[Twinster]

Very well said...very well said indeed and so true. Welcome to the material world.

Quote:

This sounds the cost of attending college: a friend of mine works in the admissions office for a pricey private school, and at a recent staff meeting the question was thrown out:" when will the price stop going up and up for basically the same product?"  The Dean's (honest) answer: when people stop paying it!   In a growth market like headphones, I reckon that time is not yet anywhere near... 
 
 

 
 

 

[achristilaw]

Count me out of even an audition if the 1840 is at the 1K plateau......not for me any longer. 

 

[John In Cali]

Count me out of even an audition if the 1840 is at the 1K plateau......not for me any longer. 

Your talk of audition just reminded me that someone mentioned that they would be at Guitar Center and Sam Ash, cant find it skimming through the pages now but is this insider information(for the sake of accuracy) because if they are carrying them at Sam Ash i will go there on launch date to test them out. That also means that Sam Ash will be carrying $900 headphones, kinda strange if you ask me.

 

[Satya]

The Guitar Center near me (Seattle) has the SRH-940s, by far their highest-end can.  Their Sennheiser line tops out with the 380, and they have just a few very low-end AT's (not even the AD700).  So, who knows - maybe these new ones will show up in person as well?
 
Quote:

Your talk of audition just reminded me that someone mentioned that they would be at Guitar Center and Sam Ash, cant find it skimming through the pages now but is this insider information(for the sake of accuracy) because if they are carrying them at Sam Ash i will go there on launch date to test them out. That also means that Sam Ash will be carrying $900 headphones, kinda strange if you ask me.

 
 

 

[John In Cali]

The Guitar Center near me (Seattle) has the SRH-940s, by far their highest-end can.  Their Sennheiser line tops out with the 380, and they have just a few very low-end AT's (not even the AD700).  So, who knows - maybe these new ones will show up in person as well?

 


 

Ya that is where i first met and fell in love with the 940, just randomly testing Sam Ashs best headphones. The guy tried to say some $400 Sony's were their best but they were completely unremarkable. Not bad but just unremarkable.

 

[miceblue]

Quote:

The Guitar Center near me (Seattle) has the SRH-940s, by far their highest-end can.  Their Sennheiser line tops out with the 380, and they have just a few very low-end AT's (not even the AD700).  So, who knows - maybe these new ones will show up in person as well?
 

 
 

Wait really? I live near Seattle too. I haven't been to that Guitar Center in a few months though so I don't know their current selection of headphones. But yeah, the last time I went there, they didn't even have the M50's to demo. They DO have the HD25-i-ii's and the SRH840's however.
 

 

[TheMarkRemains]

 
Why would a music store carry open backed 'phones? That makes no sense. Their target market is music production/mixing where the dominant players are closed back. Not to mention outside of our little grotesquely distorted world view forum here, these are (speculatively) outrageously priced. I know AKG and a few others use open backs for studio usage, but assuming these are "audiophile targeted" , whatever that means I question the marketing. That's not to say that you're all completely correct ( what do I know, I'm fund limited). I would think a $150 Audio Technica M50 is more in line with their clients or the 840 than these however fantastic they may sound. Really ? $1200 headphones at Sam Ash? Yeah, I'll take the American Stratocaster and that pair of headphones for $2500 please. Ouch !!

 

[Satya]

Yep, the Guitar Center near Seattle Center.  They didn't have the SRH940s on the demo tower: the clerk had to take them out of the box for a demo (bring your own source...).  TheMarkRemains raises a good point, though: a closed-back headphone at a Guitar Center, at least in regular stock (they WILL order you just about anything) probably isn't in the cards
 
Quote:

Wait really? I live near Seattle too. I haven't been to that Guitar Center in a few months though so I don't know their current selection of headphones. But yeah, the last time I went there, they didn't even have the M50's to demo. They DO have the HD25-i-ii's and the SRH840's however.
 

 

 

[Beagle]

Quote:

This sounds the cost of attending college: a friend of mine works in the admissions office for a pricey private school, and at a recent staff meeting the question was thrown out:" when will the price stop going up and up for basically the same product?"  The Dean's (honest) answer: when people stop paying it!   In a growth market like headphones, I reckon that time is not yet anywhere near... 
 
 

It's called "creating a demand". The more headphones get hyped months before their release date, the less likely the prices will ever again be what the product is actually worth.

 

[electropop]

Quote:

 
Why would a music store carry open backed 'phones? That makes no sense. Their target market is music production/mixing where the dominant players are closed back. Not to mention outside of our little grotesquely distorted world view forum here, these are (speculatively) outrageously priced. I know AKG and a few others use open backs for studio usage, but assuming these are "audiophile targeted" , whatever that means I question the marketing. That's not to say that you're all completely correct ( what do I know, I'm fund limited). I would think a $150 Audio Technica M50 is more in line with their clients or the 840 than these however fantastic they may sound. Really ? $1200 headphones at Sam Ash? Yeah, I'll take the American Stratocaster and that pair of headphones for $2500 please. Ouch !!

Semi-closed headphones do serve a purpose for a musician. Being much more acoustically transparent, you can much better jam to background music. You put on a tune and hear yourself play, were it an acoustic guitar or a brass instrument. 
 

 

[Digital-Pride]

Quote:

It's called "creating a demand". The more headphones get hyped months before their release date, the less likely the prices will ever again be what the product is actually worth.

 
Yes, but unless that product can produce the quality to support its hype then demand drops quite a bit.  Hype can only take you so far, just ask Grado and Ultrasone just how much demand there is for their flagships.

 

[TheMarkRemains]

Quote:

Semi-closed headphones do serve a purpose for a musician. Being much more acoustically transparent, you can much better jam to background music. You put on a tune and hear yourself play, were it an acoustic guitar or a brass instrument. 
 

Ok, you've got a point. I was thinking more common amplified setting, and you're right.  I seem to use open back for the same or similar reasons, but that said the tentative pricing on these should be considered as outrageous. Custom stage monitors make more sense at that juncture. Still don't see the point of these in a Guitar Center. 

 

[miceblue]

Quote:

 
Why would a music store carry open backed 'phones? That makes no sense. Their target market is music production/mixing where the dominant players are closed back. Not to mention outside of our little grotesquely distorted world view forum here, these are (speculatively) outrageously priced. I know AKG and a few others use open backs for studio usage, but assuming these are "audiophile targeted" , whatever that means I question the marketing. That's not to say that you're all completely correct ( what do I know, I'm fund limited). I would think a $150 Audio Technica M50 is more in line with their clients or the 840 than these however fantastic they may sound. Really ? $1200 headphones at Sam Ash? Yeah, I'll take the American Stratocaster and that pair of headphones for $2500 please. Ouch !!

The last time I went to Guitar Center, they did have some semi-open-back AKG's (K240?) and Beyer DT880's. Other than that, the other headphones were closed-back

 

[electropop]

Quote:

The last time I went to Guitar Center, they did have some semi-open-back AKG's (K240?) and Beyer DT880's. Other than that, the other headphones were closed-back

The K240 and it's brethren are one of the most common and popular for the aforementioned purpose. Of course a flagship phone costing that much, for this particular task alone, would be downward overkill 

 

[achristilaw]

 Shure has a profitable outlet with the Pro market for all their wares, the distribution network is in place....I doubt they would narrow the sales avenue for the new phones by marketing solely to "Audiophiles". Especially with the current world-wide economic pressures. The Guitar Centers and Sam Ash's would love to have an increase of foot traffic (or internet traffic)....for any reason. A good phone at a good price is best for all concerned.
 
  If a newbie has a grand to spend? He is going the LCD-2 route first.......