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Massdrop x Sennheiser HD8XX


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Announced in about 11 hours. But seems leaked (obviously isn't 100% until they actually announce it). Snippet below;

 

Basically a tweaked transducer to smooth mid-range, and a tweaked resonator to add bass.

 

$1100 USD released price. Includes $200 of Drop credit. And you get to enjoy them in November.

 

Lets hope that is wrong.


"Hey Friends, Tomorrow morning at 9am PST, we are releasing the DROP + Sennheiser HD 8XX. This headphone is the result of hundreds of thousands of community posts and four years of collaboration between the teams at DROP and Sennheiser. Analyzing discussions around the HD 800S, we saw clear mandates from the community around bass extension and midrange balance. The HD 8XX incorporates two novel changes to accommodate those mandates. Where the HD 800S uses a single resonator, Sennheiser developed a dual resonator system for the HD 8XX, creating bass extension down to 10hz (+5db @ 10hz vs 800 S). Sennheiser’s team, lead by Jermo Koehnke, reached the bass solution pretty quickly, but our goals for the midrange proved demanding... bordering impossible. After significant research, Sennheiser reached a solution; altered acoustic impedance in the transducer's dampening material to smooth the FR from 2.5k to 8k. This means the transducer in the HD 8XX is unique, it’s a new ring driver. The HD8XX goes live tomorrow at 9am PST with 3000 units available, shipping in November. These 3000 units represent the full production we anticipate for 2021. We’ll make more available if the capacity increases, but this launch is the only guaranteed HD 8XX availability until 2022. Launch pricing for the HD 8XX is $1100 and you’ll receive $200 worth of drop points (20,000 points) with purchase. For future units, HD 8XX pricing will increase to $1200+. So come by tomorrow morning at 9am PST, pickup your HD8XX, buy a DROP + THX 789 for $99 and enjoy the endgame this November."

Edited by Bengineer
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If the $1100 USD ($1,210 USD including GST about $1,550AUD meh)  price is real, then definitely not worth it for us Aussies, still better to buy a local HD800S with proper Warranty. Anyway, lets wait and see how that pans out tomorrow.

 

They really needed to be <$800 to be exciting.

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Hmmm;

 

If that is correct it sounds like in the right direction partially from a sound perspective. I thought the upper treble had more peaks that required taming rather than midrange. The bass improvement seems good.

 

$1100 USD is probably a bit too much for me. But realistically $1500 AUD ( as @bruc3 shows above) for potentially the ultimate HD800 is pretty realistic. 
 

I wonder how warranty would work, ie would you be able to contact sennheiser Australia (whatever form that is going to take in the future noting the potential sell off) for repair ? (Obviously I’m still tempted...).

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It still isn't worth it. Best case $1500 to Aus, get them November.

 

You can get a HD800S for near $1500 new now. With local warranty. And two cables.

 

Used market in 2022 is where to grab a set maybe. Only 3000 worldwide though, so will be uncommon.

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15 minutes ago, Suopermanni said:

I'm waiting for reviews and more information but at the moment, I don't think I will bite.

I'm thinking the same. Tweaks can cause other issues. Also being out of pocket for that much, and the amount of time with nothing to show for it is not appealing to me.

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41 minutes ago, AudioGeek said:

Those measurements look very good. Significant improvement over previos versions. To me looks like the best hd800 to date

I don't doubt that. I think the price and the wait time is the kicker.

 

Drop is meant to represent high value. Strip back some packaging and frills, mass produce and get things in a low pricepoint.

 

Sennheiser could have just done this and made a HD800x as the successor to the S and sold it at its normal price, not that much higher.

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1 minute ago, Pmelb said:

I was licking my lips at this, and then that estimated shipping date came up.... damn it!

 

In that time maybe Sennheiser has something else in the works???

Yeah they do. They are going bust in that market :P Selling off parts of their business.

 

 

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It’s quite strange that Senny would release an “updated” version of the HD800S through Drop rather than by themselves. It does seem that they’re not too interested in being in the consumer market by themselves anymore. 

 

I would have expected their Drop 8XX to just be the 800S with less packaging, and no balanced cable.

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  • 2 weeks later...

I'm also a little surprised with the minimal uptake on the pre orders considering that tweaks are being made on improving the highly sought after HD800s. 

 

Its a big investment considering no reviews on the product and a 9 month wait time. I doubt drop could have sold it for any less without comprising Sennheisers flagship headphones. 

 

 

 

 

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It wasn't cheap enough. People need it to be cheap to buy from Drop. You get reduced accessories, long wait times and questionable warranty.

 

Either needed to be under 900 USD or Sennheiser should have just slapped an X at the end and sold it themselves.

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