[purk]

Quote:

Originally Posted by braillediver /img/forum/go_quote.gif The HE90's originally sold for about $8k with the Orpheus system at $13K so the price has been reasonably stable over time. The latest release via Jan Meier was at $5K and in Europe I believe there was a 20% VAT and the units sold through dealers in the USA were more than $5k so again- reasonably stable over time. $10K for the Qualias is funny to say the least. Plus they were very fit dependant etc. and really didn’t earn much respect. Mitch

Completely agreed. That lucky someone will soon be very unlucky if the Qualia doesn't fit him perfectly. I know of very few people who are lucky enough for the Qualia to fit them right.

 

[flashnolan]

Some people just like paying a lot so they can boast to their rich buddies about what they paid for something.

 

[catscratch]

There's overpriced, and there's just plain unethical.

Here's the problem. When Sony sold the 010, they'd send you a head size measurement thing, which would then be used to pick out one of 3 sizes for the headphones, which were then further adjustable with a screw mechanism. This is necessary because the 010 is totally fit-dependant, much like an IEM. The wrong fit will result in drastically reduced sound quality. In fact, a lot of the negative press associated with these headphones in their time has been due to bad fit, and my experience with these headphones has proved that for me. I was able to replicate both the sound described in the negative comments, and the sound described in the positive ones, just by varying the fit alone.

Therefore, buying a used 010 without having the chance to test the fit for yourself is a very risky proposition.

But, then you take that, and slap a $10k price on it? Ridiculous. And don't tell me about "if people are willing to pay that much it's ok." People are willing to invest in pyramid schemes, get scammed, and get sold bunk products, just because they don't know any better. That doesn't make it right.

Yet another member not to be trusted.

 

[Turgidson]

This is only supply & demand, in an unregulated market. When some stuff is pretty rare and highly sought for, it can become a collector's item and jump to completely "unreasonable" prices - from a certain point of view, that's not unethical, but just "the (free) market".

I'd also note that, in our good world, there's a lot of marketing and adverts in many domains to make people buy things they don't really need (by making them believe they do need it). I won't say it's "unethical" or not, but it does contribute to running our economic system.


As for the Qualias, $10k is frankly exagerated, but something like $6k would not have been that surprising. The $ rate has been diving, and there's a lot of speculation on this type of extra-rare audio equipment anyway. HP1000 prices have soared (seems like they have doubled over a few years), and no one's really complaining. And that's nothing compared to the prices of some audio tubes, compared to their initial selling price (and even what they were some years ago)... Audio can be a much better investment than the Stock Exchange.

 

[demoNMaCHiN3]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Turgidson /img/forum/go_quote.gif This is only supply & demand, in an unregulated market. When some stuff is pretty rare and highly sought for, it can become a collector's item and jump to completely "unreasonable" prices - from a certain point of view, that's not unethical, but just "the (free) market".

Except that the demand for this headphone ISN'T that high and is not "highly sought for," especially when you take into consideration that each one needs to be custom fitted (unless you're willing to take the risk of spending $10k only to realize that these headphones don't fit you and sound significantly worse than a properly fitted one). The seller also has noticed this and has pulled the auction anyway.

 

[Uncle Erik]

Turgidson - the best investments come with tax deductions.

I agree with you on the prices, though. There's an awful lot of spec in the market and prices go strongly with trends and fashions. I don't think the returns will hold up over 20 years, however. And $10k would be a down on a rental unit, anyhow. You have to keep things in perspective.

 

[4N6]

Hope whomever got it is lucky with the fit and likes the sound.

 

[Wmcmanus]

The $10k asking price has nothing whatsoever to do with what his actual selling price might have been. I think some people use Audiogon as a way of fishing for the highest bidder, especially when they have a rare and expensive (even under normal cirmumstances) item that is out of production.

He may have received more than one offer at this asking price (which would seem crazy to me) and instead of selling them to the first person to agree to pay his asking price, he decided to go fishing. This would be comparable to an IC (interest check) thread on Head-Fi. You get a "feel" for the market, and then decide what to do.

Thus, in my view, all of the comments in this thread about how ridiculous and criminal (or whatever) his "price" was were missing the point, in my opinion. I strongly suspect that he was fully aware that they would never attract anywhere close to $10,000 and simply didn't want to commit to a pre-determined price as is required when placing an Audiogon ad.

Although if anyone sees it differently and wishes they had grabbed them while they could, I'll be happy to sell my Qualia 010's to you at a 10% discount. That's right! Just $9,000. Go for it, man! It's only money.

 

[braillediver]

A clever way to see what the market would bear without the issues of having an actual auction. No reserve, no problems of them selling too cheaply and if they did go for the $10K then all the better.

True Genius on the part of the Seller and a Great Observation by Wmcmanus.


Mitch

 

[subtle]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Wmcmanus /img/forum/go_quote.gif The $10k asking price has nothing whatsoever to do with what his actual selling price might have been. I think some people use Audiogon as a way of fishing for the highest bidder, especially when they have a rare and expensive (even under normal cirmumstances) item that is out of production. He may have received more than one offer at this asking price (which would seem crazy to me) and instead of selling them to the first person to agree to pay his asking price, he decided to go fishing. This would be comparable to an IC (interest check) thread on Head-Fi. You get a "feel" for the market, and then decide what to do. Thus, in my view, all of the comments in this thread about how ridiculous and criminal (or whatever) his "price" was were missing the point, in my opinion. I strongly suspect that he was fully aware that they would never attract anywhere close to $10,000 and simply didn't want to commit to a pre-determined price as is required when placing an Audiogon ad.

The only problem with this scenario, and it's something I mentioned in the original post, is that his auction started at a price of $3990. It ran as a 10 day auction and had no bids on it after the first four days. On the fifth day I checked it in the morning to see if anyone had bid yet, and the price was suddenly listed as $9990. Initially I believed that the seller was a mental case, however I came up with another conclusion.

I believe what happened is that the seller was already in the process of lining up a backdoor sale, and that he didn't want anyone bidding on the item that may have been considering it(myself included) potentially locking him in to a committed sale through Audiogon. I have since discovered that you can end an auction early through Audiogon, even if the item has bids, but I believe the seller was ignorant to that option.

There ain't no way in hell this guy received one, let alone multiple, $10,000 offer(s) for a pair of Qualias.

 

[Edwood]

Quote:

Originally Posted by catscratch /img/forum/go_quote.gif There's overpriced, and there's just plain unethical.

Nah, just plain dumb.


I have a pair R10's for the bargain price of $9,000.

Not only cheaper than SupermansEars' Qualia's but they're better headphones too.

-Ed

 

[mrarroyo]

Quote:

Originally Posted by progo /img/forum/go_quote.gif So uhm, I've heard a lot about these phonies, but there isn't a featured review about them. I bet they were rare even when they were in production, no?

I had a chance to listen to them and compared them to the Sony R10. IMO the Qualia was more apealing. It had an airier presentation w/ a great soundstage and detail. These came in three sizes, at the time I found an small one but I needed the medium and never got lucky enough.

Of course they were much cheaper then.

 

[classa]

Hi All,

I'm looking for a pair of R10 or Qualia 010 if anyone have a pair for sale. I have since posted a wanted ad on Audiogon and now keeping my fingers crossed for offers.

Thanks