[tuckers]

Yay, Mr.Speakers says my Primes are shipping! Currently considering the Grace M920 with these.

 

[mrspeakers]

  Here is a video of  Dan Clark that was created for a 3D printing conference about making of the Alpha cups showing the actual printers setup that Dan uses.  This was done a few months ago. I have no idea on how many people already have seen this since I was not looking for it until now.
 
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6xAkQ5oWKVE

 
Hahaha.  Revenge of the sweater!  

 

[XERO1]

I also was at the San Diego meet and got to A-B the A-Primes vs. A-Dogs.  Here's a re-post of my impressions from the 2014 SD Meet thread :
 
MrSpeakers Alpha Prime : WOW!  I got to do a direct comparison between the Alpha Dogs and the Alpha Primes using the same source and amp.  The sound?  Imagine taking the overall sound of the already excellent Alpha Dogs, evening out the FR to perfection, increasing the audible resolution by 2X and reducing the audible distortion by 4X!  These things are the real deal and sound spectacular!  The A-Prime's are an across-the-board improvement over the A-Dog's in every parameter and I honestly can't think of any other sealed headphone that betters them by any significant margin.  Dan the Man has done it again!
 
The Alpha Primes truly are da Schiit!

 

[RyanDJ1]

^^^^^That is great but you are still paying 400 more for a retuned driver. Still can't get behind these.

 

[swspiers]

^^^^^That is great but you are still paying 400 more for a retuned driver. Still can't get behind these.

Not really.  I'm paying $400 for, according to the reports, vastly improved performance and sonics.  How that performance is achieved is no different to me than buying a new driver, IMHO.  For me, the fact that it's re-tuned is incidental.

 

[fzman]

^^^^^That is great but you are still paying 400 more for a retuned driver. Still can't get behind these.

 
NO, you are paying for better sound.  Give 2 chefs identical ingredients, the better chef so to speak, produces a better tasting dish from them.  (Hey, that would be a great idea for a tv show -- now, wait....   it's already been done!

 )
 
  Seems to me that too many people these days undervalue everybody's labor, experience and expertise but their own.  

 

[musicman59]

 
Not really.  I'm paying $400 for, according to the reports, vastly improved performance and sonics.  How that performance is achieved is no different to me than buying a new driver, IMHO.  For me, the fact that it's re-tuned is incidental.

 
 

   
NO, you are paying for better sound.  Give 2 chefs identical ingredients, the better chef so to speak, produces a better tasting dish from them.  (Hey, that would be a great idea for a tv show -- now, wait....   it's already been done!

 )
 
  Seems to me that too many people these days undervalue everybody's labor, experience and expertise but their own.  

Well said guys! I totally agree with you! 

 

[XERO1]

 

 
Not really.  I'm paying $400 for, according to the reports, vastly improved performance and sonics.  How that performance is achieved is no different to me than buying a new driver, IMHO.  For me, the fact that it's re-tuned is incidental.

 
 

   
NO, you are paying for better sound.  Give 2 chefs identical ingredients, the better chef so to speak, produces a better tasting dish from them.  (Hey, that would be a great idea for a tv show -- now, wait....   it's already been done!

 )
 
  Seems to me that too many people these days undervalue everybody's labor, experience and expertise but their own.  

Well said guys! I totally agree with you! 

 
+++++++++1!

 

[thomascrown]

  Seems to me that too many people these days undervalue everybody's labor, experience and expertise but their own.

 

[RyanDJ1]

Honestly to me it just sounds like you have your trousers down to your ankles thinking this is actually a good deal.

This is a T50RP mod. I loved the Mad Dogs they were very good headphones and the Alphas sounded good. But seriously 1k for a bit of tinkering is shocking. The fact that these also have not been worked on for many years either.

The Alphas are still young and already a new upgrade is ready and at 1k! Come on I seriously can't believe people think this is a good deal. Look at the LCD2 a wooden, solid piece of equipment that actually has been worked on from the ground up.

Nothing against Dan at all, it's business, if I can charge nearly double and get away with only some driver changes I would do it.

You always will get people believing it's worth it as already seem but hey, their money and opinion.

 

[wahsmoh]

Honestly to me it just sounds like you have your trousers down to your ankles thinking this is actually a good deal.

This is a T50RP mod. I loved the Mad Dogs they were very good headphones and the Alphas sounded good. But seriously 1k for a bit of tinkering is shocking. The fact that these also have not been worked on for many years either.

The Alphas are still young and already a new upgrade is ready and at 1k! Come on I seriously can't believe people think this is a good deal. Look at the LCD2 a wooden, solid piece of equipment that actually has been worked on from the ground up.

Nothing against Dan at all, it's business, if I can charge nearly double and get away with only some driver changes I would do it.

You always will get people believing it's worth it as already seem but hey, their money and opinion.

So your point is??? These are 3D printed cups. At $600 the Alpha Dog was already a steal. What does using wood have anything to do with some artisan advantage that you imagined in your mind? There were some upset people that had their LCD-2's outer wood shells crack on them and they had to return them back to Audeze after less than a few years.  You keep saying that just because it is a T50RP mod it makes them less of a value. 
 
LISTEN to the Alpha Dog Prime and then the LCD-2.2 or whatever revision they are on now and tell me which is the better headphone. That is the real test. Not your imagined preconceived ideas that a T50RP driver couldn't possibly knock out the heavyweight Audeze driver. They are not the end all be all headphone for under $1k, some people find the Audeze darker than they would prefer.
 
EDIT: This is coming from a skeptic who couldn't believe that Dan could make the Alpha Dog sound any better. WELL THEY DO so get your negativity over to the Audeze forum or to a Head-fi meet before you speak down on a headphone you haven't even heard or compared.

 

[XERO1]

Honestly to me it just sounds like you have your trousers down to your ankles thinking this is actually a good deal.

This is a T50RP mod. I loved the Mad Dogs they were very good headphones and the Alphas sounded good. But seriously 1k for a bit of tinkering is shocking. The fact that these also have not been worked on for many years either.
 

 
Spoken by someone who obviously hasn't heard them.

 
 
All of this noise about the Alpha Primes is pretty ridiculous.  They are a fantastic sounding headphone and are a significant improvement over the Alpha Dogs. Period. End of story. Whether that improvement is worth the extra cash or not can only be answered by actually listening to them.

 

[swspiers]

Personally, I think some skepticism is healthy. And those are issues I had to consider before ordering!

 

[john57]

^^^^^That is great but you are still paying 400 more for a retuned driver. Still can't get behind these.

I would say Dan modifies the driver. I am sure that Dan spend a great time of experimenting, ruining a few drivers in the process before finding the right "recipe" for good sound.
What I had a hard time initially was I have the original Fostex T50RP at home and how little it has in common with the Alpha as far sound is concerned.
 
Audeze does "retuning" of their drivers as well. There is the LCD-2, the LCD-2 Rev. 2 and the Fazor version created by adding something to the tip of the original magnets otherwise it looks like and feel the same headphone on the outside. For me personally I do not care care for the LCD2 varieties, so not worth paying for in my opinion.
 
Tyll of innerfidelity did state that the Fazor model did provide a slightly better imaging. So you have to decide if it is worth sending the headphone back to Audeze for a update. For me the difference between the dogs and the Alpha's was no contest. 

 

[john57]

Personally, I think some skepticism is healthy. And those are issues I had to consider before ordering!

That right. I had a bit of disbelieve at first after all I have the much cheaper Fostex T50RP at home.