[HeadFierUsername2022]

Hi,


Before I bought the Meze' s, I kept hearing they are 1k $ Audio quality, with 4k $ build quality, sold for 5k $.
I must say, hearing them, they are truly not worth the price tag. But something that surprises me, is the price plunge on the sh market. they are sold for 2.5k, used for 2 months. That' s a nasty hit.
I ask myself: are they really over- rated (sold for too much) , or under- rated (sold for far less than that what they're worth) ?

I personally think it' s the first, having owned a pair, I must say they are not 3 times the T1' s I bought, for 3 times less the money.

Would be interested on your opinions, as to what justifies this brand' s price.


Tannks

 

[msing539]

Hi,


Before I bought the Meze' s, I kept hearing they are 1k $ Audio quality, with 4k $ build quality, sold for 5k $.
I must say, hearing them, they are truly not worth the price tag. But something that surprises me, is the price plunge on the sh market. they are sold for 2.5k, used for 2 months. That' s a nasty hit.
I ask myself: are they really over- rated (sold for too much) , or under- rated (sold for far less than that what they're worth) ?

I personally think it' s the first, having owned a pair, I must say they are not 3 times the T1' s I bought, for 3 times less the money.

Would be interested on your opinions, as to what justifies this brand' s price.


Tannks

In the US, the standard Elite is $4000 USD new, $3000 open box, roughly $2500 used.
62% used vs. new. 83% used vs. open box.

A Susvara is $6000 USD new, $4500 open box, roughly $3500 used.
58% used vs. new. 78% used vs. open box.

Those losses are similar.

 

[HeadFierUsername2022]

In the US, the standard Elite is $4000 USD new, $3000 open box, roughly $2500 used.
62% used vs. new. 83% used vs. open box.

A Susvara is $6000 USD new, $4500 open box, roughly $3500 used.
58% used vs. new. 78% used vs. open box.

Those losses are similar.

Hi, thanks for your time!

Yes, but the Sunset Blvd. one is a 2 Month old Headphone unit, that is sold for 2.5k. That' s a rapid loss in value. I never saw a Susvara fly from someone else' s house so fast, for such a hit. And on the side of Sunset Blvd. , it' s a `LTD` and still selling for less than the normal one.

I think it' s kind of tel telling about Meze' s actual value.

All the best

 

[msing539]

Hi, thanks for your time!

Yes, but the Sunset Blvd. one is a 2 Month old Headphone unit, that is sold for 2.5k. That' s a rapid loss in value. I never saw a Susvara fly from someone else' s house so fast, for such a hit. And on the side of Sunset Blvd. , it' s a `LTD` and still selling for less than the normal one.

I think it' s kind of tel telling about Meze' s actual value.

All the best

You're welcome! Dropping a headphone can happen quickly--it all depends on the person, situation, market, etc.

When the Yamaha YH5000SE was first released, someone dropped it here a week or two later for $2800 from what I remember.

That's far off from $5000 new. Now you can find it open box for $4200 but that wasn't the case when that first one sold used.

I guess you could say that's an isolated incident, as they don't typically go for that little. But it still happens regardless of brand or headphone.

 

[HeadFierUsername2022]

You're welcome! Dropping a headphone can happen quickly--it all depends on the person, situation, market, etc.

When the Yamaha YH5000SE was first released, someone dropped it here a week or two later for $2800 from what I remember.

That's far off from $5000 new. Now you can find it open box for $4200 but that wasn't the case when that first one sold used.

I guess you could say that's an isolated incident, as they don't typically go for that little. But it still happens regardless of brand or headphone.

Yes, yours seems more the exception, whilst for Meze I feel it's becoming the norm, as people are more and more realizing it.

 

[msing539]

Yes, yours seems more the exception, whilst for Meze I feel it's becoming the norm, as people are more and more realizing it.

It's a highly subjective hobby. I bought my Elite after listening to several other TOTL headphones, and it didn't come down to price. It was an emotional experience for me with the Elite. If mine were somehow damaged beyond repair, I would purchase them again. But I completely understand that you don't like them and I don't question it--they're just not for you. I owned the Beyerdynamic T1 Gen 2 and I absolutely hated that headphone... nothing wrong with that either.

