[Blueswyh]

   
I agree. The prices of the latest flagships are too much and it became somewhat of a trend. I always wanted the headphone industry to evolve, but not like this. Everytime a better product is made, the older one keeps the same price and the latest model is 2x price or something like that. In other tech industries, this would be unacceptable. 
 
Most of the manufacturers have flagships that are in my opinion too expensive.
 
They enter in the speaker world from a price perspective, and I know some speakers that are hands down a better choice when put near a headphone of 4000$.

IMO, above certain price point, same priced speakers provide better overall experience  than HP,  only issue with the speaks is they basically need a private room to sing while HP doesn't

 

[Beagle]

  The second part of the problem is that arguably none of these latest generation expensive headphones are actually overall significantly better sounding than the old generation flagships (hd800, he-6, SR-whatever). Do they do *some* things better. Sure. But it's side grades. And yes, I've heard them all and it is all imo. The pricing though keeps doubling, tripling, quadrupling and more. That is the problem here.
 

 
I agree. One headphone will do one thing better and other things not so well (as another, uh, flagship). There is always a trade-off. Why do you think we keep chasing after the perfect headphone that does not exist? Or we expect one headphone to accommodate all our listening moods whenever required. Can't be done.

 

[marhol]

  The second part of the problem is that arguably none of these latest generation expensive headphones are actually overall significantly better sounding than the old generation flagships (hd800, he-6, SR-whatever). Do they do *some* things better. Sure. But it's side grades. And yes, I've heard them all and it is all imo. 
 
 

 
 
Although I´ve heard not more than 1/4 of all flagship headphones which you´ve heard, I do believe you. In my opinion if a headphone does not have clarity and soundstage/imaging at least as good as HD 800, sub bass extension at least as good as LCD 2 (pre fazor), THD in the whole frequency range at least as good as e.g. Mr. Speakers Ether (under 1% at both 90dB and 100 dB) build quality at least as good as Focal Elear and comfort with efficiency at least at the level of my HE-400i then IT IS NOT WORTH MORE THAN 2000 $, period.  And I am not sure, if such flagship, which has it all, even exists.

 

 

[ToroFiestaSol]

I have no problem with 6000 or 10000 flagship headphones, however, that prices should be justified with both performance and build quality.
If a 6000usd headphone is way superior sounding to a 2000usd one, and far better built...no problem, price justified.
However, not the case here, at least on the build quality department. 999usd Focal Elear makes this Hifiman thing look like a toy.

 

[Thenewguy007]

I have no problem with 6000 or 10000 flagship headphones, however, that prices should be justified with both performance and build quality.
If a 6000usd headphone is way superior sounding to a 2000usd one, and far better built...no problem, price justified.
However, not the case here, at least on the build quality department. 999usd Focal Elear makes this Hifiman thing look like a toy.

Yeah, ALL the TOTL headphones are just sidegrades of each other. None of them have a clear advantage over any on every spectrum of the sound.

From the impressions I read, the Abyss seems the closest when paired with some of the ~$10,000-ish amps. Apparently the midrange is not scooped & the staging can be as good as the HD800 with them, along with its natural hard hitting bass & speed.

 

[Jozurr]

I don't know about you guys, but I find it crazy that we are talking about the HE-1 and the Shangri-La in the same line now. Time and again with all things HFM it has been proven that the build quality is sub par. How anybody would trust build quality like that for a $50,000 set is beyond my understanding. Just because they are priced same, does NOT mean they are the same or sound the same or are built the same. As much as SQ matters, they need to stand the test of time too. Unless things have been significantly improved at that price mark, which I dont think they are considering they seem to be using housings similar to the HEK, I don't know how anyone could go as far as buying it. This clubbing of headphones in the same category based on pricing alone needs to stop.
 
The HE-6, which can be had used for $700 and were $1300 new, are always still compared to most TOTL headphones. At that point, people made sacrifices on build quality, to gain on sound quality. With this pricing, no sacrifices should be made. They should go back to their roots of beating the competition by lower pricing and better SQ, NOT topping up their previous price by doubling the price on every flagship - HE-6 ($1300) to HE-K ($3K) to Edition 6 ($6K). It is strange that this is the same company that I'm using as an example to support my argument of pricing being exorbitant. How things have changed with this company in some years is astonishing.

 

[FastAndClean]

the new HiFiMAN RE 2000 is 2000 dollars, single dinamic, Fang cleary needs money

 

[FastAndClean]

Edition 6

 

 

[SeaWo|f]

If its metal and wood with nice pads and there is new tech that can be shown give a nice increase in sound quality by bring together things that other TOTL headphones do separately I would be ok with the price. Unfortunately as many have stated despite the escalation in TOTL pricing no manufacturer has truly released a no compromises headphone. And at the cost of a pair of 3.7is IDK if I could justify it even if HiFiman did achieve something spectacular. 

 

[gikigill]

The second part of the problem is that arguably none of these latest generation expensive headphones are actually overall significantly better sounding than the old generation flagships (hd800, he-6, SR-whatever). Do they do *some* things better. Sure. But it's side grades. And yes, I've heard them all and it is all imo. The pricing though keeps doubling, tripling, quadrupling and more. That is the problem here.

Of course - nobody is forcing anyone to buy. So part of the guilt for this lies with the user community.

In the end I am of the opinion that ever escalating flagship headphone prices is very beneficial to the 2 channel speaker realm, as we reach the point where headphones enthusiasts have enough invested in headphones to figure out they can get an amazing speakers rig and get even closer to the original recording than expensive headphones can (ever?) allow for.

You're a mind reader mate, exactly my thoughts. Sticking with the HD800 and the HE-6.

 

[Jozurr]

After 2 doublings in HFM flagship pricing, (HE6~1300 to HEK~$3K to Edition 6~$6K), we have two more doublings to go ($12K and $24K), before we reach the Shangri-La pricing at $50K. Incoming: HEK V3 and Edition 66.

 

[Yugo]

I prefer Tribute 6 for ED6 successor in 2018, wait why does it sound strangely familiar.

 

[Beagle]

  the new HiFiMAN RE 2000 is 2000 dollars, single dinamic, Fang cleary needs money

 
 

 

Edition 6

 

 
Totally  f r e a k i n g  insane!
 
I'm going to wait for the Edition6 V2, should be another 3 months, going by track record. Or maybe wait for the Edition 10. I'll then mortgage my house and sell a kidney.
 
Good grief...

 

[nvfan]

So basically a HE1000 with flow mod and double sided magnets for $6000. Lmao! No way its going to be better than the Utopia.

 

[bosiemoncrieff]

So basically a HE1000 with flow mod and double sided magnets for $6000. Lmao! No way its going to be better than the Utopia.

Nah, HE-6 with a grill mod and improved headband.