[Hapster]

Haha...don't want the white one.

Nobody does lol.

Why on earth did they discontinue the red/black one? Surely that would've been at least the second most popular. I looked for one for a long time to match my desktop setup.

 

[SpiderNhan]

Nobody does lol.

Why on earth did they discontinue the red/black one? Surely that would've been at least the second most popular. I looked for one for a long time to match my desktop setup.

I love my white/orange Verza. Got it used on eBay for $300.
 

 
And I don't think the red/black one was discontinued. I think they just sold out. I can't imagine they manufactured a ton of Verzas given that it's a niche product that was, and still is, very expensive. Hey, @valkolton, do you know that total number of Verzas that were manufactured? My guess, 100 of each color.

 

[Hapster]

I love my white/orange Verza. Got it used on eBay for $300.




And I don't think the red/black one was discontinued. I think they just sold out. I can't imagine they manufactured a ton of Verzas given that it's a niche product that was, and still is, very expensive. Hey, @valkolton
, do you know that total number of Verzas that were manufactured? My guess, 100 of each color.

I'm sure it was way more than 100, they were sold at Best Buys. It was probably closer to 1k-3k

 

[SpiderNhan]

They weren't sold in stores at Best Buy. You could order them from their website. A cheap laptop costs less than $599 at Best Buy. Would an average consumer at Best Buy even know what to think about a $600 DAC/amp from a company they've barely heard of? Now if the Verza, instead of having a white V engraved on it, had a little red b logo, 1k-3k wouldn't have been enough. I'll revise my guess to 250 Matte Black, 125 Black Red, 125 White Orange.

 

[dbdynsty25]

  They weren't sold in stores at Best Buy. You could order them from their website. A cheap laptop costs less than $599 at Best Buy. Would an average consumer at Best Buy even know what to think about a $600 DAC/amp from a company they've barely heard of? Now if the Verza, instead of having a white V engraved on it, had a little red b logo, 1k-3k wouldn't have been enough. I'll revise my guess to 250 Matte Black, 125 Black Red, 125 White Orange.

 
It would cost a damn fortune to manufacture at that yield rate.  Had to be over 1k a piece.  Easy.

 

[SpiderNhan]

I always wondered about the production runs of enthusiast products. How many Sennheiser HD800s or Stax SR-009s or Alpha Primes are in existence? The Verza is a modified GO-DAP X. I imagine they just ran off the same production line with the modified V-MODA components.

http://venturecraft.jp/gadget_en/gdx.php

Where's Val with the answer? It's driving me a little batty.

 

[valkolton]

I always wondered about the production runs of enthusiast products. How many Sennheiser HD800s or Stax SR-009s or Alpha Primes are in existence? 

Where's Val with the answer? It's driving me a little batty.

 
I'll chime in soon... The quantities of enthusiast/audiophile vs pro vs music instruments vs CE vs fashion in quite interesting. We actually made and sold quite a few more than everybody guessed, but there is a catch I'll explain later... :>
 
I have a lot of experience in 11 years of product sales and forecasting, it is very intriguing to guess before you make a product and you can never ever be right.  Especially when you mix in colors, or two black variations........
 
-V

 

[Whazzzup]

I love my white/orange Verza. Got it used on eBay for $300.




And I don't think the red/black one was discontinued. I think they just sold out. I can't imagine they manufactured a ton of Verzas given that it's a niche product that was, and still is, very expensive. Hey, @valkolton
, do you know that total number of Verzas that were manufactured? My guess, 100 of each color.

I'm sure it was way more than 100, they were sold at Best Buys. It was probably closer to 1k-3k

I have the black. Wanted a small direct hook up to my Iphone, 400 $ would have been better than what i paid but what ya going to do, you need what you need when you needed it. Its a good device even though the ohm impedience should have been less than 1.
My guess a100 units of each color wouldnt pay for the person answering the phone. Best buy is when your in the tens of thousands of units minimum. Sure i prefer the hugo but its portable simple conection makes it a no brainer to me. I use it exclusivly with shure 846.

 

[valkolton]

Nobody does lol.

Why on earth did they discontinue the red/black one? Surely that would've been at least the second most popular. I looked for one for a long time to match my desktop setup.

Actually, this was one of the biggest issues.  The red/black HEAVILY outsold the matte black (I believe 3 to 1) and we miscalculated the demand as usually matte black is about equal or outsells red/black.
 
