I agree with you, but..... What's the price on some great sounding IEM's? We're getting universal (well I am) V8's for a massive discount. Plus some unknown ADEL tech that might be great or rubbish. If 1964 had offered universal V8's without a case, and in only 2 colours, for the price I'm getting them at, I'd have bitten their hands off.
Sure, some fancy stretch goals would have been lovely. But an extra set of tips, or a cable that might make 0.01% difference isn't a deal breaker for me.
I'm more keen to hear a review of the demo unit than stretch goals. If they don't sound great, then I might bin off my support. But I've not heard of 1964 making a bad product yet....
I admit that it is a huge discount nonetheless, which is why I am still getting a U8. But the way they handle the KS campaign is not very desirable to say the least. For instance, I believe they could have sent out review units earlier - if they are confident in their products, then they would expect positive reviews; and positive reviews would likely drive up the sales. But up until now, we do not really know what to expect - except maybe for the U-series, which probably should be similar to the V-series of 1964.
As for the stretch goals, they are indeed not deal breakers. I only wish that they could offer something better - while red-colored shells could be nice for some, a black/charcoal-colored option will likely be more appealing to the general public if you ask me (why didn't they make charcoal the default color, for instance?). Same for the mic cable - useful for some but not really for music listeners IMO. They could have offered at least one stretch goal that would be more attractive to the backers - perhaps the case stretch goal is a good example, but at this stage of the project, this goal is unlikely to be met. And this is disappointing to say the least.
Did you watch the cast? They justified this pretty well towards the end. The manufacturing process of a new product is expensive and has to be bespoke, and because the only real 'order numbers' they have are from kickstarter, they can't tell who wants what. It's keeping their overheads down - I for one would rather they put money into R&D and made sure these things were the most durable, best sounding iems that have ever existed, rather than give use different colours. If mine sound better than my SM64s then I don't care if theyre flueorescent pink and have a tie-dye cable to be honest...
I fully understand that - they definitely need to balance the sheets and make sure the IEMs/CIEMs sound good. And given the discount, I still agree that it is a pretty good deal after all - if the IEMs/CIEMs do not sound bad
I am not looking to rob the makers, but they could have better utilized their resources on stretch goals that might be more appealing. Instead of offering a default red option for the U-series, a default black/charcoal option will likely be more desirable. And the mic cable that could deteriorate the sound quality is probably not a very good stretch goal. I suggest that they could listen to their backers, start polls, and offer a stretch goal that would make at least some backers happy and is manageable for them. They cannot please everyone, but they could at least please some.
But then, these are just my suggestions. I believe they have likely handled their backers in a much better way than the LH projects - if 1964ADEL could deliver their products on time / without too much delay.
P.S. If they are offering fluorescent pink shells and a tie-dye cable only, then NO, there is no way I would buy any of their IEMs! That's basically unusable in the public!
I would bite their hands off - literally - if they had offered such a terrible combination!