[vid]

You heard the original DT 990 or the current treble-infested DT 990?
 
I heard and measured the original DT 990 against the HD 600. The HD 600 is a bit faster below 1 kHz and the DT 990 a bit faster above 4 kHz. The HD 600 is more neutral in the bass and the DT 990 is more detailed in the treble. If I had to call one of them an audiophile headphone, it would be the DT 990.

 

[Kernmac]

Is the general opinion that many Headfiers can't stay on topic justified?

 

[Sound Quest]

Quote:

Is the general opinion that many Headfiers can't stay on topic justified?

 
Is the general opinion that if you type in large bold letters, more people will take your post seriously?
 
I believe this thread is still very much on topic.

 

[JohnnnW]

Quote:

Is the general opinion that many Headfiers can't stay on topic justified?

 
It's an internet forum thread that has been pretty much been discussed in full, who cares where the conversation goes on a thread that's kinda over? 

 

[Kernmac]

Quote:

 
Is the general opinion that if you type in large bold letters, more people will take your post seriously?
 
I believe this thread is still very much on topic.

You took it seriously.

 

[vid]

I've also a pair of 15 € Yamaha HP-50 from the '80s or so that outperform the HD 600. Took a bit of modding, sure, but I don't charge myself for my free time.
 
Kernmac was keen on anchoring price onto a relative standard, and there's one. The DT 990 cost 47 euros, mind you, which is a lot compared to the Yamas.

 

[NamelessPFG]

Quote:

The HD 600 is old technology and that old technology is what you pay $400 for. As you say, it really makes no sense - though even $250 is exaggerated.

 
Newer doesn't always mean better in the world of headphones. That's what I learned from the Stax SR-202, easily outperformed by its own grandfather, the original Normal bias SR-Lambda. (Can't speak for the HD600 or any other Sennheiser set, but the principle of the matter still applies.)
 
Nowadays, those vintage Lambdas will sell for a good $250-350, depending on condition and whether they include a transformer box or not. I don't recall the original MSRP, but a 1979 headphone design that's been discontinued for newer variants still commanding such a high resale price today speaks volumes about its quality...even though I was told of a time when that wasn't the case and they'd often sell for under $100 because people thought they weren't worth it compared to the later Pro bias variants.
 
Ultimately, it boils down to what the market thinks things are worth-not just for headphones, but for anything money can buy.
 
For example, most people will look at a ~$1,000 GTX Titan and think that's way too much money to spend on a single graphics card (myself included), and others will happily buy TWO of them for SLI, maybe even three or four, because they think that extra bit of performance here and now is worth it to them. If they think they can get away with selling products at an inflated price because they know some segment of the market will buy, then they will.

 

[unamped]

Quote:

Apart from the fact that I don't understand the point you are trying to make, not many headphones mentioned on this forum are made in third world classified countries.

That's my point: stuff not made in the 3rd world is hard to afford. The price of 4-figure headphones is probably not really necessary, but that's the high-end price when the basic models' cost isn't low

 

[vid]

Quote:

Newer doesn't always mean better in the world of headphones. That's what I learned from the Stax SR-202, easily outperformed by its own grandfather, the original Normal bias SR-Lambda. (Can't speak for the HD600 or any other Sennheiser set, but the principle of the matter still applies.)

 
That people are still risking their money on decades old smelly headphones for the best audio experience speaks about a potential problem with new headphones, indeed.
 
The thing about graphics cards, too, is that each new generation consists mostly of rebranded last-generation.

 

[duncan1]

NamelessPFG-The Stax Lambda with SRD-6 sold for -£175 in the UK in -1982--The Stax Sigma with SRD 6 sold for £250-1982. The ATH-7 with box sold for -£72  in 1982 the 8 £125. The Stax SR5/SRD-6 -£115

 

[Chodi]

Boutique companies like Audeze and Hifiman work on completely different (smaller) margins that the big boys. Having said that, the big guys spend a fortune on advertising their products and that figures into their overall cost. They also have a large staff to feed. Companies like Audeze probably have less than 25 employees total (no I don't know the actual number). Everything they buy cost them more than the big guys cause they are buying less and doing all the sourcing themselves. I don't think the retail costs are out of line for what you get. If you are only looking at the cost of materials, yea it would look out of line but there is much more involved.

 

[john53]

Haven't read all the previous posts,sorry.
 
But here is one thing that came to my mind,when I was holding my hd 600 few days ago...These headphones were the best of this company many years back...(ok forget orpheus).Now to get their best headphones you need to spend 3 times that price.Does it make any sense? Normally,you should spend the same amount of money,or even less,and get a much much much better headphone today than the hd600.But now,after so many years,you have to spend 3 times that price to get something better from the same company.So something is not going right here I guess. 

 

[duncan1]

Its called -inflation - The value[REAL] of money -paper/coins  has dropped a great  deal. Many Western countries including my own  are "up to their neck" in Billions of £££££/$$$$$ DEBT !   The real value of the $ is zero . The US government just shifts bonds between    various Depts .The same applies to this country. The cause???-- in one world IMF--they want their "pound of flesh"  because of loans to prop up various countries  so the poor pay.Real money--GOLD- dont be taken in by fluctuations on the stock exchange its all a con. Buy  gold .What do you think the " Bric" countries are using as collateral?. Not dollars. A bit political but its a truthful answer.

 

[Packdemon]

I just want to know from a practical (consumer) standpoint (as an example) what I'm paying for when I buy US$500 headphone vs US$300. Essentially what will that US$200 difference buy me, or any difference (not just 200) for that matter?

Also note that aside from that example (this is not an example) I'm also looking for a headset suitable for gaming/music/movies. My current price range is anything from US$80-300, but I'm not sure what more (features/quality) I'd get out of spending the extra buck. Right know I'm looking at the Audio Technica ATH-AG1 (or ATH-A50x w/modmic) vs Sennheiser G4ME ZERO (also want to know how the G4ME ZERO is different from the previous PC 350 and PC 350 SE models as I'd much rather save money buying one of those if they are the basically the same thing) both being run on a Asus Xonar U7 amp (up to 150 ohms), and I'd also like to know how those would differ from a simple US$80 HyperX Cloud Gaming Headset w/modmic.

 

[gjc10212]

I used to think shure se530/535 were worth their price until i tried vsonics v3ds, shures now are a rippoff, especially for the uk customer base and moreso with asian brands producing equally or better sounding iems. Shures se846 £1000 in the uk give or take, what are they smoking? I wish people wouldnt throw money at high priced cans, thus fueling what seems to be a trend in ever increasing rrps.