[egosumlux]

  They look really good. Hope they are as much a bang for the buck as their sources. 

Sure they have to compete with Hifiman already great offerings so I hope they are more affordable than a LC2

 

[Saren]

  If these cost anywhere near a 1000.00 that would be a huge mistake for oppo imo no matter how good it sounded. As a newbie to the headphone world, you just can't price stuff the same as other products that are well established, tried and true. I know there are people here that will buy them at that price if they sound the part. But that number is small in the grand theme of things. If these debut anywhere near the 1000.00 mark,  many will say for that price, I can have an lcd2 beyer t1, etc. Or better yet, for 300.00 less one could have an he500. And that's what many will do instead of spending that kind of money for something unproven. 
 
Remember the original he-5. Many were saying it might have been the best can on the market, and there were comparisons to the hd800, and T1 everywhere. As a previous owner, I will say it easily sounded good enough to be priced at 1000.00. But it debuted at 600 and instead of people saying it was over priced, they were raving about how great of a value it was and it sold like hot cakes. Hifiman later improved on the design with the he5le and later the he6. And by the time of the he6 they were a well established company that had gone through the growing pains of earlier designs and were known for producing great orthodynamic cans. So they could easily justify charging 1300 for the he6 with many still saying they are still a great value at that price. 
 
That's just one example of many when it comes to bring new cans on the market.

 
Isn't that what Audeze did and succeeded.
 
If they sound good enough to be in the upper level, are comfortable and also look great while retaining some of the planar sound we know and love I don't see why they can't be successful. Especially considering the design and possible? improvement over current headphones in the planar land in terms of comfort. You may find some of the people who get rid of their audeze's and hifiman's for comfort reasons could pick this up. We will see on that factor.
 
I think that you will find many experienced headfiers buying or trying it in addition to their current cans and that is where we will find it being established or downplayed at a top end model. I know I'm at least interested in comparing them to my LCD2 rev 2 and HE-500. If the reviews are positive at whatever price it comes at then people searching the site and google may just buy it over other models if it is favorable.

 

[moodyrn]

It will be very interesting to see where they go with the price. They have the potential to really hit one out of the park here. I'm really hoping they will. Remember the 970/971? The dvd players that put every other brand that was charging way too theirs on noticed. For less than 200, you could get players with performance comparable to players at 3 times(and more) the price. And they were universal players at that. I know that's really apples to oranges, especially considering those were budget players and these are, at the very least, higher end cans. But that's a model I hope they continue to follow.

 

[moodyrn]

   
Isn't that what Audeze did and succeeded.
 
If they sound good enough to be in the upper level, are comfortable and also look great while retaining some of the planar sound we know and love I don't see why they can't be successful. Especially considering the design and possible? improvement over current headphones in the planar land in terms of comfort. You may find some of the people who get rid of their audeze's and hifiman's for comfort reasons could pick this up. We will see on that factor.
 
I think that you will find many experienced headfiers buying or trying it in addition to their current cans and that is where we will find it being established or downplayed at a top end model. I know I'm at least interested in comparing them to my LCD2 rev 2 and HE-500. If the reviews are positive at whatever price it comes at then people searching the site and google may just buy it over other models if it is favorable.

No, you seem to have forgotten there was an lcd-1 before there was an lcd-2. The lcd-1 laid the foundation and ground work for the lcd-2.

 

[RUMAY408]

Reading through the info on the amp I'm struck by the similarity to the BDP-105, same Sabre DAC and multi-functionality (digital USB, XLR etc).  I'm unclear how the amp could upgrade the Blu-Ray DAC.  More power but same DAC?
 
It frankly wouldn't make a lot of sense to attack the high end market with expensive gear (narrow market) right out of the box.  OPPO, the California audio branch, has been all about quality + better price (I think a price point at around $400 maybe all the way up to $500) makes more sense, but at that price it has to be more comfortable than the HE400 and sound just as good.  Given the steady flow of info updating I expect a release of MSRP within the week.  
 
Unless OPPO announces that this HP is it, the history so far has been one of continuous upgrades to the BDP, why would it stop with one HP.  Speculation yes, and also a happy BDP owner.

 

[Saren]

  No, you seem to have forgotten there was an lcd-1 before there was an lcd-2. The lcd-1 laid the foundation and ground work for the lcd-2.

There was only 25 of those made. Just a prototype design using a donor shell.
 
I guess we'll just have to see if they do end up succeeding for them. Maybe you are correct and they will fail if they are close to a grand.

 

[moodyrn]

Well, I didn't go that far to say they would fail. I just think it would be a big mistake. They would sell a lot more if they were 600-700.00. And even at that price, they better beat the he500 by a mile since they are only 699. Fail is too strong of a word. But all we can do is wait.

