[corndog71]

All kinds of power strip products available on the market, including some calling themselves "audiophile" and selling for thousands of dollars! Go wild!

Or get a decent quality strip for about $30 from Furman or Belkin.

True, but none of them look like Schiit.

 

[Ableza]

Jason, I REALLY love your posts. So much wisdom in them!! I have a LOT of respect to your business decisions.
So many times management in companies I worked for, decided to do just that (introduce yet-another-one-of-the-same-thing product) and 2 years later... endless post mortem discussions on "why have we failed to generate profits from this product?"...

I don't know if they were a me-too product or if you made a profit on them or not but I still use my Etymotic Studio Reference model 4's as my go-to travel earbuds, so thanks!

 

[Ableza]

True, but none of them look like Schiit.

Furman makes some nice switched products in black, which at least won't clash with some black Schiit if looks are important.

 

[golfbravobravo]

Well, I did it again - bought an album I already bought

If anyone would like a copy (Flac 96Khz, 24 bit) of this PM me

 

[AnalogEuphoria]

Nope, no plans for a Noval version. Sorry.

No plans for silver, sorry.

Any plans to replace the silver buttons and knobs to black for black case products?

 

[Jason Stoddard]

Jason, I REALLY love your posts. So much wisdom in them!! I have a LOT of respect to your business decisions.
So many times management in companies I worked for, decided to do just that (introduce yet-another-one-of-the-same-thing product) and 2 years later... endless post mortem discussions on "why have we failed to generate profits from this product?"...

Just a couple of days ago, we decided to put the kibosh on a project that was really kinda-sorta neat, but it only differentiated itself from other products in terms of price (lower). In the end, it didn't sound good enough, and the price wasn't low enough, to continue. And this is something we did three rounds of boards, and finished chassis, for.

It's totally fine to do a similar-but-lots-less-expensive product as a differentiator, but we're shooting for a whole lot of weird ideas these days, rather than me-too. Hopefully some of them pan out.

 

[Jason Stoddard]

Any plans to replace the silver buttons and knobs to black for black case products?

Nope. It keeps it from being a monolithic black slab. And, with the new matte finish knobs and buttons, I think it looks really good.

 

[Les Strat]

This is not a picture?

Jason,

I really admire your patience!

 

[ArmchairPhilosopher]

I'm seriously torn on the "some stuff will remain black-only" thing. I obviously completely understand the reasoning behind it, and I'd be the last person to actually, seriously complain.

But…

I wish I could honestly say that I would still buy a product if it only ever came in black. I am, truth be told, still holding out on the purchase of two Loki Max, however, because it only comes in black. Until that changes, and I'm tempted to say that it never will, my two silver Lokius will suffice.

The looks of an (audio) product is nearly as important to me as its (sonic) performance. They are somewhat central pieces of my office and living room furnishings, after all. All of my furniture is dark brown or black, so I really enjoy how the silver-gray stands out against it. It just looks nice and timeless. In contrast—pun intended—black just disappears. The only thing worse than all-black gear, to me, would be a black and silver mix.
(Black gear also lacks personality. And purely practically speaking, compared to silver, it's a regular finger print and dust magnet. But all that is subjective and not part of what I'm trying to convey with this post.)

Yes, I know how entitled and shallow this makes me sound. That's why I feel like I should press again that I would never (!!!) actually, seriously complain about the fact that some gear will ever only be available in black. I fully accept this as a necessity resulting from the current state of things. Especially because we all know that Jason prefers silver himself.

The good thing (seriously, NO! irony or sarcasm intended) is that most people won't really care, they'll just buy whichever finish they can get and will be fully and entirely happy with how fantastic this gear performs.

But most people aren't autistic, and I know from personal experience just how freaking difficult it can be for a small-ish subset of the population to deal with something like this. A neurotypical person will just look at their "mixed" rack, shrug it off, and never think about it again. A person with autism (or OCD, for that matter), however, will be bothered by the way it looks for the entire time of ownership. If you can't relate to this, if you think that I'm exaggerating, that this would be utterly ridiculous, or that I'd be a little first-world princess who really needs to grow up, then all the better for you. I won't even attempt to argue against that, and I think that you should consider yourself very, very lucky that you don't have to deal with something as "dumb" as this.
But for some people, this is an actual and very real problem.

Obviously, autism or OCD doesn’t entitle anyone to a silver piece of Schiit. But it does explain why some feel so strongly about it. Myself included. That’s all I’m trying to say with this.

All right, that's it from me on the topic for the foreseeable future. Just wanted to throw in my two cents and offer a somewhat different perspective on the whole "sitch".

I swear, that whole black/silver debate will be the reason Jason stops talking to us one day.
Even I am quite annoyed by it at this point, and I'm squarely on the pro silver side!

 

[DennisLL]

I don't know if they were a me-too product or if you made a profit on them or not but I still use my Etymotic Studio Reference model 4's as my go-to travel earbuds, so thanks!

