[Articnoise]

So let’s end all manufacturing then. You haters sound ridiculous. Is the 2019 Rav 4 not a newer and improved model of the 2018? Is the iPhone XR not an improved version of the 8 or 8 Plus? Doesn’t a modern home with geothermal heating and cooling have superior technology to older heat pumps and furnaces? Doesn’t Nike release a newer and better Air Max every year? Aren’t lithium ion batteries better than the Nickel Metal Hydride we used to use? Isn’t 4G better than 3G? Isn’t the Sony X900F better than the x800F of a few years ago?

For crying out loud every company puts out a newer version as technology improves or newer ideas are formulated. You all are trying to act like Hifiman is evil for allowing an upgrade option. I wish I could just upgrade to a new pair of Air Jordan’s when my old ones wore out instead of having to buy a brand new pair at MSRP every 6 months.

What do you all want? Everyone has to drive only the Ford Model T for the rest of time because newer innovation isn’t allowed?

I know what you are trying to say and agree to that. However not all upgrades that Nike, iPhone etc release every year are genuine upgrades and more like fixes and cosmetic change.

 

[Hifiearspeakers]

How many

I know what you are trying to say and agree to that. However not all upgrades that Nike, iPhone etc release every year are genuine upgrades and more like fixes and cosmetic change.

That happens with headphone manufacturers too. Look at the he560 with old connectors to newer connectors to he560 V2 to he.560 V3. Then there’s the LCD 2 to LCD 2 Fazor to LCD 2016 driver revision to LCD 2 Classic and then the upcoming LCD 24. Abyss Diana to Diana Phi is essentially larger earpads. What about Auteur Teak to Pheasant Wood to Cocobolo to Bog Wood to Blackwood etc.

And what about the 6000 revisions of the Sennheiser 5xx line?

Just to name a few. Sometimes the changes are significant and sometimes they’re cosmetic/preference. My point is that EVERYONE does it, not just Hifiman.

 

[Articnoise]

Sometimes the changes are significant and sometimes they’re cosmetic/preference. My point is that EVERYONE does it, not just Hifiman.[/QUOTE]

On this I totally agree!

 

[chimney189]

Just because everyone does something does not make it okay, but I guess this is the best we've got.

 

[franz12]

They’re not doing you a favor charging you 1k to upgrade. Stop saying this. It’s absurd and not grounded in reality. Let’s say you bought the original at 3000 then the upgrade for 700 then this upgrade for 1000. Hifiman has gotten 4700 dollars off of you! And you leased those headphones. There is absolutely no favor being done here.



Nowhere in any of my gripes am I saying that the he1000 isn’t an amazing pair of headphones. Because they are. They’re flat out in my top 3 available headphones. I am focusing on hifiman as a company here. When you step back you will see they are tweaking this particular pair of headphones to increase profit. Look out SE owners, you will feel the need to upgrade when the V3 are released in order to not feel left out.

Like my post or not, you better set aside another 1000 dollars to buy the V3 when they come out. Why wouldn’t they? It’s clearly hifimans business model.

You need to understand what does 'depreciation' mean. Everything depreciates and depreciation is your consumption. I paid $1300 for my IPhone XS max. In the next 3 years, I expect a used price would be around $300. So it loses $333 on average per year. That is the price of the service I got from the phone.

There has been about 3 years between the V2 and the SE. If Hifiman charges $1000 for the upgrade, the same logic applies. I pay about $333 per year for the service from my headphone.
Certainly that is not cheap. But that is what you need to embrace when you want to consume a higher-end good like Mercedes, BMW, and so on.

And I think 3 years between products are not unreasonable. If you think that is too short, you need to stick to Sennheiser. All other companies I can think of have a shorter or comparable span.

 

[Hifiearspeakers]

Just because everyone does something does not make it okay, but I guess this is the best we've got.

Would you rather be a current owner of the HEK V1 or V2 with an option to upgrade to the SE, or would you rather be the owner of an Abyss Diana with no upgrade option for the Diana Phi? Just curious.

