[abellaw]

i voted yes..but the adjustment i will make is headphones that i can reasonably afford...like i would love a pair of editions 9's and if i ruined my savings i could have bought them...but i liked being able to take care of my girlfriend and parents....so i bought the alo-780's which are supposedly very close to the edition 9's but is less than half the price. But i think this is the most expensive headphones i will buy for a while

 

[esien]

i tend to go for the flagships... which is very bad for the wallet TT

 

[intoart]

When I started out, I naively thought that more expensive meant better. After being quite disappointed with two pairs of very expensive phones (K701s and D5000s), I am now 100% satisfied with my DT150s, which cost substantially less than either of those.

 

[Pyriel0]

I think people should try the mid range phones first just to get a taste of the sound. When you find something you like then go big once and be done with it. I liked the sound of the K701's with my setup so I bought the K1000(which is excellent). Now I don't have to worry about buying anything else. I want to listen to some other headphones(senn 600/650 and grado) but I will hear them at a meet or just swap my K1000/K701 out for a couple weeks/a month to listen instead of buying them all.

 

[mopps]

If a hp wakes up my interest and seems to satisfy my needs, I try to buy it. This can be an expensive one, a cheap one, a new one or a used one, whatever. Sometimes I become happy, sometimes at least a little wiser. See my profile, all in a tumble.

 

[Captivate]

Only if it sounds good enough, will I spend my max limit. I doubt I'll ever go over like $500 though. My GAS(guitar acquisition syndrome) is much stronger than my headphone obsession.

 

[mopps]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Captivate /img/forum/go_quote.gif My GAS(guitar acquisition syndrome) is much stronger than my headphone obsession.

Get well soon!

 

[Tiemen]

I voted no. Maybe I could buy more expensive headphones. But I want headphones that are pleasant to wear and reproduce a pleasant sound. Keeping outside noice out, is also a big plus.
A lot of my music is not that well recorded, my gear is not high end. So why should I spend lots of money on headphones.
I'm not looking for that last bit of detail to reveal. I simply want to enjoy my music, without being annoyed with too much bass, too much treble, recessed mids, sibilance, lifelessnes and weird soundstage.
I'm happy with my current, mid-fi, cans

 

[doping panda]

I voted no, but with some exceptions. I just buy what I think I would enjoy. Of course, if what I would enjoy is the most expensive thing I can afford I would get it.

 

[Uncle Erik]

Oh hell no.

I always thought the high end headphones were overpriced (e.g. HD-650) considering cost and overhead. They could turn a profit at $100. The new headphones' costs are set at what they think the market will bear. They're also pitched as collectibles/luxury lifestyle gear.

No thanks.

I'll throw away a couple hundred on profits, but not well over a thousand. I do love the companies that make these, but this is sort of like catching your girlfriend kissing another guy. You can only stretch my goodwill so far.

Money isn't a problem. The price of the HD-800 and the PS-1000 combined is more than I spent on a Conrad-Johnson power amp, a pair of Quad ESL-63s and the drivers for a pair of Linkwitz Orion+ speakers. Go ahead and Google those speakers. I don't think I'm going to lose anything by investing instead in speakers. It's debatable, but I think I'll get superior sound from my speakers.

Sorry Grado and Sennheiser. I love your other products, but this is too far.

 

[Brighten]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Uncle Erik /img/forum/go_quote.gif Oh hell no. I always thought the high end headphones were overpriced (e.g. HD-650) considering cost and overhead. They could turn a profit at $100. The new headphones' costs are set at what they think the market will bear. They're also pitched as collectibles/luxury lifestyle gear. No thanks. I'll throw away a couple hundred on profits, but not well over a thousand. I do love the companies that make these, but this is sort of like catching your girlfriend kissing another guy. You can only stretch my goodwill so far. Money isn't a problem. The price of the HD-800 and the PS-1000 combined is more than I spent on a Conrad-Johnson power amp, a pair of Quad ESL-63s and the drivers for a pair of Linkwitz Orion+ speakers. Go ahead and Google those speakers. I don't think I'm going to lose anything by investing instead in speakers. It's debatable, but I think I'll get superior sound from my speakers. Sorry Grado and Sennheiser. I love your other products, but this is too far.

Damn well put.

 

[member1982]

yup of course... i cant stand cheap headphones, even thou they are value for money but they lack alot of things... Detail for one...

 

[Gamerphile]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Uncle Erik /img/forum/go_quote.gif I always thought the high end headphones were overpriced (e.g. HD-650) considering cost and overhead. They could turn a profit at $100. The new headphones' costs are set at what they think the market will bear. They're also pitched as collectibles/luxury lifestyle gear.

While I'd love to discuss for hours over a good beer why its good and why its not so good with the current policy of "collectibles/luxury lifestyle gear" and such there is a few misconceptions of yours I'd like to clear out.

I know for a fact since I work in the industry and seen many "actual cost per unit" of entire ranges of headphones etc. that your statement about the actual product costs you state about the high-end head-fi stuff is simply not true. Its easily proved by a market economic rule of thumb that the price of most consumer products of this kind never fall below near ~200% of what the retailers are buying the product at directly off the producer - that is unless the retailer do a stock clearout etc. Its due to logistics such as holding items in stock and other retailer related costs which keeps the retailers actual profit margins a lot lower than you might think.
The producers pricing to the retailers equally inflated in many ways like logistics etc. buts its also due to the low numbers being produced with high-end/niche products. Even big company's like Sennheiser can't employ many of the tricks of mass production that can be done on a cheaper, simpler and largely more mass produced products. Then there also is the problem of high-end products having complex features which are avoided normally due to complex assembly or manufacturing which can have severe price impacts.
Then there is the problem of profit margin of manufacture which goes to R'n'D and the initial development costs of the actual product. Very big factor in niche products. I know some pretty cool things can only be done by big companies which are not developed simply because they would never be able to sell the product to enough people to regain development costs. Thats regardless of the actual end-product's unit cost might be very nominal - the niches here are just too small.

Its sad but true fact that had audiophile nirvana been the route to Weapon of Mass Destruction the world would have looked quit different.

Also just out of spite I actually just happen to have know the cost per unit of HD 650 and its not 100$ - enough said.

 

[Luckyleo]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Nosoupforyou /img/forum/go_quote.gif A much more sensible poll than my idiot Law of Diminishing Returns idiocy. I voted Yes, though I would've liked an option that said, "Yes -- But Only if I Need To", because I usually judge based on SQ and listening pleasure first, over the finances.

X2, yep, I buy what I consider the best sounding phones, which are most often below the price of max. comfort level of expenditures. If I felt that spending more $$ would improve my perception of the quality of reproduction I would do so happily. However, my expectations for quality are not necessarily tied to price.

 

[LeonWho]

do you always have to make these polls?

just kidding.

and i put no.