JPS Labs Abyss - Page 8

Thanks, yes its caused quite a stir, but in my view its what we all thought, but Art Dudley had the balls to go public 

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Originally Posted by arnaud 

Complin, thanks for posting this, I wouldn't have gone to stereophile in search of an interesting read but this is pure gold

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Originally Posted by Beagle 

 

It will be the usual. A "trusted source" will proclaim that they are the best headphones they have ever heard, they will cost $2500, and we will all go following the pied piper, our wallets being torn from our pockets as the national debt figure rises even further.

I correct myself. According to innerfidelity.com they will list for around $5000 

Now why am I thinking they won't be worth $5000?

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Originally Posted by complin 

These two articles from Stereophile are worth a read regarding the ever escalating prices of audio!

 

Skin Deep

http://www.stereophile.com/content/skin-deep

Both of these were a great read. It is something I've been thinking about for a while and, even though I don't pay a lot of attention to high-end audio gear it was pretty obvious to me over the last decade that manufacturers have been catering to the rich with crazily expensive products.

This was nailed home for me over the last couple of days. On Friday I stopped by a high-end audio dealer on the way to work to, yet again, ponder the KEF LS50 for my desktop and see what else they had. On the way out, I noticed the wonderful sound coming from their main system. It was a pair of ELAC 310s driven by a local Japanese 12AU7/KT88-based power amp with matching pre and the source was a very basic Sony SACD player. For <$15k the sound was glorious (helped considerably by the room size being perfect for them). On Saturday I went to another audio dealer to try a few components and, for fun, their main system, where a bunch of top-of-the-line components, each costing more than the whole system did in the shop the day before, feeding a pair of Wilson Sashas. Great sound, sure, but I'd still take the rig I heard on Friday with my own digital sources.

It's a shame that as headphone audio becomes more accepted as a legitimate "audiophile" medium among the general audiophile community, the cross-pollination brings all kinds of BS from the greater audiophile world with it.  

I'd rather listen to an "accessory" and be snake oil free.

I've got this funny mentality where the more expensive something becomes, the pickier I become with it. In a way, this leads me to better spending habits because I'm actually "happier" with the mid-tier stuff. 

Maybe it's a habit/value I picked up from my father. For example, he was a professional cook for over twenty years, but he never bought any expensive knifeware or the like. He was perfectly happy with the discount knives from the wholesale. When he was sous-chef at a high end restaurant he did have access to the nicer stuff, but then when he worked on his own he was content with the cheap stuff because it worked just as well as the expensive stuff, and yeah it wore out faster but then he'd just get a new one for a few bucks the next month. 

And I'm sitting here with my HE-6, and yeah it's fantastic... but I'm probably not going to keep it around for much longer. 

You are not alone.

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Originally Posted by Armaegis 

I've got this funny mentality where the more expensive something becomes, the pickier I become with it. In a way, this leads me to better spending habits because I'm actually "happier" with the mid-tier stuff. 

 

Maybe it's a habit/value I picked up from my father. For example, he was a professional cook for over twenty years, but he never bought any expensive knifeware or the like. He was perfectly happy with the discount knives from the wholesale. When he was sous-chef at a high end restaurant he did have access to the nicer stuff, but then when he worked on his own he was content with the cheap stuff because it worked just as well as the expensive stuff, and yeah it wore out faster but then he'd just get a new one for a few bucks the next month. 

 

And I'm sitting here with my HE-6, and yeah it's fantastic... but I'm probably not going to keep it around for much longer. 

And so we should all be.

It's pretty obvious to most of us that have been in this game for a while, that above a certain price point the costs of those tiny weeny improvements cost exponentially more.

We all have to make a value judgement as to what is important to us and what we are prepared to compromise on, so I think we all reach a cost/performance plateau beyond which personally we don't feel the perceived improvement in sound is worth shelling out those extra $  

Quote:

Originally Posted by Armaegis 

I've got this funny mentality where the more expensive something becomes, the pickier I become with it. In a way, this leads me to better spending habits because I'm actually "happier" with the mid-tier stuff. 

 

Maybe it's a habit/value I picked up from my father. For example, he was a professional cook for over twenty years, but he never bought any expensive knifeware or the like. He was perfectly happy with the discount knives from the wholesale. When he was sous-chef at a high end restaurant he did have access to the nicer stuff, but then when he worked on his own he was content with the cheap stuff because it worked just as well as the expensive stuff, and yeah it wore out faster but then he'd just get a new one for a few bucks the next month. 

 

And I'm sitting here with my HE-6, and yeah it's fantastic... but I'm probably not going to keep it around for much longer. 

man, I love the way these things look.

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Originally Posted by WhiteCrow 

man, I love the way these things look.

I can't help but think that you might be the only one.

Honestly, I don't think they look bad, but to me they don't look like a $500 can, much less $5k. Just too DIY, although I suppose the final product might be significantly different.

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Originally Posted by Defiant00 

 

I can't help but think that you might be the only one.

 

Honestly, I don't think they look bad, but to me they don't look like a $500 can, much less $5k. Just too DIY, although I suppose the final product might be significantly different.

Yeah, clearly the price they are hoping to sell them at is ludicrous.  but I really love the look of them...although they really just look like an LCD2 mod.

Nonetheless, With this kind of approach, they wont get far.

I mean look at HFIman for instance or Audeze, even now, when they have already established themselves as a supreme headphone company, they dont sell headphones for more than 1300 and 2000 respectively.

The HE-6 is a steal, the LCD-3 are great too, but even if they shot themselves in their foot, they just wouldnt sell headphones for 5000 UNLESS, they were sure they are worth it.

I mean dont get me wrong, the prototype is said to sound good (like a 1000 good at most though) and even though it is a premium headphone according to them and includes all sorts of luxiries, 5000 is NOT competitive, not Ultrasone-like expensive, its crazy!

Even if the development was very expensive, they just cant release such a headphone for that price. It wont sell, not with the current competition there is!

Conclusion, not a chance! No way to success!

JPS Labs are doomed as of now...

Cheers! Luke

If I ever can in my life, I'm gonna give these cans a listen, but never, EVER would I pay that much for a set of cans. Exactly why I will never own an SR-009 :(

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Originally Posted by conquerator2 

Nonetheless, With this kind of approach, they wont get far.

 

I mean look at HFIman for instance or Audeze, even now, when they have already established themselves as a supreme headphone company, they dont sell headphones for more than 1300 and 2000 respectively.

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The HE-6 is a steal, the LCD-3 are great too, but even if they shot themselves in their foot, they just wouldnt sell headphones for 5000 UNLESS, they were sure they are worth it.

There's no set worthiness to headphones, though. For me, the LCD-3 aren't worth $300 because my budget's tight and I rarely use full-sized phones (= large chunk of budget squandered on something I'd rarely need). They'd be worth $30, though, because that much I could spend right now and still feel good about it. (Assuming I couldn't resell them for more than I paid.)

For others, $5000 is worth it to have what their peers don't.

Made from pure Unobtainium, well for me anyway.