[jibzilla]

I think your being a little hard on him. He had like 15-20 seconds to justify a beats loving mass audience to pay over a thousand for a set of headphones. Also while I agree comparing a set of headphones to speakers is awkward because of inherent differences. It's not unreasonable to have a preference for one or the other. After all they both have the same goal of accurate sound reproduction and audeze competes w/ high end speakers for a fraction of the price.

 

[leesure]

Yes, speakers and headphones are different animals, but the comparison is logical. They are both transducers. And yes, he had very little time to explain and justify the prices to a generation of people who have heard neither high end speakers nor headphones. He went there because there's a chance his Bloomberg audience has actually walked into a high end stereo store and heard the 'listening room' rig and been wow'd whereas there is almost no chance they've heard anything better than Beats when it comes to headphones. It's an imperfect comparison. But it's one that explains a lot to those who wouldn't get it otherwise.

As to the debate over which is better...there are absolutely things that loudspeakers can do that headphones cannot. My $10k+ loudspeaker rig images in ways that headphone never will. It's wider, deeper and more holographic. The bass impact is more visceral because the air movement really does hit you in the chest the way it would live. That said, it cost me 4x what my statement HP rig did and I need to sit in a sweet zone to really get the full advantage of the imaging. It is also very room dependent and I don't have the $80k to build a dedicated room, so it shares space with living space. This means that all the noise of living gets in the way as well. Meanwhile, I'm typing this on my iPad while listening to the Bolero outside on my deck and I'm getting 100% of the tonality of my loudspeaker rig...maybe 120%.

All in all, despite having both high-end offerings at my disposal, my $12k speaker rig sits quiet far more than my $4k headphone rig. Take that for what it's worth.

 

[ekrauss]

That was very classy that Alex bit his tongue and did not correct Mr. Interviewer Guy on his mispronunciation.  I have to admit that when I first heard of Audeze--back when the spelling was Audez'e--I was surprised that it was pronounced "Odyssey."  I got used to it quickly, though.

 

[SunTanScanMan]

  That was very classy that Alex bit his tongue and did not correct Mr. Interviewer Guy on his mispronunciation.  I have to admit that when I first heard of Audeze--back when the spelling was Audez'e--I was surprised that it was pronounced "Odyssey."  I got used to it quickly, though.

+1

 

[jibzilla]

Yes, speakers and headphones are different animals, but the comparison is logical. They are both transducers. And yes, he had very little time to explain and justify the prices to a generation of people who have heard neither high end speakers nor headphones. He went there because there's a chance his Bloomberg audience has actually walked into a high end stereo store and heard the 'listening room' rig and been wow'd whereas there is almost no chance they've heard anything better than Beats when it comes to headphones. It's an imperfect comparison. But it's one that explains a lot to those who wouldn't get it otherwise.

As to the debate over which is better...there are absolutely things that loudspeakers can do that headphones cannot. My $10k+ loudspeaker rig images in ways that headphone never will. It's wider, deeper and more holographic. The bass impact is more visceral because the air movement really does hit you in the chest the way it would live. That said, it cost me 4x what my statement HP rig did and I need to sit in a sweet zone to really get the full advantage of the imaging. It is also very room dependent and I don't have the $80k to build a dedicated room, so it shares space with living space. This means that all the noise of living gets in the way as well. Meanwhile, I'm typing this on my iPad while listening to the Bolero outside on my deck and I'm getting 100% of the tonality of my loudspeaker rig...maybe 120%.

All in all, despite having both high-end offerings at my disposal, my $12k speaker rig sits quiet far more than my $4k headphone rig. Take that for what it's worth.

 

[swspiers]

I'm not an Audeze customer, but I appreciate what they have done for the hobby.  Great exposure!

 

[jude]

  That was very classy that Alex bit his tongue and did not correct Mr. Interviewer Guy on his mispronunciation.  I have to admit that when I first heard of Audeze--back when the spelling was Audez'e--I was surprised that it was pronounced "Odyssey."  I got used to it quickly, though.

 
Agreed. Even to gently slip in the name's correct pronunciation into a sentence might have caused a bit of awkwardness for the interviewer. That was a very savvy, thoughtful move to just let it slide completely.
 
As for the name: when I say "AWW-diz-zee," I regularly get a look of confusion, after which I insert "AWW-deez," and recognition usually follows the latter.

 

[leesure]

So your selling your speaker rig? I wish I could afford a 12k set of speakers but that's my entire hifi rig budget and I would rather have 3 awesome headphones, 2 amps, 2 sources, and my $1300 adams than just one set of speakers and nothing else. Same thing with getting a uberphone like the 009, Abyss, R10, or uberamps and dacs like the B.H.S.E. and Lampie's. If you have thought about downgrading your speakers closer to something in the lcd price range the a7x's and bx8's sound awesome for their price imo and can fit inside any living space easily and can run off your headphone amp.

Not sure where you get that I'm selling my speaker rig or that I have $12k speakers. My preamp, amp, speakers & cables total about $12k and I have no desire to sell them. It's a system I've acquired over many years and it brings me much joy when I have the opportunity to use it. The point to the above post was to simply enhance the point Alex was making...that the tonality of headphones can match or exceeds that of speakers many many times their price.

