[Thommohawk]

Quote:

The responses I get are usually along the lines of "well, yeah, it sounds nice, but there's no way I'd ever be spending anywhere close to that on a pair of headphones."
 
But the thing that baffles me the most:
90% of people I know "care" enough about music to buy a $300 ipod, but don't care enough about how that music sounds to upgrade from stock earbuds.

Exactly. But why the stigma about expensive (or quality) headphones when it comes to price ? I think it's because you can pick headphones up for peanuts and they work, some of them even sound damned good for the trivial amount they cost. Also what of speakers, people don't mind shelling out for those but again not bad ones can be had for as little as £50 for the average person. 
 
It's like banging your head against a brick wall at times with the double judgement going on lol, they're judging you because you spent what you did on headphones and you're judging them because they're spending money to listen on sub par equipment. Or as said here they spent lots of money on an ipod and then butcher the whole thing by listening with crappy equipment and as they say ignorance is a bliss.
 
Another thing is nobody can get a bead on a headphone, especially a good one, within a few seconds or minutes of listening in a blind test. It takes hours if not days to become accustomed at which point the quality begins to form. It's at that point where attachment begins to formulate. So it's no surprise for people to dismiss good headphones based on either price alone or an extremely brief listen....give them the headphones for a few days to try on their own stuff and watch their tunes change though! 

 

[shalingang]

So far for me. Most people say "Wow the music sounds so good from your headphone", then can not wait to take them off for even one second! LOL!

 

[soundeffect]

I think for people who don't know to appreciate good headphone is due to a set bias feeling that is already formed before trying out one.  A lot of people don't know about how good a headphone can get, can't justify the amount of time they spend listening to music, the lack of others owning one, and are trained under cheap ones.
 
  I mean if you think about it, before ipod came about, you don't really see a whole lot of people carry around walkmans or some sort of music player/or people talking about it.  Same thing is happening with the beats by dr. dre, people start to have some interest in headphones because of them.  Although right now in the US, if you pull out the beats people are more acceptable of them vs. other quality headphones.  It sometime got to do with the lack of knowledge.
 
I just think for most people, they have other spending priority when ask a question about what they would spend $200 or $300 dollars on.  If you ask the average person, the last thing on there mind is a good set of headphones...yeah a cheap one would probable pop up, but not an expensive one.
 
That is why I don't usually say much unless they ask.  To me this is consider a hobby, so I don't expect them to understand.  I don't see any problem if they don't understand, heck there are a lot of other hobby's that I don't understand and I do not care to question/ask about such as quilting.  What works for me works for me and I'm planning to keep it that way nor do I question about how they spend their money on headphones. It's there money not mine. 

 

[Sil3nce]

Hey it's part of the curse of a headfi'er.
Everyone else is blissfully unaware.
Even when they do make a positive comment, it's usually just for politeness.

 

[soundeffect]

Even when they do make a positive comment, it's usually just for politeness.
 
  I think you hit the mark on this one.  I was thinking this when I was reading some of the post on this thread. 

 

[hudamanium]

From what I've noticed:
 
1. Headphones with a lot of bass are considered great headphones. No matter how bad they actually are. (Bose, Beats, etc)
2. American spending system is kind of weird. We're willing to throw money away but when it comes down to things people actually use, there is such a lack of understanding and care. For example, so many people spend their times around computers, music, movies, etc, but they don't understand any of it. This kind of lack of knowledge is why places like Best Buy can charge 300 bucks for removing a virus, or Beats being able to sell as well as they do. We are a consumer culture, but also an ignorant one. 
3. Its true that headphones are pretty much overpriced. Not that the high end headphone business nessecarily makes huge money, but for the average consumer, once they hit a certain price point, they start losing a lot of money to get improvements. Its the same for us here, but for them they could care less. They want something stylish that their friends will go WOW too and it has to have bass.... thats it. However, I do think that people who care about their music and quality of sound should be willing to at least do some research. The only way to expand the Head-Fi market is more knowledgable consumers. 
 
Anyways. just putting a thought out there  

 

[Sil3nce]

Quote:

Even when they do make a positive comment, it's usually just for politeness.
 
  I think you hit the mark on this one.  I was thinking this when I was reading some of the post on this thread. 

=] +1

 

[Argyris]

Quote:

From what I've noticed:
 
1. Headphones with a lot of bass are considered great headphones. No matter how bad they actually are. (Bose, Beats, etc)
2. American spending system is kind of weird. We're willing to throw money away but when it comes down to things people actually use, there is such a lack of understanding and care. For example, so many people spend their times around computers, music, movies, etc, but they don't understand any of it. This kind of lack of knowledge is why places like Best Buy can charge 300 bucks for removing a virus, or Beats being able to sell as well as they do. We are a consumer culture, but also an ignorant one. 
3. Its true that headphones are pretty much overpriced. Not that the high end headphone business nessecarily makes huge money, but for the average consumer, once they hit a certain price point, they start losing a lot of money to get improvements. Its the same for us here, but for them they could care less. They want something stylish that their friends will go WOW too and it has to have bass.... thats it. However, I do think that people who care about their music and quality of sound should be willing to at least do some research. The only way to expand the Head-Fi market is more knowledgable consumers. 
 
