[Chu]

Just some general comments.


1. You can patent a recipe. Companies generally prefer to keep it a trade secret though, because what the public gets in exchange for a limited monopoly is full disclosure. Recipes simply have too long of a lifespan to make this a good trade for most companies. Imagine how different coca-cola would be as a company if their recipe was not only fully known, but completly legal to duplicate!

2. AMD and Intel is a very interesting case study in patents and how IP works (and does not) in general. There is absolutely no denying that the competition between AMD and Intel has greatly benefited the consumer. You only have to look to the situation right before the Athlon hit -- Intel was the de facto leader in x86 microprocessors and used that position to slowly ramp up the P3 at very high margins. Enter the Athlon. The computer industry has never been the same.

What's interesting in looking at the competition between AMD and Intel though is that in many ways it's a case study on what the technology sector would look like without patents. The two companies signed a patent sharing agreement in the early 1980's that still holds today, and as a result they essentially have full rights to each other's IP. The pace of innovation certainly hasn't slowed down as a result, and anyone who makes this argument in general really needs to take a good hard look at AMD and Intel and figure out why their theory still holds.

I know this has very little to do with the OP but this thread has been slightly derailed since page 2

 

[milkpowder]

Quote:

Originally Posted by grawk /img/forum/go_quote.gif With regard to #8, Dr Gilmore has granted permission to headamp and woo to use and tweak his designs. Try using one of his designs commercially without permission and see what his response is... It's easy to disregard the value of intellectual property if you don't have any of your own.

Actually, I think the permission for Jack Wu to use KGilmore schematics was given retrospectively! (that is, IIRC) As long as the products are of Kevin's high standards, he will approve of the use of his designs.

HeadAmp has apparently made a ton of improvements upon the original Gilmore designs. (again, something that iirc KG said himself) It just goes to show that one man can't do it all.

There's also one further example regarding amplifiers that I can think of... naa

 

[Xanadu777]

Quote:

Originally Posted by kool bubba ice /img/forum/go_quote.gif So he was the first ever to do DIY woodies?

I believe on head-fi, yes. At the time there were approx just 7,000 members. I'd not seen them anywhere else either, but maybe somewhere someone had made some at some point in history. I don't recall that people were really modding headphones much at all back then. Over time the requests grew, I was modding all kinds of things.

It got to where I was spending 5-8 hours every day answering emails, including DIY questions. I suspect that not many of you would post your profession and offer 5-8 hours of free service every day. It got to be insane, and took a toll on me. I posted more and more info, but they kept a comin'. With more and more peeps, I basically had to do something different. At the same time, family illness (and eventually multiple deaths) was in the mix. I'm not a young man, and I realize life is very short. The trend nowadays seem to be entitlement, which is opposite of the way I grew up. Something had to change...

So I've made things as clear as I can, even brash I think all would agree. I would guess that many that have dealt with me would say I'm pretty easy going. Too bad I also probably scare away some good peeps with my rules, but such is life.

As far as secrecy, I learned a lesson early on. I posted every detail of my cable construction on my site. It wasn't 3 months till someone had copied every detail to a tee, and started their own business with nothing but clones. After that, I wasn't going to do that again. I personally don't get how someone can lack the integrity to blatantly copy someone else, but obviously it happens. I have tried hard not to step on anyones toes. I was real leary on Grado woodies, which I held off selling for quite some time. I tried to make sure I didn't copy the RS shaping, use Mahogany or wood driver holders (the real key to the RS IMO). That way Grado sales were enhanced, and John had was fine with them (as stated in interview). I've quit doing a variety of jobs, and honed in on what I offer now and some customs now and then. I have no interest in expanding, not what drives me. I have no interest in patents, if there were anything to patent. I don't want to get rich off this, I enjoy creating this stuff! I was into making money in my younger days, worked hard and made some good investments. Also have had some hard times, and live a frugal lifestyle. I still drive the truck I bought new in '85. So without killing myself, I still work longs hours on something I enjoy doing. When I started to see copies crop up, I just wanted to make sure that my position was known. Seems it is now, so I've made my point and can move on to a quieter time I hope. To those that I offended, I apologize.

 

[Skylab]

I don't see that it needs saying, but I have thoroughly enjoyed being a customer of yours, Larry, and you have always treated me with the utmost respect, even the couple of occasions where you had to tell me no to something

I believe life is too short to do business with anyone you don't enjoy doing business with. So the fact that I have been a multiple-repeat customer of Larry's indicates that I like not just his product, but I enjoy dealing with him as well.

Larry is free to run his business however he sees fit, and owes no one who isn't already a customer anything. How he runs his business impacts his sales, no doubt, but as I have been watching, Larry has all the sales he can handle, which means he's doing more than just a few things right.

Personally, I look forward to seeing what crops up on the Deals page at headphile.com as much as anything else that's part of this hobby.

