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AKG K1000 - Possible return to production - Page 3

post #31 of 159
9/9/08 at 3:12pm
I would buy an extra pair or two if they reintroduce the K-1000.

The bass response is excellent, provided you connect the K-1000 to a speaker power amp. The K-1000 manual tells you to do this. People who jack a K-1000 into a 350mW headphone amp are the ones who complain of a lack of bass.
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post #32 of 159
9/9/08 at 3:29pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by catscratch View Post
It would be cool, but an unverified rumor of an email with an AKG rep as proof... sorry, no offense to the OP, but I'm not going to hold my breath. I think there's even less of a market for esoteric, ultra-high-end headphones than there ever was, especially ones with the bling and flashy appeal of a dead dog. The K701 is certainly showing AKG what works in the business world (as far as I know), and if AKG's alleged reasons for discontinuing the K1k are true (manufacturing costs too high and sales too low), then the K1000 also showed them what not to do as well. Though they should have learned that lesson with the K240 Sextett, K340, and heck knows what else besides, which were all highly complex designs that were very expensive to produce. The fact that they didn't may give us hope for more good products from AKG in the future.

I'd count on more limited edition products from Grado and Audio-Technica, but I wouldn't bet on this. But please AKG, prove me wrong.
I think you're wrong, as a newer hifi headphone user, I am very interested and would buy a pair. At a $1000-$1500 range they would sell like hot cakes to all of us who don't have the wherewithal to go searching for them at exorbitant prices on foreign sites.
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post #33 of 159
9/9/08 at 6:29pm
Nah, it's not going to happen.
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post #34 of 159
9/9/08 at 11:34pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by jordanross View Post
I think you're wrong, as a newer hifi headphone user, I am very interested and would buy a pair. At a $1000-$1500 range they would sell like hot cakes to all of us who don't have the wherewithal to go searching for them at exorbitant prices on foreign sites.
If they were going to sell like hot cakes, why did AKG discontinue them? As I remember, it was due to low sales and high production costs. This wasn't too long ago, and in the 2-3 years it's been, I seriously doubt anything has changed.

Head-fi may present a skewed view of what's viable in the marketplace, but you have to understand that head-fi is only a tiny fraction of the market, and a large company like AKG will never pander to it. A smaller company may, and something that has a very limited release - i.e. Sennheiser's re-release of the HE90 - can be feasible as well. But not a large-scale flagship headphone.

As an older head-fi'er, I've seen more high-end products discontinued than introduced. Many audiophiles have now moved onto home theater, and there is even less of a market for dedicated audiophile headphones. As a pro monitoring tool, the K1000 may have more of a chance, but I don't know much about the pro market.

Lastly, most people here that are interested in the K1k and are financially able to acquire one already have one. It's not that rare, yet.

Still, I hope I'm wrong. I'm generally a dour skeptical bastard.
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post #35 of 159
9/9/08 at 11:42pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by catscratch View Post
A smaller company may, and something that has a very limited release - i.e. Sennheiser's re-release of the HE90 - can be feasible as well. But not a large-scale flagship headphone.

correct me if I'm wrong - weren't those HE90's constructed using sennheiser's stock of spare parts?
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post #36 of 159
9/10/08 at 12:06am
Sorry, catscratch. I didn't look at it that way. I guess your right but at over $2000 on ebay doesn't seem affordable to me at least, I'd rather dump 2k in speakers like you said. I still wish they would do a run of k1k's. Im going to do a poll to see what headfi thinks about the re-release . Even though we are a skewed market, like you said.
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post #37 of 159
9/10/08 at 3:06am
Quote:
Originally Posted by ericj View Post
correct me if I'm wrong - weren't those HE90's constructed using sennheiser's stock of spare parts?
I'm not sure. I've heard it this way, and I heard that they were also new. I don't know what to believe.

