[maxim-msc]

How does one order directly from Chan? I'm getting tired of waiting around for another mass Massdrop drop. Also, how are the prices directly from Chan?

Write to enquiry@emu.com, and Chan will reply.
450$ for fixed cable version and 500$ for detachable.
Plus shipping, but it depends on your location.

 

[401133]

So the Massdrop versions are as expensive as just buying them directly from Chan? I thought the whole idea of Massdrop was reduced prices through drops. Hence "mass drop".

 

[phthora]

So the Massdrop versions are as expensive as just buying them directly from Chan? I thought the whole idea of Massdrop was reduced prices through drops. Hence "mass drop".

Originally, yes. Now the whole point of Massdrop seems to be to wait a long time for something you could buy less expensively on Amazon as a sort of self-inflicted punishment for wanting the thing in the first place. The "mass" refers not to a large collection of people, but to the masochistic tendencies one must have to shop there.

And don't get me started on their 'midnight blue colorway' nonsense...

 

[jaco61]

I paid recently
us$500 EMU Teak with removable cable
us$30 Freight charge by Fedex


Just write an email to Chan enquiry@emu.com

 

[Pharmaboy]

Originally, yes. Now the whole point of Massdrop seems to be to wait a long time for something you could buy less expensively on Amazon as a sort of self-inflicted punishment for wanting the thing in the first place. The "mass" refers not to a large collection of people, but to the masochistic tendencies one must have to shop there.

And don't get me started on their 'midnight blue colorway' nonsense...

Funny! It feels odd to defend Massdrop, but I kinda have to, for 2 reasons:

• Specific to the E-Mu Teaks, the only way I could get a 3M balanced cable (detachable) was to order direct. None of the drops up to that time (last summer) offered balanced cable as an option.
• And in the larger sense, Massdrop has done partnerships that create truly cost-saving iterations of extant headphone audio products (best example being Sennheiser/Massdrop HD6XX, which dropped at 50-60% the retail price of an HD650; it also has single-handledly revived/kept going the Cavalli Liquid Carbon design (via re-licensing of the design from the now out-of-the-market Cavalli).

I have kind of a fraught relationship w/Massdrop. Bought from them once (a keyboard--great experience). But it seems like every time I put an amp or HP up F.S., they do a drop for it. Massdrop has chased down my F.S. items 6-7 times now. Then again, I continue to learn about new products from them; and I know there is no other commercial entity quite like them.

 

[phthora]

Fair points. Their collaborations have been largely beneficial to consumers (at least, those not trying to sell gear), but I prefer purchasing elsewhere for a number of reasons. The most germane to this discussion are:

• I much rather put money into the hands of the designer/manufacturer themselves, rather than having a portion of that siphoned off to Massdrop to cover whatever marketing, organization, distribution they do. There are a few cases in which, per the stated preferences on the manufacturer themselves, I will purchase from an authorized dealer. Generally, however, I want as much as possible to end up in the hands that built and designed the headphones.
• I appreciate that Massdrop collaborates with other companies, but in general I feel that there is too much Massdrop influence on those collaborations. Will Bright skews things too warm for my taste and I find his choice of 'midnight blue' makes everything look generic. Granted, Massdrop is able to make things cheaper, but I haven't seen them take up a partnership that made the extant product better. Now, I am, of course, speaking generally. The Focal Elex may actually be that 'better' version I am looking for, and those partnerships, such as with Fostex, in which the audio company seems to hold the reins tighter seem to fare better. But, there is usually some catch like attached cables or the poor finishing on the TH-X00 purplehearts that keeps me away.

That said, I have purchased from Massdrop before. Only, every time I do, I try to figure out why the product is there. This helps me understand better what I am getting into. Here are the reasons I think stuff is usually sold on Massdrop:

• Inadequate distribution system for the product on its own.
• The product is new to market or struggling for exposure.
• Poor critical reception or lagging sales.
• Discontinued or clearanced.
• Massdrop makes it.
• The product frequently reaches that price through sales elsewhere anyway.
  
• It's not actually a deal.