 

[HeadphoneAddict]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Xanadu777 /img/forum/go_quote.gif I believe on head-fi, yes. At the time there were approx just 7,000 members. I'd not seen them anywhere else either, but maybe somewhere someone had made some at some point in history. I don't recall that people were really modding headphones much at all back then. Over time the requests grew, I was modding all kinds of things. It got to where I was spending 5-8 hours every day answering emails, including DIY questions. I suspect that not many of you would post your profession and offer 5-8 hours of free service every day. It got to be insane, and took a toll on me. I posted more and more info, but they kept a comin'. With more and more peeps, I basically had to do something different. At the same time, family illness (and eventually multiple deaths) was in the mix. I'm not a young man, and I realize life is very short. The trend nowadays seem to be entitlement, which is opposite of the way I grew up. Something had to change... So I've made things as clear as I can, even brash I think all would agree. I would guess that many that have dealt with me would say I'm pretty easy going. Too bad I also probably scare away some good peeps with my rules, but such is life. As far as secrecy, I learned a lesson early on. I posted every detail of my cable construction on my site. It wasn't 3 months till someone had copied every detail to a tee, and started their own business with nothing but clones. After that, I wasn't going to do that again. I personally don't get how someone can lack the integrity to blatantly copy someone else, but obviously it happens. I have tried hard not to step on anyones toes. I was real leary on Grado woodies, which I held off selling for quite some time. I tried to make sure I didn't copy the RS shaping, use Mahogany or wood driver holders (the real key to the RS IMO). That way Grado sales were enhanced, and John had was fine with them (as stated in interview). I've quit doing a variety of jobs, and honed in on what I offer now and some customs now and then. I have no interest in expanding, not what drives me. I have no interest in patents, if there were anything to patent. I don't want to get rich off this, I enjoy creating this stuff! I was into making money in my younger days, worked hard and made some good investments. Also have had some hard times, and live a frugal lifestyle. I still drive the truck I bought new in '85. So without killing myself, I still work longs hours on something I enjoy doing. When I started to see copies crop up, I just wanted to make sure that my position was known. Seems it is now, so I've made my point and can move on to a quieter time I hope. To those that I offended, I apologize.

I already guessed things were as you described. I think this place has too many shallow, insensitive, immoral or entitlement attitude peeps - and this thread has gone on longer than it should have.

I wish you all the luck in the world, and when I get around to ordering or buying some "woodied" headphones, it will be from you, not a clone. I'm already feeling bad that I instead bought some used re-cabled D2000, just to save $150 from new Darth Beyers.

Cheers!

 

[RedLeader]

Well, I'm glad you're able to do what you love, that's awesome. Personally I'd love to know exactly what you do to the 770 so I could try and do something similar, and mess around with them. That's what I did with the K340, took a bunch of mods that people had done and played around with them until I got them how I liked them. There's no way I could afford K340 modded by someone else, or really even an amp to drive them properly. (Hence, I had to sell them) But you're well within your right not to tell me a damn thing. I simply don't have the time to invest that I'm sure you have, only time for some modding and small tweaks here and there. And really, that's whats being paid for. Time, time and more time.

 

[The Pieman]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Skylab /img/forum/go_quote.gif "I believe life is too short to do business with anyone you don't enjoy doing business with." "Larry is free to run his business however he sees fit, and owes no one who isn't already a customer anything."

I am not a customer of Larry's, even though I have come close to ordering a few times, but I totally agree with these comments. If people don't like the business model or the business style, so be it.

Larry, in his last post made a comment about entitlement. How true!

cheers
Simon

 

[kpeezy]

I just want to post and say that I hope I didn't come off as an opponent of Larry's style or business. I previously said that I wouldn't be buying a pair; I would like to retract that statement. It occurred to me that I really don't know what is going on inside any of my headphones! Anyways, I've talked with Larry once before and he was very courteous and answered my questions (I violated nothing in the FAQ since I read it beforehand) in a very helpful manner. I still won't be buying a pair, but that's just because I'm broke

 

[wrecked_porsche]

I'm Glad most people can see the simple logic now.

Just like Skylab, I have also dealt with Larry, and he was very polite and was willing to answer all my questions. Of course I did read the FAQ on his website first, it did in fact provide some answers to questions which I would otherwise have had to ask Larry. Put yourself in Larry's shoes, would you like people asking the same questions over and over again? At some point it will become tiresome and you'd loose interest, become grumpy and scare away even more customers.

There were occasions where Larry had to decline my requests and he did so firmly but politely.

I then gave it a few minutes of thought, respected his decision and proceeded with my order anyway because I was fine with it. I was free to make a choice and I made one, so can you guys. Just move on if it doesn't suit you. No harm done.

Cheers peeps!

