Quote:
Originally Posted by bada bing 
The K1000 wasn't a big hit towards the end of it's production run. They had some difficulty moving the remaining stock around $650ish range. I don't think that lesson is lost on AKG. Considering the current economic state and AKG's somewhat conservative management, I wouldn't hold out for an expensive out-of-the-mainstream offering anytime soon. As much as I like the K1000 and won't sell my set, I wouldn't want one for my only phone. They are great niche phones and an extremely interesting technological acheivement, but there are some warts that get forgotten sometimes. There aren't many headphone nuts in the world that will buy and hold a $1000 phone just for certain moods and songs.
The K1000 wasn't a big hit towards the end of it's production run. They had some difficulty moving the remaining stock around $650ish range. I don't think that lesson is lost on AKG. Considering the current economic state and AKG's somewhat conservative management, I wouldn't hold out for an expensive out-of-the-mainstream offering anytime soon. As much as I like the K1000 and won't sell my set, I wouldn't want one for my only phone. They are great niche phones and an extremely interesting technological acheivement, but there are some warts that get forgotten sometimes. There aren't many headphone nuts in the world that will buy and hold a $1000 phone just for certain moods and songs.
It would be nice if AKG would go out of mainstream design again. For years they had an extremely innovative "skunkworks" to produce the likes of the K340 and the K1000. Don't know if they have that anymore or if it wouldn't be an economic boondogle if they did.
I'm sure AKG can/will continue to sell good numbers of K70x phones for years to come. Just not to me. Different strokes and all that.
Keep in mind that the K-1000 was introduced in 1989. A product that makes a near 20 year run is fairly successful. Hopefully, that point isn't lost on them.