 

[mikemercer]

Not sure where you get that I'm selling my speaker rig or that I have $12k speakers. My preamp, amp, speakers & cables total about $12k and I have no desire to sell them. It's a system I've acquired over many years and it brings me much joy when I have the opportunity to use it. The point to the above post was to simply enhance the point Alex was making...that the tonality of headphones can match or exceeds that of speakers many many times their price.

That's precisely how I feel about my two-channel in-room stereo system! I still love it - but before I dove head-first into high performance personal audio, I used to hear a new record and think to myself: I MUST hear this on my stereo! Now I think: DAMN, I gotta hear this on one of my top headphone rigs!
 
Your statement also reflects my opinion on the potential of high end headphone playback vs. loudspeaker systems.
 
AND: Alex's Bloomberg TV appearance is good for us ALL 

 
This system is blowin' my mind at the moment:

CEntrance HiFi-M8
Audeze LCD-2 w/ Fazor
wired w/ Double Helix Cables Molecule Elite & Moon Audio LOD
iPod Classic for music storage

 

[qveda]

  That's precisely how I feel about my two-channel in-room stereo system! I still love it - but before I dove head-first into high performance personal audio, I used to hear a new record and think to myself: I MUST hear this on my stereo! Now I think: DAMN, I gotta hear this on one of my top headphone rigs!
 
Your statement also reflects my opinion on the potential of high end headphone playback vs. loudspeaker systems.
 
AND: Alex's Bloomberg TV appearance is good for us ALL 

 
This system is blowin' my mind at the moment:

CEntrance HiFi-M8
Audeze LCD-2 w/ Fazor
wired w/ Double Helix Cables Molecule Elite & Moon Audio LOD
iPod Classic for music storage

HI Mike, As I am about to make my first purchase of head-fi gear (after having had to sell my high end system 20yrs ago), I am very inspired about the possibilities that are now available in this (to me) amazing personal system market.    I would like to start with some great closed phones (probably closed for starters for my home office situation), but have been wondering if I could afford a DAC/amp for them.  Seems from posts like this one, that products like Centrance, Schiit, and others provide entry point pairings that are more than sufficient - perhaps far more than sufficient - for a great experience.  Then many paths for upgrading as the opportunities arise.  ( sent you a PM with some particular questions).

 

[jibzilla]

Not sure where you get that I'm selling my speaker rig or that I have $12k speakers. My preamp, amp, speakers & cables total about $12k and I have no desire to sell them. It's a system I've acquired over many years and it brings me much joy when I have the opportunity to use it. The point to the above post was to simply enhance the point Alex was making...that the tonality of headphones can match or exceeds that of speakers many many times their price.

 

[formula1]

Audeze, one of the finest headphone manufacturers out there. Looking forward to have the closed back model in my collection

 

[leesure]

Yeah but 25-40x? To each his own but I'm not ready to jump on that bandwagon just yet. If my adams sounded 25-40x worse than my X's I would think something is broken. I'm glad you enjoy your speaker rig but if I was listening to a $4k headphone rig more often I would seriously consider selling them. To each his own on that as well but I bought a 99 Ford Mustang GT with a 5 speed in 07' for $6k and put another $6k into modifying it and fixing it. For 3 years I used it just as much as my daily driver car a 00' mercury sable. In 2010 I traded in my sable for a new VW Golf with a 5 speed and in the last 4 years I have went from driving my mustang from a good 8,500 mi. a year all the way down to 2,000 mi. last year.

Did it suck to lose the $6k I put into the car, yes. But I was using it maybe a few hours a month and I use my hifi rig a good 100hrs. a month and no having to maintain liability insurance to the tune of $500 a year. I def. would not have been able to transform my $6k rig into my now $12k rig without doing that and I don't regret selling the car or buying the gear. If my hifi rig becomes stale and collects dust it to will be on here or the gon or mart. If you don't use it you will lose it.

As you say, "to each his own". I believe the point that Alex was trying to make was that Audeze represents the state of the art in headphone technology. The state-of-the-art in loudspeaker technology costs significantly more without delivering more quality of tonality. This makes Audeze a great value in the grand scheme, despite their price.

 

[shigzeo]

As you say, "to each his own". I believe the point that Alex was trying to make was that Audeze represents the state of the art in headphone technology. The state-of-the-art in loudspeaker technology costs significantly more without delivering more quality of tonality. This makes Audeze a great value in the grand scheme, despite their price.

I agree that Aud'eze are freaking awesome, but headphones don't compare well to speakers. They are just completely different. Speakers present sound more naturally, coming to not only both ears, but interacting, and impacting upon the body. If you turn around, phase is 'reversed' exactly like any external sound source ever is. Headphones are unique in that they internalise the experience and divide sound up into channels, with very little bleed.
 
The two don't compare. While I love headphones, the more natural pleasure one can derive from speakers is on a completely different level.

 

[darkfireblade25]

  I agree that Aud'eze are freaking awesome, but headphones don't compare well to speakers. They are just completely different. Speakers present sound more naturally, coming to not only both ears, but interacting, and impacting upon the body. If you turn around, phase is 'reversed' exactly like any external sound source ever is. Headphones are unique in that they internalise the experience and divide sound up into channels, with very little bleed.
 
The two don't compare. While I love headphones, the more natural pleasure one can derive from speakers is on a completely different level.

So, meaning I should probably get a Kef LS50 before an HD800, or something like that.