 

[kool bubba ice]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Xanadu777 /img/forum/go_quote.gif I believe on head-fi, yes. At the time there were approx just 7,000 members. I'd not seen them anywhere else either, but maybe somewhere someone had made some at some point in history. I don't recall that people were really modding headphones much at all back then. Over time the requests grew, I was modding all kinds of things. It got to where I was spending 5-8 hours every day answering emails, including DIY questions. I suspect that not many of you would post your profession and offer 5-8 hours of free service every day. It got to be insane, and took a toll on me. I posted more and more info, but they kept a comin'. With more and more peeps, I basically had to do something different. At the same time, family illness (and eventually multiple deaths) was in the mix. I'm not a young man, and I realize life is very short. The trend nowadays seem to be entitlement, which is opposite of the way I grew up. Something had to change... So I've made things as clear as I can, even brash I think all would agree. I would guess that many that have dealt with me would say I'm pretty easy going. Too bad I also probably scare away some good peeps with my rules, but such is life. As far as secrecy, I learned a lesson early on. I posted every detail of my cable construction on my site. It wasn't 3 months till someone had copied every detail to a tee, and started their own business with nothing but clones. After that, I wasn't going to do that again. I personally don't get how someone can lack the integrity to blatantly copy someone else, but obviously it happens. I have tried hard not to step on anyones toes. I was real leary on Grado woodies, which I held off selling for quite some time. I tried to make sure I didn't copy the RS shaping, use Mahogany or wood driver holders (the real key to the RS IMO). That way Grado sales were enhanced, and John had was fine with them (as stated in interview). I've quit doing a variety of jobs, and honed in on what I offer now and some customs now and then. I have no interest in expanding, not what drives me. I have no interest in patents, if there were anything to patent. I don't want to get rich off this, I enjoy creating this stuff! I was into making money in my younger days, worked hard and made some good investments. Also have had some hard times, and live a frugal lifestyle. I still drive the truck I bought new in '85. So without killing myself, I still work longs hours on something I enjoy doing. When I started to see copies crop up, I just wanted to make sure that my position was known. Seems it is now, so I've made my point and can move on to a quieter time I hope. To those that I offended, I apologize.

Fair enough. You seem like a nice guy & run a professional business. Yes, the rules & restrictions makes it less appealing to me, along with the long wait times, but thats just my opinion. Sorry about your designs being copied, but if you are really concerned about your secret getting copied why not go the legal route so you can sue anyone that does.. I just don't get it..

 

[kool bubba ice]

Quote:

Originally Posted by wrecked_porsche /img/forum/go_quote.gif I'm Glad most people can see the simple logic now. Just like Skylab, I have also dealt with Larry, and he was very polite and was willing to answer all my questions. Of course I did read the FAQ on his website first, it did in fact provide some answers to questions which I would otherwise have had to ask Larry. Put yourself in Larry's shoes, would you like people asking the same questions over and over again? At some point it will become tiresome and you'd loose interest, become grumpy and scare away even more customers. There were occasions where Larry had to decline my requests and he did so firmly but politely. I then gave it a few minutes of thought, respected his decision and proceeded with my order anyway because I was fine with it. I was free to make a choice and I made one, so can you guys. Just move on if it doesn't suit you. No harm done. Cheers peeps!

Yes, he is polite.. I had the luxury of sharing emails with Larry a few times. Always prompt & to the point, But just going by his FAQ, without communicating with him directly, some might see him as a hard ass. Personally I just like to know whats being done to my headphones when shelling out 340.00 plus. I know Larry has integrity & would never do anything bad to mine or others headphones, I just like knowing.. I do understand his reasoning for it. If I ever did buy from Larry It would be from the deals page. I could not stand waiting 8-12 weeks. I have a sever waiting problem.. I usually have my audio gear shipped via 1 or 2 day shipping..

 

[grawk]

Quote:

Originally Posted by kool bubba ice /img/forum/go_quote.gif Yes, he is polite.. I had the luxury of sharing emails with Larry a few times. Always prompt & to the point, But just going by his FAQ, without communicating with him directly, some might see him as a hard ass. Personally I just like to know whats being done to my headphones when shelling out 340.00 plus..

you'd be paying to have the cable and cups replaced with double entry cables and wood cups of the material of your choosing.

 

[apostate]

Quote:

Originally Posted by wrecked_porsche /img/forum/go_quote.gif Just like Skylab, I have also dealt with Larry, and he was very polite and was willing to answer all my questions. Of course I did read the FAQ on his website first, it did in fact provide some answers to questions which I would otherwise have had to ask Larry. Put yourself in Larry's shoes, would you like people asking the same questions over and over again? At some point it will become tiresome and you'd loose interest, become grumpy and scare away even more customers. There were occasions where Larry had to decline my requests and he did so firmly but politely.

I've had the same experience with Larry as well. In fact he went so far as to buy a copy of the headphone I wanted modded to determine if he wanted to do it before declining politely. He's always been very professional and courteous in my experiences with him.

Ant

 

[LawnGnome]

Quote:

Originally Posted by grawk /img/forum/go_quote.gif you'd be paying to have the cable and cups replaced with double entry cables and wood cups of the material of your choosing.

Plus foam and fabric removed. Heh.

 

[kool bubba ice]

Quote:

Originally Posted by grawk /img/forum/go_quote.gif you'd be paying to have the cable and cups replaced with double entry cables and wood cups of the material of your choosing.

Then what is the secret fuss about?