[thenewguy21]

Recently I was discussing with my friend how crappy beats headphones are. I came across this article that breaks down the beats headphones and gets an idea of the cost of production. I was wondering how that compare to some of the other headphones I have used. I googled but had no luck finding anything related to the cost of production. Does anyone have any idea how much it cost for sennheiser to production the HD 650? I included the link to the beats break down. Thanks
 
https://medium.com/life-learning/how-it-s-made-series-beats-by-dre-154aae384b36

 

[kmitschiener]

Probably not too much, most of the cost is probably due to the R&D that went into the product.
 
I would guess about $100, considering economies of scale and stuff.

 

[Sefelt103]

I googled but had no luck finding anything related to the cost of production.

Not surprising that this is someones guess at the unit cost of a set of headphones. Headphone manufacturers like to keep quiet about how much their products cost to make. It's similar to when a racing driver is asked what his pit stop stratergy is before the race by a TV interviewer. There are vast numbers of headphones produced and part of the reason for this is the large profit margin on each sale. They are an object where the production cost bears no relation to the price. The value of course is in the acoustic design, the construction and durability as well as the enjoyment provided. The HD650 probably cost more to make and give superior sound quality but they are not ideal as portables and will not appeal to those who want fashion/large bass presence. It seems that there isn't much price competition within the headphone market and headphones are priced on a take it or leave it basis.

 

[inthere]

  Recently I was discussing with my friend how crappy beats headphones are. I came across this article that breaks down the beats headphones and gets an idea of the cost of production. I was wondering how that compare to some of the other headphones I have used. I googled but had no luck finding anything related to the cost of production. Does anyone have any idea how much it cost for sennheiser to production the HD 650? I included the link to the beats break down. Thanks
 
https://medium.com/life-learning/how-it-s-made-series-beats-by-dre-154aae384b36

Funny, for years I've had friends that swear Beats are the best sounding headphones on the planet. I disagree of course but one pointed out that every single pair of Beats sold has been heard on a listening rack before purchase and also they're the best selling headphone on the planet and I didn't know how to come back to that logic. 

 

[thenewguy21]

Thanks for all the good info! I do believe beats are just marketed better to the average consumer. It's the highest priced item in the store so it must be the best. The average consumer doesn't want to go online and do research to find better headphones. They want them to look fashionable and be easily to get. I tell everyone I know to not get beats I usually direct them to the ath-m50x. As it is cheaper and I feel a much better sound/build quality. 

 

[inthere]

Well, you're going to get a few that find their way to places like Head-Fi and do research and get subjective opinions but I think the majority are just going to listen to all the headphones on the listening rack and trust their own ears.

It's a shame because they don't know they're wearing sucky headphones until they go online and read about them!