Quote:
Originally Posted by jordanross View Post
Sorry, catscratch. I didn't look at it that way. I guess your right but at over $2000 on ebay doesn't seem affordable to me at least, I'd rather dump 2k in speakers like you said. I still wish they would do a run of k1k's. Im going to do a poll to see what headfi thinks about the re-release . Even though we are a skewed market, like you said.
Trust me, I'm only playing devil's advocate. On an emotional plane I would very much like to see them re-released, even if I don't believe it will happen. The K1k, along with the balanced HD650, is my favorite dynamic headphone.

Still, if you're going to be hunting down vintage headphones, I would suggest the O2 Mk1. Prices on them are pretty much guaranteed to go up soon, so you might as well jump on it while there is a chance.
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post #38 of 159
9/10/08 at 10:00am
I also doubt that AKG will bring them back, but I will give my friend at AKG USA a call to see what's up.
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post #39 of 159
9/15/08 at 3:48pm
OK, I spoke to my guy at AKG. His response was that they could be brought back, but (And he really emphasized this) their return is NOT IMMINENT!

My impression was that they have no current plans to re-release the K1000's. Like most companies their marketing plans look a year or two in to the future. So if you want a new K1000 you should write to AKG in Austria. Perhaps if they were shown that there is a demand they'd consider coming out with a new version. Yes, a new version. Before the plug was pulled considerable work was done on a refined (Updated) version. If or when they actually come out with another Earspeaker they already have the development work done. They just have to be convinced of the demand.

However, Don't hold your breath. If they are ever built it'll be years, not months.
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post #40 of 159
9/15/08 at 3:50pm
I'd buy a pair immediately at first possible chance.
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post #41 of 159
9/15/08 at 4:06pm
omg...a new version of my favorite headphone??? that'd be awesome!
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post #42 of 159
9/15/08 at 4:38pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by jordanross View Post
Sorry, catscratch. I didn't look at it that way. I guess your right but at over $2000 on ebay doesn't seem affordable to me at least, I'd rather dump 2k in speakers like you said. I still wish they would do a run of k1k's. Im going to do a poll to see what headfi thinks about the re-release . Even though we are a skewed market, like you said.
Where in the heck are you getting your numbers from?

In the last five years of constantly monitoring headphone sales on ebay I have never seen a K1000 sell for $2000, let alone an amount above $2000. The majority sell between $900-1200, depending on condition and location, with only the select few "NOS" and "near mint" examples going for ~$1500. Did you just perform an exaggerated round up of the numbers, or do you have examples of K1000's selling for $2000+?

Here are plenty of links to completed auctions from the last three weeks to prove my point.

AKG K1000 K-1000 Kopfhörer - eBay (item 150291716746 end time Sep-13-08 10:30:00 PDT) finished at $1133

AKG K-1000 Kopfhörer - ELEKTROSTATEN - KLASSIKER !!! - eBay (item 150287120862 end time Sep-03-08 13:30:27 PDT) finished at $1126

Bester Kopfhörer der Welt AKG K1000 absolut Highend!!! - eBay (item 220280980543 end time Sep-15-08 08:33:01 PDT) finished at $1203

AKG K-1000 headphone,MINT - eBay (item 280263747215 end time Sep-07-08 07:01:47 PDT) finished at $1500

AKG K1000 AUDIOPHILE HEADPHONES ABSOLUTELY MINT!!! - eBay (item 150288164245 end time Sep-01-08 11:07:08 PDT) finished at $1580
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post #43 of 159
9/15/08 at 6:06pm
The K1000 in good condition cost about $1000. The only reason they sell for more because some have been recabled with expensive cables which generally do nothing to the sound, IMO, from experience.
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post #44 of 159
9/15/08 at 6:07pm
Also, anyone notice how many K1000's are popping up since this thread started? Time to get them unloaded before a newer, cheaper version ruins the value of the discontinued pairs. lol
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post #45 of 159
9/15/08 at 9:13pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by number1sixerfan View Post
Also, anyone notice how many K1000's are popping up since this thread started? Time to get them unloaded before a newer, cheaper version ruins the value of the discontinued pairs. lol
Hey everyone, I just heard from a Sony rep that a new R10 batch will be out next month!
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