[wink]

+1, the headphones look nasty. They're better off just using HEK frame, add in the additional double sided magnet structure and charge $600 instead of 6K.

FTFY
 

  OMG, Hifiman re-invented the magnets: they are now round!
They integrated the fuzzor mod directly in the magnets. That's pure genius!
 
That's advanced technology. Well worth $600 IMO.

FTFY also.

 

[Rotijon]

Whoa, whoa, whoa. Don't drag Chord's name through the mud by putting them even in the same thought as Hifiman. The Poly pricing is nowhere near the level profit making markup that Hifiman seeks.

A friend of mine is a dealer for chord. You'd be surprised. 

 

[oneguy]

A friend of mine is a dealer for chord. You'd be surprised. 

Oh now I'm intrigued...go on...

 

[wink]

  A friend of mine is a dealer for chord. You'd be surprised. 

Why do I find this disconcerting...?    

 

[conquerator2]

Businesses aren't charities. It's true that the margins vary from mfr to mfr but I think it's fair to assume no matter how good the price seems, the margins are still there. Though mfrs who manage to come up with stellar products while keeping the price reasonable definitely get bonus points from me 

 

[LancerFIN]

  Sennheiser has the wisdom to test a product thoroughly and aggressively before releasing it. It's a testament to them that people don't slap the ear pads of every other OEM onto HD800 in an effort to improve bass, treble, mids, detail, soundstage. It has withstood those eight years and remains among the most oft-recommended cans on HF. In its revision, Sennheiser was careful to avoid coming even close to the 2k mark. They have their flagship toy, and keep the rest of their line reachable to most. The worst that people can say of the build quality is the paint.

 
Do you live under a rock? People have tried to fix the HD800 ever since they came out with various different mods and EQ. Obviously there isn't much you can do about the pads as no other pads fit the HD800. If they did fit people would try them.

 

[Thenewguy007]

Do you live under a rock? People have tried to fix the HD800 ever since they came out with various different mods and EQ. Obviously there isn't much you can do about the pads as no other pads fit the HD800. If they did fit people would try them.

Some guy 3-D printed a new housing for the HD800 drivers & made new earpads, so it's possible, just not piratical at all.

http://www.head-fi.org/t/752877/3d-printed-closed-headphones-with-hd800-driver


There was even a guy cutting new foam & sewing new leather for the HD800 earpads as well.

 

[Blueswyh]

The price is going sky high is true, but not very agree with the anger towards the pricing in this thread.
After all are we hifi enthusiasts or TOL HP enthusiasts? I think there is kind of instinct line between these two category.
Currently, $4000 is the point to be concerned, if HIFIMAN ED6 can beat the 4000 HP on SQ, why can't it priced higher? if it cannot, we as buyers can definitely failed it by not buying or return with money-back policy to safe guard our money.
By any means, a $6000 ED6 cannot degrade the SQ of our HE1000 and Utopia. What are we mad about I think is it will make our HP a layer down in the high end HP pyramid, which is the only real hurt the ED6 will make if we don't buy it.
I am actually happy there is a $6000 HP out there, at least we are closer to HE1 and Shangri-la than our current HE1000 and Utopia with this close to/within our reach HP, isn't it?

 

[FastAndClean]

  I am actually happy there is a $6000 HP out there, at least we are closer to HE1 and Shangri-la than our current HE1000 and Utopia with this close to/within our reach HP, isn't it?

no, we have stax 009 that is closer to he1 and shangri la and is 3500

 

 

[FastAndClean]

by the way stax 007mk2 is 1935 dollars now

 

[Beagle]

They are playing us for suckers, plain and simple. And yes, I could afford one if I actually wanted one. But fortunately I'm not insane.

 

[negura]

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.

 

[mithrandir38]

The price is going sky high is true, but not very agree with the anger towards the pricing in this thread.
After all are we hifi enthusiasts or TOL HP enthusiasts? I think there is kind of instinct line between these two category.
Currently, $4000 is the point to be concerned, if HIFIMAN ED6 can beat the 4000 HP on SQ, why can't it priced higher? if it cannot, we as buyers can definitely failed it by not buying or return with money-back policy to safe guard our money.
By any means, a $6000 ED6 cannot degrade the SQ of our HE1000 and Utopia. What are we mad about I think is it will make our HP a layer down in the high end HP pyramid, which is the only real hurt the ED6 will make if we don't buy it.
I am actually happy there is a $6000 HP out there, at least we are closer to HE1 and Shangri-la than our current HE1000 and Utopia with this close to/within our reach HP, isn't it?

The problem with HFM in particular is that the build quality simply sucks for any amount of money. Using the same cheap harness as on other current HFM headphones, etc. it just looks like a really lazy, churned out product for 6K. Referencing the Utopia again, with that headphone you get some sense that quality workmanship was put into it. Audio bling, if you will. The edition 6 is incredibly butt ugly and cheap looking for more money than an Abyss.

 

[dan.gheorghe]

  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.

 
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$.

 

[Blueswyh]

  by the way stax 007mk2 is 1935 dollars now

Fang of Hifiman will be blankly crazy if he priced the ED6 higher while the SQ of which cannot surpass Stax009 and 007 more or less. 
Anyway we need to wait for the production version audition to judge whether the price could be justified.
I think it doesn't need much imagination to see more above expectation priced HPs to come with HE1 and Shangri la covering them