[thefitz]

I kind of like it, you're paying 3.7k to Hifiman in R&D costs and 300 for the headphone, with the added bonus that the 3.7k is like a one time fee enabling lifetime replacement purchases. Much better than Focal charging 2k for new Utopia drivers..

And they come with fresh pads and headband? It's almost worth sending back just for that...

 

[DJJEZ]

And they come with fresh pads and headband? It's almost worth sending back just for that...

The entire headphone is brand new when they give you a replacement.

 

[Leto Dal]

At some point they will stop replacing the units at low cost, if the system gets abused by people sending in none faulty but just used headphones.

 

[plumpudding2]

At some point they will stop replacing the units at low cost, if the system gets abused by people sending in none faulty but just used headphones.

Currently a new headband + pads is still cheaper than 300 bucks so I sincerely hope this doesn't happen

 

[jonchard]

I'd suspect there is enough of a profit on a single driver at £300 to make this a permanent situation. AT LEAST I HOPE SO!!! The question is if they bought enough in the first place! I suspect they dont make them ... anyone have any ideas on this?

 

[vcoheda]

not sure what to make of this.

susvara new costs $6000. susvara new as an out of warranty replacement costs $300. this math does not add up.

 

[Sand Dan Glokta]

Sus replacement from hifiman is finally here. Finally gonna get to hear sus on wavedream. $300

That is very nice. Point for hifiman Im sure they loose money doing that. Its about having good reputation between audiophils.

 

[Vamp898]

not sure what to make of this.

susvara new costs $6000. susvara new as an out of warranty replacement costs $300. this math does not add up.

I think it was already stated quite some hundred pages ago, but the production cost for an Headphone of this type is around 250-500$ depending on process and so on. Someone mentioned that buying the drivers as parts costs around 150$.

There is no logical reason why they should cost more to manufacture... non of the materials nor the manufacturing process is even remotely expensive enough to cause an higher price.

 

[dynamic headphones]

$300 replacement... it makes me think about how much it costs them to produce a susvara.

 

[Sand Dan Glokta]

I think it was already stated quite some hundred pages ago, but the production cost for an Headphone of this type is around 250-500$ depending on process and so on. Someone mentioned that buying the drivers as parts costs around 150$.

There is no logical reason why they should cost more to manufacture... non of the materials nor the manufacturing process is even remotely expensive enough to cause an higher price.

i dont agree, the coating process with pure 24k gold in such a tiny diaphragm its told to be very hard. I think it has more to be with the 83db sensitivity. A LOT of people send them back when they hear it with an underpowered amp, even a lot of people send them back only because they dont know about burnin. And they have a lot to trade open box or replace.

 

[Vamp898]

i dont agree, the coating process with pure 24k gold in such a tiny diaphragm its told to be very hard. I think it has more to be with the 83db sensitivity. A LOT of people send them back when they hear it with an underpowered amp, even a lot of people send them back only because they dont know about burnin. And they have a lot to trade open box or replace.

It is hard, i am not saying anything else.

There are Planar Magnet Drivers that cost 30-50$ to manufacture, so 150$ is insanely expensive for an planar magnetic driver.

I think we should not forget that an average dynamic driver costs 0,50-5$ in production and Headhones, using these, sell for 300$ (and more).

I think it has more to be with the 83db sensitivity. A LOT of people send them back when they hear it with an underpowered amp, even a lot of people send them back only because they dont know about burnin. And they have a lot to trade open box or replace.

There is so much wrong in that statement, that i don't even know where to begin. So i don't

 

[thefitz]

$300 replacement... it makes me think about how much it costs them to produce a susvara.

DON'T THINK!!!

I am going to give them the benefit of the doubt that they can harvest enough off the old units to make the cost worth it to them.

But yes, considering how the R9 that was supposed to be like $1200 can now be had for $99... and let's not forget about the "RE $2000" fiasco... and that the original name for the Susvara was the "Edition 6" at $6000... anyway, great set!

 

[plumpudding2]

Why is everyone suddenly so surprised the MSRP of the Susvara is mostly recouping R&D costs (small market compared to consumer headphones), dealer margin (that's why street price is lower), and also simply because people are willing to pay that much for the best planar in the world?
Nvidia is selling their H100 datacenter GPU's for 60k while they cost 2k to produce, same principle.

 

[Vamp898]

Why is everyone suddenly so surprised the MSRP of the Susvara is mostly recouping R&D costs (small market compared to consumer headphones), dealer margin (that's why street price is lower), and also simply because people are willing to pay that much for the best planar in the world?
Nvidia is selling their H100 datacenter GPU's for 60k while they cost 2k to produce, same principle.

The more expensive your product is, the less people will buy it. The less people buy it, the more expensive it gets, the less will buy it and so the spiral goes up.

So prices are always, and will always be, a test on what customers are willing to pay. When people buy the Susvara for 6000$, they sell it for 6000$.

To be fair, nobody i know, ever, payed 6000$ for an Susvara. If you go to an headphone dealer in china, they get reduced to 4000$ without even asking the store clerk. Just put them on your head and don't look amazed and see, how you get 50% with an blink of an eye.

 

[thefitz]

Why is everyone suddenly so surprised the MSRP of the Susvara is mostly recouping R&D costs (small market compared to consumer headphones), dealer margin (that's why street price is lower), and also simply because people are willing to pay that much for the best planar in the world?
Nvidia is selling their H100 datacenter GPU's for 60k while they cost 2k to produce, same principle.

Everyone is so surprised because precisely zero other true summit-fi products have less than 400% more expensive driver replacements, and even then, those replacements are just the drivers. Focal and Audeze also have R&D costs (small market compared to consumer headphones) and dealer margin (that's why street price is lower) to recoup.