I mean I know there’s typically a wait for a Drop but 9 months is a little much even for them.
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Interesting to see the bass and midrange tweak… Not sure why Sennheiser would make these better than the hd800S and charge less? I’ll believe it when I hear it or see many positive reviews.
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And change the drivers, and everything else, except the look and the 8.
This is a new headphone.
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The (in)famous THX AAA 789 amp required about the same length of time (Jan 2018 to fall). I got mine around Thanksgiving 2018 just after the first batch of pre-orders went out and the early reviews had been released.
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I do miss the old “group buy” days.
I’m interested to hear feedback on these from folks that I’m sure will get their hands on the “pre-release” versions. I’m curious what sacrifices were made to get to the drop sound preference.
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Won’t know until they’re in actual people’s headphones but the graphs look like the opposite of a better HD 800S.
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Meaning they look like a worse HD800s?
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They look like a HD 800 with a SDR Mod that’s more expensive and doesn’t ship with a balanced cable.
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On pure measurements it is what it looks like IMO.
Bass region looks elevated and it can be good but I don’t know how it will influence lower mids.
Also in the passage from upper mids to treble that deep between 2 and 3k doesn’t help, especially with the greater elevation that follows.
Purely about aesthetics I definitely prefer the look of the HD800s against HD 8XX but this is largely subjective.
Consider that in Europe you can buy a HD800s at a very similar price to that of the HD 8XX.
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SDR mod details for anyone like me that doesn’t know:
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In conjunction with the facts that (1) the HD 6XX is a massive cash cow, (2) Sennheiser is talking about selling their headphone business, I take it as evidence that the tail is wagging the dog. Drop may be the main profit center for Sennheiser these days. Drop developed a new and larger audiophile headphone market, and perhaps they control Sennheiser’s bottom line.
Sennheiser initially was going to limit the 6XX to 4K or 5K units, but now have sold more than 100K units. So, the 8XX may save or destroy Sennheiser as we know them today. If they walk away from Drop, they may suffer layoffs and become a niche player. Focal and others are very strong competitors.
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Or. they hired an MBA type from Deloitte who told them to juice sales at the rick of long term brand degradation in order to market the business at a larger multiplier.
The first question that should always be asked when a company talks about being willing to shed a large division is “why”. One reason could certainly be that Focal is bringing the hurt on the high end, and the writing is on the wall in the low end.
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Good point. I don’t know the situation in the USA but in Europe a lot of people that enjoy using headphones are moving from Sennheiser to Focal and from a pure marketing point of view Focal’s doing and excellent job here making know their product and diffusing the brand (well, apart from cable but Sennheiser is on pair in that dept).
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I get that and you want to reach a larger audience but I just find it hard to believe they’d improve a headphone and sell it for less. If anything you’d improve the hd800S, sell it for more and give the remaining/original hd800S for drop to sell at a discounted price. Just my thoughts though. Anything can happen I guess lol.
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I don’t think the sound changes (judging by the Drop released FR graph) are enough to warrant buying these based on that alone. Especially for the price.
You can pick up an HD 800 with SDR mod for far less. Take this listing for example:
$750 vs $1200.
Even if you went out and bought replacement earpads and headband for this used headphone, directly from Sennheiser at full MSRP, you’re spending less money.
EQ can easily cover the FR difference, which is something you’ll want to do anyway considering they didn’t address the treble peak.
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I would argue the opposite and that Sennheiser is in this position because of Drop. You put your self in a hell of a position when you drop the price on your best selling product ever by 50%, can’t sell it yourself, and mess up your dealer network in the process.
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Yep - with the general boost in audio sales in the last year due to covid they might think that last year was the best it may ever be for their market segment.
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LOL! Exactly. Why buy a HD650 for $500 from a dealer when you can get the same thing for $2xx from Drop?
They shot themselves in the foot and pissed off their dealers all at the same time.
The only reason you would buy an HD 650 right now instead of the drop version, is because you want an actual headphone made in the Ireland plant, and you believe that there is a sound and quality difference. (Something I believe does exist.)
My hd650 doesn’t sound like recently produced units.
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To argue either way, I’d need to know Sennheiser’s sales volume and profit margins pre vs. post Drop. Independent of Drop, in recent years everyone under the sun has tried to produce “HD 600 or 650 step up” models. Old line manufacturers tend to defend what made them successful, but fade away in the process. Beyer and AKG already faded.
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Here in Spain I could buy a new HD800 for 829€ delivered tomorrow.
Or…
I can buy the HD8XX for 1350€ and wait for it until December (or longer knowing Drop).
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