I have been enjoying my Etymotic 4's since 2007. Probably need to look at the new ones.

I'm like others, the ball is in Jason's court for our new announcements!

 

[tincanear]

R2D2, Diglett, and the list could go on! I foresee great opportunities for LISST-art..

Minions

 

[Jason Stoddard]

I'm seriously torn on the "some stuff will remain black-only" thing. I obviously completely understand the reasoning behind it, and I'd be the last person to actually, seriously complain.

But…

I wish I could honestly say that I would still buy a product if it only ever came in black. But I'm still holding out on the purchase of two Loki Max because it only comes in black. Until that changes, and I'm tempted to say that it never will, my two silver Lokius will suffice.

The looks of an (audio) product is nearly as important to me as its (sonic) performance. They are somewhat central pieces of my office and living room furniture, after all. All of my furniture is dark brown or black, so I really enjoy how the silver-gray stands out against it. It just looks nice and timeless. In contrast—pun intended—black just disappears. The only thing worse than all-black gear, to me, would be a black and silver mix.
(Black gear also lacks personality. And purely practically speaking, compared to silver, it's a regular finger print and dust magnet. But all that is subjective and not part of what I'm trying to convey with this post.)

Yes, I know how entitled and shallow this makes me sound. That's why I feel like I should press again that I would never (!!!) actually, seriously complain about the fact that some gear will ever only be available in black. I fully accept this as a necessity resulting from the current state of things. Especially because we all know that Jason prefers silver himself.

The good thing (seriously, NO! irony or sarcasm intended) is that most people won't really care, they'll just buy whichever finish they can get and will be fully and entirely happy with how fantastic this gear performs.

But most people aren't autistic, and I know from personal experience just how freaking difficult it can be for a small-ish subset of the population to deal with something like this. A neurotypical person will just look at their "mixed" rack, shrug it off, and never think about it again. A person with autism (or OCD, for that matter), however, will be bothered by the way it looks for the entire time of ownership. If you can't relate to this, if you think that I'm exaggerating, that this would be utterly ridiculous, or that I'd be a little first-world princess who really needs to grow up, then all the better for you. I won't even attempt to argue against that, and I think that you should consider yourself very, very lucky that you don't have to deal with something as "dumb" as this.
But for some people, this is an actual and very real problem.

All right, that's it from me on the topic for the foreseeable future. Just wanted to throw in my two cents and offer a somewhat different perspective on the whole "sitch".

I swear, that whole black/silver debate will be the reason Jason stops talking to us one day.
Even I am quite annoyed by it at this point, and I'm squarely on the pro silver side!

So, ask anyone who's been to a car dealer lately...how's the selection of cars on the lot, let alone colors?

In short, I'd love to have black and silver on everything. But our production is still too uncertain.

Will Freya N be super-popular? If so, yeah, maybe there will be a silver run. But don't count on it. Will Loki Max get a silver run? Yeah, maybe if we get some acceptable silver tops. Again, that's not a certainty. (And, no matter what, silver will vary, due to variations in the metal and the anodizing process. We're doing better at controlling it, but better is not perfect.)

So. Yeah. We can dream of a day when everything is in stock (even DSPs for products we had to put on hold), but as of right now...don't hold your breath. Sorry, but that's the reality.

 

[ArmchairPhilosopher]

So, ask anyone who's been to a car dealer lately...how's the selection of cars on the lot, let alone colors?

In short, I'd love to have black and silver on everything. But our production is still too uncertain.

Will Freya N be super-popular? If so, yeah, maybe there will be a silver run. But don't count on it. Will Loki Max get a silver run? Yeah, maybe if we get some acceptable silver tops. Again, that's not a certainty. (And, no matter what, silver will vary, due to variations in the metal and the anodizing process. We're doing better at controlling it, but better is not perfect.)

So. Yeah. We can dream of a day when everything is in stock (even DSPs for products we had to put on hold), but as of right now...don't hold your breath. Sorry, but that's the reality.

I know, all good.
As I've said above, I don't expect anything to change, nor do I ask for a change. Things are the way they are, end of story. (For me, at least.)
I was only trying to offer the community (The post wasn't directed at you, by the way. I see now that it could be read as somewhat of a personal attack or that I would accuse you of something, that was not my intention.) a certain perspective on this (frankly tired) "debate" about black vs. silver, a perspective that is difficult for most people to imagine, much less to relate to. As sort of a "non-defense defense" of those who can't seem to stop complaining about it. Myself, to an extend, included.

And funny you brought up cars… You've seen my car. It took me close to four months to hunt down this particular model, trim level, and color. Because going with anything else would have bothered me too much.
(I know how ridiculous that is, but that's what living with autism is like for some.)

 

[corndog71]

Indeed car colors are so bland and boring these days.

 

[ArmchairPhilosopher]

Indeed car colors are so bland and boring these days.

Precisely.

Which is why I went with this: