[protoss]

Wow the cable in that unboxing video sucks.



The headphones in the unboxing video that were squeaking were clearly a retail product - not a prototype.

I heard the retail version also. It's just the way it is. A video proving the squeak will only prove that we are hearing the opposite.

 

[ATau]

This is the high end area of things, plus you can always get a different cable not sure why people complain, there are 1000$ cables going around as well..

It's not the price of the cable that bothers me, it's the fact that they charge 150$ for an XLR plug. I find this almost insulting. They're openly trying to rip off their customers. If the company doesn't mind charging 150$ for a 5$ plug, you can only wonder about the actual value of their headphones.

The connectors are the same AFAIK, 2,5 mm mono socketry. This is convenient and affordable if one would like to roll with his own cables.

Mateusz, the connectors on my Edition X's cable are 2.5mm stereo. Are mono plugs compatible with Hifiman headphones?

 

[Matez]

Mateusz, the connectors on my Edition X's cable are 2.5mm stereo. Are mono plugs compatible with Hifiman headphones?

Yup, they are.

 

[ATau]

Yup, they are.

Awesome! you can expect an email from me sometime this summer. You've got to make a living right?

 

[Matez]

Awesome! you can expect an email from me sometime this summer. You've got to make a living right?

That's correct

 

[bozebuttons]

My he1000v2 from the upgrade program or susvara I just bought don't have a squeak problem.

 

[bozebuttons]

Is there much in it? - between Susvara and ShangriLa?

The shangriLa has a more airier presentation then the susvara but the susvara has a meatier presentation they are different it was hard to put either down.

 

[Dobrescu George]

It's not the price of the cable that bothers me, it's the fact that they charge 150$ for an XLR plug. I find this almost insulting. They're openly trying to rip off their customers. If the company doesn't mind charging 150$ for a 5$ plug, you can only wonder about the actual value of their headphones.

Mateusz, the connectors on my Edition X's cable are 2.5mm stereo. Are mono plugs compatible with Hifiman headphones?

The value of an object is the value of the components, value of research, value of marketing, cost of shipping and logistics, warranty and making extra components, the cost of having customer support and people employed to take care of answering questions, there are lots of things that make up the value of something in reality, it is hard to say what is the value of something in reality.

This, and what costs the much is R&D in the long run, we are talking about bleeding edge technologies here, except that cable, but when we consider any TOTL headphone or technological advancement, we are always talking about pushing the envelope. A company can keep constructing something fairly cheap, but researching new things costs sometimes hundreds of times more...

 

[ATau]

The value of an object is the value of the components, value of research, value of marketing, cost of shipping and logistics, warranty and making extra components, the cost of having customer support and people employed to take care of answering questions, there are lots of things that make up the value of something in reality, it is hard to say what is the value of something in reality.

This, and what costs the much is R&D in the long run, we are talking about bleeding edge technologies here, except that cable, but when we consider any TOTL headphone or technological advancement, we are always talking about pushing the envelope. A company can keep constructing something fairly cheap, but researching new things costs sometimes hundreds of times more...

I get that, and I don't doubt that the headphones are technological wonders. Of course, Hifiman can choose to sell their products at whichever price they want. It's up to the consumer to decide wether the product is worth this price or not.

Unfortunately, for me, that cable pricing just shows the company's mentality. And it's not a reassuring one.

 

[ostewart]

Any Radiohead fans here?

In Rainbows on vinyl through the Susvara shows their technical capability very well, simply sublime.

On another note:

I auditioned the Sennheiser HE1 at Canjam last year, and what I came away with is they are incredible headphones, but rendered music that is poorly recorded/mastered quite unlistenable due to their revealing nature.

The Susvara are incredibly revealing, and bring out the best in good recordings, but I can still just about listen to poorly mastered recordings (like most of the metalcore / post-hardcore I listen to).

 

[Articnoise]

Any Radiohead fans here?

In Rainbows on vinyl through the Susvara shows their technical capability very well, simply sublime.

On another note:

I auditioned the Sennheiser HE1 at Canjam last year, and what I came away with is they are incredible headphones, but rendered music that is poorly recorded/mastered quite unlistenable due to their revealing nature.

The Susvara are incredibly revealing, and bring out the best in good recordings, but I can still just about listen to poorly mastered recordings (like most of the metalcore / post-hardcore I listen to).

To bring out the best in good recordings, but not make poorly mastered recordings totally unlistenable is a quality I value high.

 

[ostewart]

To bring out the best in good recordings, but not make poorly mastered recordings totally unlistenable is a quality I value high.

I totally agree with you there, I'm currently listening to Parkway Drive - Horizons on vinyl with the Susvara and it handles it very well, the speed is truly impressive. Breakdowns in metalcore have never sounded so good

I remember putting Suicide Silence on the HE1 and it being quite shrill and unpleasant....

 

[Thenewguy007]

Talking about these cables, my experience from owning the He-500, the He-6, and especially, the He-K, and the Edition X, is that the sooner the stock cables are replaced with more capable aftermarket alternatives, the much better off the owner is... The stock cables of the Edition-X V2 and the He-1000 v1 & v2 are really pathetic bottlenecks holding back these otherwise wonderful cans from much of the sonic glory they can unleash when armed with more capable and liberating options! Hifiman, I hope you're reading this.

Any cables you recommend?

 

[Dobrescu George]

Any Radiohead fans here?

In Rainbows on vinyl through the Susvara shows their technical capability very well, simply sublime.

On another note:

I auditioned the Sennheiser HE1 at Canjam last year, and what I came away with is they are incredible headphones, but rendered music that is poorly recorded/mastered quite unlistenable due to their revealing nature.

The Susvara are incredibly revealing, and bring out the best in good recordings, but I can still just about listen to poorly mastered recordings (like most of the metalcore / post-hardcore I listen to).

That is nice to know, I also listen to quite a bit of Post-Hardcore!

 

[mulder01]

This is the high end area of things, plus you can always get a different cable not sure why people complain, there are 1000$ cables going around as well..

Because when you buy a $200,000 car, it doesn't come with rubbish wheels that the customer is expected to change immediately to get the best performance out of it.

If you want to price a product that high, every part of it should reflect it's price tag.

---

In regard to the balanced plug only costing $5, let's not forget that the single ended plug is probably also $5 - so there's actually no difference in cost. Maybe closer to $1.