Some of those are less of a problem than others, but only the first one doesn't raise concern for me when considering a product.

 

[jaco61]

...like it much more to buy direct from producer.

 

[jaco61]

Got my E-MU Teaks these days - Wow!! Sound really fantastic, still burning in...
Will post some impressions and a review in some days
This phone is worth every cent. Solid and aesthetical...If there were not a long bump on the side of a cup, this mutes my delight a bit.... like an annoying dent in a brand new mercedes!
..still waiting for Chan to reply, hope will get changed this

 

[jaco61]

This phone is fantastic ...still burning in ..a little congested at the beginning this beauty opens up now.
Chans support and effort all in all is very good. He is looking for a matched replacement cup to send.
Thanks a lot @Chan This will be my endgame of phones with dynamic drivers. Sound impressions will follow. )

 

[CoFire]

Originally, yes. Now the whole point of Massdrop seems to be to wait a long time for something you could buy less expensively on Amazon as a sort of self-inflicted punishment for wanting the thing in the first place. The "mass" refers not to a large collection of people, but to the masochistic tendencies one must have to shop there.

And don't get me started on their 'midnight blue colorway' nonsense...

I have to admit I have to be much more cautious in current Massdrop offerings both for price and sometimes quality of product, but less so with quality. A world without Massdrop means we have none of their offerings at their price and yes their color when it applies.

- AKG K7XX
- Fostex THX00
- Grace m9XX
- EM-U X Purplehearts
- Sennheiser HD6XX
- Focal Elex TBD
- Massdrop Liquid Carbon X TBD
- Massdrop JBL LSR30X

These are all homeruns (except TBDs), not to everyone, but by sales alone. Many are altered (colored) versions of previous products and I'd argue all at prices that made these headphones affordable and attainable for many users and in some versions, perhaps better sounding/performing than the originals (insert argument here). Some are a new product where they didn't exist previously.

I think Massdrop has disrupted the market making prices and quality of offerings come down in price which benefit all and by doing this pushing other companies to compete. Companies spend a significant portion of their markup in advertisement and distribution. Can you imagine a request for 100-10000 headphones, more or less, of a product and generation of the hype and excitement boosting brand reputation? All of this and they are making a ton of money and people are getting a great product, most times. I really don't think they are hurting and wouldn't collaborate unless it was financially attractive.

I guess, I don't feel guilty buying from Massdrop for these reasons though I still shop for deals though these are limited as well. I think the EMU's are an exception though in that you can still purchase this product and accessories from Chan thus no wait with a slightly, not much, higher price (shopping in US) though I don't think this is the case for a majority of Massdrop products. The EMU Teaks came out after the THX00 and I wonder if the EMU's would have been developed or gained the traction as quickly as they did without the THX00. The EMU could very well sell for more but they are too close to the THX00 and therefore must compete.

We are enjoying some great sound, I say let them fight it out and my money goes to the performance/price champion!

 

[jaco61]

+1 good thoughts I can follow this quite well

 

[phthora]

I have to admit I have to be much more cautious in current Massdrop offerings both for price and sometimes quality of product, but less so with quality. A world without Massdrop means we have none of their offerings at their price and yes their color when it applies.

- AKG K7XX
- Fostex THX00
- Grace m9XX
- EM-U X Purplehearts
- Sennheiser HD6XX
- Focal Elex TBD
- Massdrop Liquid Carbon X TBD
- Massdrop JBL LSR30X

These are all homeruns (except TBDs), not to everyone, but by sales alone. Many are altered (colored) versions of previous products and I'd argue all at prices that made these headphones affordable and attainable for many users and in some versions, perhaps better sounding/performing than the originals (insert argument here). Some are a new product where they didn't exist previously.

I think Massdrop has disrupted the market making prices and quality of offerings come down in price which benefit all and by doing this pushing other companies to compete. Companies spend a significant portion of their markup in advertisement and distribution. Can you imagine a request for 100-10000 headphones, more or less, of a product and generation of the hype and excitement boosting brand reputation? All of this and they are making a ton of money and people are getting a great product, most times. I really don't think they are hurting and wouldn't collaborate unless it was financially attractive.

