iGrado: design analysis from an engineering student
Jul 22, 2006 at 3:59 PM Post #31 of 95
Quote:

Originally Posted by Ace o' Spades
Oh. no. The iGrados are actually starting to grow on me
confused.gif


WEird especially since just yesterday I hated it...

Damn government mind-control chips...


I'm really scared! I was starting to like them yesterday!!
 
Jul 23, 2006 at 2:29 AM Post #33 of 95
Update:

Alright, so I was at Target today looking around. And before I actually went to really look for anything, I decided to go to the iPod isle to see what the bug fuss was with the iCulture. Well, so I made some discoveries...

Made for iPod packaging = instant seller
The buds and psuedo IEMs sold like crazy apparently since the racks were devoid of quite a few models.
Non-made for iPod packaging = still sold at acceptable prices
Many of the cheap (under 20) headphones mostly sold too. Street styles and clips mostly.
No iPodder likes big cans
Almost everything except the Bose Triports were all still in full stock on the shelves. I guess that means people don't even like buget circumaural cans.
Shure, Sony, and Phillips are smoking crack apparently
While I was in the isle, I came across several accounts of people commenting on the prices of the more expensive items like the noise cancelling cans and shure buds. I heard a variety of things ranging from "What are these guys smoking?" to "Wow that's stupidly priced" to "Who would ever want to buy something so expensive?". Apparently people like cheap.
 
Sep 3, 2006 at 4:44 AM Post #34 of 95
Quote:

Originally Posted by FooTemps
Reason: The iPod culture expects everything iAccessory to be beautiful. This is where the mainstream culture differs from the audiophile culture. Audiophiles accept the ridiculous looks for good sound. This is unacceptible in mainstream culture. Everything has to be beautiful, even at the cost of quality. iPods are sold at a premium for the name and look, Britney Spears was a pop sensation even though her music wasn't good, people buy VW bugs because they're cute... Get where I'm going at? People buy marketing and beauty over quality and performance a lot of the time. Grado missed the boat by providing an ugly product that even us audiophools believe to be ugly.

Pop culture loves looks

Originally Posted by FooTemps
http://www4.head-fi.org/forums/showt...36#post2335536
Like to have
Comes in silver
http://www4.head-fi.org/forums/showt...=195521&page=2
Oops, a little misunderstanding there. I know that it comes with its own enclosure, it just doesn't match the rest of my gear looks wise (yes, I'm taking looks into account). If I were to use the SEX, i'd basically only be using the components and waste money on an enclosure that I wouldn't use.


http://www6.head-fi.org/forums/showthread.php?t=192579
takes a beautiful pair of 225's to do a mod that reminds me of ??? and even wears the band behind the head like streetwear headphones and he wants to talk to us about the iGrado and the pop culture, please..
http://www6.head-fi.org/forums/showthread.php?t=192579
 
Sep 3, 2006 at 5:15 AM Post #35 of 95
ah but his mod is reversible. poor iGrados - you can't reverse Ugly.
 
Sep 3, 2006 at 5:16 AM Post #36 of 95
Quote:

Originally Posted by noseallinit
http://www6.head-fi.org/forums/showthread.php?t=192579
takes a beautiful pair of 225's to do a mod that reminds me of a lowrider wheel extension on a 30k auto and even wears the band behind the head like streetwear headphones and he wants to talk to us about the iGrado and the pop culture, please..
http://www6.head-fi.org/forums/showthread.php?t=192579


Talking about being elitist. If you're going to say something, at least be less of an ass about it... I know that I'm wearing my band on the back of my head, but it isn't a normal thing. I just thought it made for a decent avatar pic.

Also, I felt like I went over the iGrado in the best way possible. If you see a flaw in it, please point it out. I know its a bit hypocritic to want matching gear yet slander the iGrado, but I also have my own sense of aesthetics.

edit: just felt like saying this too...

did you ressurect this thread to flame me? You seem to be trolling my threads IMO. I was trying to let a thread die in the amp forum and you decided to up it just to point out a contradiction I made. Look man, I'm still learning about audio gear in general. Sometimes you change your mind when you learn something new. I don't really get where you're going digging up trash to say about me, but I'd rather you don't do something like this. I find it disrespectful and annoying.
 
Sep 3, 2006 at 8:30 AM Post #37 of 95
While I appreciate Grado's efforts a ton, I think they came up short--mostly in styling and realizing what "mainstream" consumers will want. I think a big issue will be the open design. Even if they manage to get the iGrado's in the iPod store, the average schmuck will be sold on Bose cans because they have the nifty "noise reduction" bit while Grado's leak sound and let ambient noise in like nobody's business.
 
