[zach915m]

Not really a deal, but the PS4 is in stock on amazon.
 
http://www.amazon.com/PlayStation-4/dp/B00BGA9WK2/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&qid=1387576698&sr=8-2&keywords=playstation+4

 

[Asr]

Fair enough but unless that person works for Amazon he likely doesn't know exactly what Amazon's cost is. Typically resellers pay different amounts based on the quantity they are able to push out and Amazon most likely gets these cheaper than any other retailer does because of that.

 
Justin of HeadAmp recently wrote someplace on Head-Fi that there's also a tax on unsold inventory. So I'm willing to bet that's part of the reason for the Amazon discount.

 

[Sil3nce]

.

 

[donedj]

   
I'm just saying I talked to someone in the know who said that Sennheiser freaked out as soon as they saw them listed for that price. And that 900 is definitely below cost... Amazon lost money. 

 
 
Highly doubtful that 900 is below cost.
 
This is from a couple of friends that work for Sennheiser and Shure, they can get 50-75% off the MSRP when they purchase for themselves (employees) and during Xmas they usually have additional sales. Minimum discount is 50% off. The guy I know in Sennheiser is not in the USA, so I can not get anything from him as a favor

 

[Sil3nce]

.

 

[TekeRugburn]

I think Imackler was talking about AT COST for amazon.  I'm pretty sure Amazon doesn't make 4-5 hundred per unit.  

 

[Sil3nce]

 
There are MANY "better bang for the buck" headphones, but buying flagships isn't about bang for the buck. It's about getting the best sound available. Personally, I have had a barn full of great bang for the buck deals. If I added them all up, I could have several flagships and had the best available sound on my ears. You can only wear ONE pair of headphones at any given time.. for me, I am looking for the best I can get...
 

The Srh1840 is still the open flagship of Shure. Last time I checked it still weighs in at 800+ msrp. So I don't really know why you're calling it anything lesser.
I personally prefer the srh1840's sound signature to the hd700s, and I believe it retains 90-95 percent of what the technical proficiency of the hd800, while being considerably cheaper and considerably less source dependent. 
Diminishing returns anyone? 
Price doesn't equate sonic quality, nor does it correlate to the marketing term "flagship". 
So yeah, you can chase your dream of a "best" headphone, while I can enjoy my array of cans, depending on my mood, and laugh as your wallet gets emptied

 

[KG Jag]

 

 
There are MANY "better bang for the buck" headphones, but buying flagships isn't about bang for the buck. It's about getting the best sound available. Personally, I have had a barn full of great bang for the buck deals. If I added them all up, I could have several flagships and had the best available sound on my ears. You can only wear ONE pair of headphones at any given time.. for me, I am looking for the best I can get...

The Srh1840 is a flagship.
And I personally prefer it to the hd700 along with possessing 95 percent of the technical proficiency of the hd800.
So really, diminishing returns anyone? 
You can spend 900 more dollars, while I'm content with picking up whichever can I want, depending on my mood.
Best is relative.

 
I like and own the SRH 1840.  It's a much better value now that they have dropped its price by $100.
 
But it's not close to the HD 800 in terms of sound stage, extension--especially bass extension, imaging and detail retrieval...for starters.
 
The HD 750 is just different--from both.  I could understand reasonable ear picking the 750 or the Shure.  The one thing they had in common was they were both among a group of very over priced cans before the prices on each was dropped.

 

[onefatsurfer]

Are the ba-100 worth it for $30?

 

[money4me247]

  I very highly doubt it. Margins are significantly higher on these things than most people realize. If people knew what the actual cost was to Amazon (or god forbid what it costs Sennheiser to manufacture it) it would make lot of people feel angry and cheated but that's just the reality of doing business and its certainly not something that's exclusive to headphones. High end products tend to have even higher margins than low or mid-range ones and even those have a higher margin than the large majority of people realize. If you've ever worked in any sort of retail you've likely seen behind the curtain and have been extremely surprised.
 
That said, I in no way mean to imply that the HD800, or any other headphone, isn't worth the asking price because of its margins.

+1. I would venture that at least 75% of the retail price is pure profit for sennheiser, so amazon should still be making a profit or breaking even at the very least at $900.
 
while 75% of profit margin may seem like a lot, note that most headphones on the market are marked up at least 50% if not more (standard practice). that is why there has been a recent explosion of companies jumping into the headphone business... there is a boatload of money to be made in this market segment. Especially since the beats recently shook-up the headphone market by establishing that average consumers are willing the pay $300 for a fashionable brand name + beats sound quality, a lot of headphone companies offering better sound found they can increase their profit margins even greater. Kind of similar to when Nike first started charging $100+ for a shoe.
 
when you go higher end, the mark-ups go higher, because the target audience for luxury goods is willing to spend more money. the difference in cost for making a flag ship vs a standard pair of headphones is probably very similar d/t our ability for mass production & cheap parts/labor from china lol (it just may take extra time to tune them properly & maybe a bit more R/D invested in more premium models). The price of a product on the market is not determined by the actual cost it takes to make them, but the perception of value & the willingness of people to spend the money. Companies simply charge the max amount they think people would be willing to pay lol. Most of the time even items heavily discounted are still being sold for a profit. The only exception I can think of was certain gaming consoles being sold at a loss with the expectation that the revenue on games/accessories would offset this. Headphone manufacturers don't have this kind of safety net, so all their products must be heavily marked up. The higher price also gives a perception of increased quality for the brand. If you compare a pair of headphones to any advanced electronics such as smartphone/tablet/laptop/PC (which all can be purchased at the same price or lower price vs high-end flagship headphones), you realize that you are paying much much more than the simple manufacturing cost & the profit margins on these flagships must be enormous. 
 
when you get to the luxury segment of any market, the question is no longer whether the product is worth the asking price, but rather how badly you want it & whether you have that kind of extra money lying around to burn.

 

[alpha421]

^I'm curious of what your source is that comes up with a 75% profit margin.  

 

[GaryPham]

I wouldn't doubt that the profit margin is at least 75% if not more, but you have to also consider that it probably cost them a lot of money in R&D when designing something like the HD800, not to mention marketing.

 

[DarthUnnamed]

i'm praying that soundearphones has another sale on the $500 gift cards

 

[Currawong]

 

Fair enough but unless that person works for Amazon he likely doesn't know exactly what Amazon's cost is. Typically resellers pay different amounts based on the quantity they are able to push out and Amazon most likely gets these cheaper than any other retailer does because of that.

 
Justin of HeadAmp recently wrote someplace on Head-Fi that there's also a tax on unsold inventory. So I'm willing to bet that's part of the reason for the Amazon discount.

 
In retail at least, product space has a negative cost. So a product taking up space that isn't selling is taking up a loss, both in the cost of the space and the loss of sales because another product that could be making money could be in its place. That is why you see "quit cycle" items often sold below cost, because it is better to get rid of them (and even throw them away if nobody will buy them at a discount) than waste the space.

 

[imackler]

 
 That is why you see "quit cycle" items often sold below cost, because it is better to get rid of them (and even throw them away if nobody will buy them at a discount) than waste the space.

 
I wish I could dig through Amazon's trash when they throw away the HD800 for taking up space