Audeze LCD-2 Orthos
May 3, 2010 at 10:53 AM Post #406 of 18,459
Yeah just woke up to the $945 email myself. Looks like I'm out - don't think I'll be able to swing that for now.
 
May 3, 2010 at 10:56 AM Post #407 of 18,459
Quote:

Originally Posted by DefectiveAudioComponent /img/forum/go_quote.gif
Nice new box, apparently. The LCD-1 arrived in a David Clark headphone bag instead.

LCD2_Pr3.jpg



They mentioned the nice wood box...and some type of wood maintenance materials (nice touch!). I was taken aback just a tad when the initial asking was $300.00+ more than anticipated but such is life, live with it or without it!
 
May 3, 2010 at 11:35 AM Post #408 of 18,459
Damn! i had my eyes on these as an alternative to the HE5-le, but at $945 i think not.
I'm sure it's still tremendous value, but unless these are T1 killers, i'll have to hold off. My wallet cant take that kind of punishment right now.
 
May 3, 2010 at 11:39 AM Post #409 of 18,459
Just woke up to the price myself. Its more than I anticipated but to be fair, its still good value for what it is.
Hand made boutique wooden headphones that comptete with other high end headphones above $1k.

Iv put in my order.
 
May 3, 2010 at 11:53 AM Post #411 of 18,459
Wow. I was getting interested, but the price is 300 over what everyone had been talking about. Spending 1000 bucks on senns, beyers, grados, your spending on companies that have proven themselves over the years. Also, you know they will be around when you need to replace pads etc.


I guess I'll wait until FOTM syndrome dies down and see what people are saying then. Or not.
biggrin.gif
. We'll see.
 
May 3, 2010 at 12:01 PM Post #412 of 18,459
Truth be told I was surprised they were in the same projected price range as the HE-5LE, because I assume there is a big difference in manufacturing costs between the two (china <-> US , plastic <-> wood). The current price seems to reflect that better. It's also a good move psychologically IMO, they imply that it is better with the pricing, a lot of people in this market are susceptible to that kind of thing.

Now what I want to see is the HE-5 going down to ~400$
smily_headphones1.gif
 
May 3, 2010 at 12:01 PM Post #413 of 18,459
Quote:

Originally Posted by achristilaw /img/forum/go_quote.gif
Just got the email!!! MSRP of $945.00. Starts shipping may 10th!!

I like the cosmetics and cable connections, looks like a viable option right out of the gate...oh fudge! I'll have to give them a try....I can't resist...



LOL! $945 with a chunk of foam on the headband. I want them to succeed, I really do, but I can't in good conciseness give them nearly $1K for that headband. $700 I would have accepted the headband for the quality of the drivers, cups, and SQ, but not at the $1K mark.
 
May 3, 2010 at 12:06 PM Post #414 of 18,459
Btw, does anybody have access to measuring equipment that could verify the waterfall graphs on the audeze website? Those decay plots look too good to be true.
 
May 3, 2010 at 12:07 PM Post #415 of 18,459
Quote:

Originally Posted by shabta /img/forum/go_quote.gif
Also, you know they will be around when you need to replace pads etc.


Yeah, this is a good point. I'm saddened by the pricing because I don't think I'll be able to justify buying it for a while, and it's compounded by the worry that it'll be a limited, one-and-done run, so by the time I'm ready to buy they won't be around. Only time will tell, I suppose. Looking forward to hearing from those who take the leap.
 
May 3, 2010 at 12:41 PM Post #418 of 18,459
I just woke up to the same e-mail
smily_headphones1.gif
, just a week away for these to start shipping!!

As for the price, it is not unexpected even though we had all been hoping for that $700 figure. I know Audeze have priced the headphones at the lowest possible price without cutting of their own hand and this I can accept. They are genuine fans of the hobby and have committed much effort and faith into making this a reality, Having spent time with these, they are priced well for such an exceptional ( and hand made ) product. We should be saying "shame on Sennheiser and Beyer " for not keeping their mass produced offers below $1000 and quite frankly, the LCD2 is easily in league with the HD800 and T1.

..dB
 
May 3, 2010 at 1:14 PM Post #420 of 18,459
Quote:

Originally Posted by dBel84 /img/forum/go_quote.gif
I just woke up to the same e-mail
smily_headphones1.gif
, just a week away for these to start shipping!!

As for the price, it is not unexpected even though we had all been hoping for that $700 figure. I know Audeze have priced the headphones at the lowest possible price without cutting of their own hand and this I can accept. They are genuine fans of the hobby and have committed much effort and faith into making this a reality, Having spent time with these, they are priced well for such an exceptional ( and hand made ) product. We should be saying "shame on Sennheiser and Beyer " for not keeping their mass produced offers below $1000 and quite frankly, the LCD2 is easily in league with the HD800 and T1.

..dB



The sound quality may be in the same league, but the headband is not. It's a very small detail, but attention to detail it is what separates the good from the great. For $1K, I'd expect the leather band to already be in place covering the foam. J$ makes the pads and he is more than capable of making the headbands as he does for the Grados, so the over sight just does not sit well with me. I wouldn't have an issue with the MSRP of $950 if they posted up a sizeable H-F introductory discounted price. Heck. I'd be willing to fork over $700 with a 50% deposit now to hold my production spot and ensure I received a pair within the first year. This would allow them to service the guys that helped drive the development and they can sell them at the full MSRP through other retail outlets where the typical buyer is not a H-F member or not inclined to spend much time on audio forums.

I think Audeze are a great group of guys, but I'm just feeling a huge let down based on the MSRP. It can be fixed in one of two ways: Keep the price where it is and give me a great headband to match the SQ and build of the cups, or keep the current headband and only bump the MSRP $50 from the LCD-1s.

Business 101, sometimes you have to loose a little money upfront to get into a market. Reward the early adopters of your company and show higher units sales to attract better venture capital to fund better economies of scale for production. Or you go full boutique and make the product best in class and second to none across the board. Growth is much slower and venture capital is harder to secure initially the second way, but profits are higher and VC will be attracted to the higher profit and higher return on their money.

But for $950 I can build a killer set of custom HE60s with a better headband design so I guess that is now the path I will pursuing.
 

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