New AKG line - Page 12

No, no, no, they already did that by making K1000, well maybe not exactly the same , but still...:)

 

Quote:

Originally Posted by Uncle Erik 

My fear for a new AKG "flagship" is that they'll put a mildly modded K-701 driver into a housing dripping with aluminum and leather, housed in a fancy box.

I'm not expecting a night and day difference in the sound, but they look the biz!

Actually I've just seen the price, and the first thought that came inot my head i can't share with you. The toned down version goes along the lines of  .... "stuff that!"

Good point. & figured as much.. Dynamics are just more cost effective & convienent (Electro's).. The Good thing is that Ortho's are stepping up to the plate in a major way.. LCD2/HE5 SE/HE6 (which I will audition for a week) Ortho's are superior to dynamic in certain areas. No question. I just refuse to drink the kool aid that any ortho will better the best of the dynamic world. No offense to anyone..

Quote:

Originally Posted by tdogzthmn 

 

Kinda like betamax and other technologies were are "superior" but dont make it the the market mainstream.  Electros are more expensive to produce which is why I believe most companies shy away from them and instead choose to tweak the existing technology they already have.  If a method of production is discovered which makes electrostatics more cost effective to produce i'm sure more companies would ditch dynamics.  The fact is most people listen to music on ipods and the like, electros are much too demanding to be powered by these devices hence a lack in market demand.  The way to change this is to get people to care more about audio quality and not just convenience.  The market always gets what it wants.  Maybe head-fi could start a campaign to get people to care more?  Then you will have your affordable elecrtos at the Best Buy down the street.

Yeah.. Like graphic cards. I have old boxing magazines from the 80's that show advertising for computers.. Talk about night & day specs! Lets compare a 80's DT880 to the T1.. Night & day difference in SQ? I mean above AM to FM type differences.. I think it's safe to say, no..Not to diss the T1.. It's just the technology of voice coil technology.. The T1 even uses a ring design that the DT48 uses..Albeit MR Goof was quick to note.. The T1 ultilzes a 3 ring design & of better quality.. But basing anything off of 73 yr old technology, no matter how good doesn't bold too well for voice coil based headphones.. Since Dynamic technology is so old I can see my people are critical of the HD800 price tag..1,400.. But having the largest driver 56mm out of dynamic headphones is a major plus, even if it just looks good on paper.. The HD800 is still cutting edge.. But I think 1,000 is more reasonable.. But no one outside of Sen truly knows if the HD800 is over priced or not. I'm more out raged at Grado who kept the GS1000 design & construction, minus a few tweaks.. & charge 1,700 for it.. Grado should have done a do over, instead of being lazy & duplicating the GS1000 from a cosmetic point of view.. I still believe it's one reason the PS1000 isn't as popular as the HD800/T1.. & they charge you extra for a wooden box.. Who is doing Grado's PR? Just bring back the HP1/2, since they seem to be the most respected Grado headphones ever produced.. & are true marvels in audio excellence..Again, a vintage headphone from the 70's (I believe.)

Quote:

Originally Posted by Uncle Erik 

The basic technology of moving coil design hasn't changed much, but computer modeling has squeezed a lot more from it recently, designs that would not have been possible 20 years ago. The same goes for enclosures. Think about what computers were like back then.

The problem is that a lot of companies aren't putting anything into R&D these days. I believe that Sennheiser invested a lot of resources into the HD-800. Other companies recycled old drivers into new housings and pushed the price over $1,000. My fear for a new AKG "flagship" is that they'll put a mildly modded K-701 driver into a housing dripping with aluminum and leather, housed in a fancy box.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Noobiiee 

Soooo? Where's the Q1000????? 

I hope for a K/Q1000 too

Some pics from the new Q701

http://de.engadget.com/2010/09/04/ifa-2010-akg-holt-sich-quincy-jones-fur-neue-kopfhorer/

http://www.blogcdn.com/de.engadget.com/media/2010/09/quincy02.jpg

I hope I could get a test sample from the Q901 ....

I live in Austria near Vienna

Quote:

Originally Posted by Blackmore 

No, no, no, they already did that by making K1000, well maybe not exactly the same , but still...:)

 

 

I think the drivers (capsule) of the K1000 are a very special thing, they are very expensive to made.