 

[Sonic Defender]

I predict $649 - $849 (more likely toward the upper figure). However, the initial production runs typically cost more due to scale of economy combined with smaller initial batches until demand is established. If that is the case Oppo can either take a margin hit to get established, or they try to enter in as a premium offering and price accordingly. I think they will go as high as the market will bare. It is very difficult to raise prices, so coming into a market low is a very risky thing to do. However, lowering prices after is easier (but still risky). Marketing theory always emphasises how your brand is broadcast and perceived is of the uttmost importance, and one of the worst mistakes you can make is to market as budget when your real goal is the mid to high end consumer. If they get great reviews and develop a buzz, a value offering will be sure to follow. That is my 2 cents.

 

[brunk]

I want to see an Oppo ES-1. Electro-Static. they could rake the cash in on a huge void in the market for a good qualty vs. cost 'stat with their marketing power.

 

[Focker]

  If these cost anywhere near a 1000.00 that would be a huge mistake for oppo imo no matter how good it sounded. As a newbie to the headphone world, you just can't price stuff the same as other products that are well established, tried and true. I know there are people here that will buy them at that price if they sound the part. But that number is small in the grand theme of things. If these debut anywhere near the 1000.00 mark,  many will say for that price, I can have an lcd2 beyer t1, etc. Or better yet, for 300.00 less one could have an he500. And that's what many will do instead of spending that kind of money for something unproven. 
 
Remember the original he-5. Many were saying it might have been the best can on the market, and there were comparisons to the hd800, and T1 everywhere. As a previous owner, I will say it easily sounded good enough to be priced at 1000.00. But it debuted at 600 and instead of people saying it was over priced, they were raving about how great of a value it was and it sold like hot cakes. Hifiman later improved on the design with the he5le and later the he6. And by the time of the he6 they were a well established company that had gone through the growing pains of earlier designs and were known for producing great orthodynamic cans. So they could easily justify charging 1300 for the he6 with many still saying they are still a great value at that price. 
 
That's just one example of many when it comes to bring new cans on the market.

 
 
Well said. The only thing I could offer would be that, in my experience, Oppo just does *everything* right. If I made a list of electronics companies off the top of my head and had to imagine each coming out with a first time headphone, my level of confidence would be highest with Oppo...and probably by a significant degree. I've had amazing results not just with their products, but with their customer service. I have no doubt they will make the correct decisions with this headphone and it will be a big success. 

 

[egosumlux]

  I predict $649 - $849 (more likely toward the upper figure). However, the initial production runs typically cost more due to scale of economy combined with smaller initial batches until demand is established. If that is the case Oppo can either take a margin hit to get established, or they try to enter in as a premium offering and price accordingly. I think they will go as high as the market will bare. It is very difficult to raise prices, so coming into a market low is a very risky thing to do. However, lowering prices after is easier (but still risky). Marketing theory always emphasises how your brand is broadcast and perceived is of the uttmost importance, and one of the worst mistakes you can make is to market as budget when your real goal is the mid to high end consumer. If they get great reviews and develop a buzz, a value offering will be sure to follow. That is my 2 cents.

I guess you are right on the money (pun intended). It makes no sense to sell this HP below perceived SQ price suggestion. It should be wise to follow the route KEF chose for the M500. They may not be selling those like pancakes but they are establishing such a reputation with their first foray into larger headphones that they are probably making Beyerdynamic and Sennheiser raise some eyebrows and blush IMHO

 

[Sonic Defender]

 
I guess you are right on the money (pun intended). It makes no sense to sell this HP below perceived SQ price suggestion. It should be wise to follow the route KEF chose for the M500. They may not be selling those like pancakes but they are establishing such a reputation with their first foray into larger headphones that they are probably making Beyerdynamic and Sennheiser raise some eyebrows and blush IMHO

 
Haven't been following the KEF threads, I'll have to take a look. Thanks for the reminder!

 

[robm321]

Yep, the Kef M500s are the real deal. Oppo has done great on everything and for a reasonable price. But speakers/headphones are different than designing and manufacturing sources. Let's hope they keep their integrity. 

 

[YtseJamer]

  Oppo has done great on everything and for a reasonable price. Let's hope they keep their integrity. 

 
X2

 

[AnakChan]

  Cool...thanks. So semi-open = open...so scratching them off my list as a portable option. That said, still might be great at home in my rig. 

 
DefQon is correct, they are semi-open. Turned up, my wife can hear what I'm hearing...but not Stax SR-009 open naturally.
 
Edit: I forgot to add a few more misc notes :-
 
1) little isolation
2) can drive off my iPhone 4S (50% vol for me and I kinda listen semi-loud-ish)
 

 
I asked the distributor but the pricing is still unknown at the moment.