[Sound Eq]

   
Astell&Kern makes the AK Jr player for $499.
 
JH Audio just released the $899 Rosie, which I'm pretty sure (early on) I prefer to my $1099 JH13 Pro.
 
Of course, there are many other companies making digital audio players and in-ear headphones, but since these are the two companies we're mostly talking about in this thread, I think they're already doing what you're asking. (No, I'm not suggesting that $499 and $899 are affordable for everyone.)
 
I drive an old Honda Fit. Its paid for, and it suits my needs. For what I paid for it, I didn't get high performance or luxurious features (or even Bluetooth). If I want more from a car than I'm getting from my Fit, I fully expect (and know) I'll probably have to pay more.

i knew this would be the reply
 
anyway I tried to deliver a message through you, but again sooner or later things will change once bigger companies will jump in, and maybe there will a shift from even phone companies to start thinking about making their phones audiophile as a standard, look at lg v10 which is a dam amazing phone/dap now, To be honest the lg v10 is a big competitor to high end daps, and I am talking high end ones. I own it and I own the ak100ii, chord mojo, and i owned chord hugo, and many other things. LG can easily satisfy so many head-fiers and its an all in one device
 
anyhow we all love this forum, as I myself own few of the expensive gears mentioned here on the forums, am I sad that I paid so much for them no, I am happy to own them
but I wish that one day iems like angie or other iems would be offered at 300 USD  
 
anyhow thanks Jude for at least reading my post 

 

[speedracer1]

Nice mid-cycle product refresh...
 
As the proud owner of the JH Layla's (original version carbon fiber) I'm "not surprised" that JH Audio deiced to go in this direction.  Simply put the work involved in getting the carbon fiber shells perfected was honestly more work then building the entire earpiece!  I also think you simply eliminate potential customer complaint's when you have a solid metal finish. The marketing angle "full metal jacket" coupled with simplifying the earpiece is a brilliant move.  In addition, working with Drew from Moon Audio was also a solid move as well. Drew is well know in the industry for building "quality" cables. I just hope as the owner of the "older style Layla" I can purchase the cables from AK or Moon audio  soon.
 
Sincerely,
your friend in audio,
-Speed...

 

[Antihippy]

Jh audio Angie is nice, but it's not like it's the be all and end all of iems.

 

[jude]

  ...but I wish that one day iems like angie or other iems would be offered at 300 USD  

 
That was kind of the point about my Honda Fit. It's hard to expect potent performance and luxurious appointments for the price of the Fit.
 

Jh audio Angie is nice, but it's not like it's the be all and end all of iems.

 
I don't think anyone's suggesting that. That said, if one can't reasonably expect Angie performance at $300, discussing be-all and end-all performance at that price is an even further stretch.

 

[Sound Eq]

i will attend one of those meets and I will look for you man and have a serious discussion
 
I am just kiddin
 
on a serious note, really appreciate what you gave us, as you made huge difference in audio for guys like us, despite our wallets are getting thinner and thinner, but hey its all about that amazing feeling u get once u get engulfed in music

 

[jude]

  i will attend one of those meets and I will look for you man and have a serious discussion
 
I am just kiddin
 
on a serious note, really appreciate what you gave us, as you made huge difference in audio for guys like us, despite our wallets are getting thinner and thinner, but hey its all about that amazing feeling u get once u get engulfed in music

 
Cheers, @hykhleif! I hope we do have a chance to meet at a meet. Thanks for the kind words.

 

[Sound Eq]

   
Cheers, @hykhleif! I hope we do have a chance to meet at a meet. Thanks for the kind words.

you are the coolest guy, and whenever i listen to my gear I just think man without this site i would still be listening to those lousy beats headphones
 
my next year purchases are:
 
1- shure kse1500
2- ak320
3- and a full size headphone  i am still waiting for that dreamy basshead audiophile headphone to surface that has big bass, layered , warm, rich, and dream like sound sig with no harshness at all

 

[natalieann]

Jh audio Angie is nice, but it's not like it's the be all and end all of iems.

Best I have ever heard...

 

[CalvinW]

Pretty bummed that the price increase is due to the Moon Audio cables. I bought their top end Silver Dragon USB cable and it broke within a year.
It started disconnecting randomly and it wouldn't even recognize my DAC now. Dealing with their customer support was just a lost cause. 
Imagine using their IEM cables, where you would frequently plug and unplug from your DAP, it probably won't even last half a year.
Hoping that the old Layla is going to have a price drop, then I'm definitely going to snag one up. 

 

[CalvinW]

Totally agree, I'm desperately waiting to see if the old Layla is going to have a price drop.
I find the carbon fibre body so much nicer than the new titanium one. Too shiny for my taste.
Though when you say that Moon Audio builds "quality" cables, I don't know if that's sarcasm.
I bought their top of the line Silver Dragon cable and it may have offered sonic benefits, but the durability is just notorious. 
It was a USB cable too, where I just plugged it into my DAC and left it there, but it broke within a year. 
It can't even recognize my DAC anymore, so back to the stock USB cable I go... 

 

[audionewbi]

I do not personally see the appeal of Layal as a universal, angie is more manageable. All of a sudden Rosie has my attention. Out of the entire AK collaboration I find Angie and AKT8iE the most appealing. I have just purchased the T8iE and I truly enjoy its fast hitting bass with well extended sparking high that is never bright. If the sound was more expansive (like the EX-1000) no IEM in the market could come close to it.
 
The appeal of Layal is the larger soundstage, Angie soundstage is still respectable but nowhere as large as Layla. If local price of Rosie is reasonable I think Rosie will out sale Angie as it appears to be smaller. Rosie paired with something like Chord Mojo perhaps can scale up as much as something like a Roxanne paired with AK240. 
 
I guess the more important thing to take from this is that the final product will have a lot less variation, a lot less customer frustration and they should be able to increase production due to less handling of products. 

 

[ThatPhil]

I'm definitely interested in the Rosie for my Mojo too, hopefully the UK price will be reasonable.

 

[CareyPrice31]

I do not personally see the appeal of Layal as a universal, angie is more manageable. All of a sudden Rosie has my attention. Out of the entire AK collaboration I find Angie and AKT8iE the most appealing. I have just purchased the T8iE and I truly enjoy its fast hitting bass with well extended sparking high that is never bright. If the sound was more expansive (like the EX-1000) no IEM in the market could come close to it.

The appeal of Layal is the larger soundstage, Angie soundstage is still but large nowhere as large as Layla. If local price of Rosie is reasonable I think Rosie will out sale Angie as it appears to be smaller. Rosie paired with something like Chord Mojo perhaps can scale up as much as something like a Roxanne paired with AK240. 

I guess the more important thing to take from this is that the final product will have a lot less variation, a lot less customer frustration and they should be able to increase production due to less handling of products. 

What do you think the Roxanne will scale up to with a Mojo?

 

[audionewbi]

What do you think the Roxanne will scale up to with a Mojo?

I said Rosie not Roxanne. My IM04 which is a quad balance armature scaled up significantly with Mojo, there was a lot more air. Balance armature of low impedance all require low impedance, I mean really low impedance to be successfully driven. Mojo does that perfectly. 
 
I have not tried Roxanne using my Mojo but tried Angie and Layla and both showed positive results.

 

[omega1]

CMIMW, I watched "JH Audio Astell&Kern Siren Series Full Metal Jacket Line - Head-Fi TV ". He said the full jacket metal body sounds equal to the previous version (Layla, Angie)
 
Just ordered CIEM Layla early on this Dec. I wonder if they put the latest technology to my CIEM or just the old one