Rabbit
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Post by Rabbit on Jun 20, 2015 8:02:01 GMT
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Post by Deleted on Jun 20, 2015 9:24:15 GMT
That's an excellent price Ian. If I could afford that I'd probably jump at it.
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Rabbit
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Post by Rabbit on Jun 20, 2015 10:25:55 GMT
It is Gordon. What I don't like is how these higher priced headphones go out at the start at virtually double of what they can be had at if you're patient. At a lower level, the AKG K550 used to go at around £179. Now it can be bought for £99. It's a very good headphone too.
The HE1000 kind of rattled me a bit and I personally think that headphone enthusiasts should turn their backs on companies doing this to a certain extent and try to make them a little bit grateful that they have 'customers', because I think they're taking the mickey!!
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Post by Deleted on Jun 20, 2015 11:24:58 GMT
I can sort of understand paying over the odds for some of the boutique company's products, like Audeze or HiFiman, but Sennheiser only charge what they do because they can. There's no way the HD 800 costs anything like that to manufacture. If it does then they're doing something wrong.
I also think Garage 1217 miss a trick here because I believe they could sell at higher prices than they do. In fact, in certain respects it could be said that if they did sell at a higher price they'd probably sell more.
We live in a world where people are actually impressed by a high price tag in itself. It's madness but there you go.
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Post by Deleted on Jun 20, 2015 11:31:50 GMT
That is a good price!
The pricing of the HE1000 is crazy. I wonder if the QC is better than on their other 'phones. The channel imbalance on my HE-560 was woeful, certainly not what you'd expect from a £700 headphone. Wouldn't touch their products again unless I could audition the pair I was taking home.
The new Final Sonorous 'phones are also going to cost silly money. The VIII around $3300 and the X $5300ish I believe. So probably around £2.5k & £4k in the UK. Possibly more if they employ that silly $1=£1 conversion rate.
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Rabbit
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Post by Rabbit on Jun 20, 2015 12:44:19 GMT
What I don't like about American stuff is the fact that you pay the 'normal' price (with US tax) and then we pay import tax when it arrives in the UK. Also, for some reason, when something in the USA (Like Spotify) costs $9.99 we pay £9.99 over here. That doesn't seem right to me. Grado headphones are expensive in the UK but regarded as cheap in the USA. (For what you get) The concern about QC is one that I had. When you pay a premium price, you expect something special, but some of these 'high end' headphones have some serious flaws in build or quality. Very concerning. The hd800 pads are semi-permanently attached which I think is poor on a high end headphone. That's something that might need changing in a year or two and yet, it's not so simple on the Senns. I have no idea about the reasoning behind that. (Let alone the treble issues) TH900 has a weakness with the screw fitting into the cups. he1000 is massive and doesn't fit some heads. (It also has a curious frequency response I hear) Let alone their reputation for QC. The Mr Speakers offering is on the way soon and again .... QC? And this is all in premium headphones. Not good enough really. Enthusiasts are so keen to be first on the bandwagon that they jump at these products so the manufacturers have learned that we accept some of those ridiculous prices for their 'technology'. So far, the only 'safe' one seems to be the hd800 although the pads are pretty well fixed. Let's hope Mr Dan gets it right. I'd rather like to see Hifiman sidestepped following that ridiculous Beta nonsense. He made a damned good sale on a lot of premium units there!! And the audience were SO chuffed!!!!! I no longer trust the company if I'm honest following that. Felt quite uncomfortable about it so turned a trial down after I was offered one. I know that FOTM is a kind of 'in' joke with enthusiasts but headphones have now reached a pricing level that is becoming daft imo. Maybe we should start a 'Campaign for Realistic Pricing'? CRP or CRaP. (Campaign for Real Atrocious Pricing) Best deal in Headphones - Sennheiser HD650 at £240. CRP approved.
