[Snurt]

Cant one use a good eq to even out the FR curve? I know its starting to realy catch on in full sized systems to use a mic and eq to flaten out the curve. WinISD and minidsp for headphones maybe?

 

[Music Alchemist]

  Cant one use a good eq to even out the FR curve? I know its starting to realy catch on in full sized systems to use a mic and eq to flaten out the curve. WinISD and minidsp for headphones maybe?

 
Yep, EQ can solve many FR problems, but only to an extent.
 
http://www.sonarworks.com/headphones/overview
http://www.head-fi.org/t/413900/how-to-equalize-your-headphones-a-tutorial
http://www.head-fi.org/t/587703/how-to-equalize-your-headphones-a-tutorial-part-2
http://www.head-fi.org/t/615417/how-to-equalize-your-headphones-advanced-tutorial-in-progress

 

[cooperpwc]

  Wow,  this is totally NOT what I wou have expected from the name of this thread. Seems like it should be renamed as "The AK charges too much for their DAPs thread".
 
What I ws expecting was more like cutomer service nightmares, companies that don't reply to emails or don;t even give out a phone number, companies that take your oney and take 3-10 times longer to send you a product than their competitors...  you know, stuff like that.
 
Anybody got that kind of stuff to get off their chests?

 
If you knew the history of how this thread got started, you would be less surprised. The thread starter has a history of being upset at people criticizing his expensive AK DAPs in other threads. The entire raison d'etre for his creating this thread was to leave the AK380 thread as a trigger-free safe space.

 

[fzman]

   
If you knew the history of how this thread got started, you would be less surprised. The thread starter has a history of being upset at people criticizing his expensive AK DAPs in other threads. The entire raison d'etre for his creating this thread was to leave the AK380 thread as a trigger-free safe space.

 
ah!  now it becomes clear

 

[Saraugie]

   
If you knew the history of how this thread got started, you would be less surprised. The thread starter has a history of being upset at people criticizing his expensive AK DAPs in other threads. The entire raison d'etre for his creating this thread was to leave the AK380 thread as a trigger-free safe space.

 
Are you meaning me? Cannot be......I started this thread because people should have a place to voice their negative opinions instead of in appreciation threads.  And once there was talk of over pricing, or bad customer service, talk went on and on blocking all other comments. Not just for the AK company but the others as well.  It just the in vogue at the moment to put down AK these days.

 

[JK1]

  +1. I own an AK240 as well an iBasso DX90 and a HiFiMAN HM-650. While the AK240 is far superior to my other two DAPs, it is in no way $2,000 superior. Now iRiver wants $3,500 for the AK380, in hopes that what would have been considered absurd a year or two ago, will now become acceptable and the new norm. I can't speak for others and in no way disparage anyones decision to purchase but it's time for me to exit the iRiver crazy train.

Imo paying $2500 for an mp3 player makes no sense at all. Is it 83 times as good as the Clip Zip I bought for $30? Would it give me 83 times the enjoyment? It has been years since I paid over $100 for an mp3 player. 
While a $160 player like the Cowon M2 interests me for its 90 hour battery life, I can't seem to justify its cost for the long battery life. If I can't justify the purchase of a $160 mp3 player, then I certainly can't even think of trying to justify the cost of a $2500 one.
 
Compared to a $2500 or $3500 player, a $500 one seems like a bargain. Others though will compare the $500 player to their $30 Clip Zip, and decide that the $500 player isn't worth it.
 
Some companies make some absurdly expensive models. I guess part of the reason for this is to try to make their still very expensive lowest priced models seem like a bargain in comparison.

 

[Saraugie]

An MP3 player? If that is the resolution you listen to, then of course Hi Rez DAPS make no sense at all.

 

[JK1]

  An MP3 player? If that is the resolution you listen to, then of course Hi Rez DAPS make no sense at all.

