[SoupRKnowva]

in the end more compettition just means better headphones for us

i almost wish they had gone for a more jh-13 like phone, but done it better, that would have gotten jerry workin to better it again, and vice versa. Competition drives innovation.

 

[thechungster]

Ooh exciting stuff

Judging from Jude's impressions, I think I'd aim for the JH13s.

 

[mesasone]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Wmcmanus /img/forum/go_quote.gif I really don't mean any offense by this (in a personal way), despite how it might sound, but seriously: what do you (or any of us) know about UE's business that would allow you (or any of us) to substitute your judgment for theirs in terms of how to set prices? Don't you think they would have done some market research on the matter? Don't you think they have a pretty good feel for the profile (and thus price sensitivity) of the average customer who might seriously consider purchasing a pair of UE18 Pro? Is $1,350 a completely out of the ballpark figure, given that they've had success with the UE10 Pro and UE 11 Pro at not too distant price points, and that the UE18 Pro appears to represent a sizable leap forward in design? Quite frankly, $1,350 seems just about right to me in this market space, and $1,500 wouldn't have surprised me one bit.

No offensive taken - I'm stating my opinion and you yours. I don't need to know anything to have an opinion - how boring would head-fi be with out the unsolicited opinions, wild rumors and unsubstantiated claims

However note that while folks at Logitech/UE undoubtedly conducted market research, that does not mean they came to the right pricing. I suppose we'll see over the next few months/year how these fair against the competition. The JH16 may in fact land at $1,500 itself.


Quote:

Originally Posted by Wmcmanus /img/forum/go_quote.gif Perhaps they've lost some momentum, or at least that may be our perception of the matter, but I certainly haven't had the opportunity to analyze the trend of their sales figures relative to those of their competitors. They might be doing just fine. It may well be that we're more "in the know" (as audiophiles who follow this kind of thing as hobbyists) concerning what other products are available in this market segment than are most of UE's bread and butter customers. They may get a lot of sales based on their reputation, recommendations from one musician to another, brand loyalty of long standing customers, etc. As I mentioned, I don't have any of that data at my disposal.

Anything is possible, and you make a good point about the Head-Fi crowd perhaps being more "in the know" than perhaps other segments of their customer base.

I assume you re-read my statement about Jerry Harvey vs other IEM designers and we are in agreement since you edited that bit out.

I certainly have no problem with Logitech - I own many of their products! That said I do have concerns about the future of UE under Logitech - they focus primarily on the low-to-mid end with the exception of a few of their Harmony remotes. But even the Harmony remotes seem to fit in well with the rest of their product line. High end IEMs - custom or universal - just strike me as a different ball game.

 

[SoupRKnowva]

dont forget logitech makes the transporter too, which is high end as well

 

[The Monkey]

Quote:

Originally Posted by hockeyb213 /img/forum/go_quote.gif The ue18's from what I read are the bass lovers iem of choice at least until we get reviews on the jh-16 for neutrality and accuracy it sounds like the jh-13 would be your iem of choice for now.

I recommend refraining from characterization and recommendation until you've heard both. The above "recommendation" is superficial at best.

 

[A_Dying_Wren]

Quote:

Originally Posted by mesasone /img/forum/go_quote.gif No offensive taken - I'm stating my opinion and you yours. I don't need to know anything to have an opinion - how boring would head-fi be with out the unsolicited opinions, wild rumors and unsubstantiated claims However note that while folks at Logitech/UE undoubtedly conducted market research, that does not mean they came to the right pricing. I suppose we'll see over the next few months/year how these fair against the competition. The JH16 may in fact land at $1,500 itself.

Its very likely will be that expensive. At these stratospheric levels (from my point of view at least), a less knowledgeable but wealthy customer may assume that higher price = better quality. This would also suggest they really aren't targeting audiophiles at all (which they have stated I think for both). Probably not much market research is needed.

 

[stang]

funny how IEMs are so expensive for how small they are, yet they sound so good. I wonder how much it really costs in parts and if they could even make an IEM that in parts costs $1300. Now that would be interesting

 

[K3cT]

I seem to recall that a similar pricing issue was raised prior to the launch of Sennheiser's HD800 and look how they are doing now.

You see... the thing is there is this preconception/stigma/mindset/whatever that a higher priced item = higher quality. It's just the way that the market works.

 

[milkpowder]

Quote:

Originally Posted by stang /img/forum/go_quote.gif funny how IEMs are so expensive for how small they are, yet they sound so good. I wonder how much it really costs in parts and if they could even make an IEM that in parts costs $1300. Now that would be interesting

To be honest, I'm guessing no more than $100 in parts. But then there's the cost of marketing, R&D/testing, and of course, aftersales services, all of which need manpower and enough in wages to feed their families. Suddenly, their asking price doesn't seem too ridiculous.

 

[AudioDwebe]

I would guess that the head-fi community is a very small percentage of their target audience. Performing musicians, who need monitors as a tool in their livelihood (or part-time livelihood), and are able to write off some of the cost of these monitors on their taxes...I think they're the ones who give UE the majority of their business.

Imagine all the bands out there who need something like this. That's a crapload of potential customers.

 

[roy_jones]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Wmcmanus /img/forum/go_quote.gif Perhaps they've lost some momentum, or at least that may be our perception of the matter, but I certainly haven't had the opportunity to analyze the trend of their sales figures relative to those of their competitors. They might be doing just fine. It may well be that we're more "in the know" (as audiophiles who follow this kind of thing as hobbyists) concerning what other products are available in this market segment than are most of UE's bread and butter customers. They may get a lot of sales based on their reputation, recommendations from one musician to another, brand loyalty of long standing customers, etc. As I mentioned, I don't have any of that data at my disposal.

You don't need to be able to analyze sales figures to determine that JHA has taken a major bite out of UE's market share.

 

[Jajo]

Quote:

Originally Posted by stang /img/forum/go_quote.gif funny how IEMs are so expensive for how small they are, yet they sound so good. I wonder how much it really costs in parts and if they could even make an IEM that in parts costs $1300. Now that would be interesting

To be honest, I really don't want to know.

 

[krmathis]

Sweet! More competition is healthy for us consumers...

 

[ChicagoNB]

I don't see the new cable on UE's website. Or did I just miss it. The photos of the UE 18 shows what appears to be the same cable offered on other models. Or again did I just miss it.

 

[Lil' Knight]

Quote:

Originally Posted by ChicagoNB /img/forum/go_quote.gif I don't see the new cable on UE's website. Or did I just miss it. The photos of the UE 18 shows what appears to be the same cable offered on other models. Or again did I just miss it.

The new cable is only available on the beginning of next month. They even don't have any idea of available colors or price. Should be clear about that next week though.