[R-Audiohead]

Most Sony products... The older ones are good. Their new headphones just suck, and the build is sub-par. A pair of new 200$ Sony's feel like something that's 40$. Also, ath-m50x's, m-audio q40's, and a bunch of other headphones that get mislabeled as "Bass Cannons"

 
The last high build quality Sony that sounded good was the MDR-Z1000.  At least of the Sony cans I have seen lately.
 
If you ever get a chance.... portable, well built, easy to drive and isolate (in both directions) very well.  Very much miss my pair.
 
We always let one get away....

 

[thievesarmy]

   
The last high build quality Sony that sounded good was the MDR-Z1000.  At least of the Sony cans I have seen lately.
 
If you ever get a chance.... portable, well built, easy to drive and isolate (in both directions) very well.  Very much miss my pair.
 
We always let one get away....

 
Disagree. They probably have some models that are sub-par, but I think their high-end stuff is still very nice, both in terms of sound & build. I personally own both the MDR-1R & XBA-H3's, and both of those feel like high quality, luxury items. They also have lower-end utilitarian classics like the MDR-V6 & 7506 that, while not very pricey can hold up to a lot of abuse and still sound great. 

 

[R-Audiohead]

   
Disagree. They probably have some models that are sub-par, but I think their high-end stuff is still very nice, both in terms of sound & build. I personally own both the MDR-1R & XBA-H3's, and both of those feel like high quality, luxury items. They also have lower-end utilitarian classics like the MDR-V6 & 7506 that, while not very pricey can hold up to a lot of abuse and still sound great. 

 
 
I should re-phrase.
 
Z1000 seems to be the peak for their build quality IMO. (edit = the unicorn that is the R1 aside)
 
The MDR-1R is still well built, I agree.
 
And many older Sony cans are money well spent

 

[KlarkKentThe3rd]

   
Rude:
   adjective
      offensively impolite or ill-mannered.
 
TBH I think I put that as politely and well-mannered as was feasible. Don't get into the habit of calling anyone rude when they tell you something you didn't want to hear. 

I don't believe I ever said that a thousand dollars more doesn't give you better sound.
 
All I implied is that a 3% increase in sound is not worth 50% increase in price. Whatever costs way more than it's worth is overrated in my opinion. You are free to disagree. But I can think of so many things I can buy for an extra thousand dollars (if I had them).

 

[thievesarmy]

 
I don't believe I ever said that a thousand dollars more doesn't give you better sound.
 
All I implied is that a 3% increase in sound is not worth 50% increase in price. Whatever costs way more than it's worth is overrated in my opinion. You are free to disagree. But I can think of so many things I can buy for an extra thousand dollars (if I had them).

 
Are you speaking from experience, having listened to these expensive headphones? Or are you speculating ?

 

[superlowfi]

Anyone who makes a stupid remark like that either: 1) has never heard true hi-fi, 2) can't afford to buy the good stuff, or 3) is a troll.

 
There is a third possibility, that is, they listened to the headphones and didn't like them. There are plenty of people out there who prefer the LCD2 to the LCD3, and the Hifiman 500 to the HE6, and even the Stax 007 to the Stax 009. 
 
There is a bit of "no true scotsman" fallacy at play here, where unless you recognize the greatness of 2000+ dollar headphones, you must not be a true audiophile. That is simply not true.
 
Also, the whole "diminishing returns" argument isn't quite right either. There are simply sonic preferences. It's entirely possible that the LCD3 sounds better to your ears than the LCD2, that doesn't imply that the LCD3 produces a better sound commensurate it it's cost objectively, only that for you it may be worth the cost. For some who prefer the LCD2, there are no diminishing returns for the LCD3, it is simply subjectively a worse headphone for their audio experience. For a small portion of the population, there may be a relationship between spending more money and achieving higher audio preference synergy, but I suspect for the majority of people that relationship actually doesn't exist at all.
 
That said, the statement that all 2000+ headphones must be overrated was clearly a trolling remark, that was better left ignored. 

 

[SomeGuyDude]

Generally speaking you can ignore anyone who tries to dismiss expensive headphones by claiming that they have an objective and quantifiable increase in quality as a whole.

 

[god-bluff]

Sony PFR V1 is aamazing piece of engeneering. Don't use very often but when I do is a special experience with the right music, Totally unique & showcases of what Sony can do when they try. No other company would attempt
something as odd as these,

 

[Ishcabible]

Sony PFR V1 is aamazing piece of engeneering. Don't use very often but when I do is a special experience with the right music, Totally unique & showcases of what Sony can do when they try. No other company would attempt
something as odd as these,

 
Yes. These little things were awesome.

 

[commtrd]

 

Anyone who makes a stupid remark like that either: 1) has never heard true hi-fi, 2) can't afford to buy the good stuff, or 3) is a troll.