Sep 3, 2006 at 8:33 AM Post #38 of 95
Quote:

us audiophiles believe to be ugly.


We do? I have never thought they were ugly.
 
Sep 3, 2006 at 8:42 AM Post #39 of 95
Quote:

Originally Posted by PiccoloNamek
We do? I have never thought they were ugly.


Sorry about the blanket statement, it just seemed to be a general consensus that they were considered ugly, will fix.
 
Sep 3, 2006 at 8:45 AM Post #40 of 95
What's more, why should we, as audiophiles, even care how they look?
wink.gif
 
Sep 3, 2006 at 9:16 AM Post #41 of 95
Quote:

Originally Posted by PiccoloNamek
What's more, why should we, as audiophiles, even care how they look?
wink.gif



it's not about us, lol. It's about how it looks and how the general public will react to the design. If it is considered ugly by those who don't care, then the people who do care will never touch it.
 
Sep 3, 2006 at 9:16 AM Post #42 of 95
I think it's pretty hilarious that people on this site of all sites pretend to understand the mainstream market. Face it, we're mostly iconoclastic nerds of one kind or another, else we wouldn't be so involved in our friggin headphones and amps and stuff. Personally, I expect those new Grado's either will or won't be a big hit based largely on how competently the marketing is handled. There are many, many millions of iPods out there, and plenty of people who own them will be happy to spend $50 on a color-coordinated product that they identify as an upscale quality brand and which sound good to them. Why would anybody expect anything different?

I don't know why people here expect they will fail. I have yet to hear any compelling argument whatsoever. The main pseudo-argument seems to be that non-audiophiles are all cheapskates who will find the looks of them a turn-off. (People used to say that about the price and looks of BMW cars too. How many people who now own BMW's are really serious drivers? A tiny minority, yet many people are happy to pay a hefty premium to get what they perceive as quality.) It's bizarre to assert that a young population that routinely dumps tons of disposable cash on consumer electronics will be put off by a $50 price tag, or that the combination of iPod color schemes with iconic Grado grills that tie them visually to more upscale models is somehow a bad idea. (Do you realize what people pay for a favorite upscale brand of jeans?)

When iPods were new, how many people here thought the iPod would take over the world? Precious few, I'll bet. My guess is that most of the inital commentary was about how inferior and hopeless they were.
 
Sep 3, 2006 at 9:49 AM Post #43 of 95
Quote:

Originally Posted by russdog
I think it's pretty hilarious that people on this site of all sites pretend to understand the mainstream market. Face it, we're mostly iconoclastic nerds of one kind or another, else we wouldn't be so involved in our friggin headphones and amps and stuff. Personally, I expect those new Grado's either will or won't be a big hit based largely on how competently the marketing is handled. There are many, many millions of iPods out there, and plenty of people who own them will be happy to spend $50 on a color-coordinated product that they identify as an upscale quality brand and which sound good to them. Why would anybody expect anything different?

I don't know why people here expect they will fail. I have yet to hear any compelling argument whatsoever. The main pseudo-argument seems to be that non-audiophiles are all cheapskates who will find the looks of them a turn-off. (People used to say that about the price and looks of BMW cars too. How many people who now own BMW's are really serious drivers? A tiny minority, yet they are happy to pay a hefty premium to get what they perceive as quality.) It's bizarre to assert that a young population that routinely dumps tons of disposable cash on consumer electronics will be put off by a $50 price tag, or that the combination of iPod color schemes with iconic Grado grills that tie them visually to more upscale models is somehow a bad idea.

When iPods were new, how many people here thought the iPod would take over the world? Precious few, I'll bet. My guess is that most of the inital commentary was about how inferior and hopeless they were.


Very true that we are just nerd speculating on the success of a product, but I'm trying to apply what I've learned. Sure, I don't have a whole understanding of the market, but I am a participating member and many of my peers who I consult with about electronics are also part of the target audience. From what I see from their aesthetic taste, outlook on electronics, and social philosophy, many of those people wouldn't consider the iGrado to be a contender in the "what new headphones should I buy" question. I've heard numerous quotes about the iPod that involve "you can't look as cool without an iPod" type comments. That alone shows me that it is unlikely that ugly can survive except in a counter-culture.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.

Users who are viewing this thread

Total: 2 (members: 0, guests: 2)
Back
Top