Redcarmoose
Headphoneus Supremus
@vpivinylspinner
Great natural light photographs!
Love it!
Originally Posted by tvrboy /img/forum/go_quote.gif
A major reason so many newbies have entered this hobby is because of the EASE OF ENTRY. In 2008, when Head-Fi really started taking off, it didn't cost a lot to have what was percieved as a "nice rig." High school and college kids saw that if they wanted this stuff, they could easily afford it. And once they were in, they started stepping up to the more expensive stuff. But I'm afraid a lot of newbies will come into this and start posts like I see on AudioAsylum ("I have a 30K rig but it's only mid-fi, I wish I could afford real hi-fi stuff like you guys"). I am already seeing that with electrostats. I've read soooooo many newbie posts that said they were just not interested in stats because they couldn't afford a BHSE. Which we all know is ludicrous. But I've seen people post that, and I'm afraid soon we will see posters saying "I don't wanna get into headphones, I can't afford a LCD-3 and Darkstar." Well, they may not say that out loud, but they will sure think it.
X2. Excellent points regarding the pricing. I seen it happen also in 2 channel rigs. When I started this hobby in 1978 prices were reasonable for high end good and speakers. I bought a pair of PSB Stratus Golds in 1997 for 1500.00 now that replacement is closer to 7K. The company that offers real valuwe for the money is magneplanar. You can buy a 1.7 for 2K and be a very happy camper. This insanity in the headphone market is leading towards the same problem as the 2 channel market. High prices and only one Market. Only high income people will participate. I can see 1K headphones but anything more for me is insanity. Even if I had discretionary income as I did in my younger years when I had 30K invested at one point in 2 channel and that system remained the same for 12 years. I have reached the same thing again with my nearfield speakers and tube amps and 2 flagship headphones I can see no more purchases for quite some time. I think we need more value in the headphone industry again. TVBoy makes a valid point and great post
Personally, I am more irritated by the pricing being driven by what the market can bare vs. being based on the cost of bringing it to the market + "reasonable" profit margin to support the company. In the case of lcd3, I was very skeptical because there was no clear explenation on the cost other than "It will sell...".