Stormcrow
New Head-Fier
- Joined
- Feb 19, 2015
- Posts
- 40
- Likes
- 13
I've had my SE's for about a month or so, and feel the same. They are my first Hifiman 'phones, and I'm extremely impressed. I am surprised by some feelings expressed towards the company, perhaps I'll get a better handle on that over the next year or two.
From my point of view there are two reasons to dislike (or disagree with) Hifiman:
1. It feels like they had an important role in the current pricing levels of headphones. Although after spending 3000$ on a pair, you might become a bit indifferent to these sums, but they sure are high. Correct me if I'm wrong, but I believe that in the past, and for a long period of time, the flagships cost was more towards the 1500$. Even if we take in account that money loses its value, it's still quite a jump.
2. The fact that they come up with new versions for the same products each year is not to my liking. Again, in the past it seems like flagships were flagships for a number of years before an upgrade was developed. Now you buy a 3000$ headphones and feel like you have the best one, until a year later a 'better' version comes out, for the same price. I know there is a psychological aspect to our hobby, and it's of wanting to have the 'best'; this aspect is taking a hit.
Now it's true that they give the option to upgrade, but one can't deny the hassle that comes with it.
Regarding QC issues that people talk about, I didn't experience any, but I'm sure it would have caused me to feel negative feelings, especially due to the fact that I live in a place where sending/receiving packages takes a long time.