or tie up other loose ends.

    And now that everybody knows that Sennheiser is selling off their consumer side, I think we can all accept the difficult truth that the 'audiophile' Sennheiser we know and love is in hospice. And turns out it's been there for awhile now, long before the HD6XX.

    I was definitely hoping that the HD6XX was a sign that things were getting better for Sennheiser, and that new glory days were coming. But now I see that (Mass)Drop is to established brands what young brides are to old men. They only marry to cash you out, and you're more than happy to be cashed out, because you know... it's over.

    Now being 9 months away from the HD8XX... it's clearer to me now that all those "collaborations" have been a series of good-byes.

    Yes, I'm still looking forward to impressions of the HD8XX, and I may even pick one up. But this whole thing seems to me like a tired old company sailing off into the sunset in a tired old flagship. "Nice knowing you, Sennheiser".
     
  8. BrokeSkoolBoi

    BrokeSkoolBoi Acquaintance

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    "All we had to do was paint it hd6xx blue and remove the balanced cable :D:D:D:D"


    "... And then, we put a trench in the mids so people with ears keep buying our hd800s! :D:D:D:D:D:D:D:D:D:D"

    I hope it sounds decent.. but not getting my hopes up.
     
  9. Merrick

    Merrick A lidless ear

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    To be a bit kinder, I can see the attraction a lot of companies have for a Drop collaboration. Tweaking established designs is much easier from an R&D and manufacturing standpoint than creating new products they require new production lines. The majority of collaboration products have minimal changes that add little to the bottom line for the manufacturer and generate better sales than the existing product does, because it’s now gussied up as new/improved, and because Drop has created its own customer base. I guarantee the majority of 8XX buyers will not be people who were previously considering an HD800/S but now are doing so because Drop has “fixed” it.

    For those who know the DVD/Blu-Ray world well, Drop is like Anchor Bay doing yet another release of Army of Darkness or Halloween.
     
  10. netforce

    netforce MOT: Headphones.com

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    Sennheiser authorized a sale for the HD800S at $1400 for February. Though, I am wondering if because of the Drop HD8XX it might become more permanent of a price cut.
     
  11. YtseJammer

    YtseJammer Almost "Made"

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    Sennheiser statement.

    We’re excited to announce a new Drop collaboration: the HD 8XX. This open-back audiophile headphone offers the same outstanding performance that made the original HD 800S the standard in high-end headphones: 56mm Ring Radiator transducers, carefully tuned Helmholtz resonators for a smooth high-frequency response, a vibration damping chassis and more—all with a sound signature and colorway tailored to the Drop community. The hand-made HD 8XX will include a detachable single-ended cable with 6.3mm (¼-inch) jack plug, and use the same HD 800-series connector as the HD 800, HD 800S, and HD 820.


     
    Last edited: Feb 18, 2021
  12. Thad E Ginathom

    Thad E Ginathom Friend

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    The blue, I actually like.

    Extra treble in an HD800? It already suits us people with high-frequency hearing loss. I can't see many others wanting it.

    HD800 bass is enough for me as it is.
     
  13. ColtMrFire

    ColtMrFire Writes better fan fics than you

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    I think headphone tech has advanced to the point where very little else can be mined from drivers sitting next to your ears. Any DROP/HD800 was going to be a "disappointment", because that company seems to cater to lifestyle customers who think Josh Valour and the other guy with the fat sausage fingers and pictures of underage looking anime girls on his desktop, are the last word in gear reviews. DROP is just doing what it was designed to do... cater to a segment of a market that is ripe for manipulation and profit. Of course a used HD800S with EQ/Loki (Or vanilla 800 with SDR/EQ) is a better deal, mostly because the paint jobs are better. But Josh Valour will sing its praises as the "new standard for TOTL" and it will sell.
     
  14. YtseJammer

    YtseJammer Almost "Made"

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    lol

     
  15. saint.panda

    saint.panda Friend

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    I actually hope that a solid Chinese company buys Sennheiser's consumer business and does what Lenovo did to the ThinkPad. Can't see a Western company investing significant resources into R&D for the non-ORFAS audiophile market.
     
  16. Inoculator

    Inoculator Friend

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    I like Drop blue, but I feel it looks horrendous next to the black. Maybe my wife has just really hammered into me that blue+black is a fashion faux pas. Either way, imagine how much better a silver+drop blue color scheme would look.
     
  17. Vtory

    Vtory Audiophile™

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    I'm looking this from a little different perspective. No buying interest. But honestly materials posted in drop read rather interesting to me. Our $1100 audio budget for this year protected well. Yeah!

    Joke aside,

    [​IMG]

    If Jude didn't falsify in measuring distortions, HD8XX lowered bass distortion by roughly 10db -- persistently at 100hz and downward. Considering HD800S had high D2 that region, 8XX might sound closer to 800og except bassier fr (which I don't think always bad).

    And I don't want to bitch about highs (2khz and above) much atm as the discrepancy on treble FRs between 5128 and Gras was large enough to create different stories respectively. Boosted 9k (shown in both) could be disappointing to me though.
     
  18. animus

    animus Almost "Made"

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    The concerning part to me is the 1.5khz suckout. Looks a lot like the ones on the SE chifimans.
     
  19. Raimei Templar

    Raimei Templar Friend

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    Yep, pretty sure they are going for the "hifiman trick". They cut the area from 1-2k and boosted the 4k region, that combo causes the presence to drop but attacks to sound stronger which will trick people into saying the soundstage is wider than it is. I can already see in my mind the hype reviews saying THE SOUNDSTAGE IS EVEN WIDER THAN THE HD800s ZOMG BBQ HOW DID THEY DO IT!?

    Its a odd choice IMO for a headphone that already soundstaging abilities and will make it sound very unnatural, even more so when combined with the questionable treble boost. Definitely not how I would have "fixed" the HD800s. I think what people wanted from a HD8xx was HD650 tonality with the soundstaging ability of the HD800 and this is not that at all, quite the opposite, the midrange will be even more withdrawn than the originals.

    The subbass boost is appreciated, but boosting it down to 10hz is a bit odd IMO, I suspect that will introduce some infrasonic noise which might be less than pleasant. I wonder if that is reason people feel the HD800s is less clean sounding than the HD800, if so the HD8xx will be even worse in that regard.
     
  20. Merrick

    Merrick A lidless ear

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    They’ll need the unnaturally wide soundstage to combat the closed in sound of the 789 they’re pushing people to buy.
     

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