[morph2k4]

  I just wrote Beyerdynamic a letter demanding to know why they have so little respect for their loyal customers who paid $1,400 for a T1, that they are allowing their authorized retailer (Beach Camera i.e. Buydig) to sell them at 99 cent store prices. If I don't get a satisfactory response I'm returning my T1s as soon as they arrive.
 
What a low rent "buy our crap off the back of this truck" company.
 
If anyone else wants to send a letter, you can do so here. http://north-america.beyerdynamic.com/contact.html
 
If the headphone is so cheaply made that it can be sold for $750 (including free overnight shipping), then nobody should be paying $1,400 for it. I guaranty Sennheiser would never allow anyone to sell a new HD800 for less than $1,500, and if they caught you trying to do so they would not honor the warranty. I spoke with them about this after seeing an HD800 on sale from a store in China; they told me there is a good chance it's fake and that if I buy it I'm not getting warranty service. Sennheiser has a whole website devoted to listing all the retailers whose warranties they don't honor. But here Beyerdynamic is letting an authorized retailer crap all over everyone who loyally paid full price, thinking they were getting something worth $1,400.

 
You have a hilariously juvenile perspective on basic economics.

 

[JamieMcC]

Yep lots of reason to mark down a product so it flies out the door, stock control, loss leader, cash flow, promotion etc etc

 

[ag8908]

You don't really think it costs anywhere near $1400 to make a T1 do you? All Sennheisers are overpriced anyway, so don't respect them because they won't discount them. They are priced according to what people will pay..my guess is $300 tops to produce.

Sennheiser has a 30 day no questions asked money back return policy so how could they possibly be overpriced if the only people paying for them do so of their own volition after a 30 day audition?

Let's not go casting aspersions against all headphone makers based on the behavior of beyerdynamic. I wouldn't be surprised if factoring in all costs including customer service the t1 cost only $300 to make but I would be surprised of that held for the hd800.

 

[ag8908]

You have a hilariously juvenile perspective on basic economics.

Well this juvenile will most likely be taking his money and spending it on a better headphone company and I'm sure some others will as well once they learn about beyerdynamic's "lol I can't believe they actually paid $1400 for this headphone" business model. To each his own.

 

[headwhacker]

I guess you buy into the brandname not the product itself. I bought T1 at around 1200USD at my local retailer more than 6 months ago. It was modified in house to have a detachable cable. I demo it against HD800, HD650 and chose T1 coz I like how it sound.

I wish I could waited sooner but I'm not losing sleep because I'm enjoying it everyday since day 1.

 

[rommy]

I sold my hd800s, and while they are larger then most they are all plastic. The T1s to me look a little pedestrian, but are of a better build quality....i had a pair of hifiman he 800s for a short while, now they were built like a tank. All metal, which because of their weight made them extremely uncomfortable.

 

[ag8908]

I sold my hd800s, and while they are larger then most they are all plastic. The T1s to me look a little pedestrian, but are of a better build quality....i had a pair of hifiman he 800s for a short while, now they were built like a tank. All metal, which because of their weight made them extremely uncomfortable.

Sennheiser could obviously have attached a cheap heavy metal or wood part to it very easily. Do you know why they didn't? Because they are concerned about form and function and wanted to make something that felt like a feather. That simply proves what an ethical and high road company they are. They're concerned about the sound and feel not conning you with fancy wood and metal.

I'm not saying all heavy headphones are including heavy needless stuff that didn't need to be there to con you into thinking they're good (hifiman for example needs to be heavy due to the magnet I believe) but some are.

 

[rommy]

True, plastics are used to keep the weight down, but also cost less to produce.

 

[ag8908]

True, plastics are used to keep the weight down, but also cost less to produce.

Not necessarily because metal and wood are also very cheap these days. It's not Gold or silver metal. In the context of a $1500 headphone it's nothing either way.plus the hd800 uses a lot of very light and flexible metal if you look closely.

 

[rommy]

They also stunk of plastic. .Real high tech...

 

[Chodi]

I've read through the last several posts about the discount T1's and I can easily understand how that would upset someone who paid full price. There are laws in the U.S. against price fixing so the factory only has a few tools they can legally use to control this. Dealer discount is typically 40% on high end high fi (50% on select items) so guessing the actual dealer cost is pretty easy. It's possible Beyer has not even had time to respond to those retailers that are offering huge discounts. More likely those retailers are dumping their stock at cost. Too many possible reasons to even start guessing. I own T1's and it doesn't make me feel great to see new units going for used prices. Still, if Beyer cuts off a dealer for discounting they could face legal problems. 
 
Sennheiser is a leading world wide market force so they have more leverage.

 

[ag8908]

Yes you're right they should have made it out of lead steel and wood (total cost about $20 more maybe) to be "high tech."

Why not just use marble? Lol

Dood come on Sennheiser is the top most ethical most honest brand in audio today. Don't ding them for refusing to make a heavy headphone

 

[ag8908]

I've read through the last several posts about the discount T1's and I can easily understand how that would upset someone who paid full price. There are laws in the U.S. against price fixing so the factory only has a few tools they can legally use to control this. Dealer discount is typically 40% on high end high fi (50% on select items) so guessing the actual dealer cost is pretty easy. It's possible Beyer has not even had time to respond to those retailers that are offering huge discounts. More likely those retailers are dumping their stock at cost. Too many possible reasons to even start guessing. I own T1's and it doesn't make me feel great to see new units going for used prices. Still, if Beyer cuts off a dealer for discounting they could face legal problems.

Sennheiser is a leading world wide market force so they have more leverage.

Thanks for the explanation yes that's probably what happened, dumping at cost. But in that case bd should have taken the cans back at cost so the retailer wouldn't have to humiliate then in this way so that's another troubling issue. It's like buydig asked beyerd to take these back for cost and bd said "no we don't want that garbage back that's your problem now" forcing buydig to unload them

 

[Chodi]

Thanks for the explanation yes that's probably what happened, dumping at cost. But in that case bd should have taken the cans back at cost so the retailer wouldn't have to humiliate then in this way so that's another troubling issue. It's like buydig asked beyerd to take these back for cost and bd said "no we don't want that garbage back that's your problem now" forcing buydig to unload them

I totally agree with you about the fact that Beyer should buy them back. The most common cause for something like this in more than one dealer is that they know something new is coming and they want to dump what they have before it becomes old stock. I haven't heard that Beyer is replacing the T1's but if we see more of this heavy discounting the writing is on the wall. We are seeing this now with the HE500's, major discounts everywhere.

 

[ag8908]

Yeah that all makes sense too. If anyone can find out for sure whether the T1 is being replaced please post. But I really wish headphone companies would have some concern or loyalty for their customers, who are paying really preposterous amounts of money for these things (the average salary in the U.S., which is a rich country, is only $3,000 a month after taxes! and some of these cans are being purchased by young audiophile student types who scrimp and save for months and months to buy these items). I don't mind paying the money, but have some concern for your customers.