[spinneresque]

I myself (the apparent antagonizer here) started this thread a few months ago, I think, about the HF1 and how they sound:
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I LOVE my HF1's. I LOVE John Grado. I publicly praise and recommend him and their products all the time. I do think the SR60's are godawful, but that's ok for their price etc.

Look, my friends. I am not trying to 'whine.' I just want you all to look at the difference between then and now. We have made the market this way... that an average 'affordable' price of a headphone is now '$439. This is something that deserves attention.

I just really wish they could have kept it under the $300 mark. So many of use are suffering economically right now and everyone knows it.

These 'phones are being offered to us (I thought) because we have a particular love for headphones and that deserves some kind of recognition and appreciation. It follows that any kind of custom made Grado offering will be irresistable to us, because we REALLY LOVE AND APPRECIATE HEADPHONES.

If it really is a 'gift' to headfier's, naturally it follows that we should be able to afford the offering.

PLEASE. JOHN. TODD. LOWER THE PRICE. IT IS NOT TOO LATE.

 

[kg21]

Where did they say it is supposed to be an affordable phone? If they said it is meant for everyone then yea 430 would be off the mark, but it can still be a "gift" if it performs very well for a 430 dollar headphone. Just because the first one was 200 doesn't mean they have to keep it cheap forever, especially with people making an extra 100%-125% profit in some cases. It just seems like you can't afford it and want them to price it so that you can, I don't think you are being ungrateful but yes it does sound whiny. I am not a super rich guy who can afford anything, but I am one of the many who pre-ordered.

 

[Punnisher]

It's meant to be an upgrade over the HF1 which explains the price difference. It's still far below the price of the other flagship grado headphones which are $600+.

 

[Cankin]

spinneresque: if you're selling your HF-1, would you sell it at the original price $200 or at the market price currently $400+ ?

 

[spinneresque]

Look, I don't want to bring unhappiness into what is I'm sure meant to be a celebratory thread.

I'm not trying to be selfish. I'm trying to speak for all the economically tried headfier's who are very very sad they can't participate in this event the second time around. Look, it's likely that I will put them on some credit card myself and they will be the most expensive phone's I've ever bought because I just cannot miss out on a custom made Grado product, especially one made for headfiers.

But what I'm trying to point out, as others here have been recently pointing out in separate threads, that the 'acceptable' price of a decent 'phone keeps on rising, largely because of the hypes we create here ourselves. It's just something we should be aware of. And as I said, if this is supposed to be a joint venture of sorts between headfiers and Todd/Grado, they just could have made the price lower. They are going to make TONS of money because they will be selling these headphones at record speed. Why make the HF2 more than double the price of the HF1?

Done repeating myself, thank you. I am VERY surprised that there are not more people agreeing with me, especially the ones who were around for the first HF1.

 

[spinneresque]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Cankin /img/forum/go_quote.gif spinneresque: if you're selling your HF-1, would you sell it at the original price $200 or at the market price currently $400+ ?

As I mentioned in my HF-1 appreciation thread, I would NEVER sell my HF-1. You would have to pry it out of my cold, dead, hands.

 

[Uncle Erik]

Quote:

Originally Posted by spinneresque /img/forum/go_quote.gif Ok, this is my last post and then hopefully the downer-ness I have brought to this thread will pass. I'm not trying to be selfish. I'm trying to speak for all the economically tried headfier's who are very very sad they can't participate in this event the second time around. Also, I'm trying to point out, as others here have been recently pointing out in separate threads, that the 'acceptable' price of a decent 'phone keeps on rising, largely because of the hypes we create here ourselves. It's just something we should be aware of.

Huh?

The HF-2 is not supposed to be some representative "everyman's headphone." As far as I know, it was not carefully indexed to market prices or expectations.

It's just more than you (and some others) want to spend.

 

[dcpoor]

it's more than i want to spend on a headphone and i still ordered it. lol.

the hf2 will be the most expensive headphone so far in my collection.