I guess, I don't feel guilty buying from Massdrop for these reasons though I still shop for deals though these are limited as well. I think the EMU's are an exception though in that you can still purchase this product and accessories from Chan thus no wait with a slightly, not much, higher price (shopping in US) though I don't think this is the case for a majority of Massdrop products. The EMU Teaks came out after the THX00 and I wonder if the EMU's would have been developed or gained the traction as quickly as they did without the THX00. The EMU could very well sell for more but they are too close to the THX00 and therefore must compete.

We are enjoying some great sound, I say let them fight it out and my money goes to the performance/price champion!

I disagree that Massdrop has had so large an effect. Mostly, I don't think Massdrop is doing anything groundbreaking in their business model.

Massdrop has four different kinds of headphones that they sell, and each for a slightly different reason:

• Massdrop distribution of unaltered headphones available through other distributors.
  • This is where the E-Mu Teak falls. Great headphone, but on its own it lacks the wide-reaching distribution channels it needs to be really successful. Massdrop provides that. Great! Lots of good Chi-fi offerings come through Massdrop for this reason as well. Often the prices are only slightly lowering or the same as elsewhere, but consumers gain more confidence in the transaction.
• Massdrop clearancing of discontinued headphones.
  • In this case, Massdrop is acting as simply another distribution channel to reach different customers. Usually, the prices here are barely competitive, if you know where to look, but Massdrop is frequently the most reliable means at the time to get a given discontinued product.
• Massdrop tweaked versions of previous headphones.
  • Massdrop changes elements of the design to produce and sell existing headphones more cheaply. To a one, I have disliked all of the changes that I have seen, mostly because their design choices IMO make the headphone uglier and definitely make the materials cheaper. Moreover, I think this approach is merely a different form of clearancing a headphone out, as is the case with the HE4XX and HD6XX. I would rather buy the original. Massdrop wins in terms of absolute price, but not in value.
• Massdrop designed headphones.
  • Wide variance here. Fostex offerings are very good in terms of sound quality, but lack an detachable cable and their price is exactly what it would be if sold anywhere else. The K7XX, for example, did not impress me at all. For the most part, of the several Massdrop x versions I've heard, I haven't liked any enough to buy them. Worse, I just don't think that the collaboration model products are any better than average at their price-point. The closest thing to an exception is the Focal Elex that does address poor design choices by Focal and adjusts the sound signature (going from graphs anyway) in a positive direction. But, even here the $700 price is turning out to be on-par with the original, which can easily be found new at $750 these days. People buy these here because they are unavailable elsewhere.

I don't think Massdrop is altering the way that companies price their new products. Rather, I think they are simply another way that companies clearance out old products, provide pre-order incentives, offer sales discounts, and work out iterative design improvements without releasing a full-on update or sneaking them in Audeze-style. All stuff that could have been done elsewhere and, in the past, has been done elsewhere. Now, I am not arguing that Massdrop hasn't done any good for the headphone community, but I will says that there is nothing magical that they are doing. Without Massdrop, we would have most of the same stuff, just through different channels. Take Audeze for example. The LCD-2C and MX4 are exactly the sort of revisions that Massdrop makes and they even came with a special lowered price. MrSpeakers did the same with the AEON Flow Opens. We could easily imagine exactly the sort of re-design and pre-order arrangements happening with a gaudy Massdrop badge stamped on them, but those companies did so without Massdrop at all. And, if they lost traction or exposure on their products by doing so, that is news to me.

 

[Pharmaboy]

I just have to weigh in on this topic. I bought 2 products from Massdrop in past 2 years: TX-00 mahogany headphones (sold in 2016); and a terrific TKL keyboard that I'm using to type this message. These transactions were satisfactory in every way; beyond that, I never would have known these products existed if not for Massdrop (see comment about "education value") below.

On a less positive note, Massdrop has repeatedly (indirectly & unkowingly) affected my pricing for, and ability to sell a half-dozen or more items. Basically, every time I put some up F.S., Massdrop has a drop for it...my price comes down. And Massdrop indirectly (through no fault of their own) greatly complicated my direct purchase of E-Mu Teaks from Chan last year: because my order got grouped in w/a drop going on at the same time...I ended up waiting for my Teaks longer than anyone who ordered them from the drop (hardly Massdrop's fault--just a complication).