 

[kumar402]

Never buy at retail price or be ready for heavy loss unless it is limited edition item. The used market is slow these days and used pricing are reflective of that. Good for someone looking to build the system.

 

[ckhirnigs113]

I think this is more a case of the release of the Empy 2. On top of that, prices across the entire used headphone market are coming down. I personally think it’s a great time to find a really good deal on an Elite.

I’d never consider buying any of these $3K+ headphones at the retail price. A nice used set is always the best option on these high-end models. If you’re patient, you can usually find one with some nice add-ons like extra pads and upgraded cables.

 

[Strayngs]

I dont see this headphone as any more of a loss than any other brands TOTL used headphone. A used LCD5, Utopia 22 … they all take huge hits. Elite is an amazing headphone and well worth over three times the cost over the T1 imo. Depends on what you like.

 

[OnlySoMany]

As an owner of a T1 and Elite, yes it's worth 3 times as much. On a great system they aren't even close.

 

[HeadFierUsername2022]

I think this is more a case of the release of the Empy 2. On top of that, prices across the entire used headphone market are coming down. I personally think it’s a great time to find a really good deal on an Elite.

I’d never consider buying any of these $3K+ headphones at the retail price. A nice used set is always the best option on these high-end models. If you’re patient, you can usually find one with some nice add-ons like extra pads and upgraded cables.

I find it strange that people find it normal to get a 40% + hit, on a 2 Month old product. Maybe it's snake oil (cryogenic cables level) ?

As an owner of a T1 and Elite, yes it's worth 3 times as much. On a great system they aren't even close.

Elite' s are revered for being little to no system influenced, in producing quality sound. If you need to spend once more the sum of the unit, on the system, to get it to sound remotely good to your (or someone else's) ears, that's just sad.

And again, with someone having the T1' s, and listened to the Elite's for a good few minutes on a top high end Audio System (like ten's of thousands) , I can clearly say, they're not worth 3 times the price of the T1's (when new) - meaning they are not the multiplication when it comes to being clearer, more detailed, punchier, ect. That they use carbon? Yes, price increase. Different sound producing technology? Yes, but as I said above, the improvements are not godlike level. As far as Quality of work, I can attest to not being high, and the workers being sloppy (scratched the unit and covered it up with a ballpen marker) .

And this is reflected in the secondary market (again, example of a 2 months old unit) .


Or maybe the 'new' price, is what we pay for a product fully designed, manufactured and partially sourced in the EU, or Europe- which I doubt, but wish it was so, for people to understand again a few things .


As a big plus: aftersales of Meze is the best in the world, hands down best customer service I had the pleasure to deal with in my life.

 

[HeadFierUsername2022]

Never buy at retail price or be ready for heavy loss unless it is limited edition item. The used market is slow these days and used pricing are reflective of that. Good for someone looking to build the system.

The Sunset Boulevard ones are Limited series. There are some other people on the Forum trying to sell Ltd. Edition units, but are unable to as the asking price difference between the Standard ones and theirs (which are just skins) is too great.
I wanted to say that maybe to flip them, it works (but first photo tells otherwise) . So that means people still pay for what they can hear and the quality of the unit.

Interesting hobby

 

[JeoO]

Excuse me, I don’t want to be rude, but I really do think that this thread is nonsense.

Used headphones selling for about 2/3 of their retail price is the norm.

Actually I dont remember any other headphone model that is worth significantly more (than 2/3 of retail) on the used market. People just don’t get too excited about another limited edition paintjob for the elites anymore, which is why the limited editions are not traded for higher prices than the standard version.

The fact that there is an offer for a 2month old limited edition should just be seen as a great deal for an used elite, rather than coming to the conclusion that the elites are worth nothing anymore.

In my opinion they are not just the very best in build quality, design and comfort, but also sonically they are unique and possess one of the best drivers that you can easily tweak with eq to outperform most of the totls.

