[nadavnaz]

I never understood why most high end headphones are made and sold by big companies, while amplifiers are made by significantly smaller companies?

Anyone ever thought of that?

 

[DeusEx]

IMO, headphones are more complicated to design/produce/manufacture.
We humans have had a long history of fiddling around with circuits/electronics, and I think that amps are just "easier" to build DIY compared to headphones. No "art" needs to go into an amp, just solid electronics design. There are way more factors into building/designing headphones (looks, comfort, quality of build, quality of sound, etc.)

It's easier to mod an amp than to mod headphones...there are just too many factors in building phones'.
I mean, i can build a CMoy or Millet like in a couple of hours. Not so much an AD700 or something..

 

[DefectiveAudioComponent]

It might have something to do with availability and pricing of drivers. It's not so easy to build a driver. (Although, some small companies do.)

 

[forbigger]

For me, its the RnD for headphones is wayyy bigger than amps. Also the market/demand. Headphone amps be it portable/desktop is a niche market, unlike headphone. But if you look closely, those big names on the headphone (and headphone only) business like Grado, Beyer, UE, Westone except is not really a big company. I'd say small to medium scale in terms of real enterprise. Even Senn or Shure......

 

[Uncle Erik]

I disagree about the artistry of amplifier design. Amplifiers are not by-the-numbers affairs. There are dozens of compromises and balances inside each one. To understand how to get the most from each component and make it sound good certainly is an art. Building an amp that's reliable is another huge consideration. Some builders are better at this than others.

The reason you see smaller companies building amps is because the same building blocks are available to everyone. There are no proprietary tubes or chips (with rare exceptions) developed by large corporations specifically for their amps. If they want to build an amp, they have to use the same parts as everyone else.

Headphone drivers are specific to headphones. With amps, the parts are used in a variety of applications, which is why they're easy to get. Headphone drivers are specific to a manufacturer and they're usually tuned for a specif enclosure.

In other words, a hobbyist would have to do an armload of R&D to turn out one pair. Further, large orders would have to be placed. It doesn'tmake economic sense. With amps, you can place orders to build a dozen units, not a minimum of like 10,000.

Another consideration is how quickly fashion changes with amplifiers. And it is fashion. What was popular two years ago (go back and look some time) is always "tired" or replaced with the new hotness within six to twelve months. That's a poor risk for a big company that looks several years ahead when making decisions.

 

[ph0rk]

Dedicated headphone amplifiers are in many ways optional. Headphones "work" with anything and have a much bigger market.

 

[FooTemps]

big headphone companies aren't really big headphone companies. They're big electronics companies. Remember that. Headphones are generally a secondary market that doesn't bring in much profit. Even our beloved companies like Sennheiser, AKG, or Grado are all mainly focused on other aspects of audio first. Be it carts, mics, etc, headphones are usually a second thought.

 

[atothex]

I was just kinda wondering this topic the other day. When big companies have attempted to make headphone amps, they haven't been very ambitious about them at all, except maybe Audio-Technica. Even Stax, the company that makes the most headphone amps, doesn't make really good ones anymore.

I definitely wouldn't mind if Sony all of a sudden decided to make a statement headphone amp; I've always asserted that Sony can probably make a space shuttle if they really wanted to.

 

[FooTemps]

Quote:

Originally Posted by atothex /img/forum/go_quote.gif I definitely wouldn't mind if Sony all of a sudden decided to make a statement headphone amp; I've always asserted that Sony can probably make a space shuttle if they really wanted to.

I would love to see a Sony space shuttle. Equipped with r-10s and bravias and asimo servant bots.

 

[brn80]

Quote:

Originally Posted by ph0rk /img/forum/go_quote.gif Dedicated headphone amplifiers are in many ways optional. Headphones "work" with anything and have a much bigger market.

That's pretty much what it probably is: the market (volume)--you'll have a harder time convincing the general public to spend above $100 or so for a headphone let alone the need for a headphone amp. It's definitely a niche market.

 

[smeggy]

Any old dick can make an amp, good or bad and sell a few or many, actually takes big resources to make headphones of your own design and manufacture. Not something you can easily do in house. With amps you can easily get a board, case, components and panels. Headphones you need many more difficult resources only a biggish company has. Or you have to charge a lot for them.

 

[Scooterboy]

The reality is most consumer headphone users don't need, use or know what a headphone amp is. Those of us on HeadFi are a small niche of that total market.

Something to consider....

 

[xiaobao0707]

It's not about mastery, it's all about market...
Big companies care much more for profit then perfection.
Smaller ones care just profit and perfection.

Anyway, it's only my own opinion

 

[atothex]

It's not all about profit, though. Sometimes, the manufacturers just want to do something really nice for the people, or they just want to show off their engineering know-how. How much money do you think the HE90 or R10 made? Or the HF series?

 

[dan1son]

It's simply because very few people buy headphone amps and many people buy headphones.

Most people who buy headphones plug them into a DAP, receiver, or mixer.

Almost all of the high-end IEMs are built with the same few "over the counter" drivers. Cell phones, DAPs, laptops, etc. are all built with over the counter parts, and small companies don't usually make those. Headphone amps aren't much different than mixers, speaker amps, etc. and there are large companies making those.

We have to remember just how small the headphone amp market is. It's not something most people, even high-end headphones buyers, ever think they need or want.

I have a DAC/AMP on my desk at work and people don't think it can possibly make a big difference over pluggin my headphones into the PC. We're a small exception