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Looks like Drop might be 'dropping' a HD800

edahl

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I wonder if all this SENNHEISER move with DROP has something to do with them selling their consumer business. Boost sales to make that part of their company worth more.
This probably isn't a very big run though, in the grand scheme of things.
 

edahl

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384 sold in 10 hours. They talked about a 3000 units run.
They've had to walk back on that, Sennheiser said it was too optimistic for a november release. So at best the first run is "limited".
 

cursive

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384 sold in 10 hours. They talked about a 3000 units run.

400 sold right now, at 1100 each, that's $440,000 plus various local tax. Almost half a million dollars taken in in 11 hrs, pretty crazy to think about. Us headphone fans are alive and well apparently!
 

solderdude

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It allows Drop to place a rather large order. Much larger than the usual amount Sennheiser produces. It also guarantees Sennheiser of a certain risk free income when 3000 are sold. 3000 at $1100.- = $ 3.3M which will not be a small order. Sennheiser will probably get at least $2.5M.
This will surely cover development cost and production (tooling is the same, ring is a different color and headphoneband stamp is different.
For the large part the HD800S and HD8XX use the same tooling. Also development has to be paid and Drop is in it to make a living as well.

This is business, nothing else. I think it is great Drop is trying to get an improved version for less than the normal price of a HD800S.
And remember... no one is forced to buy it. People choose to buy ans wait for what's coming.
 
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edahl

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Time to buckle up for the first waiting period: for reviews and YouTube perhaps actually insightful commentary.
 

cursive

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It allows Drop to place a rather large order. Much larger than the usual amount Sennheiser produces. It also guarantees Sennheiser of a certain risk free income when 3000 are sold. 3000 at $ 3.3M which will not be a small order. Sennheiser will probably get at least $2.5M.
This will surely cover development cost and production (tooling is the same, ring is a different color and headphoneband stamp is different.
For the large part the HD800S and HD8XX use the same tooling. Also development has to be paid and Drop is in it to make a living as well.

This is business, nothing else. I think it is great Drop is trying to get an improved version for less than the normal price of a HD800S.
And remember... no one is forced to buy it. People choose to buy ans wait for what's coming.


I definitely agree with you, despite some of my comments of frustration on the shipping time or price, I think it's awesome that people can basically buy into a developing product with an awesome company like Sennheiser. I mean lets be honest, just look at their sales history, even on drop alone, and it's just success after success. HD58X, HD6XX, PC37X, Sennheiser has been making great audio products for a long time now.

The Drop model won't work for all of us, but as you said, we're not forced into anything, we can choose to buy, or we can choose to wait, or buy something else. I like the idea of their engineers taking another look at a high end product and seeing how they can tweak, further improve, or adjust it's design to give us the consumer another option, or an upgrade. It's good for the industry as a whole, and good for headphone nuts like us. More choice or options is never a bad thing in my opinion.

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I do quite like the look of the black, silver, and dark blue ring.
 

tomchr

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$ 3.3M which will not be a small order. Sennheiser will probably get at least $2.5M.
I doubt that. Distributor margins in the headphone space are typically in the 35-40% range. I'd be surprised if Sennheiser gets more than $2ish million. Hopefully that'll keep the lights on for a while. :)

Tom
 

edahl

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Has anyone here EQ-ed their 800/S to the drop response. If so, what do you think about it?
 

AtomAmp

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428 and counting, couldn't be all out of their mind, I suppose. I'm thinking of pre-ordering myself.
 

edahl

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The little changes in the frequency curve can easily be eq‘d with the current offering. The big question is, will it have an effect on sound stage and/or overall tonality?

Can you return orders from Drop?
Yes, there's a 30 day return policy.
 

bloodshoteyed

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One would have to take in mind that you only get warranty from Drop, not from Sennheiser.
Also, these headphones, when they ship them outside of Europe, have a substantial value so that will be declared meaning the chance you get taxed (+ import duties) will also be substantial.


the taxes and their handling of EU customers are the resons that killed off Drop for me

remember when they had EU drops? they not only didn't market them really much, for a btter part of the time duration that they were available, even the links on their site were non-existent (with their marketing crying afterwards there just wasn't enough revenue)...
i remember the last days of it pretty vividly, since i still had the link bookmarked and could snatch up a pair K7xx for cheap

and yes, the doubts spoken out about quality issues i agree with; had enough problems with their stuff not to ever do it again - for non US customers it's just not worth it
 

leonidas

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Yes, there's a 30 day return policy.

Seems only possible for US customers and only if the item is new/unused? Makes no sense:

US customers may return or exchange these items in new, unused condition within 30 days of delivery by contacting Drop Support.
 

edahl

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At least in Norway the "import duties" are just VAT which you'd have to pay anyway if you were buying a product in Norway, literally only difference being that with Drop it's calculated during import and not at checkout. With the added benefit that sometimes you luck out and don't have to pay VAT. Just mentally add 25%; it's not hard, and still a good deal.
 
OP
samwell7

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the taxes and their handling of EU customers are the resons that killed off Drop for me

remember when they had EU drops? they not only didn't market them really much, for a btter part of the time duration that they were available, even the links on their site were non-existent (with their marketing crying afterwards there just wasn't enough revenue)...
i remember the last days of it pretty vividly, since i still had the link bookmarked and could snatch up a pair K7xx for cheap

and yes, the doubts spoken out about quality issues i agree with; had enough problems with their stuff not to ever do it again - for non US customers it's just not worth it
As far as I can tell (yet to buy anything from there) it seems pretty good to Aus, the only stitch-up is the exchange rate and shipping time, the shipping costs aren't too wild.
 

jhaider

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Yes, there's a 30 day return policy.

Sort of. The policy as written allows for return of “new, unused” product. “I took these for a spin and they suck” takes one out of the scope of their written return policy.

How they handle things in practice is up to them, but they are only bound by the policy as written.
 

edahl

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Sort of. The policy as written allows for return of “new, unused” product. “I took these for a spin and they suck” takes one out of the scope of their written return policy.

How they handle things in practice is up to them, but they are only bound by the policy as written.
That's thankfully incorrect. "Like new" is defined thus:
  • Items will be free of cosmetic defects and in perfect working condition
  • All original components intact: Inclusive of any included inserts or additional materials. Be in original packaging and packaging will have minimal damage
Drop's return/replacement policy – Drop Help Center

So you can indeed take them for a spin and work out whether or not they suck.
 
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