[Emooze]

A few of us decided to be a bit more constructive with our criticism against both Skullcandy and Bose. Stemming from this thread:

http://www.head-fi.org/forums/f4/sku...iously-405624/

I think the goal is to construct a list of improvements both companies could make that would make them a bit more acceptable in the Audiophile crowd while not forcing the companies to change to drastically. And then once we have a decent list, email both companies and see what they say.

FWIR both here and elsewhere, Skullcandy needs to justify their higher-end sets with comparable SQ. The sound is just too muddy from what you'd expect out of a pair of $70+ headphones.

Bose is a bit more hard to put into words. The same issue goes for them that the performance doesn't usually justify the price they ask. At the same time they try and build a driver that delivers a unique "Bose" sound that may sound great for some stuff but doesn't stay true to the recording. Once all this is done they over market their products to drive up demand.

Any other suggestions?

 

[vvanrij]

I would personally listen to a headphone I created, before letting it go into mass production.

 

[Benaiir]

My father thinks I don't know much about hi-fi because I hate Bose, also I think he was mad at me for buying DT770's, but as soon as he put it on, he was pretty happy, but I am way more happy than him because it can pull in such great bass. And yes, I'm a teenager and I love bass (Within reason, Skullcandy give me a headache if I'd put on Kanye West. It's a 400mW fart cannon clamped on your head)

Bose's sound needs to be compared directly through the same source and amp as whatever people are comparing it too. I think my music sounds plain through my iPod to my DT770's unamped, but Bose makes it look so good. Very weak bass through my iPod to my Beyer's. The thing is, Bose does an OK job in practically every category unlike any Grado (Okay, maybe the GS100's... But that's expensive) which only truly excels in rock, or half the Senns which were designed for classical.

Bose makes some decent noise cancelling headphones which are awesome on flights. I just realized Bose's cans are designed either for aviators, people who fly frequently, except for the TriPort series...

It's a real shame Sennheiser and AKG don't try to market to the public.

 

[Emooze]

Seems Noctural beat me by an hour on this...
http://www.head-fi.org/forums/f4/sug...ng-pls-405961/

didn't even notice. go there

 

[Gamerphile]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Benaiir /img/forum/go_quote.gif It's a real shame Sennheiser and AKG don't try to market to the public.

Sennheiser is coming just wait and see... If you look at their new site as I did when they launched the HD 800 you see that Sennheiser Communication products like their gamer lines which I, due to my line of work, have a few of is easily found on without going thought hoops. Also its getting better but remember its like asking IBM to become a game developer - they need time to adjust to the new audiences.

Quote:

Originally Posted by vvanrij; I would personally listen to a headphone I created, before letting it go into mass production.

Yeah thats like why the high-end company's does so much in doing it right from the get go:
Meaning you have to do the right marked analysis so they make the products people actually want not just an line up of different products at different price ranges. Not just trying to use cheap tricks to get out of bad design decisions but real knowhow and expertise from research. Then they do the audio quality test with the special trained/educated/interested technical staff to ensure its what it was designed to be. And then they also employ people like me which sole mission is to make sure it works nice with what ever you connect it to be it MP, PMP, PC, stereo, doesn't break into five pieces in a mild breeze and is generally a pleasure to wear and use.

 

[vvanrij]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Benaiir /img/forum/go_quote.gif The thing is, Bose does an OK job in practically every category unlike any Grado (Okay, maybe the GS100's... But that's expensive) which only truly excels in rock, or half the Senns which were designed for classical.

You have no idea how much I disagree with this. Have you ever heard a RS-1 or GS1000? Only rock? oh please. And senns only for classical.... You have to borrow or temp-buy these cans to give them a fair chance, because it doesn't seem like you have. (If you have, you are offcourse entitled to your opinion)

 

[Apple254]

I think that Bose could stop putting such a huge emphasis on Active Noise Cancellation and just literally try and improve the general sound quality. They most certainly are not neutral sounding headphones and if they really wanted to class themselves as an audio company, they may want to make a pair of open cans, rather than just having everything CLOSEEEED!!

 

[irjoe]

..Or we can just continue to support the real companies who actually care about what matters the most - the SOUND QUALITY that comes out of their products.

I refuse to care about companies that take hundreds of dollars from uninformed customers fully knowing that their headphones don't run with the caliber people believe them to be.

I'd rather spend my time and effort supporting the companies that have been trying to get their names or their products out with the honest intentions of making them do exactly what they were meant to do.

 

[Uncle Erik]

I think it would make more sense to ask Sennheiser, Grado, Ultrasone, AKG, Audio-Technica, Sony, Stax, and Beyerdynamic to make new headphones for the market.

They care. They "get it."

Bose and Skullcandy either don't care or don't "get it." So forget them.

 

[i_don't_know]

I think instead of just making suggestions we should present this as a challenge to Skullcandy and Bose to see what they're really capable of in terms of true audiophile-quality sound.

 

[EYEdROP]

Quote:

Originally Posted by i_don't_know /img/forum/go_quote.gif I think instead of just making suggestions we should present this as a challenge to Skullcandy and Bose to see what they're really capable of in terms of true audiophile-quality sound.

Thats what I think should happen. They should seriously re-think their products.

If Bose were to make something that beat Sennheiser, Grado, Ultrasone, etc... in sound quality , those companies would be in serious trouble. They probably make so much profit from cheap drivers and plasitc, not to mention the reputation the both of them have in the consumer world. They have all the money to make it. Will they?

 

[buddhashenglong]

They should have an "accident" and collect the insurance money.

 

[Emooze]

I'm starting to see faults with my/our idea. Bose and SC are making enough money (ha) that they couldn't care less about a niche market like us. I wanna side with Uncle Erik more and more because I know neither of them are gonna give us the attention that our favorites do.

Instead, reeducating those around us with overpriced gear would be a better course of action.

 

[Ishcabible]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Benaiir /img/forum/go_quote.gif My father thinks I don't know much about hi-fi because I hate Bose.

I was able to convince my dad that bose didn't sound good for the price by letting him use my K271s for his jazz. He wouldn't give them back that day.

Quote:

but I am way more happy than him because it can pull in such great bass. And yes, I'm a teenager and I love bass (Within reason, Skullcandy give me a headache if I'd put on Kanye West. It's a 400mW fart cannon clamped on your head)

Am I that weird for disliking most bass? Sure, if it doesn't interfere with the rest of the frequencies, I'm fine with it, but at mid-fi levels, it isn't really an option. Even my K271s sound like they have a veil over the mids.

 

[i_don't_know]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Emooze /img/forum/go_quote.gif I'm starting to see faults with my/our idea. Bose and SC are making enough money (ha) that they couldn't care less about a niche market like us. I wanna side with Uncle Erik more and more because I know neither of them are gonna give us the attention that our favorites do. Instead, reeducating those around us with overpriced gear would be a better course of action.

But average people usually don't understand what real sound quality is.

And if you let them listen to a really good, decently priced headphone (in other words, something they might actually consider. so not HD800, Edition 8, etc.), they usually fault it for "not having enough bass" or "making my (insert badly recorded music here) sound bad".

A lot of people equate emphasis on ear-pleasing frequencies and enough lack of detail to sound good with even bad recordings with sound quality. And this is what makes them so vulnerable to companies like Bose and Skullcandy. If those companies say something sounds good and raise the price, people will buy it and defend it as having hi-fi sound, not always because they don't know any better companies, but because they simply misunderstand what sound quality is. I guess you could say it's sort of a "negative placebo effect".