So what do I think of Massdrop? It's a net positive thing for me--almost all positive:

• Education value: I know more now than when I started w/headphones 3 yrs ago, but Massdrop has over and over alerted me to headphones, amps, DACs, and other products of interest that I didn't even know existed. I get not only the actual drop & associated information, but all the user comments, often w/linkouts to Head-Fi, specific review. I've learned a lot courtesy of Massdrop, and it continues today.
• Community value: I have no personal experience w/the 3 examples below, but still, these strike me as illustrations of the value Massdrop offers the headphone/desktop audio community:
  • Cavalli LC-X: The Liquid Carbon is much esteemed (& complained about) in the headphone community, and Cavalli's higher models were the object of lust & upgrade fever by any number of headphone fans. I have an LC (v2) & love it. So when Cavalli dropped out of the business months ago, it was bad/disruptive news. Except...Massdrop had begun a collaboration w/outgoing Cavalli mgmt on the licensing of the Liquid Carbon, now available on Massdrop (when drops occur) in at least 2 forms I know of. Massdrop is keeping the LC alive.
  • Grace Designs SDAC: This is a totally new product by an esteemed mfr (in collaboration w/Massdrop)--a quality DAC costing <$100. Early impressions from users are quite positive. This strikes me as a community service, offering a quality, inexpensive DAC that will doubtless serve as the "1st DAC" for any number of Massdrop subscribers. Note the SDAC is also being offered as 1/2 of a combo LC-X unit.
  • Sennheiser HD6XX: Sure, it's the twilight of the HD650 design, after year after year of reign as one of the classic/best headphones ever (and inexpensive even at full retail). The Massdrop variant is less than 1/2 the list price, and cosmetic differences aside, is a true HD650--again, representing that "1st truly high-quality headphone" experience for many here.

On the balance, I'm happy that Massdrop is out there, tempting me w/this or that audio product I never heard of.

 

[CoFire]

@phthora

I see your points, I agree with many of your observations but I don't draw the same conclusions (sorry, meant to say i don't always draw the same conclusions). In any case, I like seeing a different point of view. I do think you weigh a little heavy on labeling them a clearance center. I think a different spin could be, they aren't trying to develop a headphone from scratch (they are collaborators and marketers, not manufacturers) but take relatively good reputation manufacturers, designs and/or products and get them into hands of consumers at a great price. You say clearance, I think they want to start with a great product, slightly mod it (better or worse is an opinion) and then sell 1000's more, sometimes 10,000's more. Their sales numbers alone strongly support this whether you or I agree or disagree, they are just facts.

There are many headphones they sell that I can say negative things about, but that's my opinion even though they've sold literally thousands and thousands of such products and from the reviews, most people love it, some don't. If people don't like them, they sell, move on, like the majority of this community does. Their sales alone and business approach is groundbreaking else they would not have had this many successful collaborations. It may not be your product but 10's of 1000's disagree and put their money on it.

@Pharmaboy

Yeah, you're observation/experience shows how disruptive Massdrop can be to a second hand market when they strike up a collaboration on a product you own. Should we bark about it? It wouldn't help, though it's a live by the sword, die by the sword sort of thing. We all love audio bargains but if we are near the crosshairs, we'll take a hit like anyone else. Bottomline, as a community and a free market, I think this is better for all. It proliferates quality audio products and in sales, volume is a magically thing. For those who want exclusivity, gonna have to stretch higher yet again.

Can't say I wouldn't be sore if my high dollar product lost half it's value but that's the price anyone pays to be first. That's a natural law.

As for marketing, I saw Massdrop a toothpick bow... What? They sold them and I learned this thing existed. Lol

Great feedback and points of view.

Edit: fixed autocorrect errors, it was bugging me.

 

[Pharmaboy]

How do you turn off autocorrect here?

It's driving me nuts...I have to edit & proofread everything I type here.