John Willett

I have really gone off loudspeakers with multiple drivers spread over a baffle board. Your brain is trying to put back together different frequencies coming to your ear from slightly different angles and signal paths. I much prefer co-axial designs where the sound comes to you as a homogenous whole - I find this design gives you a much better stereo image and depth. I have just ordered a pair of these:- ME-Geithain RL944-K - 3-way co-axial active loudspeakers with a cardioid response at the low end, so they don't throw bass frequencies out of the rear like all other loudspeakers. Sound is far more important than looks - but I am getting mine in Birdseye Maple, so they will look good too. .

Sennheiser UK had some in this morning - so it looks as if the HD 700 is now starting to ship.

Manufacturing costs go up and there has not been a price increase on the 800 for three years - maybe???

There is an AES paper on the Realiser - "Headphone Surround Monitoring for Studios" by Stephen Smyth, Mike Smyth and Ste Cheung which they presented at the 23rd UK Conference "Music Everywhere" in April 2008. You should be able to get a copy from the AES or Smyth Research. I have the complete set as I presented the paper before the Smyth one in the same conference.

It's also worth reading this:- Mixing on Headphones - published in Sound On Sound in 2007, it's less of a headphones review and more of a tutorial - it's very good.

Yes, that's why I never liked the HE 60 - I have now heard many people say it sound's much better on other amps. Actually someone saying "nothing special" normally says to me that the headphone is actually excellent - because if it's doing everything accurately and not adding or subtracting anything from the sound. A superb unit will actually sound "nothing special" and will probably be the best. When people start using words like "amazing" etc. I tend to feel that the headphones are coloured and are changing the sound. Nothing against coloured headphones, of course, for pleasurable listening if you like such things - but my own personal choice is always to tell me what is there without adding and without taking away.

The very best cordless headphones I heard were the IS 850. These were the HD 580 headphones with wireless infra-red - the signal was actually sent digitally and the DAC was in the headphones. The sound quality was superb but not that many were sold. Why - because the IS 850 were

No - not if you want quality. Wireless cans are perfect for convenience, but you pay for the transmitter and receiver as well as the headphones. For sound quality, wired is always best. But wireless are great for the TV and the bedroom and wandering around the house listening.

Remember I listened to the HE 60 *after* hearing the Orpheus and it didn't come close. I just found that the overload LED on the HEV 70 flashed far too early for me, before I got any decent volume out of the headphones. I suppose the Orpheus spoilt them for me. So I bought the HD 580 instead (which were the top dynamic at the time).

I have heard all of these and own three of them. I never liked the HE 60, but I only heard it with it's own amplifier and found it distorted too early for me. My plan is to listen to the Orpheus and the HD 800 side by side with music I recorded myself and know intimately and see how they really compare. I suspect that the Orpheus will be better at higher frequencies and the HD 800 better in the lows. Though, as yet, I have not had the time to do this.

The Sennheiser Mini-plug started with the HD 414 in 1968 - so there is a *very* large list. But the "fat" version connector is only used by the HD 580, 600 and 650 as far as I am aware.

The box *is* available as a spare part: Part # 532037 - Case HD 800 So you could try claiming for a replacement.

Sounds like they are telling you an awful lot about the quality of the original recording to me.

Thanks - finger slipped on the keyboard and when I went back to correct it, it wouldn't take - thanks for fixing it.