[Stn.]

I'm looking for a quick education on the state of the high end headphone industry - why are high end headphones so hard to find?

It seems like the vast majority of acclaimed headphones I purchase are off of Ebay from International sellers, the market place here on head-fi, or they are a household name (Sennheiser) available on Amazon. As a Canadian this doesn't mean much because Amazon.com still refuses to ship to Canada in most cases.

Why is this? Why don't local audio shops stock up on popular headphones/IEM and offer them online?

I'm completely ignorant to how things work in this industry. Is there a logical reason?

 

[VNandor]

They probably do stock up on popular headphones but you would be surprised how unpopular high-end headphones are outside Head-Fi. Well-known and popular brands would be the likes of beats, Skullcandy, Bose, etc. I'm quite sure you could find those brands at your local shops, couldn't you?

 

[Music Alchemist]

High-end headphones aren't typically sold in mainstream stores simply because most people don't care that much about sound quality. At least that's my assessment of the situation. High-end headphones are still easy to find on the Internet. There are countless online stores that can ship to anywhere in the world.

 

[Stn.]

They probably do stock up on popular headphones but you would be surprised how unpopular high-end headphones are outside Head-Fi.

So you think high end headphones are too niche outside of the household name brands? I would think the turn tables and other hi-fi stereo stuff would be even more niche, but I guess the ROI would be higher on those big ticket items?

Would love to hear from a current/former audio store owner or someone in the industry.

 

[Stn.]

High-end headphones aren't typically sold in mainstream stores simply because most people don't care that much about sound quality. At least that's my assessment of the situation. High-end headphones are still easy to find on the Internet. There are countless online stores that can ship to anywhere in the world.

It's certainly easier for Americans, but even then from my limited experience it seems the majority of products are imported internationally with slow shipping times and questionable warranty/return opportunities. Am I wrong?

 

[PL4Y3R 0N3]

High end audio can also be quite expensive. In my experience, most people I know who could afford high end audio equipment see no point in it, and most people I know couldn't afford it. Heck I can barely afford it, but this is my addiction that I chose. I could be smoking or drinking I suppose.
I also agree with Music Alchemist, most of the world doesn't care about high end audio, or doesn't know what high end audio is. They think that booming, overpowered bass is good audio quality. And I can't say much as my first high end headphones were the beats studio wireless.

 

[Music Alchemist]

So you think high end headphones are too niche outside of the household name brands? I would think the turn tables and other hi-fi stereo stuff would be even more niche, but I guess the ROI would be higher on those big ticket items?

Would love to hear from a current/former audio store owner or someone in the industry.

 
Profit margins for audio equipment range from extremely high to very low. Since the fanciest audio equipment is produced in small quantities, it generally drives the price up compared to something that is mass-produced. On the other hand, one example of profit margins being low for a high quality and expensive piece of audio equipment is the HeadAmp Blue Hawaii Special Edition electrostatic headphone amplifier. Justin Wilson (owner of the company) stated that he'd rather produce many of his more affordable products as far as making profits goes. So it can go both ways. More often than not, it's going to be more profitable to sell many units of a lower cost item than it is to sell just a few units of a high cost item.
 

It's certainly easier for Americans, but even then from my limited experience it seems the majority of products are imported internationally with slow shipping times and questionable warranty/return opportunities. Am I wrong?

 
There are tons of high-end audiophile stores in America. I could even walk to one in a town I lived in last year! And you can get overnight shipping from pretty much anywhere if you pay for it.

 

[Stn.]

Justin Wilson (owner of the company) stated that he'd rather produce many of his more affordable products as far as making profits goes. So it can go both ways. More often than not, it's going to be more profitable to sell many units of a lower cost item than it is to sell just a few units of a high cost item.

