[fejnomit]

It will be interesting to see when the price ceiling is hit. I have to think we are getting close. Then again, how many of these do they actually need to sell to call them a success? Profit margin has got to be insane as they are asking 3X the Indigo for essentially the same product. The same thing is going on with over-ears where each new slight reworking of a model gets a 2x price increase, now approaching $10K. I guess it will be like cars going forward - the rich collectors will have their iems that aren't ranked very high on any reviewer's list but give them that needed feeling of exclusivity and the rest of us will spend around $1K for the iems that are actually the best-sounding.

 

[JollyJ]

Fascinated at the inclusion of a bone conduction driver in an IEM. Is this a first, or are there others doing this I didn't know about?

I won't get to try it at that price, but love the idea of this interesting cocktail of drivers.

 

[Ufanco]

I guess they fill there’s a market for these. For that price should be at least lifetime Guarantee with it.

Anyway’s there well outa my price range.

 

[GiullianSN]

Really beautiful and appealing colours ( specially for the Chinese New Year happening around now)

But that price…

 

[14christ]

Just wait a couple months and buy used

 

[UniqueMelody]

So just to confirm, this has the same tuning as Mason FuSang and Fabled Sound but an improved BCD which helps with the lows?

You are mostly right. We love the dense, immersive keynote of Fusang, but we want it to be a little bit bolder. So you can view RH and Fusang as a person's introverted side (Fusang/FS) and a extroverted side (RH), but essentially they are the same person. The tonalities of these two are slightly different, due to the new BCD, and yeah it does help the lows.

 

[jwbrent]

I imagine the original Mason FS released less than a year ago was made obsolete by these two new models.

 

[DrewVz]

Lol, buy them used for $6k. Haha.

I really cannot fathom how they justify the price based on performance, or even R&D expense . Just because something costs a fortune to develop doesn't necessarily mean it's any better. "Magical 3D imaging". Seems like I've heard that same claim made a dozen times before.

 

[KPzypher]

It will be interesting to see when the price ceiling is hit. I have to think we are getting close. Then again, how many of these do they actually need to sell to call them a success? Profit margin has got to be insane as they are asking 3X the Indigo for essentially the same product. The same thing is going on with over-ears where each new slight reworking of a model gets a 2x price increase, now approaching $10K. I guess it will be like cars going forward - the rich collectors will have their iems that aren't ranked very high on any reviewer's list but give them that needed feeling of exclusivity and the rest of us will spend around $1K for the iems that are actually the best-sounding.

Why wouldn't they? It's a viable business model for small companies.

couple more drivers than the last, fancy faceplate and accessories, catchy marketing terms, and out the door. Now next project.
It only makes sense to charge couple more grand than the previous version.

How they actually sound is becoming irrelevant. Average consumer will never know, and with handful of positive/biased reviews on these forums, you have a winner!

It's a low risk proposition. Handful of sales, and you more than recoup sunk costs. There's no major R&D, not when you're pumping out new products every other months.

Why wouldn't companies participate in this kind of business practice? Wouldn't you? I know I would.

 

[3Putter]

Just wait a couple months and buy used

How about just hold off and buy American?

 

[fejnomit]

They are not better. That’s the trick. But if you can afford them, do you really care? You will call them endgame and nobody who can’t afford them will tell you otherwise. It’s about bragging rights and collecting. What companies should really do is offer to swap out your first generation bcd with the second gen, allowing you to upgrade your existing model as a reward for loyalty. Build an ecosystem like that and people will be loyal for life. Screw them every six months by radically lowering the worth of an already very expensive iem they just bought and people will bail. This makes me want to bail from UM just like I bailed from PW Audio and Effect Audio when my $1000 cable suddenly had no resale value because the only desirable cables are $2000+. There is no world in which these prices have any basis in true sound improvement.

 

[CL14715]

They are not better. That’s the trick. But if you can afford them, do you really care? You will call them endgame and nobody who can’t afford them will tell you otherwise. It’s about bragging rights and collecting. What companies should really do is offer to swap out your first generation bcd with the second gen, allowing you to upgrade your existing model as a reward for loyalty. Build an ecosystem like that and people will be loyal for life. Screw them every six months by radically lowering the worth of an already very expensive iem they just bought and people will bail. This makes me want to bail from UM just like I bailed from PW Audio and Effect Audio when my $1000 cable suddenly had no resale value because the only desirable cables are $2000+. There is no world in which these prices have any basis in true sound improvement.

You may be on to something.

 

[fejnomit]

Why wouldn't they? It's a viable business model for small companies.

couple more drivers than the last, fancy faceplate and accessories, catchy marketing terms, and out the door. Now next project.
It only makes sense to charge couple more grand than the previous version.

How they actually sound is becoming irrelevant. Average consumer will never know, and with handful of positive/biased reviews on these forums, you have a winner!

It's a low risk proposition. Handful of sales, and you more than recoup sunk costs. There's no major R&D, not when you're pumping out new products every other months.

Why wouldn't companies participate in this kind of business practice? Wouldn't you? I know I would.

I would not. I actually believe in price being reflective of quality. I could not participate in this game. Call me old fashioned but This is the same crap that ruined 2-channel and now it’s ruined headphones.

 

[DrewVz]

I agree at this point (and frankly at a price point much lower than this) that it's all about bragging rights and has virtually nothing to do with the actual sound produced by the equipment. But I'm sure there will be buyers lined up for these, just like anything else. Heck, I'll bet there are buyers lined up for $100 million yachts with a 5-year waiting list. Just another world out there...

 

[mungster]

I imagine the original Mason FS released less than a year ago was made obsolete by these two new models.

Yep.