Anyways. just putting a thought out there  

I've noticed this more or less. Also, there's no doubt that some people are style-conscious to a fault, and it's these people who get reamed. With all due respect, they walk right into it by not doing research. Can we really blame the likes of Skullcandy/Bose/Monster for picking the low-hanging fruit?
 
On the other hand, I believe there are people out there who can appreciate truly good sound but who have seldom been exposed to it. They might not have the analytical ears of audiophiles (soundstage? extension? what are these?) but can still tell that an M50 or a DT880 is better than a pair of iBuds. They see marketing and assume that those glossy, chic products produce high quality sound, but they're not really sold on the whole image thing and would happily--happily--spend a quarter of the price of Bose or Monster and get something they know is better. If boutique brands can offer style, we in the audiophile community can offer savvy. For some people, savvy is way better than style. Stylish people think they chose better than everybody else. Savvy people know they made a better choice.
 
I think it's up to us, as Head-Fi'ers, to seek out the more reasonable people (e.g. our friends) and show them reasonably-priced options that they'll love. We'll never get the fashionistas over to our side, but you know what? I really don't think there are all that many of them, to tell you the truth. They just talk louder/appear more often than average people.
 
Just my two cents. Back to our regularly-scheduled thread.

 

[3602]

Once I saw the T1, the HD800 and the GS1000 (either i or not) together behind some glass. I went about "eh". Mind you Quebec City probably has one single pair of T1, one single pair of HD800 and two pairs of GS1000.

 

[WhiteCrow]

 
Quote:

Ive had kids at school borrow my Grados (some have beats, bose). I dont tell them how much I spent, or if they are good. I say nothing about them. Half the time, they ask "why are you using those old crappy headphones?" Or "they are clear but they dont have enough bass".  There are a few people at school who do have good taste for sound. But the majority are into frequencies below 100 hz and above 10,000khz. Everything in between is meaningless to them.
 
I did a blind test on my Dad with the MS1 vs. Bose AE. No matter which track, he liked the AE much better, even without knowing which brand is which or that I even had good headphones.(not that he cares).  
 
Ive had people listen to my stereo at home, behringer truth B2031A monitors, Velodyne 15 inch servo woofer, acoustic treatments. Usually I get comments like "can the bass go louder". Or I get nothing at all.  
 
To be honest, most average people dont know Hi-Fi when they hear it. Usually when people think of "good sound", it means sheer SPL power and Bass.

pretty much the same reaction I get at my school, some kid had the new beats, not the studio ones but the square ones. he was bragging about them as I'm listening to my ultrasones, he pointed to me and told me they were crap, I lold and had him listen to them and I listened to his, he didn't say a word and got a blank look on his face, i took his off and set them down...end of conversation I felt good.

 

[Skyr795]

Well I take my HD 25-1 II to school with me and they have gotten various reactions.
 
Friend: These are some pretty good headphones. I can't even hear myself think.
 
Someone in my grade: What's with those gay headphones?
 
But the worst was when I had my MC3 with me.
 
Buttmonkey in my grade: (Paraphrased) Dude why do you have those. You should go and get some Bose (pronounced Bose-ee) or Beats because those are the best headphones out right now.
 
>.<

 

[elbastardo]

so far, only my wife has heard my m50's...being a woman with no ability, or maybe it is apathy, to discern the differences in any of the finer things in life vs. mediocrity, had this to say: "wow, how about that, they make sound just like my $20 sony's"...so is it a matter of apathy, or no ability to make a distinction, when you get a reaction like i got from my wife? i have asked and she just says that they sound the same

 

[EddieE]

A friend of mine swore blind he couldn't tell any difference between his i-buds and the HD650 I used to own...
 
Not sure if he was being serious or trying to wind me up, but he managed to keep a straight face and never let up insisting... 

 

[Kukuk]

Quote:

Nice to see someone getting the word out there. Hopefully you're not being a jerk like many folks here are, particularly toward people who like Skullcandys or Beats. (Not to imply you are being a jerk.)
 
I've never had a chance to show off my headphones though, no one has ever asked. Maybe I don't come off as sociable enough to let someone try them.

 
Quoting myself to say scratch this comment.
 
I remember a few months back, actually, I let someone listen to my XB700's. They aren't exactly hi-fi, but better than most of the stuff out there. The guy listening to them said "Woah, these are like car subwoofers", he then proceeded to pass them around and let people take a listen. I even ended up selling the headphones to one of the guys he passed them to.

 
It actually went better than expected, since the guys started noticing stuff like soundstage in his music. Dark Side Of The Moon just about blew his mind.

 

[SpiralStatic]

Quote:

The only way to expand the Head-Fi market is more knowledgable consumers.
 
 

I don't think you realize how much you're asking for there. Many people see an actor on a commercial saying, "Wow, this product is great! Buy it!" and automatically assumes that it's a real person not faking at all. 
 
Also, I usually get the NEEDZ MOAR BASSSSS!!! response. Then the person who said that listens to The Beats' bass, which makes the song sound like the artist recorded it while a Magnitude 8.0 earthquake was happening, and they say, "OMG these are the best!!!!"