[Opentoe]

I kept hearing and reading about these. On most forums and pretty much all over. I told myself, heck maybe I'll give them a try. Then I saw the price of these things. Ok, we all know we aren't paying for the materials because if we were it would cost maybe $25. Are there some patents that no one else has or some technology that only Westone uses on these? Maybe I'm in the same boat since I paid over $220 for my UE700's but I had to pretty much draw the line there and not think about dropping an extra $175. I may as well buy a couple MP3 players. How much "better" could they possibly sound then other high-end units for much less? Big bucks!

 

[toughnut]

What u paying mostly is the countless hours of research and development spend on new product (Westone house sound?). Materials itself probably cost USD100 or so.

 

[mark2410]

you think its expensive, find the CK100

 

[james444]

Quote:

Originally Posted by mark2410 /img/forum/go_quote.gif you think its expensive, find the CK100

Found! $354 at the SEYO-shop

 

[Hsiu]

My UM3X was USD330 shipped with insured mail. Not bad at all since the price of other top tier was probably higher when they first come out

 

[3X0]

Actually the triple-armature configuration of the UM3X probably isn't that cheap. I think a tweeter-woofer armature unit costs $100+ per set of two, excluding housings and whatnot.

Also, diminishing returns.

 

[bakhtiar]

At least, I don't have to look for others for quite long time.... because I have no money left

heh eh he e..

 

[.coco]

If you want quality, be prepared to pay for it.

 

[GTL]

I am very satisfied with my um3x and they r worth every cent in my opinion.

 

[Spyro]

At the $380 I paid they are an absolute steal in my opinion. Paired up with a simple Ipod and 256 bitrate or better files the sound is astonishing.

Yes, probable 30% is recovering R & D costs, 40% raw material costs and 30% labor. (my guess)

 

[.coco]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Spyro /img/forum/go_quote.gif Yes, probable 30% is recovering R & D costs, 40% raw material costs and 30% labor. (my guess)

I work at a techology development company. Probably more like 40% R&D recoup, 10% material+labor, 50% profit.

Stuff like this tends to require a ton of R&D, which has to be done by people who tend to make a lot of money. Then because the coustomer base is small, they have to devote a lot of the price to profit.

 

[qusp]

I was and still am satisfied with the UM3X and the price; until of course I got it into my head that I 'needed' a set of JH|13;p

 

[WithBadIntent]

A lot of the time it does pay to shop around, as I've often found savings of 50% on some headphones that I've bought over the years from either sales or shop closure/stock clearances.

 

[ZDaudiopenguim]

I've read quite a bit about UM3x and W3. Which one is better since they roughly cost the same?

 

[qusp]

I prefer UM3X, but there is no 'better' one out of these 2, just different flavours. W3 is more muscular sounding, UM3X has much more finesse and is more musical IMO