Ok, then I don't understand it anymore. I thought the new "Mason FS" was the successor to the old "Mason FS". Isn't that what the name suggests? If that's not the case and the new Mason FS is the successor to "Le Jardin", I didn't get it, but that would be because UM made a big, very big communication error
Ok, then I don't understand it anymore. I thought the new "Mason FS" was the successor to the old "Mason FS". Isn't that what the name suggests? If that's not the case and the new Mason FS is the successor to "Le Jardin", I didn't get it, but that would be because UM made a big, very big communication error
From the French names, I can now intuitively understand that this is the successor to Le Jardin. After all, the old Mason FS is only called "Mason FS".Here is the road map that unique melody posted themselves a few days ago. It should help clear up then confusion.
This is what I find so interesting. It is $500 more than a previous release and comes with additional accessories as well as (what is advertised to be) a superior cable.
I was one of the early adopters of the Red Halo/Le Jardin. It was ridiculed at first but not as badly as the new iterations. The consensus was that people would only buy RH/LJ for the bragging rights. However, that changed after Canjam NY when HiFiHawaii808 bought it. It was his favorite IEM for a long while.
Here is the road map that unique melody posted themselves a few days ago. It should help clear up then confusion.
I agree with the fact that it actually would be a pity to judge without actually listening to the new Mason.First of all, I would like to apologize for not explaining the development history and design philosophy of UM's dual flagships to everyone. Here is a recently compiled list of the updates to Mason and Mentor over the years, which I hope will better illustrate how UM's dual flagship products have evolved over the years. Because AP was a product developed by UM in cooperation with Cayin and sold exclusively by Cayin, it was not included in the UM product yearbook.
The Mason series has always been UM's Statement product, and the design and development process is to spare no expense, to concentrate the best resources we can call on. For each generation of Mason, we equip him with the latest technology, introduce the best cables we can mix and match, use the most advanced shell processing technology, and cooperate with newly designed top accessories. Therefore, the original intention of Mason's development is not to find market demand and develop products accordingly, but to challenge the ceiling of IEMs performance, technology, and creativity. Mason is not a simple IEM, but a reference-grade listening solution in our current understanding.
The Mentor series was originally positioned as a secondary flagship with reduced techs from Mason, and we have continued for 4 generations. But with the fifth generation MM, we changed our thinking. The development of MM was first guided by the market. We extracted the listening preferences of audiophiles from global media and forums and conducted quantitative summaries. Based on the listening preferences of the general public, combined with the framework structure of the flagship series with BA driver as the main body, MM was developed. This is also why the first four generations of Mason and Mentor were released simultaneously, while the fifth generation Mentor was released nearly two years later than Mason.
Compared with Mason, we did not give Mentor the top cable, we controlled the price and also gave audiophiles more space to match the cables by themselves. It has been proven that even though the MM and FS look similar, the sound is completely different. One thing is certain: the draft of the next generation of Mentor has not been drawn yet, and it will not be a simple Mason-reduced work. I am also looking forward to the new Mentor, but let me first recover from the stunning experience brought to me by Mason NE/ST.
The sound performance of the new Mason is still worth a try. I was shocked beyond words when I listened to the prototype when I visited the UM headquarters in December. I understand that not every audiophile is willing to pay a high price to own it, but I think it would be a pity if an audiophile missed the opportunity to listen to the new Mason. It is very special. Canjam NYC is coming soon, and I will be waiting for everyone there with the new Mason.
P.S. Now UM's technical department director Sam is by my side. I accompanied him to the Shot Show with UM's hearing protection sister company. He is one of the creators of BC-Turbo. If you have any questions, I can answer them on the spot.
I agree a
Previous product releases were only new segment opening.
I think this over reaction is being created.
I think that considering these pricings a normal as per previous happenings isn't particularly savvy , and that reacting is the normal
It's been discussed more and more on why someone cares about late rampant greedy pricing practices from some brands and what this cause in the market of totl iems
why not ..and how is this opposite or counterproductive to discuss what's happening here and how/why totl prices change and changing so fast as for late ..
I don't have 0.1% interest in listening to these IEMs , I'm sure someone else is in line with me so ..
it has been discussed through and more and more though
may be normal and good for you , but not for anyone who could afford same things before price escalated .., but now he's left without much choice when those items and their parents on other companies progressively followed trend and got to the fast price-hike treatment ..it's the trend , so : why not ?
I am not curious at all about the sound of Soleil Tombèe , I live well without knowing it ; but I am against companies rising more and more the bar of price irrationally just ' because there is a chance '
Just because they can, doesn't mean they should. It's not about UM's bottom line, it's about the rest of the market saying "oh wow, we thought 3K was the ceiling and got a little sassy with 5K, but now the lid's blown off the roof! All 2024 models now with a fresh 200% price increase for incremental improvements!"
at least that was the miniaturization of an AMT but even then it's just a money-no-object unit. Look at UE, no matter if they cram 40 drivers in the next "Live" IEM it's not jumping from $1899 to $5,000 but they COULD totally *GET AWAY WITH IT*. Why won't they? because their clientele is primarily professionals not audiophiles who they can pull one over on.My post wasn't meant as an "appeal to authority". I'm simply pointing to the fact that Head-FI has its celebs who can make or break an IEM. It's part of the group psychology here. I've jumped on a quite a few expensive hype trains with respected head-fiers in the locomotive. I ended up selling them all.Just because they can, doesn't mean they should. It's not about UM's bottom line, it's about the rest of the market saying "oh wow, we thought 3K was the ceiling and got a little sassy with 5K, but now the lid's blown off the roof! All 2024 models now with a fresh 200% price increase for incremental improvements!"
The excuse used here has been "R&D" and that's so lazy. This has nothing to do with a little mom & pop company trying to "make an honest living" and therefore must re-coup the re-invention of the wheel. This is luxury pricing for whales. Hell, there was even some bogus IEM a couple years back that was bejeweled out the wazoo and approached or exceeded 5 figures and it was an all off the shelf BA unit with next to zero "R&D" they just put the drivers in a shell and then took it to Swarovski. Never mind the RA-C-CU exists at 9,999-12.3k
An appeal to authority in the HeadFi space isn't a great hook to hang one's hat on when considering the actual objections which may harm the health of the market more broadly. Normalizing explosive price increases isn't healthy. Again, anyone who wants to spend their money as they see fit, go right on ahead. I'm not blaming consumers, I'm chastising manufacturers. If the UM MM was the amongst the pinnacle of acoustic achievement thus far, what's an additional 3.5K say about that unit and the motivations to release such a unit? A bargain next to the Storm? In-so-far as "markets" work, you have to actually move volume to break even. Surprise, the unit build doesn't approach that nominal figure and all the overhead has been in place for years.
