Sennheiser HD 820 closed back headphones: $2,400. Want?

Discussion in 'Audio Hardware' started by ribonucleic, Jan 8, 2018.

Thread Status:
Not open for further replies.
  1. ribonucleic

    ribonucleic Forum Resident Thread Starter

    Location:
    SLC UT
    Sennheiser’s new closed-back headphones will shake up the audiophile world
     
  2. Ironclaw

    Ironclaw Forum Resident

    Location:
    Colorado
    Glass has bad acoustic properties, I would guess that they sound slightly worse than the non-glass version.
     
  3. rhubarb9999

    rhubarb9999 Forum Resident

    Location:
    Atlanta, GA
    I have had everything from the HD580s up to the 800. I have sold everything but the 580s.
     
  4. Ham Sandwich

    Ham Sandwich Senior Member

    Location:
    Sherwood, OR, USA
    Wanting it will depend on its sound quality and how badly I need a closed headphone. I don't need a closed headphone of that type, so it's going to be pretty far down on my want/need headphone list. It will definitely be high on my want to hear list.

    Sennheiser's marketing material mentions that they're using the concave glass cover to reflect the soundwaves to acoustic absorbers around the edge of the headphone. Interesting way to manage the backwave in a closed headphone. I'm curious about how well that works.
     
    Dino and ribonucleic like this.
  5. Bern

    Bern JC4Me

    Location:
    Allegan, Michigan
    I ended up "fixing" the HD800 by using Sonarworks. I could never quite manually EQ it to where I was content.

    Bern
     
  6. Apesbrain

    Apesbrain Forum Resident

    Location:
    East Coast, USA
    I'm sure it sounds good, but $2,400 c'mon!
     
    Aftermath, kBear and ls35a like this.
  7. Ironclaw

    Ironclaw Forum Resident

    Location:
    Colorado
    Well they do sell power cords for that price. The demand for value by consumers in the hifi audio marketplace is pretty weak.
     
  8. ls35a

    ls35a Forum Resident

    Location:
    Eagle, Idaho
    This is pure 'screw the customer' and nothing else. This 'ultra priced' headphone nonsense has got to stop.

    For less than the price of these headphones you can get a Stax L700 headphones AND a 353x amp. And believe me.... that combination blows the doors off the HD800S's. I own both.
     
    John Buchanan and HiFi Guy like this.
  9. JNTEX

    JNTEX Lava Police

    Location:
    Texas
    I will give them a listen when they show up at the local shop. But as a new owner of some 800s, I doubt they are an improvement.

    A company can price their items to their economic benefit. I don't see this as outrageous or trying to screw people. If they were out to screw people I doubt they would be flooding the market with mass drop 200 buck goodness.

    It's common for german companies to have a flagship, several middle models, and some entries. If it works, it's cool, new tech...and that costs money rather it's from Apple, Mercedes, Wilson, or just about any other company.
     
    stuwee likes this.
  10. james

    james Summon The Queen

    Location:
    Annapolis
    They look much nicer than I was expecting when reading the description. Sharp
     
  11. Ham Sandwich

    Ham Sandwich Senior Member

    Location:
    Sherwood, OR, USA
    A potential area of improvement with the closed version is getting the headphones to have more punch. Closed headphones can have more punch, especially in the bass. Fully open headphones, especially headphones as open as the HD800 with a ring driver that doesn't have as much surface area, can have challenges in getting the sound and bass to have punch. Closed headphones can better pressurize the ear cups and get some punch. We'll have to wait and hear if the HD820 manages to pull that off while sounding open and like an HD800.
     
  12. Norco74

    Norco74 For the good and the not so good…

  13. Ironclaw

    Ironclaw Forum Resident

    Location:
    Colorado
    550 benjamins
    [​IMG]
     
  14. Claus

    Claus Senior Member

    Location:
    Germany
    A nice look to watch the dust behind the glass.
     
