[enyceexdanny]

where'd you get it for $350?

 

[kelesh]

AA = audioadvisor. go to the HD650 page and click on "email me the current price" or something like that and they send you a coupon for $100 off of their $450 price so it is $350.

 

[hottyson]

Quote:

Originally posted by kelesh and ordered hd650's and an Oehlbach cable ($350 + $63) to replace my 1.5 month old hd580's.

Please, will you let us know how the Sennheiser HD-650 sounds compared to your Sennheiser HD-580?

 

[rsaavedra]

I think will have to rectify some detail about some of my previous postings. (I'm really not so certain about this yet, but tomorrow will confirm.)
From the email I got from Jamey (Headroom) on Friday, I now realize Headroom price- matched AA with the headphones delivered. I think this means I got the 650's from HeadRoom for $349.95 shipping included. I have been thinking they had matched the price but I would have to pay shipping separately. Well, can't confirm with my credit card because they haven't shipped so my card hasn't been charged yet, but will make sure tomorrow contacting Jamey.

 

[kelesh]

Quote:

Originally posted by hottyson Please, will you let us know how the Sennheiser HD-650 sounds compared to your Sennheiser HD-580?

I will certainly compare HD650 vs HD580 as well as comparisons with and without the Oehlbach cable. Remember though that I am using:

Audigy 2 (kx drivers)
Foobar 2000 (resampling to 24bit/48khz, crossfeed)
playing alt-preset-extreme lame encoded mp3s

Audigy 2 --> Monster iSplitter --> Straightwire 1/8" to RCA adapter --> Fiddler mid-high meta42 --> Oehlbach cable --> HD650's or HD580's.

Sadly I think my source may not be good enough for a great testing. I am not an audiophile either, but I have a friend who has a great ear for these sorts of things, so he could testdrive them.

 

[hottyson]

Quote:

Originally posted by kelesh ISadly I think my source may not be good enough for a great testing. I am not an audiophile either, but I have a friend who has a great ear for these sorts of things, so he could testdrive them.

Actually, those items aren't so bad. Sure you might feel the urge to upgrade later but I think that your system has surpassed a certain point that you will be able to hear the obvious differences. So long as you aren’t using mp3’s, those obvious differences are the ones that interest me.

The meta can sometimes be an amazing amplifier.

 

[kelesh]

Quote:

Originally posted by hottyson ...So long as you aren’t using mp3’s, those obvious differences are the ones that interest me. The meta can sometimes be an amazing amplifier.

Are alt--preset extreme encoded mp3s noticably worse? I have some techno flac's, and access to most of the cd's that I ripped, but I was under the impressioin the differences between alt--preset extreme and lossless compression was barely noticable, if at all.

 

[Silby]

Quote:

Originally posted by Elec As others have mentioned, I don't think we have to worry about Sennheiser or Grado. They get theirs so long as you buy, and it doesn't matter from whom. The people at risk are the distributors and resellers. R&D expenses for drug companies are phenomenal, in large part because of the nature of the business where your product needs to A) work and B) not harm anyone. R&D for audio companies is not quite as expensive though it is significant. I've always been glad that Headroom offered their own line of amps because it gives their company added value and is an additional product offering you just can't get anywhere else. I'm occasionally in favor of the cheapest price possible, but not at all costs. I'm unemployed and I get zero dollars and zero cents from anybody's taxes. When I was employed, I paid taxes. Because I'm an idiot trying to get IN to IT and software engineering now, I'm well aware of the whole situation with Lou Dobbs, outsourcing jobs to third world countries for slave wages, and the impact this has on jobs and the economy. Unfortunately in this case, it's not the result of cheapest-price-possible, as the cost savings are not passed on to the customers. It's a direct result of corporate greed and the goal is to produce product at say, India prices and sell it at America prices, which is probably infeasible in the long run. With something like AA, they're not selling Senn knockoffs they acquired for $20 at $350, they're just taking a bit less for themselves on a product they probably paid as much for as any other reseller did. There's nothing wrong with that really, though it will end up cutting out the extras after some time. So the point is, do you want a company who will take a small cut and just give you the product and little else, or do you want a company who will take a bigger profit but use some of it to reinvest in things like headphone amps, frequency response measurements, a demo program, etc. The extras are nice, but some people don't want to pay for them. It's always been that way.

I agree with what you are saying. Let me try to respond as best I can. First of all, the fundamental flaw of my example is that these vendors don't provide a product, they provide a service. You are correct that Senns will still be around, but will the forums you learned about them from or the retailers who sponsored them? And in terms of pricing, companies need to look at how much they can charge relative to how many items they can sell (supply/demand - basic macro-econ) and the relative price elasticity of their product. There is some price elasticity in a product like the Senns because many people feel there isn't a different headphone that can viewed as an equivalent alternative (unlike say, aspirin and bayer), but if they alter the price too much, the market will look elsewhere. If dealers who sell their phones close, however, this would have a big effect on price. Imagine Senns become available exclusively online (why pay Brick and Mortar prices?), now the market has shrunk. Now remove any of the online retailers who provide information and service for their products. What then happens is that Senns become more obscures and out of the mainstream, requiring eith Senn or one of the cheap retailers to invest money in advertising and education. Also, these cheap retailers would end up needing to compete with each other, and try to offer extra services, but this will be essentially window dressing, as real extras would be cost prohibitive. So when Senn (or the retailers) have to advertise to sell their products to less people, where do you think they are going to make up the extra cost? It is a tragedy of the commons; by seeking individual gain, you are actually huting yourself, as the aggregate is doing the same thing and plundering the resources you have taken for granted.

Having said all this, I don't know why people bash stores like Target. They have good stuff at decent prices, and the ones I've been to have had nice atmospheres IMHO

Cheers,
-Silby

 

[rsaavedra]

Yes sorry if I caused any misperception. Jamey just emailed me, the final price I'm paying at Headroom for the HD650's is indeed $349.95, shipping included.

 

[Jamey Warren]

Quote:

Yes sorry if I caused any misperception. Jamey just emailed me, the final price I'm paying at Headroom for the HD650's is indeed $349.95, shipping included.

Thanks rsaavedr!!

Any other takers?

Jamey