How come all the ultra high end headphones have all been discontinued??
Apr 10, 2007 at 5:20 AM Post #77 of 123
Haha if you do it let us know what you think!
smily_headphones1.gif
 
Apr 10, 2007 at 5:25 AM Post #78 of 123
Quote:

Originally Posted by Carl /img/forum/go_quote.gif
Looking at those TakeTs is making me want to buy a pair... -_-


There's something about expensive ugly cans that makes you think there must be something great about them. Surely nothing can be that ugly, that costly *and* sound bad
biggrin.gif
 
Apr 10, 2007 at 5:27 AM Post #79 of 123
Quote:

Originally Posted by smeggy /img/forum/go_quote.gif
There's something about expensive ugly cans that makes you think there must be something great about them. Surely nothing can be that ugly, that costly *and* sound bad
biggrin.gif



I don't think they look ugly at all, but maybe my heteroclite collection of strange headphones has just warped my perceptions.
 
Apr 10, 2007 at 5:38 AM Post #82 of 123
Quote:

Originally Posted by Duggeh /img/forum/go_quote.gif
About the least important thing I've ever gone for in a headphone is the aesthetics.


Take it easy, I only meant my comment to be lighthearted
wink.gif
After all, I have a pair of Ultrasones PROline 2500s. They're blue, man, blue!
biggrin.gif
 
Apr 10, 2007 at 6:04 AM Post #84 of 123
Quote:

Originally Posted by Carl /img/forum/go_quote.gif
I don't think they look ugly at all, but maybe my heteroclite collection of strange headphones has just warped my perceptions.


Don't look particularly ugly to me either and I actually wear my glasses. *shrug*
 
Apr 10, 2007 at 8:03 AM Post #85 of 123
What always confuses me is not why there are so few headphones that cost a bajillion dollars, but why there isn't even better quality to be found at the sub-$200 level. Why are there no real giant killers?

On these boards, I've read over and over again the argument that how much Headphone Manufacturer X charges for a pair of high-end headphones is hardly connected at all to the costs of assembly. Grado, for example, builds in a hefty profit margin on each headphone by using standardized parts across their line and strictly controlling advertised prices and local dealers. Ultrasone uses OEM headbands. But despite the low costs of assembly, every high-end phone is priced out of the range of average ipod-using joe's interest. The high-end headphone market seems to run on incestuous pricing--each manufacturer prices their headphones to compete with other headphones on the market, and never lowers MSRP even when production costs surely fall after they've been making the model for a while. Plus the industry doesn't market to everyone; they base their business on serving a tiny cadre of devoted audiophiles with spending money—us—who are willing and able to pay through the nose for their boutique products.

So why doesn't some headphone company take the drivers and technology and R&D experience from their highest-of-high end headphones, package it in a good-looking and good-sounding but mass-production-friendly exterior, and sell it for less than $200? Even better, sell it for around $100. Everyone on this board would buy one. But more importantly, everyone with the slightest interest in high-end audio would buy one. I remember reading somewhere that the two headphones that Grado sells the most of are the SR-60, which is their big moneymaker, and the RS-1. Considering the phenomenal and widespread success of the SR-60, with almost no marketing at all, imagine what a headphone that looked better and sounded better could do at a similar price point. Imagine the degree to which the RS-1 would conquer the headphone market if Grado figured out a way to produce them in mass quantities and sold them for half as much.

Or, for another example, why is Sennheiser discontinuing the HD-580 in favor of trying to sell the extremely similar HD-600 at a higher price? Why aren't they discontinuing the HD-600, and concentrating on dropping the price of the 580 further, making profits through selling high volumes of product at low profit margins? That's the strategy that made Wal-Mart the king of retail in the U.S.

Every high-fi headphone has a high profit margin and low sales volume. And that's becoming an unsustainable business, which is why all the boutique best-of-the-best headphones die out and get discontinued. So why is no manufacturer making a real attempt to go the opposite way, make a world-class headphone at a rock-bottom MSRP, and thus blow apart the industry's standard high-profit pricing? That's what confuses me.
 
Apr 10, 2007 at 8:12 AM Post #86 of 123
Spot on, Cake. I bet the only reason why headphones cost so much is because they are low-margin and sold to audiophile and professional markets, and not to the general consumer. The markup price is at least 6x, maybe even 10x, meaning the final price of the headphone is that many times more expensive than the cost of parts and labor. I can put together DIY headphones for $20 in parts, either dynamic or electrostat, that sound surprisingly good, I think better than the commercial $300 headphones. I'm sure that the markup is big. Just wait another 10 years for the Chinese to enter this market lol.
 
Apr 10, 2007 at 8:52 AM Post #87 of 123
Quote:

Originally Posted by cotdt /img/forum/go_quote.gif
Just wait another 10 years for the Chinese to enter this market lol.


I think you might be right on this one. Who knows, but they might completely change the face of the hobby in 10 years time. I think we've gotten hints of that with the recent success of DACs like the Zhaolu and several of the Chinese tube amps. It's still a small start, but it might be the start of something much much bigger.
 
Apr 10, 2007 at 10:32 AM Post #88 of 123
Dear colleagues,

[size=xx-small]How come all the ultra high end headphones have all been discontinued?? [/size]
Because we head phone freaks won't pay enough ??

On the other hand, those lucky enough to have the money, want something really special !
Hence :
Most of those ultra highend HP are of "limited edition" status, meaning they WILL be discontinued virtually be definition !

Regards

Urs
 
Apr 10, 2007 at 1:14 PM Post #89 of 123
Why do people always assume that the final cost of any product is just the cost of the raw materials? Business 101 should be mandatory in all high schools.

1. Facilities costs. Your company and production facilities have to be housed somewhere, that ain't free. We pay for this in every product we buy.

2. Machining costs. You can't build anything without equipment.

3. Labor. Someone has to build it.

4. Development costs. Headphones don't emerge out of a magic hat. People spend months maybe years developing new technologies.

5. Human resources. Management, HR, Marketing, Engineering, Sales, etc. All these necessary people have to be paid.

6. Marketing/promotion. No one can buy your product if they don't know it exists.

7. Channel costs. You have to get it to the marketplace somehow. Middlemen take their cut.

8. Retail costs. The final seller has to get their fair share of the markup to make it worth their selling it.


If you were managing a company and were charging cost of raw materials plus 10% "profit margin" on your products you'd be out of business in a week.
tongue.gif



Quote:

How come all the ultra high end headphones have all been discontinued??
Because we head phone freaks won't pay enough ??


Amen, everyone wants something for nothing. *sigh*
 
Apr 10, 2007 at 1:35 PM Post #90 of 123
Plus the inherent Risk to your investment capital while of trying to sell anything.


"Just wait another 10 years for the Chinese to enter this market lol."

I'm not holding my breath. I haven't seen any real "Invention" or creativity from the Chinese market. They reproduce and copy but they haven't made anything from scratch.


"Quote:
How come all the ultra high end headphones have all been discontinued??
Because we head phone freaks won't pay enough ??

Amen, everyone wants something for nothing. *sigh*"

What's real funny is people didn't want to pay the retail on an item then pay 2X after it's discontinued.


Mitch
 
You must log in or register to reply here.

Users who are viewing this thread

Total: 3 (members: 0, guests: 3)
Back
Top