Sennheiser is a long established brand, with a history going back to just after the end of the second World War. Their audio-legacy is, especially in the headphone space, perhaps second to none, with many innovations, including the first open-back headphone design dating back to 1968.
More recently they are probably most widely known for their classic HD600 and HD650 headphones, and while the latter model is now discontinued still serves as an excellent benchmark, and classic reference, for high-end headphone performance.
This is the official spot to discuss the Sennheiser brand, and for general Sennheiser news, rumors etc.
I am just trying out the ie 800 s. I have the ie 800 and my beginning impressions are that they have a good upgrade sound. Ill let you know more soon…
What about the pxc 550? Are they loud enough? I need a pair of really loud hp for listening to electronic genre…I’ve also heard the V Moda are quite powerful …is it true…anybody knows?
I just received a new balanced 2.5mm mobile cable for my HD600s. It’s a basic sliver plated cable I got off EBay for $20–low price to match $300 headphones. They now sound insanely good through my Q5! The high end cleaned up very well, with a great reduction to the hiss/noise that I always perceived with the factory cable. The mid range body also seems a bit fuller than before, but the low end is still limited in depth.
Sadly, there’s not much honest justification to upgrade beyond the HD600s for everyday use.
I could see that as a possibility - much like what happened with the HD650/HD6XX and then the HD660S, though in this case the HD800S would be pre-dating the HD8XX prior to the HD800 being retired.
I’d be very surprised if Sennheiser (on their own) came out with a new open-back HD8XX(S) anytime soon.
I would say a HD 8XX is probably unlikely but who knows, it could happen. The issue with Sennheiser doing “xx colabs is it completely destroys the brand value of their regular line-up and none of those regular headphones can be sold at msrp.
The HD 800S and HD 820 are the only Sennheiser headphones that are ( or close to) sold at msrp so if they released a 8xx they would lose control of the market there as well.
Something like a 7xx where they changed the tuning a little bit would make sense since they don’t have anything similar in their line-up. Obviously wouldn’t be as popular as a 8xx but it would keep their high-end value intact.
I guess the flip-side is volume. The development costs in the HD 800 line are already sunk, so if they could dramatically increase the volume of units they move by doing a Massdrop collab HD?XX at a lower price, it could still make financial sense. That said, I have no idea how Massdrop volumes on something like the HD6XX compare to regular HD650 sales back in its heyday.
Neither Massdrop nor Sennheiser had a clue about the 6XX prior to its release. The first drop sold out immediately and had been characterized as a one-off. They then rereleased it and briefly tried to up the price to $250, but reduced it again.
Headphones had been a different market and a niche prior to Beats initiating wider use.
This reminds me of the rinky-dink PC manufacturers prior to the IBM PC. Little vision.
I would actually prefer a HD7XX to the HD8XX at this stage, and what you say is very accurate. I think with the HD700 being un-popular and since they already have the molds and manufacturing in place more or less it seems like a great candidate for a colab! I would buy one!
I thought the 660s was what they did with those HD 700 drivers?
But yes they do have the enclosures around too!
As for the HD 800, the second hand price is around $800 or so now. I would think moving those last final pesky HD 800 Non S models would be ideal, since the 800S is both more expensive and also “corrected” also MD is some what limited to the US. Once shipping and customs fee’s come into play international customers are better off with buying manufacturer stock from a more accessible vendor
True, but I don’t think they would be pushing used HD800 or already made HD800, it would be using the molds for a colab, and available parts. If they put out a colab for the HD800 it would be a direct competitor to the HD800S and would be bad for business.
The transducer from the HD700 I thought was stated as not the same as the 660? Similar but not the same? Or maybe tweaked HD700 transducers…
Anyhow I would love either option but get why they wouldn’t go HD8XX as it would undercut to heavily their flagship headphones
