During the next big recession, how many headphone brands will go out of business?
Jul 27, 2019 at 1:07 AM Thread Starter Post #1 of 5

DiscoProJoe

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I've been wondering about this for awhile, especially considering the exploding debt levels around the world, which obviously can't go on forever.

So when the next global recession / financial crisis / currency crisis (and/or reset) happens, how will this affect the headphone industry? Whether this takes place next month, next year, next decade, or next century, it's bound to happen eventually.

Which headphone brands do you see going kaput? Which ones do you see merging, or getting bought out by another brand? Which brands do you think will survive and thrive?

Or, on the other hand, could the next economic downturn actually help the headphone industry? When millions of people have to give up their cars (and therefore, their big car stereos), and have to give up their houses (and therefore, their big home stereos), will these folks turn to headphones and personal audio at that time?

For a long time many years ago, I really used to be into big car stereos. Man, was that an expensive hobby. In the last 4-to-4-1/2 years, though, I've figured out how to bring back that good ol' sound via a portable headphone system, and am loving it! :gs1000smile:

Anyway, I'm curious to get everyone's ideas about how the headphone industry will change when the economic laws of nature catch up with reality sooner or later. What are your thoughts?
 
Jul 27, 2019 at 1:51 AM Post #2 of 5
I've been wondering about this for awhile, especially considering the exploding debt levels around the world, which obviously can't go on forever.

So when the next global recession / financial crisis / currency crisis (and/or reset) happens, how will this affect the headphone industry? Whether this takes place next month, next year, next decade, or next century, it's bound to happen eventually.

Which headphone brands do you see going kaput? Which ones do you see merging, or getting bought out by another brand? Which brands do you think will survive and thrive?

Or, on the other hand, could the next economic downturn actually help the headphone industry? When millions of people have to give up their cars (and therefore, their big car stereos), and have to give up their houses (and therefore, their big home stereos), will these folks turn to headphones and personal audio at that time?

For a long time many years ago, I really used to be into big car stereos. Man, was that an expensive hobby. In the last 4-to-4-1/2 years, though, I've figured out how to bring back that good ol' sound via a portable headphone system, and am loving it! :gs1000smile:

Anyway, I'm curious to get everyone's ideas about how the headphone industry will change when the economic laws of nature catch up with reality sooner or later. What are your thoughts?

I think the audio industry is quite niche and maybe in a recession they might downsize but most TOTL gear companies will likely still survive as there will always be consumers.

Having said that, I have been purchasing a lot of budget CHIFI gear lately and I find they provide good quality at affordable pricing. I used to buy western IEMs like westones for the past ten years and I realize the chinese companies have caught up with them and at a fraction of the price charged. So I think sooner or later for the budget/mid range segment, consumers will slowly catch on and shift towards the better price to performance ratio gear. Will this spell the end for some midrange gear western companies, maybe?
 
Jul 29, 2019 at 8:48 PM Post #4 of 5
Sep 13, 2019 at 10:42 PM Post #5 of 5
Takstar make pretty solid, affordable over-ears. They also OEM for a number of others brands. Superlux is another maker of lower cost over-ears. They are based in Taiwan, but do their manufacturing in the PRC.
 

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