Hey All-
Okay, another quick note here from HeadRoom saying a big THANKS for all of your comments. I wanted to address a few things mentioned here:
- Look & Feel... for the most part, it seems like you guys think the design of the site is alright. We do agree w/ you on the appearance of the left column articles looking like Google Ads- there is a crazy similarity! I am hoping we'll be able to adjust those a bit fairly soon. I have to say that internally, the look of the site has all grown on us quite a lot, I personally thought a bit more 'conservative' look may have been better at first, but since then I really think it's pleasing to almost everyone who sees it. Most people especially like the green! but to each his own.
Navigability: For anyone who has concerns about navigation -- we think/hope you'll find it to be a lot smoother after a few days use. It always takes a while to get used to something new; but it's way better than the previous (when we updated our homepage in March, some nav was hacked in there, which created some problems. Some of you may have noticed that accessories & cables were tough to navigate). As time goes on, we'll get more product sorting & limiters installed, which will enhance nav even further.
Skullcandy! We knew that was bound to cause some stir! First I must say that we need to take a good hard look at our value ratings. We are thinking about moving to a multiple-rating system-- that way we could have an 'absolute' sound quality rating, in addition to another rating(s) that address things like price, style, fit, build, etc.
I believe Skullcandy is a good fit for HeadRoom, because it opens up the door to another huge group of people (the vast majority of them are younger <18) who will hopefully come to HeadRoom and learn about better sound. We want to become their partner & friend in their audio careers... they may buy a pair of Sk's when they're 14, because that's what all their friends have, but chances are that a few years down the road they'll want something else, and will think of us when they look for that "something better". Now of course, not all will do so, and of course there are (a few) fourteen year old audiophiles out there, but let's face it, for many many young people, sound quality is not their first criteria. And, we have more than one story of 13 year olds A/Bing a pair of cool Sk's and another pair of (clearly better sounding) cans, and they prefer Sk's! Let's keep in mind that the file quality is probably the biggest limiting factor in SQ anyway -- so yeah, they want a pair of plaid headphones! The point is to get them into headphones, into loving headphones, and the quality thing will follow.
So, to re-cap:
It comes back to the brand: "Get It Right Between Your Ears" It doesn't say -- "Get-Only-The-Best-Sound-According-to-HeadRoom Right Between Your Ears." We want to make people happy with the products and services
they want. We're going to continue carefully evaluating headphones for SQ- recommending the best sounding brands, carefully evaluating & testing headphones, and making kick-ass headphone amps & DACs. But we also need to recognize that there are also folks who just want, say, a headphone for working out, and they're listening to podcasts, and maybe SQ isn't their primary concern. That doesn't mean it's not "right between their ears" for them.
All that said... we've got a looooonng way to go. This transition time is perhaps one of the toughest balances to strike right now. So, once again, thanks guys and gals, for your patience, your patronage, and all of your time and energy to relaying your comments. This is actually very helpful for me to relay some of the sentiments of our "base" as I work w/ multiple consultants, our new CEO Travis, who is doing a great job, and everyone else who's been involved in this project. So, keep 'em coming!