AFAIK have AKG only few drivers for repairing.

I hope they will make a remake of the K1000 soon - but with original drivers and not mod. K/Q 701/702 drivers.

In my post I tried to be sarcastic with less negative tone, cos  who dreams of K/Q 702 model in K1000 body, not me anyway...

To put K1000 in production again, you need lots of, hmmm, how can I put differ, dont know...pennies and b..ls, pardon for my French.

 

Quote:

Originally Posted by FritzS 

I think the drivers (capsule) of the K1000 are a very special thing, they are very expensive to made.

AFAIK have AKG only few drivers for repairing.

 

I hope they will make a remake of the K1000 soon - but with original drivers and not mod. K/Q 701/702 drivers.

The way AKG (Harmon) have been acting it is as if the limits have been reached as far as headphones go. Harman do have some pretty expensive and possibly unique testing facilities, particularly for blind testing of speakers. Maybe they have run tests and found that as far as actual audibility is concerned, the present products are indistinguishable from very 'high end' ones. Maybe AKG is actually doing us a favour by not selling overpriced BS headphones?

So instead it makes more sense to concentrate on design style rather than design technology as a business model.

Maybe Harmon just prefers selling to mass market to generate max profit and maybe they care less for innovation as highend phones doesn't make enough $$$. A company that doesn't innovate will soon or later fall behind....

The purpose of flagship phones is for setting technology direction for the company in the long run, you might not be interest in them and that's ok, but their technology will affect cheaper line product too as those new technology will tickle down the line over time.

Quote:

Originally Posted by SleepyOne 

Maybe Harmon just prefers selling to mass market to generate max profit and maybe they care less for innovation as highend phones doesn't make enough $$$. A company that doesn't innovate will soon or later fall behind....

 

The purpose of flagship phones is for setting technology direction for the company in the long run, you might not be interest in them and that's ok, but their technology will affect cheaper line product too as those new technology will tickle down the line over time.

I agree with what you say., My post was to there to turn the discussion away from AKG and more towards Harman. Harman's history is more important than AKGs in determining a likely future.

Sadly it is a little bleak given Harmon's past history on what they done with brands they brought up

What's Harmon's past history?  I need a history lesson

Quote:

Originally Posted by rhythmdevils 

What's Harmon's past history?  I need a history lesson

To give one example they purchased Infinity Speakers from Arnie Nudell who designed high end Infinity line with the IRS and was a revolutionary high end speaker design and then they went and started to sell cheap Best Buy and Circuit City 50.00 speakers and labeled them with the infinity brand and they still sell them cheap speakers mass market. They took a high end design and destroyed it. Where has AKG been since they were purchased. They have not designed new products in the high end. Their business plan is low end mass market products.

Yeah, after Harman took over Infinity Systems, Inc.,

Infinity went from the revolutionary planar EMIT tweeters and planar EMIM midranges to CMMD speakers for the mass market.

Granted, they did have a couple of high-end designs such as the Prelude, etc., that were well reviewed.

The CMMD drivers, [ceramic metal matrix diaphragm], do have some advantages over polypropylene, paper, kevlar, and plain metal diaphragms, but they still cannot match the speed, detail, clarity, and openness of the older Infinity EMIT tweeters and EMIM midranges, IMHO.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Frank I 

To give one example they purchased Infinity Speakers from Arnie Nudell who designed high end Infinity line with the IRS and was a revolutionary high end speaker design and then they went and started to sell cheap Best Buy and Circuit City 50.00 speakers and labeled them with the infinity brand and they still sell them cheap speakers mass market. They took a high end design and destroyed it. Where has AKG been since they were purchased. They have not designed new products in the high end. Their business plan is low end mass market products.

AKG are famous for the mics line, they are not only hps company. BTW, most of the hps on the market are made in China and AKG products are still made in Austria.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Acix 

AKG are famous for the mics line, they are not only hps company. BTW, most of the hps on the market are made in China and AKG products are still made in Austria.

I hope they will make the AKG products in future in Vienna and not in China 

specially the top range products!

PS: I live in Austria, near Vienna