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Topic: Sennheiser announces €50,000 headphones (Read 11325 times) previous topic - next topic
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Sennheiser announces €50,000 headphones

Reply #25 –
Quote from: apastuszak on
These are the new HEV-1060 Electrostaic headphones.  It's not just a headphone.  It's a headphone with a tube amp, all in a block of solid marble, making them the most impractical headphones ever made.

Video of them being turned on:

http://i.imgur.com/epyzfv9.gifv

Do Electrostatic headphones really sound any better than planar or other types of headphones in a blind test?



I literally LOL'ed at the video.

I spent a significant amount of time A/Bing headphones when I was in college; after a LOT of work I decided that the Koss ESP-9 were indeed more to my liking than the dynamic phones I heard.  There's something they do when reproducing sound that I really liked; maybe a sense that there was less "mud" (ringing?) in loud or complex music.  A close second was the Sennheiser 424 at 1/3 the price, though.  Way more comfortable, and they seemed to be very efficient.

Now, I haven't heard any really new ES phones since about 1980; I picked up a pair of A-T 706 at a flea market and think they're also pretty good, though no better than the Sennheiser 424 overall.  Are the ES phones "better"?  Dunno.  I thought they were worth consideration back when they weren't $2K per pair.  If the ESP-9 weren't so damn heavy and uncomfortable I'd still give them a listen on a regular basis. 

Sennheiser announces €50,000 headphones

Reply #26 –
Quote from: noel7 on
Damn, my budget for headphones is only €24,000 :/


Quote from: pdq on
Mine is only 24,000 lira.


Mine is 24,000 Indian Rupees. And it would probably buy an HD600 now. Well, OK, I suppose I exceeded it by buying a pair before the prices dropped, but that is what budgets are for!
The most important audio cables are the ones in the brain

Sennheiser announces €50,000 headphones

Reply #27 –
I've compared a Sennheiser HD-600 or 650 against a Stax Lambda Pro once, with manual level matching. Interestingly, apart from inevitable differences in frequency response between the two, I found the sound material with the most audible difference between the two to be a-cappella vocals (Suzanne Vega - Tom's Diner). There, the Stax indeed sounded clearer (i.e. the voice was more realistic) to my ears.

But of course this wasn't a blind test, since even if I had closed my eyes, I would have been able to identify the two headphones based on how they feel when I wear them.

Anyway, here's a new report of the new Orpheus from the respected German magazine c't: www.heise.de/ct/artikel/Abgehoert-So-klingt-der-teuerste-Kopfhoerer-der-Welt-3024502.html

Summary in English with some interesting facts (I'll spare you the author's listening impressions... comparison to "a good wine" etc.):

  • the headphones are driven by 800 volts (!) coming from 8 vacuum tubes model SE803S inside a "cool-class A" MOS-FET pre-amp
  • an extra pair of headphones (without the pre-amp) costs 20000 Euros
  • there's an automatic short-circuit protection in case e.g. a pet feels like biting through the cable
  • the circuit breaker also intends to guard against potential lawsuits against Sennheiser on U.S. soil since the electric shock from the damaged cable would be lethal (no, I'm not making this up!)
  • Igor already mentioned the low total harmonic distortion of ~0.01 %, the hand-crafting was noted already as well
  • not only hand-crafting, they also measure each unit to make sure its frequency response differs from the established specification by at most 1 dB
  • some details on how they designed the frequency response of these cans, involving tests/tuning with numerous listeners in a special room
  • Sennheiser thought about adding an air condition to the storage box for the phones (on the pre-amp), but decided against that in the end
  • the model is limited to 250 units per year, not 300 in total like the 1991 Orpheus (so probably less of an investment than the 1991 Orpheus)


Interestingly, they also note that there's a new version of the HD-800 (the HD-800 S), where they fine-tuned the HD-800's frequency response by "half a dB at one or two places". Paired with a dedicated pre-amp (HDVA 600) it costs 3000 Euros.

I hope I didn't forget anything.

Chris
If I don't reply to your reply, it means I agree with you.