[Can Junkie]

Just saw a news report that would indicate we are not the only ones getting into HeadFi. It would seem the Headphone industry saw a 14% increase in sales this year over last year. Yeah I know what your thinking. Beats, whatever. Still, with stores like Best Buy selling Senns in their stores, you can bet not all the sales were for over priced Bass heavy cans. It was cool watching the customers look through the Headphone section of the store. So,...maybe Mr and Mrs Public at large are starting to appreciate how nice a good set of HP's can be. Now when you start seeing Tube HP amps at Best Buy,....oh,.... no,.......forget that,..... I was just dreaming.

 

[wuwhere]

Headphones are popular for gaming as well.

 

[billybob_jcv]

Although I agree with your optimism, I also think it's important to put this into perspective. Gartner says that in Q3'2013, worldwide smartphone sales were up 77% over Q3'2012. That tells me that the vast majority of those smartphone buyers are either: 1) Not using their phones as music devices, or 2) Using the earbuds that came with their phone, or 3) Using the aftermarket headphones they already own. When the overall population of music listeners is growing, then that increase will also carry the aftermarket headphone market up as well - but clearly the headphone market isn't growing at the same rate that the overall mobile market is growing. That might not be good news. I think that tells me that buying headphone upgrades is still not the norm - it is the exception in the mobile world.

The good news is that I'm sure the headphone mfrs see this discrepancy between smartphone sales and head-fi sales as an opportunity. It is MUCH better to be in a growing market than in a declining one.

http://www.gartner.com/newsroom/id/2623415

 

[xlink]

Although I agree with your optimism, I also think it's important to put this into perspective. Gartner says that in Q3'2013, worldwide smartphone sales were up 77% over Q3'2012. That tells me that the vast majority of those smartphone buyers are either: 1) Not using their phones as music devices, or 2) Using the earbuds that came with their phone, or 3) Using the aftermarket headphones they already own. When the overall population of music listeners is growing, then that increase will also carry the aftermarket headphone market up as well - but clearly the headphone market isn't growing at the same rate that the overall mobile market is growing. That might not be good news. I think that tells me that buying headphone upgrades is still not the norm - it is the exception in the mobile world.

The good news is that I'm sure the headphone mfrs see this discrepancy between smartphone sales and head-fi sales as an opportunity. It is MUCH better to be in a growing market than in a declining one.

http://www.gartner.com/newsroom/id/2623415

The life cycle for headphones is a bit longer than for phones. I've only worn out one set in 4 years and I wear headphones for between 4-20 hours almost every day without fail. The set that's worn out could probably be fixed with new pads and a new headband.

From the moment where I started buying good headphones I bought 3 headphones(HD 280, DT770, HD 598) 2 of which I still use. I've gone through 5 phones(dumb phone, Galaxy s1, Focus S, Galaxy Nexus, Nexus 5) during the last 4 years.

 

 

[billybob_jcv]

The life cycle for headphones is a bit longer than for phones. I've only worn out one set in 4 years and I wear headphones for between 4-20 hours almost every day without fail. The set that's worn out could probably be fixed with new pads and a new headband.


From the moment where I started buying good headphones I bought 3 headphones(HD 280, DT770, HD 598) 2 of which I still use. I've gone through 5 phones(dumb phone, Galaxy s1, Focus S, Galaxy Nexus, Nexus 5) during the last 4 years.

I think we can all agree that anyone already on head-fi is FAR from the typical & "normal" headphone buyer!!

 

[xlink]

I think we can all agree that anyone already on head-fi is FAR from the typical & "normal" headphone buyer!!

I'd agree with that. The people on sites such as this tend to be atypical cell phone buyers as well though. I feel that most people upgrade every other year.

I also suspect that many people here tend to be of higher socio-economic status(relative to the rest of the developed world and FAR beyond the developing world) as well.

 

[frequencies]

I also suspect that many people here tend to be of higher socio-economic status(relative to the rest of the developed world and FAR beyond the developing world) as well.

That I would say too. But even so, watching YouTube videos and watching other projects/sites, I feel like many more people started to realize that they can have really good sound when buying proper headphones(/DACs/amps) (yes, also in video gaming e.g. I guess ). google(dot)com/trends/explore#q=headphones confirms it.

 

[xlink]

  That I would say too. But even so, watching YouTube videos and watching other projects/sites, I feel like many more people started to realize that they can have really good sound when buying proper headphones(/DACs/amps) (yes, also in video gaming e.g. I guess ). google(dot)com/trends/explore#q=headphones confirms it.

HOLY SEASONAL PATTERNS BATMAN

Regardless the gain is significant. I wonder if this growth more closely follows an exponential, linear or sigmoid pattern. I'm thinking the latter with the peak equilibrium having already been reached more or less (those who might care about headphones already do for the most part and those who might become disinterested balance out new people).

I'm a statistician, this stuff interests me.