 
There is a third possibility, that is, they listened to the headphones and didn't like them. There are plenty of people out there who prefer the LCD2 to the LCD3, and the Hifiman 500 to the HE6, and even the Stax 007 to the Stax 009. 
 
There is a bit of "no true scotsman" fallacy at play here, where unless you recognize the greatness of 2000+ dollar headphones, you must not be a true audiophile. That is simply not true.
 
Also, the whole "diminishing returns" argument isn't quite right either. There are simply sonic preferences. It's entirely possible that the LCD3 sounds better to your ears than the LCD2, that doesn't imply that the LCD3 produces a better sound commensurate it it's cost objectively, only that for you it may be worth the cost. For some who prefer the LCD2, there are no diminishing returns for the LCD3, it is simply subjectively a worse headphone for their audio experience. For a small portion of the population, there may be a relationship between spending more money and achieving higher audio preference synergy, but I suspect for the majority of people that relationship actually doesn't exist at all.
 
That said, the statement that all 2000+ headphones must be overrated was clearly a trolling remark, that was better left ignored. 

Well the intent was to point out not personal preference [LCD2 over LCD3 etc.] but rather that a blanket statement about any phones > $2000 are over rated. The better argument would be the "What is acceptable performance within a certain price range"?  Plus remember the steady degradation of the value of a dollar by endless federal reserve money printing. One could argue that EVERYTHING nowadays is overpriced due to the currency being steadily devalued. And that is the saddest truth of all.

 

[KlarkKentThe3rd]

   
Are you speaking from experience, having listened to these expensive headphones? Or are you speculating ?

I did listen to way more pairs than I owned. Mostly thanks to a few friendly stores and a friend of the family.
 
I will not post in this thread anymore, since everyone is all too ready to interpret anything I write as a personal attack.

 

[SomeGuyDude]

  I did listen to way more pairs than I owned. Mostly thanks to a few friendly stores and a friend of the family.
 
I will not post in this thread anymore, since everyone is all too ready to interpret anything I write as a personal attack.

 
Says the guy who called me "rude" for simply responding to his statement. 

 
But you didn't answer the question anyway, and this is genuine with no attack: how many >$2000 headphones have you heard? And on what amplifiers? There are not many in that price range. These are the ones I'm aware of:
 

1. Ultrasone Edition 10
2. Ultrasone Edition 5
3. Audeze LCD3
4. Stax SR007
5. Stax SR009
6. Abyss AB-1266

 
Plus a few in the $1500-2000 area:
 

1. Sennheiser HD800
2. Grado PS1000
3. Audeze LCDX
4. AKG K812

 
I left out the Orpheus and Muramasa because those were never mass production units. So honestly, which of those have you heard? And I don't mean a two minute listen, I mean at least 15 minutes of quiet testing so you really got to feel the headphone going through its paces. I can speak from personal experience of having been smacked around for calling the LCD2's "thin" and "trebly" after a brief listen that once I tested the patience of the nice people of HiDef Lifestyle in Harrisburg I heard the strengths of those things. Burn in might not exist, but sometimes it's like saying you hated a movie because the opening scene was boring and you didn't finish.
 
Here's the thing, dude. If you were to call any of the above individually overrated, I wouldn't have argued with you, nor anyone else. I've heard the PS1000 and HD800 and consider the former pretty dang overrated, but to make a statement that ALL headphones in that price area are is... well, it's something that you have to expect a response to.

 

[commtrd]

No personal attacks. Really when ya get down to it the market dictates what is over priced or not. If XYZ Headphones are priced at $5000 and no one will buy them, either they drop the price or go out of selling those phones. So any dictate of "over rated" needs to be predicated upon their success or lack thereof in the market place. Obviously Stax and Audeze have managed to stay in business selling their headphones. That has to tell you something...

 

[SomeGuyDude]

TBH any headphones that require the right music to sound good are not headphones I would want to own. I want headphones that maximize the music I like, I don't want to find music to match my headphones. 

 

[superlowfi]

No personal attacks. Really when ya get down to it the market dictates what is over priced or not. If XYZ Headphones are priced at $5000 and no one will buy them, either they drop the price or go out of selling those phones. So any dictate of "over rated" needs to be predicated upon their success or lack thereof in the market place. Obviously Stax and Audeze have managed to stay in business selling their headphones. That has to tell you something...

 
Stax went bankrupt, was revived, and then subsequently was acquired by a Chinese manufacturer for pennies (1.5 million dollars). The market for uber expensive high fidelity headphones is niche and several companies have gone out of business trying to appeal to this market. I don't think staying in business is an indication of anything other than having a sustainable business plan, not so much how good (or respected) your headphones are.