 

[grawk]

When I joined, the DT770 was a huge stretch for me. Somehow within 6 months of that I'd owned PS1s, RS1s, HF1s, a dynahi, um2s, and er4ps, plus several portable amps. Price creep happens

 

[spinneresque]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Uncle Erik /img/forum/go_quote.gif Huh? The HF-2 is not supposed to be some representative "everyman's headphone." As far as I know, it was not carefully indexed to market prices or expectations.

Ummm..... I thought it was supposed to be designed to be a 'headfier's' headphone. That's pretty clear, as you have to be a member to buy one.

 

[grawk]

When you get down to it, they're incentive for headfiers to move up the grado chain. I think the ultimate goal is to get people to move FARTHER up than just the HF2. That was certainly the apparent motivation with the HF1

 

[ting.mike]

Quote:

Originally Posted by HeadphoneAddict /img/forum/go_quote.gif REVIEW: Grado HF-1 and RS-2 both re-cabled with APureSound v3 cable, with stock HP-2 sprinkled in for good measure... - Head-Fi: Covering Headphones, Earphones and Portable Audio Most of my Grados have been re-cabled with APS V3 cable. Further in that thread I talked about what changed in the RS-2 stock vs after the re-cable. You'll see they sound different from RS-2 and HP-1000, and they also sound a little different from RS-1 in the soundstaging. My re-cabled RS-1 with flats sound very close to a vintage HP-1000. All of these are very good, and better than the SR-325i and lower (which I also sold). I did not ever hear my HF-1 with stock cable, since I bought them from Alex at APS with the cable already installed. Same thing with my RS-1 that I got after I wrote that thread - already with APS v3 cable. Overall, I preferred the HF-1 and RS-1 over the RS-2 (all with the same APS cable), and sold the RS-2 that summer. I still had the HF-1 until a couple months ago when I traded them along with some other stuff for some Stax O2 Mk1.

thanks for the link! but any stock HF-1 reviews, as the one posted by spinneresque is a broken link.

 

[Uncle Erik]

Quote:

Originally Posted by spinneresque /img/forum/go_quote.gif Ummm..... I thought it was supposed to be designed to be a 'headfier's' headphone. That's pretty clear, as you have to be a member to buy one.

I think you're missing the point. The HF-2 is an offering for members. Just like the HF-1, HeadFive and HeadSix.

As far as I know, there are no rules, guidelines or even suggestions for prices.

Why should your budget dictate prices to a manufacturer?

And if you're dead set against a certain price, then why keep moaning about it?

 

[auris]

Quote:

These 'phones are being offered to us (I thought) because we have a particular love for headphones and that deserves some kind of recognition and appreciation. It follows that any kind of custom made Grado offering will be irresistable to us, because we REALLY LOVE AND APPRECIATE HEADPHONES.

I arrived here about the same time the initial HF1 offering was made. I "missed out" due to the logjam of online orders one Saturday and at the time, did not know enough about Grados and their sound to know what I was going to miss. Later, I bought a used pair from the FS section and paid a bit over $300 for them. I had not been aware the going price is around $400 now, but like you, I plan on keeping mine.

I believe you that it's not your intent to whine. I haven't placed an order for the HF2 yet, and may not. It's a matter of money for me. I can afford to pay for them, but inasmuch as I'm happy with my RS1, HF1, and HD600s, I'm not sure that deploying more funds right now for my headphone hobby is the wisest course of action. The economy is not going to get any better anytime soon, despite the media spin. However, if it turns out the HF2 actually has a soundstage I may take the plunge.

I wish the offering price was less, but I look at it this way: The HF1 was a special product that offered better sound than SR225s at the same price point. (I sold my SR 225s after having the HF1s for a couple of days). I expect much the same from the HF2 -- that it will have more "bang for the buck" than the standard current offerings from Grado at the same price. My opinion, and only time will tell if what I think turns out to be true.

So, with the above in mind, I'm very thankful that the HF2 is being offered, bad economy or not. Despite the higher price, I do think they will offer value for the money.

 

[ting.mike]

So, what will happen if we wait until the HF2 is finally revealed in Can Jam '09? Will Todd still have enough HF2 stocks left?