Sennheiser has announced that it wants to leave the consumer headphone and speaker markets, and has put its corresponding division up for sale. In the future, Sennheiser wants to focus on professional products going forwards.
https://www.notebookcheck.net/Sennheiser-wants-out-of-the-consumer-headphone-and-speaker-markets.522759.0.html
The truth is Sennheiser already lost the market, it relied on its good name for too long without bringing anything new on the table. Magnetic planars for example. It is Audeze's turn for now.
Market be damned, sound hasn't changed, the perception of sound from humans hasn't changed, my Sennheisers bring me pure joy, and I'm sure to countless others (their sennheisers, not mine :-[ ).
"TWE", and "urban" "lifestyle" bluetooth headsets, and whatever.
Everything has its place, but good companies of the likes of Sennheiser shouldn't need to bring every new market fad to the table, they should just be required to sound damned excellent. And they do, they usually do.
Nothing beats the comfort of their MXx70 (370, 470) series for me.
But I knew they were discontinuing 'em. So I got myself a pair of IE4's, and they fit - and sound - just as awful as everything else in this stupid form-factor (the "shove-us-in-your-canals" kind).
Well, guess I'll just go **** myself.
Pity, and kind of strange considering everyone names Sennheiser first when you ask him for some headphones. Personally, I just bought Grado SR80e and I love the sound they produce for just $100 :) I use it with a cheap xDuoo player ($60) and enjoy the combo a lot.
Their consumer headphones are overpriced, they can only complete on the audiophile market (HD600 series and above). Even the Samsung owned AKG or Austrian Audio (founded by former AKG engineers) are better value.
I think consumers generally have lost the interest in quality audio and now prefer convenience over that. Nobody needs really expensive cans for listening to streaming audio. Apple seems to buck that with their $550 headphones. But that's Apple, most can't seem a product that much over the top of the market average. Sennheiser probably correct to dump the consumer stuff and focus where audio enthusiast appreciate paying for audio quality.
Personally, I think Sennheiser has lost the plot with their headphones since the early 2000s. I purchased their HD 435 Manhattan {1990's} version which have a very neutral sound that is amazing. Seven or eight years later I purchased the updated HD 435 headphones. Initially I thought they sounded excellent, but that changed as I realised these were too bass heavy, not neutral sounding. Alas nearly all subsequent headphones have this sound. Thank god my old HD 435 Manhattans still sound great.
Quote from: sorin on February 19, 2021, 09:02:53
Their consumer headphones are overpriced, they can only complete on the audiophile market (HD600 series and above). Even the Samsung owned AKG or Austrian Audio (founded by former AKG engineers) are better value.
Agreed. They've sort of fallen off my radar too. In this age when greedy bastards lead by Apple are pushing for TWS, there are too many brands to buy wired earphones from, strangely.