Sennheiser Orpheus 2

Discussion in 'Headphones' started by Bill-P, Oct 11, 2015.

?

Will the Orpheus 2 headphone be released independent of the package system?

  1. Ya!

    26.0%
  2. Nah......

    74.0%
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  1. OJneg

    OJneg The Most Insufferable

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    I want to be transported to the alternative timeline where Marv is the Asian headphone guru who gets to visit Senn headquarters and give us the lowdown on the new stuff. We'd probably end up with a better product at the end of the day.
     
  2. kapanak

    kapanak Canucklehead - Friend

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    That's intriguing. Hand made new production Sennheiser branded tubes. I'll take two for my Torpedo III once it arrives and I assemble it. |\/|
     
  3. OJneg

    OJneg The Most Insufferable

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    "Hand Selected in Germany" means arrive from OEM, matched, rebranded, and then plopped in the amp. I'm sure someone will compare pics of the plates and find out JJ makes them.
     
  4. DrForBin

    DrForBin Friend

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    hello,

    please correct me if i am wrong:

    at introduction the original Orpheus was a hugely overpriced, stylistically polarizing, and amazingly good product, that seemingly was the world's best example of what it was.

    so now we have a successor that is hugely overpriced and stylistically polarizing and with any luck a new best example of what it is.

    the way i see it, the price is pretty much irrelevant, if indeed Sennheiser has topped themselves.

    i think there is always a place for the "world's best" of anything, and there will be a fortunate few who can afford to obtain them.

    would i make that purchase? sure, if it is as good as it is touted to be. but only after i had finished my collection of Audi factory hot rods, owned outright my houses in Hilo, Dublin, Christchurch and Astoria on the Columbia. none of which i have.:D
     
  5. Bill-P

    Bill-P Level 42 Mad Wizard

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    Well, I think I should have put an option in the poll that said "Nah, but I want to listen to it!" and then the "Nah!" option would probably not have any vote at all.

    To be perfectly fair, I find Jude's video on this product deservingly hyped. Maybe that's a bit of my Sennheiser fanboyism speaking, but... really, knowing Sennheiser, what they have achieved in the past, knowing what they can come up with, and knowing they spent so much time perfecting this "upgrade" to the original Orpheus, have made me very very very curious, and interested, in listening to this one.

    @MuppetFace, may I get a ticket to your place whenever you get it? Hahaha

    :punk:
     
  6. kapanak

    kapanak Canucklehead - Friend

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    I have to say I agree. For once, I could watch one of Jude's videos and actually feel the authenticity and genuineness of his words. He is truly impressed beyond descriptive words by the new Orpheus 2, and I really think Sennheiser have done it, and made the best headphones ever, once again, by a significant margin over all others. Well done. I'd love to hear one.

    Unfortunately, given the hardware inside the headphones themselves and the matching happening between the amp/DAC and the headphones, it is unlikely they will sell the headphones by themselves, and unlikely this Orpheus 2 will be heard on any other hardware than the Orpheus 2 amp. I would have strongly considered it at 10-15K for the phones.

    However, this is not a limited production, and more akin to super car production. There will be approximately 250 of these combos produced every year according to the Sennheiser Rep on HF. So, perhaps over a long period of saving, one can afford these. I'm not sure one can justify them though :p
     
  7. Bill-P

    Bill-P Level 42 Mad Wizard

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    Well, you can wait on the second-hand market to see if someone will push it out at $40k?

    It really does cost as much as a car, and probably won't be for mortal ears, and may need another DAC to really shine (I still have my reservations about ESS9018, yeah...) but...

    I know Sennheiser can deliver at least on the headphone tech, and that's the important part IMO. The headphone has been and will be, always, the most influential part of the chain, and if one gets it right...

    The thing is, like... 2 decades later, no other company, at any price point, has been able to match the original Orpheus. I guess some can compete with it partially (SR-009?) but I don't think any headphone has outright been a match. So this will be one headphone to behold if it's truly better.
     
  8. kapanak

    kapanak Canucklehead - Friend

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    What the Sabre DAC inside says to me is that Sennheiser wanted to check off a box: the one that says "allows Arab sheikh to listen to the setup straight out of his solid platinum/gold Macbook Pro".

    Also, Sabre was most likely selected for its positive properties AND space saving advantage. Look at how much space Gungnir Multibit or Yggdrasil takes in terms of PCB alone.
     
  9. ultrabike

    ultrabike Measurbator - Admin

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    My two cars put together and brand new were < $40K. Now after 8 and 5 years of use, they are proly a tiny bit less.

    Stax products are bargains. Wait.
     
  10. kapanak

    kapanak Canucklehead - Friend

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    What's sad is that Fang or Sankar see this Orpheus 2 announcement and will think they can also get away with charging 5-10K for their next next flagship.
     
  11. Bill-P

    Bill-P Level 42 Mad Wizard

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    Mm... maybe. Also I know Sennheiser isn't known for making the best amp/DAC on the market, so...

    But their HDVD800 was a decent match for stock HD800. Resolution nonwithstanding.

    Yeah, you're wrong. HD800 is the bargain...

    Oh wait...
     
  12. Psalmanazar

    Psalmanazar Most improved member; A+

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    HD 600/650 is the bargain. Where is Sennheiser with the new HD 580 that prints money at $350?
     
  13. No_One411

    No_One411 Fired by Jude

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    I can do that... NP

    Next headphone coming in at $30K, just for you, the kapanak special. :p
     
  14. ultrabike

    ultrabike Measurbator - Admin

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    EDIT: I actually waited for a while to see if the HD600 would hit < $300 price. Did not come in a long while and went the Massdrop way ($300). It's expensive by my standards. But not bad considering.

    It is what it is. $40k. Hell. Why not $150K.
     
    Last edited: Nov 3, 2015
  15. mkozlows

    mkozlows Friend

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    Honestly, I don't think the sound quality even matters. I mean, I'm sure the engineers at Sennheiser made something that's the best they can do -- working on no-limits things is really fun, and any self-respecting engineer is going to go all out when they have the chance to gold-plate something in both the metaphorical and literal senses.

    But... when you make an amp cased in marble, with tubes and milled knobs that retract into the smooth cool slab and only come out when it's powered on, it's pretty clear that your market is less "discerning audiophile" and more "dude who wants to listen to music while having James Bond slowly lowered into his underwater shark-filled grotto."
     
  16. OJneg

    OJneg The Most Insufferable

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    Ok new poll added:

    Will Sennheiser release the headphone independent of the system?

    For posterity, 8 out of 73 folks voted they would buy the new Orpheus on Day One.
     
  17. ultrabike

    ultrabike Measurbator - Admin

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    First one to vote. I previously voted it was going to be > $50k and that I was not going to buy it. So chances are I'm wrong this time.

    However, I voted the way I did because I feel there is a purposed attempt by Sennheiser to make this thing incompatible with anything else.
     
  18. Bill-P

    Bill-P Level 42 Mad Wizard

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    I voted yes, but not because I think it's going to be compatible with other systems, but that I think Sennheiser will want to sell spares to folks who would love to own 2 headphones to go with their HEV1060.

    Otherwise they would have soldered the plug shut into the enclosure.
     
  19. n3rdling

    n3rdling Friend

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    I think it's very unlikely that Senn releases the HP by itself unless pressured by the community ala the Jan Meier HE90 group buy. The connector isn't compatible with any other amp so they'd have to provide that to the community as well. The internal amp might also have specific drive requirements.

    Questions I'm too lazy to look up the answers to: When does this come out? Is the price 55k or 40k?
     
  20. DrForBin

    DrForBin Friend

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