DougD
500+ Head-Fier
*** disclaimer: speculative opinion. I have no insider information. ***
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Quote:
(1) what Bolardito said ... with the pointed added comment that the news that the significantly cheaper PM-2 was coming in approx 3 months was well-publicized BEFORE any early purchasers of the retail PM-1 were shipped their headphones. There's not going to be backlash about the price of the PM-1, because nobody got ambushed. Those willing to pay a premium for the exquisite finish, or immediate delivery, can do so; those of a more economical mindset can wait.
(2) Far from painting themselves into a corner, or being "not smart," Oppo's marketing strategy on the introduction of their PM headphones is shaping up as brilliant. (IMO ... but I am not a marketing guru.) Consider:
* There was some notice taken here that their beta-testing group apparently included some folks who were not known as pure addicts of TOTL headphones. That seemed curious to some.
* Then's here a quote from the review by Andrew Everard that appeared a few days ago ( http://andreweverard.com/2014/04/23/review-oppo-pm-1-headphones/ ) ..."Oppo, however, did things differently with its UK launch of the PM-1 Planar Magnetic headphones in London the other week. Not only were those attending given one of Oppo’s very useful ‘shopping bags’ containing a press pack; we were also handed another bag containing a pair of the headphones." Oppo isn't known as a company that only does headphone-related gear, so the audio/music press that attended their launch probably was not composed primarily of can-aholics. And each of those people walked away with a pair of $1100 (US) headphones. Probably the best headphones they've ever heard for an extended period. And most will write reviews, that will probably be quite favorable.
* Have you noticed where the early reviews are showing up??? Not only are they appearing in mainstream (non-headphone) audio places, but there was one in Forbes the other day. If you're not familiar with the demographics of Forbes readers, probably half always fly first class. Oppo's product development, and now their marketing (via reviews), is aiming for an audience waaaay beyond the traditional niche of high-performance, high-priced headphones.
(3) But wait, there's more. In the audiophile reviews, the $1099 Oppo PM-1 ... even with all the clearly costly bling ... is being (explicitly or implicitly) compared against the HD-800, the Audezes, the Beyerdynamic T1, the Fostex TH900, etc ... the luminaries in the "up to $2000 range."
* and the take-away summary that Oppo is going to be able to leverage from the various reviews is / will be ... IMO... these cans are in the same range of top-end performance as the other current end-game phones. BUT unlike most of them, it isn't picky about the equipment you use it with, or the music you listen to. It's comfortable enough to be your all-day, every-day super-phone. In short, it's THE high-end phone to have, IF you are the kind of person who only wants to have ONE high-end set of headphones. (And I think most Head-Fi regulars are self-aware to know that even Joe Audiophile doesn't have 6 to 10 sets of good cans, 4 headphone amplifiers and 4 DACS, let alone Juanita RegularPerson. Heh, I love all of you, but you are not normal, and a lot of your friends are not normal either.)
* and then here comes the PM-2 .... expected to have almost identical performance to the PM-1 ... i.e., competitive or better performance in the $1000-$2000 range .. and the PM-2 will be +/- $700. (Hmmm .... what should I choose ... an HD-800 / other at $1600 plus a carefully chosen amp for an additional $xxx, a combo which still probably won't be pleasing on some kinds of music ... or the Oppo PM-2 at $700 that I can use without an amp, and even with my smartphone... hmmmm, tough choice. (NOT) )
* And Oppo has tremendous credibility for redefining the upper-end of the performance-value curve with what they've done with their CD and Blu-Ray players. Customers of those products will be pre-disposed to believing that Oppo is delivering that kind of unprecedented value again when the PM-2 arrives.
===> Bottom-line: It appears to me that Oppo is intending to blow the roof off the market for high-end headphones like they did for high-end CD & Blu-Ray players.
*** repeat of disclaimer: speculative opinion. I have no insider information. ***
Quote:
Quote:
(1) what Bolardito said ... with the pointed added comment that the news that the significantly cheaper PM-2 was coming in approx 3 months was well-publicized BEFORE any early purchasers of the retail PM-1 were shipped their headphones. There's not going to be backlash about the price of the PM-1, because nobody got ambushed. Those willing to pay a premium for the exquisite finish, or immediate delivery, can do so; those of a more economical mindset can wait.
(2) Far from painting themselves into a corner, or being "not smart," Oppo's marketing strategy on the introduction of their PM headphones is shaping up as brilliant. (IMO ... but I am not a marketing guru.) Consider:
* There was some notice taken here that their beta-testing group apparently included some folks who were not known as pure addicts of TOTL headphones. That seemed curious to some.
* Then's here a quote from the review by Andrew Everard that appeared a few days ago ( http://andreweverard.com/2014/04/23/review-oppo-pm-1-headphones/ ) ..."Oppo, however, did things differently with its UK launch of the PM-1 Planar Magnetic headphones in London the other week. Not only were those attending given one of Oppo’s very useful ‘shopping bags’ containing a press pack; we were also handed another bag containing a pair of the headphones." Oppo isn't known as a company that only does headphone-related gear, so the audio/music press that attended their launch probably was not composed primarily of can-aholics. And each of those people walked away with a pair of $1100 (US) headphones. Probably the best headphones they've ever heard for an extended period. And most will write reviews, that will probably be quite favorable.
* Have you noticed where the early reviews are showing up??? Not only are they appearing in mainstream (non-headphone) audio places, but there was one in Forbes the other day. If you're not familiar with the demographics of Forbes readers, probably half always fly first class. Oppo's product development, and now their marketing (via reviews), is aiming for an audience waaaay beyond the traditional niche of high-performance, high-priced headphones.
(3) But wait, there's more. In the audiophile reviews, the $1099 Oppo PM-1 ... even with all the clearly costly bling ... is being (explicitly or implicitly) compared against the HD-800, the Audezes, the Beyerdynamic T1, the Fostex TH900, etc ... the luminaries in the "up to $2000 range."
* and the take-away summary that Oppo is going to be able to leverage from the various reviews is / will be ... IMO... these cans are in the same range of top-end performance as the other current end-game phones. BUT unlike most of them, it isn't picky about the equipment you use it with, or the music you listen to. It's comfortable enough to be your all-day, every-day super-phone. In short, it's THE high-end phone to have, IF you are the kind of person who only wants to have ONE high-end set of headphones. (And I think most Head-Fi regulars are self-aware to know that even Joe Audiophile doesn't have 6 to 10 sets of good cans, 4 headphone amplifiers and 4 DACS, let alone Juanita RegularPerson. Heh, I love all of you, but you are not normal, and a lot of your friends are not normal either.)
* and then here comes the PM-2 .... expected to have almost identical performance to the PM-1 ... i.e., competitive or better performance in the $1000-$2000 range .. and the PM-2 will be +/- $700. (Hmmm .... what should I choose ... an HD-800 / other at $1600 plus a carefully chosen amp for an additional $xxx, a combo which still probably won't be pleasing on some kinds of music ... or the Oppo PM-2 at $700 that I can use without an amp, and even with my smartphone... hmmmm, tough choice. (NOT) )
* And Oppo has tremendous credibility for redefining the upper-end of the performance-value curve with what they've done with their CD and Blu-Ray players. Customers of those products will be pre-disposed to believing that Oppo is delivering that kind of unprecedented value again when the PM-2 arrives.
===> Bottom-line: It appears to me that Oppo is intending to blow the roof off the market for high-end headphones like they did for high-end CD & Blu-Ray players.
*** repeat of disclaimer: speculative opinion. I have no insider information. ***
