[givemevinyl]

   
actually my most successful products are the line of Pico portables, which were without the benefit of a 'known' designer. I make almost nothing on the BHSE and GS-X mk2 and couldn't afford to sell them to dealers. i would much, much rather sell 2 pairs of Sennheiser HD800 than 1 GS-X mk2. Not only would there be more profit, i wouldnt have to do anything! No design work, no dealing with vendors, no building, no skilled employees, and if it breaks, it's Sennheiser's problem! Sales is the place to be!

 
Would you disagree that the reputation garnered by BHSE/GS-X has had a trickle down effect (in terms of perceived quality and consequently sales) on your less expensive gear? 

 

[IceClass]

  Stuff that expensive shouldn't look like a tasteless DIY kit, in my humble opinion. 

 
I had much the same reaction.

 

[Icenine2]

Wow.  Turns out the LaU is dirt cheap compared to the CHA-1.  $10,500
 

 

[Icenine2]

Oops........sorry.  The former post has the multiple outputs and is $12,500.  Here is the cheaper version.
 

 

[wink]

That looks so wrong.
 
Bland as a grapefruit's taste.

 

[ultrabike]

   
actually my most successful products are the line of Pico portables, which were without the benefit of a 'known' designer. I make almost nothing on the BHSE and GS-X mk2 and couldn't afford to sell them to dealers. i would much, much rather sell 2 pairs of Sennheiser HD800 than 1 GS-X mk2. Not only would there be more profit, i wouldnt have to do anything! No design work, no dealing with vendors, no building, no skilled employees, and if it breaks, it's Sennheiser's problem! Sales is the place to be!

 
Makes sense. Flagships probably bring prestige, but are not necessarily the cash cows (like say a Pico, a Modi, ... a FiiO). I also think sales is the place to be, which is why I felt diversification into headphone sales was a good idea. You would obviously know better than I.
 
I feel it is difficult for flagship, TOTL, reference, summit-fi, and uber-pricy products to make the big bucks. This is why Paradoxper's concerns about Alex having a garage full of Ferraris made little sense to me. And also why Arnaud's "word by mouth" theory did not resonate with me (other of Arnaud's audio theories and discussions made a lot more sense to me though).
 
IMO it doesn't make sense to talk about value in high-end equipment. Other products like the Creative Sci-Fi, the Sansa Cheap, and the FiiO XYZ lines are probably more value driven.
 
As far as KG... Well, I do like the BiatcHSE amp (specially your version). I can also say that I liked the sound quality of the LAu + JPS Labs Abyss combo. A LOT.
 
Furthermore, while I did not like the Abyss looks, I did like the bat cave equipment presentation of the LAu.

 

[ChiAki]

Great video Jude!

 

[arnaud]

And also why Arnaud's "word by mouth" theory did not resonate with me (other of Arnaud's audio theories and discussions made a lot more sense to me though).

Engineers are terrible salesmen for the most part I think . I firmly sit in the engineer's camp and admire all the entrepreneurs out there, starting with my wife .

 

[GeneraI]

$5,000 dollars and still not better than the Stax-009! Count me out. If this was in the $3,000 range with the basic package, this would be a killer deal. 

 

[rrahman]

Does everyone who thought that 6.5k/unit was appropriately priced now think that at 4k/unit they must be losing money in each sale?

 

[Icenine2]

Damn that is a nice car!

 

[Radio_head]

  Does everyone who thought that 6.5k/unit was appropriately priced now think that at 4k/unit they must be losing money in each sale?

Everyone who thought it was appropriately priced with dealer markup factored in thinks its now appropriately priced as something sold direct from the manufacturer.

 

[DefQon]

  Wow.  Turns out the LaU is dirt cheap compared to the CHA-1.  $10,500
 

 
At least that actually looks like a 12.5k product. Detail and machining is crazy good bit bland yes but who needs a Fluxcapacitor jiggawatts sticker on there 12.5k equipment?

 

[ultrabike]

   
At least that actually looks like a 12.5k product.

 
Dunno enough about that amp, but from the pictures it doesn't look like it can make my coffee, nor does it look like it can take the dog for a walk. Can't see the diamonds or other precious stones/metals either. So to me it doesn't look like a 12.5k product.
 
From the little I've read about the CHA-1, it seems you pay for the IP and R&D more than the looks, and perhaps the fact that this and other products (like the LAu) are not a mass produced.

 

[DefQon]

Well if it could make coffee or take my dog out for a walk that would be a different story. I know for a fact that machined metal of that calibre as I'm judging from the few pictures I've found online is not cheap at all and can run up to thousands similar to some of the crazy expensive Ayre preamp's which are machined to perfection inside and out to block RF, crosstalk and eliminates other parasitic noise to the circuit. Troubleshooting them would be a bitch though.