The thing that makes it even harder in the case of the Sundara is that people always keep forgetting that the Sundara was a €500 headphone when it was introduced in 2018 and only dropped down to $350 around april 2020. So when people say to me that the Sundara sounds like a €500 headphone I always reply "That's because it is a €500 headphone, or at least it used to be."
The prices of headphones generally drop over time so when someone is stating the [insert random headphone/IEM here] sounds like a €€€ headphone/IEM at only €€ it sounds impressive but when you look up the original msrp to compare it, lo and behold it was also €€€ when is was introduced a few years ago.
For instance I really like my HD660s but I'll always compare it at the original msrp of €500 and not at the current price of €390
I am not necessarily responding to your message alone, but to the whole price/worth/value debate.
What ultimately matters are personal preference. People will buy (and keep) the headphones they personally like the most. I have seen controversial opinions on pretty much every headphone. Literally each and every headphone is loved and hated (or simply ignored) by some. People who do not like a headphone because it doesn't match their personal sound preference will clearly value them lower.
It is difficult to remain objective when a luxury item doesn't match your personal taste.
It is also true, that you pay more and more for a smaller and smaller improvement in sound as you spend £1000, £2000, £3000, £4000 or even more on one pair of headphones. It is also true, that those who can appreciate these improvements are happy to pay more and more for a smaller portion of improvement. Because almost always, there
is an improvement.
Once I read somewhere, if you buy a flagship headphone, you do not just buy a headphone but invest in the company so they will be able to research & develop further. I kind of like that thinking.
My experience is that the second-hand market puts pretty realistic prices on headphones depending on their real current value.
Some RRPs are higher, some are lower and rarely spot on when it comes to the real value of a headphone. Companies look at the big picture based on sale quantities. To them RRP is just a relatively small value in a long and complicated equation.
It is known that I like Meze; the Elite is my favourite headphone to date, and I owned or tested or heard most flagships. Yet I can be critical to Meze too and I see what people do not like in their headphones/IEMs. Here is my personal take on Meze products I own, owned or extensively tested reflecting on their current RRP in late 2022:
Elite: RRP £3599. Second-hand around £2800. While some other flagships display higher technical proficiency in certain areas (Abyss 1266, Susvara, Solitaire P) I find the Elite detailed enough to be called TOTL and the most engaging, sweet sounding of everything I have heard to date. That is why I bought them in January 2022 (second-hand with 30hrs of usage) and still enjoying them.
Empyrean: RRP £2599 Second-hand around £1700. I loved the Empyrean in 2018 when it came out and owned it for two years. Then sold it and rebought it and sold again. I like the Empyrean and I think many critics did not hear it well and did not understand what its sound is about. There are better resolving, more detailed and cleaner headphones for the price. Both RRP and used. Yet, the Empyrean stands out even in 2022 as a warm, mid bass-strong, fun sounding headphone which offers a way more natural, lifelike and thick sound texture than
any of their competition.
I must state here that I think the Elite is huge improvement on the Empyrean as in a more balanced tuning, details, enhanced technicalities and spaciousness/positioning.
Liric: RRP £1799 Second-hand around £1200. I tested the Liric for weeks. While I think it is a good headphone; I particularly liked its bass balance, the treble troubled me a bit (pun intended). Treble can sometimes be too bity, sharp. The rest is pretty spot on though for a closed back. As I said in my review, with the Liric you pay a good portion of the price for 'high-end' portability. I do not think there is another closed-back headphone that is as portable and as good sounding as the Liric is.
They are certainly not a £500 sounding headphone, but not £1800 either.
I wasn't particularly keen on the 99 or 99 Classics, so I will skip them here.
I am not really into IEMs but tested the Rai Penta and now I am in the process of testing the Advar. The Rai Penta for £949 in 2019 did not amaze me. As I recall they sounded smooth and polite, but nothing really stood out in their sound, not for the price at least.
The Advar (RRP £649) has been a very pleasant surprise so far. Certainly, more of a fun tuning and not reference line, but very good at that: fun but detailed and balanced enough for a
slight V shape tuning. I would pick the Advar versus the Rai Penta any day.
So that is about prices and preferences from me tonight.
Edit: I realised I have to make my post relevant to the 109Pro thread, so here we go. I think the case with the 109 might be similar to the Advar when it comes to value/RRP. They are definitely worth the asking price, might even punch a few £/$100 higher. But still, the biggest factor when it comes to purchasing is personal preference which can't be ignored. I am quite keen on trying the 109 myself.