  15. oneway23

    oneway23 Forum Resident

    Location:
    NY, US
    Interesting headphone. Gorilla glass or no, any glass on the earcup would worry me and my shaky hands.
     
  16. LARGERTHAN

    LARGERTHAN Forum Resident

    Location:
    Eire
    It's a shame Sennheiser have entered into the fray of megabuck pricing. Previously their flagships were, in relative terms, sensibly priced and bucked the trend set by Hifiman and Audeze etc. I like Tyll's Wall of Fame (Inner fidelity) new criteria for heaphones priced over the 1000 dollar bracket - they have to be deficient of any obvious frequency response flaws. Too many megabuck headphone have inherent, unforgivable engineering deficits, and for the money, this is simply not workable. Let's see how Sennheiser fair.
     
    Bern likes this.
  17. LARGERTHAN

    LARGERTHAN Forum Resident

    Location:
    Eire
    And ok, this is modified and new, but surely they would have already recouped a lot of the engineering expense via the HD800 essentially being a mature, popular design at this point in time. Yes, I know they're not a charity, but I hold Sennheiser in great esteem, not only for their engineering, but for the fact they stood apart when it came to pricing/value propositions. I'm cynical until I hear them, it seems!
     
  18. Humbuster

    Humbuster Staff Emeritus

    I’ll keep my 800s, thank you very much.
     
  19. Bern

    Bern JC4Me

    Location:
    Allegan, Michigan
    Soon one will have to buy headphones on the installment plan.

    Bern
     
  20. Mr Bass

    Mr Bass Chevelle Ma Belle

    Location:
    Mid Atlantic
    Inevitable I guess. With smaller residences, more apts. / townhouses and the familiarity of using headphones for the mobile, the trend is in the direction of headphones rather than audiophile stereo systems. So companies will aim to please (and profit from) various income levels. I am not a customer for this simply because I became a convert to the open back design years ago and do not seek marginal improvements in bass pressure.
     
    JNTEX and Norco74 like this.
  21. Norco74

    Norco74 For the good and the not so good…

    I am not a fan of any hifi components that includes glass as part of their design. I am no expert but glass seems to have bad acoustic properties.
     
  22. murphythecat

    murphythecat https://www.last.fm/user/murphythecat

    Location:
    Canada
    The concave glass reflects the sound waves from the rear of the transducer to an absorber, which results in minimal resonance. Thus, the sound waves are effectively “gone” like they would be in open headphones.Sennheiser HD 820 - High-end Headphones for audiophiles
     
    Norco74 likes this.
  23. soundQman

    soundQman Senior Member

    Location:
    Arlington, VA, USA
    Looks like an interesting design. I'd like a chance to compare them head-to-head with my HD 800 'phones, which suit my hearing frequency response and ear profile perfectly for best sound and comfort, respectively. All my life I've been a fan and repeat customer of Sennheiser, starting with their HD-414, the first "open-air" design.
     
    JNTEX likes this.
  24. stuwee

    stuwee Forum Resident

    Location:
    Tucson AZ
    I'd like to hear them, alas, living in a cowtown in the Sonoran Desert that has not one hi-fi shop, it seems unlikely, anyone near Tucson with a pair? I'm a pretty good chef, a great host with beverages, fun to be around, and you can hear Martin Logan Summits on a Thorens, my 24 bit Burr-Brown DAC for your CDs, or bring a connection for your whatsit, thingamajig everyone is using now.

    I work late nights, that's why I post in the middle of the night, so headphones are a must for me. My AKG 701's have made me very happy for $300, I can stretch more for the best, I'd have to hear for myself first. Using an ancient recapped Sanyo MOSFET amp for SS, a tubed Little Dot-I for the bloom :love:
     
    Norco74 likes this.
  25. Claude Benshaul

    Claude Benshaul Forum Resident

    Want? Perhaps.
    Need? Certainly not.
     
Thread Status:
Not open for further replies.

Share This Page

molar-endocrine