Fair points. As a reviewer I would sing the praises of Traillii (and probably FS too), but could not in good conscience recommend them to anyone but the most well heeled, experienced and money-no-object buyer. And I would make that very clear in the reviews. Also, the price wouldn't preclude me from saying other (less expensive) products are better. In fact, I see the $6000 'outliers' as a great opportunity for the established brands to release a new round of innovative IEMs that reach the same performance levels for less money. Only true competition is going to cut prices back down to size.
I agree. The optimistic take on this would be, now that brands know what they're up against, it's an opportunity for them to offer a
giant killer and throw the ball back in their court. It's now just a matter of waiting - making our voices heard all the while - to see which reality ultimately pans out.
The Fabled Sound was indeed marketed as almost an alternative to the Trailli, but IMHO it did anything but flop. There's plenty of impressions on this thread as well as others of people who prefer the Mason to the Trailli (and the Mason has a much cheaper option).
The one thing I wasn't a huge fan of where the release of the Mason was concerned was the release of the FS without the announcement of the FuSang. I almost bought the FS, and I know I would've heavily regretted it considering how much I like the design of the regular edition
I have been very vocal about not liking the precedent that the Trailli sets (an IEM with 0 attention to esthetics, build quality or proprietary technology yadda yadda), but I don't think that this is just what the market is now. We are seeing more and more reasonably priced IEMs that deliver outrageous performance (JH Jolene for example), they just receive a lot less attention than they should
Half the posts in recent months have been "why bother exploring different options and building a collection, just sell everything and buy a Trailli" - the drive for 6000+$ IEMs is to me 100% a consumer initiative
Oh, I never said the Mason FS was a flop or "not worth" its price. What I was getting at is that consumers will now see those price tags as indicators of quality (specifically,
Trailli levels of quality), to the point of getting comfortable enough to pre-order without reading a review or an impression. Then, brands, seeing that that's the reaction these price points now get, will follow suit and price their next flagships accordingly. Or, that's what the dystopian version of the future will look like.
But, that then goes to what you're saying with your last line, which I agree with so,
so much. At the end of the day, the brands listen to what the consumer says, and the sentiment has unfortunately drifted to what you're talking about. At the same time, I can't blame the consumers either, because it'd be pretty preposterous to ask them to think
only of the market and the future of the industry, and to chastise them for feeling happy about their purchase. Ultimately, when they say
"just sell all your stuff and get a bird or an FS!" that is indeed how they feel, and that can't be invalidated. But, ultimately, the messaging that sends to the brands is really, really dangerous. This is something that, as a reviewer, I have to admit I've contributed to as well, and it's definitely changed the way I'm perceiving and writing about things. So, hopefully, I can use the platform I still have to make the changes I (and many others, I'm sure) want to see.
I second your thoughts on the timing of the FuSang announcement as well. I thought it was a pretty sly move to announce it only after pre-orders started for the Fabled Sound. I would've cut some slack if they were announced simultaneously. But, now, it only further cements my hope that this won't be the future we'll be looking at for long.