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Why has the 800s never been dropped?

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While I know that there are different camps regarding the HD800s, one being the hate it, over priced not worth it camp, another being OMG can't live without it, I can hear god and then the camp that I come from which is somewhere in the middle. I wonder if MD will ever make that drop happen. I have seen at least a half dozen polls expressing interest in them by the thousands but they have never been dropped, anyone know if there is a reason for this? Is there something I am missing?
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rastus
1391
Nov 6, 2018
Fellow works for Senn, think I saw in a post: "I believe they are retiring the HD 800 model, and relegating the HD 650 to ”Pro” musician’s equipment channels rather than continuing to sell it as a consumer product (though no doubt it will still be sold at many common retailers)." https://www.massdrop.com/talk/10211/a-massdrop-version-of-the-sennheiser-hd-700/2233170
Let me go at this a different way than RockyMountains attempted. The HD800 and HD800S are both what is known as a "statement" level products. This is also sometimes referred to as TOTL "Top of the Line". This is a badge of honor for any engineering group, they are given damn near free rein to do the best they can without cost constraints. Putting those type of products up for sale on a group buy or "deals" site will only negatively impact their perceived value and brand prestige. Eventually you may see the HD800 on here but it will have to be completely discontinued first. The HD800S maintains it's statement level status despite the release of the HD820's and it's higher price.
Sennheiser is fairly protective of their pricing. I bought an HD650 the first time I saw them drop below $350 (yeah it's been a while). For the next several years after that I never saw them below 399.99 and were often listed at $499.99 or $549. The reason being that Sennheiser cut off any distributor or retailer that sold below MAP(Minimum Advertised Price). Sennheiser is part of the old audio establishment that used traditional dealer distribution for decades. If you don't protect the pricing in that scenario all your dealers get undercut and get real angry real fast (they have product they can't move at a reasonable profit).
ethanchan
270
Nov 6, 2018
ElectronicVicesI get it, I just don't agree with it, but in the end it doesn't matter what I think. lol
Because Sennheiser would have to be crazy to put up their flagship/TOTL headphones up onto a group buy site. It would totally wreck the branding of the product. The 6XX was only put up once Sennheiser had the 660 in the pipeline (even if some people think the 6XX is better, the general public just goes by product number). BTW, it's 800S. It's not the 800s. There's a difference as 800s could be taken to mean the plural form of the HD800, which was discontinued years ago.
ethanchan
270
Nov 6, 2018
Or, you can just try not being a dick. parentz teech it to chirin
ethanchanYeah, sorry about that. I did overreact just now. I had honestly meant my comments about 800S vs 800s to be well-intentioned, as I've seen it cause confusion before on forums.
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