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Ok.... Why? I really liked them compared to my HD650.
Ehhhh, I'd spare yourself on the K501.
Ehhhh, I'd spare yourself on the K501.
People were paying $150 for mint K 501s not long ago. Then they went on sale due to discontinuation, and people were paying $100 for them mint. $300 for a mint pair today is just hype.
You left unspecified (but alluded to) the important part - determines the price for whom? The answer to that answers your questions; the proper price is determined by what you're willing to pay, which in turn is up to you to reason out given all you know about the context. I gave my personal reasoning for finding $300 a high price for the K 501: when there was enough supply, they were valued at $150. No improvement in audio quality has occurred in them due to discontinuation; what you now propose to pay 100 % extra for is simply to have them in the first place.
Which might be a valid reason except that, at least in terms of mids, a well-placed $20 can get you comparable performance.
First, start your sampling of competition at $0 (or otherwise the lowest point reasonably attainable), otherwise you make the unfounded assumption that there's none for less than $300 (which would bias you towards a high estimate). Second, don't rely on a general consensus since most likely you'll find the one most conforming to your own opinion.
It is impossible to act like that on a market. You can never, and I repeat ever, have that sort of overview of a market, no matter if it is headphones or bikes or anything else. Your proposal implies that you have to test every available haedphone on earth to make a simple decision. It will cost you more than what you can earn on buying a cheap headphone.
And I think that's more or less what vid is getting at - if you want the specific model, then you basically pay what the market asks, but if you just want "good performance" (however that's qualified), you probably can get a better deal by shopping elsewhere. Personal preference and tolerance and so on come into play - if you're extremely wealthy this obviously isn't as important a discussion as if you're on a very tight fixed budget (for example).
Of course, I agree, even if I think that vid hasn't put it that way.In my case I am interested in this specific model and it's sound signature, no matter what opinions other people have. The requested attributes are impossible to find in any other headphone in that price range for the music I intend to listen and thus the reason why I am ready to pay $300. Quite simple
I think that a lot of Head-Fi'ers aren't to that point though, so they try to help people save money by suggesting "alternates" - at least that's my interpretation.
I tried swapping the pads on the q701/annies. And the annies still sounded noticeably fuller and warmer than the q701 with the q701 pads. I'm not sure who said these were just repackaged q701's but it would be hard mistake one another side by side in any state. Even days apart I could blindly label the q701 and annies regardless of which pads are used imo. They're similar sounding ofc but, at least my pairs, are distinctly different. And for my tastes the annies are a true upgrade to the q701. It's worth noting that I preferred the q701's with the annies memory pads to the stock q701 pads, but I wouldn't pay more than 40 usd for them.