[krmathis]

If every headphone amplifier is an overpriced CMoy, then every car is ... what ?
An overpriced Ford Model-T ?!

They are all overpriced Tata Nanos.
Cause unlike the Ford Model-T it is in current production, just like the CMoy
 

 

[Avro_Arrow]

I think those are the same tires I have on my wheelbarrow...
 
Quote:

They are all overpriced Tata Nanos.
Cause unlike the Ford Model-T it is in current production, just like the CMoy
 

 

[leeperry]

hehe, well look at the picture in the OP...does it justify the $370 price tag to you?
 
anyway, I get it now...RMA costs, R&D, external enclosure, taxes, employees payroll...we've been spoiled by the gear made in China.

 

[purrin]

There different ways to sell product.  High end is all about low volume, exclusivity, high markup, good marketing, and of course good enclosures. 

  On the other hand, one could always get one of these (A JDS Labs BB CMOY):
 

 
Ultimately it's business. And there's no rule in business that says you can't charge for what you actually get people to pay.

 

[volume]

iBasso also sells decent products for fair prices.

 

[Avro_Arrow]

Have you removed the nail polish yet to see what chips it uses?
Looks like IC1 is the amp and IC2 is the ground channel.
Just my guess....
 
 
Quote:

hehe, well look at the picture in the OP...does it justify the $370 price tag to you?
 
anyway, I get it now...RMA costs, R&D, external enclosure, taxes, employees payroll...we've been spoiled by the gear made in China.

 

[leeperry]

 

Have you removed the nail polish yet to see what chips it uses?
Looks like IC1 is the amp and IC2 is the ground channel.
Just my guess.... 

It's a good guess that it's prolly running AD797...this chip is eye popping on headphones(especially battery powered), RSA is well aware of it and that'd explain all the raving reviews of it.

Emmeline HR-2 Headphone Amp - Ray Samuels Audio
Quote:

The HR-2 is a high resolution headphone amplifier. It incorporates two state of the art AD797 audio IC’s—the best ever made.

 

[dfkt]

Aaah... "the best ever made". You can always count on RSA for the most bold advertising speech.

 

[leeperry]

AD797BRZ might not be "teh" best audio opamp ever made, but it's clearly in the top 10 list IMHO...together w/ ADA4627-1B, LT1363, LT1028AC, Burson V2 a few others. When you need an amazingly clear and detailed DAC output, AD797 is business.
 
Anyone used to the crappy OPA2134/OPA2604 and so will be stunned by AD797, no doubt...Scott Wurcer(its designer) knows his stuff.

 

[Avro_Arrow]

I haven't tried the AD797 yet but I do have it's brother, the AD8599.
I use it in my 1793 based  DAC.
Great sound.

 

[LeonardS]

Hey, if you're going to object to premium pricing for small items, cost to benefit ratio and all that...how much does an OPA627 cost these days?  For just a little piece of silicon trapped in plastic with 8 leads?   Tell me why this one opamp is so  expensive!  It is not like there aren't alternatives.
 
On the other hand, if this one particularly pricey opamp makes your M^3 (or whatever) sound it's best, then, maybe it is worth it?
 

 

[leeperry]

 

Hey, if you're going to object to premium pricing for small items, cost to benefit ratio and all that...how much does an OPA627 cost these days?  For just a little piece of silicon trapped in plastic with 8 leads?   Tell me why this one opamp is so  expensive!  It is not like there aren't alternatives.

supply and demand? $244 for two OPA627SM: http://www.auzentech.com/site/products/opamp_627sm.php
 
as we say where I come from: "as long as there'll be ******** to buy it, there'll be ******** to sell it".
 
If you look at the AD797, it packs a lot more technology than you seem willing to believe:
 
many ppl think that the opamps are what colors the sound the most: http://forum.rightmark.org/topic.cgi?id=4:504-3
 
"Everybody -in different locations, at different times, without knowing from each other- told the same story, that they found the differences between opamps more important than the differences in dac chips."
 
most opamps based headamps cash up on the opamps engineers work.

 

[Dubstep Girl]

grado ra1 = overpriced cmoy

 

[fangsi2009]

You're paying for the sound OP. Well maybe looks if that matters to some portion of audiophiles.

 

[ACDOAN]

 It sounds like a broken record but it's on based on demand and supply. Are the products of Louis Vuitton overpriced? Hell, yes. Do people stop buying them? Hell, no.
 
Look at the price difference between the Bryston 4BSST and the Emo XPA1 amp. People who like the Bryston products will continue buying Bryston's products. Are they stupidly insane? Probably not if they can have the decent paid job to afford it.  The cost of the Emo Xpa1/Xpa2 amps are a fraction of the Bryston. So why does not every body buy the Emo amps. Pound per pound, is the Bryston worth it? Maybe yes and may be no.
 
Do people stop buying the Lexicon products while they ( Lexicon) are simly a re-badged of the Harmon Kardon? Some may and some may not.
 
If you are happy paying for something that makes you happy then stick with it even when you know you are being ripped -off.
 
Welcome to audiophile world.