I owned bravura, d8000, he1000se, Utopia 2022, several Audezes and while the stock tuning doesn’t sound as clear as most of those cans, you can easily eq them to do so, while having some traits in regards to soundstage that are unique and hard to match for other cans.

So no, in my opinion they don’t sound cheaper than the competition around their pricetag. The drivers are more than competent which is underlined by the measurements conducted by another user that were posted in the Elite‘s thread some pages ago.

 

[HeadFierUsername2022]

Excuse me, I don’t want to be rude, but I really do think that this thread is nonsense.

Used headphones selling for about 2/3 of their retail price is the norm.

Actually I dont remember any other headphone model that is worth significantly more (than 2/3 of retail) on the used market. People just don’t get too excited about another limited edition paintjob for the elites anymore, which is why the limited editions are not traded for higher prices than the standard version.

The fact that there is an offer for a 2month old limited edition should just be seen as a great deal for an used elite, rather than coming to the conclusion that the elites are worth nothing anymore.

In my opinion they are not just the very best in build quality, design and comfort, but also sonically they are unique and possess one of the best drivers that you can easily tweak with eq to outperform most of the totls.

I owned bravura, d8000, he1000se, Utopia 2022, several Audezes and while the stock tuning doesn’t sound as clear as most of those cans, you can easily eq them to do so, while having some traits in regards to soundstage that are unique and hard to match for other cans.

So no, in my opinion they don’t sound cheaper than the competition around their pricetag. The drivers are more than competent which is underlined by the measurements conducted by another user that were posted in the Elite‘s thread some pages ago.

Don't worry, you're not rude. You're allowed to express your opinion, as we' re not splitting atoms here, so no risk of leveling the world.

However, on the build quality, I would challenge you:
Misaligned counterparts, easily scratched paint, non lacquared paint (scratch resistance) , non ionized Aluminium to prevent acidic discoloration, huge bevels on their box hinges, box hinges screws that are screwed down with too much torque,so much so that the lacquer peels off. Also, lots of carryover parts,as the design changes little to no, mostly cosmetic, rarely physical (Empyrean 2 has a different Grill pattern, if I am not mistaking) .
I can't pronounce myself on the electronics and the driver' s design, but that's the thing that kept changing, together with the ear pads.

It's not a matter of soundig cheaper than the competition, because from what the diehard hobbyists keep lobbying for and tell me is the fact that small increments, justify huge pricetags, and if everyone's selling them just that, they will accept, or even darn right justify it to the rest of the world (just like they try to doi t to their significant other- some of them) .
Maybe it's because of my background, that makes me try to dive deeper into understanding 'what made you come up with that sum? ' .


"The fact that there is an offer for a 2month old limited edition should just be seen as a great deal for an used elite, rather than coming to the conclusion that the elites are worth nothing anymore."

The case is not singular, and I am sorry, but how rich is the pool of headphone hobbyists to be able to view a huge loss from the perspective of the one buying it?
What's with this justification, seriously now?

They are worth something, never said 'nothing' , but far less than presented- of course, as an example of recent times,if there are people willing to pay high prices, they will always try to be as high as possible.

I take it from the start of your reply, to the end, that you're very emotional. Trust me, I am not juddging your (bad or good) spending habbits.


Thank you for your input, nonetheless, and congrats on the great collection you managed to try there.

Question: Did you manage to listen to the earlier Utopia's?

 

[JeoO]

I owned the first edition of the elites which were bare silver metal (Aluminium?) without any paint on top. Therefore I never had any troubles with paint chipping off, but if that is a problem nowadays, it definitely should be discussed.

I just wanted to point out that regarding driver „technicalities“ these headphones definitely play with the big boys. As the measurements show ultra low distortion.

Yes the standard sound is not so sterile sounding as other high end cans, but that is just a different and unique sound. Some people might not like that, which is completely fine, but that des not make it a bad headphone per se.

I also don’t think any headphone is worth more than 2k, so I am quite happy about the used prices high end cans sell for.