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Post by ronzo56 on Jun 20, 2015 13:34:15 GMT
Spending the last week comparing 2 amps with the HD800 and the HD650, the 650 is the best priced and really for all genres of music, the best choice out there. Well built, and sound quality is under appreciated. IMHO. If I HAD to get rid of all my headphones but one, the HD650 would be the one I would keep. It seems to work well with so many different amps. SS, hybrid, all tube. And it scales so well. Budget to mega expensive.
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Rabbit
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Post by Rabbit on Jun 20, 2015 14:13:33 GMT
Same here, Ron.
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Post by Deleted on Jun 20, 2015 14:58:06 GMT
Yes, very hard to look past the HD650 or HD600 (think I prefer the latter but both euqally good). For a while I considered the HD600 my desert island headphone. If I could only pack one to take with me that'd be it....sure there's an idea for a thread in there somewhere Does annoy me when I see people dismissing them as mid-fi as they're anything but in the areas that matter most to me. Horrible label invented by people who want to seperate themselves and their more expensive gear from the hoi polloi.
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Post by Deleted on Jun 20, 2015 15:13:12 GMT
Spending the last week comparing 2 amps with the HD800 and the HD650, the 650 is the best priced and really for all genres of music, the best choice out there. Well built, and sound quality is under appreciated. IMHO. If I HAD to get rid of all my headphones but one, the HD650 would be the one I would keep. It seems to work well with so many different amps. SS, hybrid, all tube. And it scales so well. Budget to mega expensive. I think the continued popularity of the 650 goes some way to explaining the 800's price drop.
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Deleted
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Post by Deleted on Jun 20, 2015 15:35:29 GMT
Yes, very hard to look past the HD650 or HD600 (think I prefer the latter but both euqally good). For a while I considered the HD600 my desert island headphone. If I could only pack one to take with me that'd be it....sure there's an idea for a thread in there somewhere Does annoy me when I see people dismissing them as mid-fi as they're anything but in the areas that matter most to me. Horrible label invented by people who want to seperate themselves and their more expensive gear from the hoi polloi. Yeah, I agree. They were hi-fi right up until something more expensive came along and yet many people who go up the price ladder come right back down again.
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Post by ronzo56 on Jun 20, 2015 16:31:47 GMT
Yes, very hard to look past the HD650 or HD600 (think I prefer the latter but both euqally good). For a while I considered the HD600 my desert island headphone. If I could only pack one to take with me that'd be it....sure there's an idea for a thread in there somewhere Does annoy me when I see people dismissing them as mid-fi as they're anything but in the areas that matter most to me. Horrible label invented by people who want to seperate themselves and their more expensive gear from the hoi polloi. The HD650 has never been mid-fi. Mid priced yes. Today. When I bought them they where one of the most expensive headphones on the market. John Atkinson has used them for years to master his Stereophile recordings. I am listening to the McCartney album right now, it's an uncompressed version. Puts you right in the studio. A mid-fi can cannot do that. Are they equal to the HD800? I am coming to the conclusion that they are just different. 800 more open soundstage, more resolving, which is great if the source is really good, not so much with average or crappy recordings. 650's are a great headphone for non-audiophile recordings. They are revealing but don't put the flaws in your face to the point you don't want to keep listening. And your right, too much of this "the more it costs the better is sounds" going on. I have heard expensive gear over the last 3 years or so that sound like shite. Then there's the Ember which can keep up with a lot of the more expensive but great sounding gear.
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Rabbit
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Post by Rabbit on Jun 20, 2015 17:42:24 GMT
Well, the Garage amps are all CRP approved.
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sekar
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Post by sekar on Jun 20, 2015 21:50:54 GMT
Well, at our local used HP market it's possible to find out Senn HD800 in good condition priced at $760-780. I'm not sure that HD800 are better than Fostex 900 .... or it's better to buy lightly used HD650 , not sure .
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Rabbit
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Post by Rabbit on Jun 20, 2015 22:25:48 GMT
The easiest to get on with would be the hd650 imo. At much less cost. Treble issues on hd800 and the delicacy of the screw fitting i to the Fostex cups could be an issue in the longer term. I do like the sound of the th900 a great deal though.
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