Because I’d rather be in the first camp. I imagine there are a lot of Diana owners who are not happy...

 

[Articnoise]

Just because everyone does something does not make it okay, but I guess this is the best we've got.

The important thing to me is that Hifiman did a genuine upgrade with the SE. The SQ, QC and finish of the SE is all improved to the v1/v2 IMO.

 

[chimney189]

Would you rather be a current owner of the HEK V1 or V2 with an option to upgrade to the SE, or would you rather be the owner of an Abyss Diana with no upgrade option for the Diana Phi? Just curious.

Because I’d rather be in the first camp. I imagine there are a lot of Diana owners who are not happy...

I'm all for the upgrade option.

 

[omniweltall]

What about Auteur Teak to Pheasant Wood to Cocobolo to Bog Wood to Blackwood etc.

These are not revisions, mate. These are custom made, depending on Zach's wood stocks.

 

[Hifiearspeakers]

These are not revisions, mate. These are custom made, depending on Zach's wood stocks.

Every time? Because I’m pretty sure sometimes after a while he comes out with a limited edition exotic wood for many of his models. I could be wrong.

But there are other examples as well like Ether, Ether Flow, Ether 1.1, 1.2 etc.

 

[omniweltall]

Every time? Because I’m pretty sure sometimes after a while he comes out with a limited edition exotic wood for many of his models. I could be wrong.

But there are other examples as well like Ether, Ether Flow, Ether 1.1, 1.2 etc.

That's just how customs things are. He chooses his woods, then makes cups out of them. Pricing on the woods can vary depending on rarity and availability. I have seen some crazy beautiful ones.

There aren't 6000 revisions on 5XX lines, mate. And they were priced similarly. I think usually the new model was meant to replace the older one. Anyway, I know you just wanted to show Hifiman isn't the only one who does it. So, I get it

There has been about 3 years between the V2 and the SE. If Hifiman charges $1000 for the upgrade, the same logic applies. I pay about $333 per year for the service from my headphone.
Certainly that is not cheap. But that is what you need to embrace when you want to consume a higher-end good like Mercedes, BMW, and so on.

Franz, I get it if you don't mind the upgrade. But do you really feel hifiman is like Merc or BMW?

 

[Hifiearspeakers]

That's just how customs things are. He chooses his woods, then makes cups out of them. Pricing on the woods can vary depending on rarity and availability. I have seen some crazy beautiful ones.

There aren't 6000 revisions on 5XX lines, mate. And they were priced similarly. I think usually the new model was meant to replace the older one. Anyway, I know you just wanted to show Hifiman isn't the only one who does it. So, I get it

Sennheiser 518, 558, 579, 598, 598se, 598cs, 598sr, 58X, 599???

 

[chimney189]

I think that this comes down to how much money is involved in all of this, at least it is for my situation. When I started this journey I thought that spending $150 on an HD 598 was insane, but I've gotten already to the point where I became willing to spend $1,700 on the HEKv2.

It really comes down to the consumer, their discipline, weighing pros and cons and knowing when to stop itching that itch that we all know too well -- it's NOT mandatory!

 

[Hifiearspeakers]

I think that this comes down to how much money is involved in all of this, at least it is for my situation. When I started this journey I thought that spending $150 on an HD 598 was insane, but I've gotten already to the point where I became willing to spend $1,700 on the HEKv2.

It really comes down to the consumer, their discipline, weighing pros and cons and knowing when to stop itching that itch that we all know too well -- it's NOT mandatory!

I completely agree. It’s not mandatory. And I like that Hifiman offers an upgrade option. Option being the key word.

 

[omniweltall]

Sennheiser 518, 558, 579, 598, 598se, 598cs, 598sr, 58X, 599???

Sorry, I was not aware of the non-audiophile series. I guess they do have a lot of series. I thought you meant the 580 series (precision, etc etc).