TBC...
 
-V

 

[MICHAELSD]

Could anybody explain why the VAMP would cost $600? For $100, maybe $200 if it did improve the M-100's sound quality I would be all over it but I couldn't see myself spending much more than I spent for the headphones for what some call a marginal improvement.
 
Edit: Or even $400 now apparently.

 

[Hapster]

Could anybody explain why the VAMP would cost $600? For $100, maybe $200 if it did improve the M-100's sound quality I would be all over it but I couldn't see myself spending much more than I spent for the headphones for what some call a marginal improvement.

Edit: Or even $400 now apparently.

Because of the lack of competition when it came out. It's called capitalism.

There are a lot more choices nowadays.

Considering a charger is $20, a bass EQ can be found on certain apps, a 3D mode converter might be $20 and a dac/amp could be $70. Under $200 it's not a terrible deal.

I've bought and sold my last couple for $200 and $190 respectively.

 

[AnakChan]

Because of the lack of competition when it came out. It's called capitalism.

There are a lot more choices nowadays.

Considering a charger is $20, a bass EQ can be found on certain apps, a 3D mode converter might be $20 and a dac/amp could be $70. Under $200 it's not a terrible deal.

I've bought and sold my last couple for $200 and $190 respectively.

 
And exchange rates back then, and iOS strictness in what was "Apple Certified", etc. etc. Expanding more about the lack of competition, back then may DAC/Amps couldn't run off the CCK. One had to get a dedicated "Made for Apple" approved (which alone has quite a fee) DAC/Amp - think back then there was Fostex HP-P1, Cypherlabs Rx (pre -dB??), etc. Also the Verza was made in Japan and back then I think the exchange rates were USD$1 = 80 yen only (unlike today where it's like USD$1 = 120yen or thereabouts).

Anyway the point is that no single company was benefiting from the profits and iOS popularity meant Apple could be more stringent on what devices could/couldn't play with their iDevices. I think back then Android couldn't play with DAC/Amps that nicely either - not certain when USB Audio Recorder (pre-UAPP) was conceived either.

 

[Whazzzup]

rescently tried out vamp again on my modded 846  you know this is a pretty good warmish dac amp. even witha mis match on impedience, i have no probs using this as my portable. A lot more compact and easy to carry than my hugo with cck adapter. Not comparing them directly but this is not a bad unit by any means.

 

[ruthieandjohn]

Does anyone besides me have concern about the stated 10 - ohm output impedance of the  Vamp Verza?  I am a rabid fan of Grado headphones (I have 20 pairs!!), and they all have 32 ohm input impedance.
 
The manual (but not the spec sheet, at least as near as I could find) of the Vamp Verza states that its output impedance is 10 ohms.  Folks admonish that headphones have a "damping factor," which near as I can tell has to do with the ability of a headphone amp to counteract the natural but undesired "ringing" of a headphone diaphragm in response to bass notes.  The rule of thumb is that the headphone input impedance needs to be at least eight times the output impedance of what is driving it.  For a 10 ohms (Vamp Verza) output impedance, this means that the the headphone input impedance would need to be over 8 x 10 = 80 ohms... great for the Sennheiser HD 800 (300 - 600 ohms depending on frequency) and some Beyerdynamics and AKG's, but not my beloved Grados.  
 
The Vamp Verza is in excellent company, as the Sony PHA-1 also has a 10 ohm output impedance (and for some reason, within the last month, Sony removed that spec from its manual for the PHA-1!!).  I have one and find it wonderful.  I also have the CEntrance HiFiM8, which can switch its output mpdeance among 1, 2, and 10 ohms.  
 
The result of an amp output impedance being too high (over 1/8 of the headphone input impedance) as that bass is louder but less precise...more ringing and "tubby."  Apparently this only applies to dynamic headphones (i.e.,Grados and most Sennheisers), not planar magnetic ones (like HiFiMAN and some others).
 
I love the design of the Vamp Versa I think that both its appearance and its mating with a special "frame" for the iPhone that easily unclips addresses the problem of rubber bands around amp and source) and would like to buy one, but with the 10 ohm output impedance vs. my 32 ohm Grados, I fear the mismatch prevents it.  
 
 
Any thoughts?
 
Thanks!

 

[DrSheep]

I actually think it will work better this way, as it will make your Grado more neutral but up the power at the same time.  I am selling mine, so PM me if you are interested.