Most people can't distinguish between between mp3 files at 320 kbps and FLAC files. That is even in a quit room while they are doing nothing else except concentrating on the music, and using high quality non portable equipment. Many can't even distinguish between FLAC and 128 kbps mp3. Now factor in a noisy environment, using portable headphones, and being distracted by doing something else while listening, and see how many people can distinguish between 320 kbps mp3 files and higher quality formats. In addition, many who have the money to buy expensive equipment are older, and their hearing isn't as good as it was when they were in their early 20s.
 
http://www.npr.org/sections/therecord/2015/06/09/412271433/audio-quality-quiz-results-you-did-slightly-better-than-guessing-randomly

 

[fzman]

Aimed at no one specific post here--  clearly the totl DAPs are not for you, so don't buy one.  But also, make sure when you ridicule the price and the value proposition of the product(s) to mention that it is or isn't worth it to you.  I will make my own decisions, thank you very much.  Please also note that value is not a linear progression, and the 'it's 18x more expensive' pronouncements people make are not helpful to anyone.
 
 
Can't afford it?-don't buy it.  Don't care?-don't buy it.  Have an opinion about something you have not actually heard yourself?- Post comments on Head-fi!!!!

 

[raypin]

mmmm.....what is it to you anyway if some folks spend 2500 bucks or 25 million bucks on anything????????????

 

[JK1]

I wasn't the one who chose the title for the thread. Each individual has the right to decide whether something is worth purchasing or not. Of course the value proposition is not linear. Far from it. Which is why not even every billonaire in the world owns a Sennheiser Orphus. 
 
There is a certain price level though where there is enough demand, so a manufacturer can achieve great economies of scale. When items are made is small numbers though, the unit production cost can quickly escalate.

 

[fzman]

 I wasn't the one who chose the title for the thread. Each individual has the right to decide whether something is worth purchasing or not. 

 
I think we are agreeing - my point is that, to some extent, making an autobigraphical comment (not you) that "I would not buy X product at P price", is not interesting to anyone, unless there is a context supplied regarding competing products actually auditioned under relevantly similar circumstances by the poster.
 
As far as the title of the thread, per se, I would have thought it referred to poor customer service, broken promises about shipments of product, misleading claims about product features or accessories...   So far I have not read any of that in this thread (but I am old, and have a poor memory, lol).

 

[Saraugie]

I can hear the difference between MP3 and DSD and other Hi Rez files.  BUT, lol, even if I couldn't , I have @10,000 songs, 5% in MP3s and the rest, FLAC, ALAC, and in 24/....., and DSD.  I am not converting my library. And I don't want to carry multi gears, so its an all in one for me.  YMMV of course.
 
Oops, fzman you are correct and I apologize for adding to the derailing of the thread. And me the starter to boot!

 

[Duncan]

I walk around with $4-5k worth of portable setup at any one time, am I stupid? Possibly, but it does sound a lot better then a $4-500 setup...

Beauty is in the eye of the beholder, and this beholder has expensive tastes...

 

[fzman]

  I can hear the difference between MP3 and DSD and other Hi Rez files.  BUT, lol, even if I couldn't , I have @10,000 songs, 5% in MP3s and the rest, FLAC, ALAC, and in 24/....., and DSD.  I am not converting my library. And I don't want to carry multi gears, so its an all in one for me.  YMMV of course.
 
Oops, fzman you are correct and I apologize for adding to the derailing of the thread. And me the starter to boot!

 
I was not judging- just expressing surprise.  (None of the below is addressed at you, just so you know)
 
The times when I end up thinking that things cost too much is in the classifieds, when I see a 4th owner asking for $5 below retail, and still wanting paypal fees and shipping costs added to the total, AND acting like that's a fair price.  
 
I wish things cost less,(I'm talking new stuff from retail vendors here),  but the best really does cost more, most of the time.
 
 
I am a retailer (not the owner of the company, btw).  I'd want to know if we were doing something that people did not like- so long as it was told to me in a constructive way.