This is what I think makes sense as an outsider as well, but that's not what I've found here in Canada. Looking online, very few Canadian retailers sell headphones (based on browsing their website) and even fewer sell them online. The majority of them are all high ticket items.

i.e. http://www.ankaudiokits.com/
http://www.audioallianceinc.com/
http://www.audioexcellence.ca/

There are tons of high-end audiophile stores in America. I could even walk to one in a town I lived in last year! And you can get overnight shipping from pretty much anywhere if you pay for it.

I went through every single dealer listed on Canuck Audio Mart and only a handful sell headphones online, most of their selection limited to 1-2 brand and 2-3 models. I'm not sure if I'm unaware of where to look, or if this is just a Canadian problem.

 

[Music Alchemist]

I went through every single dealer listed on Canuck Audio Mart and only a handful sell headphones online, most of their selection limited to 1-2 brand and 2-3 models. I'm not sure if I'm unaware of where to look, or if this is just a Canadian problem.

 
Could be a Canadian problem in some cases. Might as well just order online and import the headphones, or buy from or trade with fellow members. You can also go to meets.
 
Links:
http://www.head-fi.org/f/6550/headphones-for-sale-trade
http://www.head-fi.org/f/24/local-regional-head-fi-meets-parties-get-togethers
http://www.head-fi.org/t/548624/listing-canadian-companies-retailers

 

[BobG55]

Studio economik in Montreal is online & facebook
 
Headphone Bar online & ships within Canada only
 
High end audio exchange is in Kington, ON and is online
 
Audiophile experts is online
 
Planet of Sound (Ottawa & Toronto stores) is online
 
Hifi headphones.ca online
 
Headphones Canada online
 
Headfone shop online (Toronto)
 
Canada computers and electronics online
 
AVShop.ca online
 
Audiobuy.ca online
 
Bay Bloor Radio online
 
The Sound Room online
 
...  & there are more.  All of these sites are Canadian audiophile retailers & sell high end headphones.

 

[chrismini]

At the risk of appearing to support an online shop, try HeadRoom(just Google it). I don't drive and let's face it, 99% of high end retail shops don't have much in the way of selection headphone-wise. And as that weren't bad enough, they try to bamboozle you into what little they carry. HeadRoom was one of the first online shops dedicated to all things headphone. From $50 ear buds to $4000 Audenze LCD-4 planar's. Amps, DAC's, cables and everything in between. Plus they're good folks to deal with.
Good luck

 

[BobG55]

  At the risk of appearing to support an online shop, try HeadRoom(just Google it). I don't drive and let's face it, 99% of high end retail shops don't have much in the way of selection headphone-wise. And as that weren't bad enough, they try to bamboozle you into what little they carry. HeadRoom was one of the first online shops dedicated to all things headphone. From $50 ear buds to $4000 Audenze LCD-4 planar's. Amps, DAC's, cables and everything in between. Plus they're good folks to deal with.
Good luck

Unless I'm mistaking I believe Headroom doesn't ship outside the U.S. anymore.  If you're a Canadian citizen as Stn. appears to be then Headroom may not be an option.

 

[ProtegeManiac]

Quote:

I'm looking for a quick education on the state of the high end headphone industry - why are high end headphones so hard to find?

It seems like the vast majority of acclaimed headphones I purchase are off of Ebay from International sellers, the market place here on head-fi, or they are a household name (Sennheiser) available on Amazon. As a Canadian this doesn't mean much because Amazon.com still refuses to ship to Canada in most cases.

Why is this? Why don't local audio shops stock up on popular headphones/IEM and offer them online?

I'm completely ignorant to how things work in this industry. Is there a logical reason?

 

Look up the business economics on distributors and brick+mortar dealers. Both of those cost money so electronics manufacturers and even some headphone brands resorted to direct selling. They can sell at lower cost because they're not spending on warehouses. Downside is you have to ship the amps and such back to Schiit in California or AudioGD in China.

 

Most other exotic headphones have online dealers in many regions, and mainstream brands do have brick+mortar dealers. However Sennheiser isn't just going to have Best Buy have an HD800 on display due to how people might handle them (have you ever seen display units' condition?). Also, it's a mainstream store - people would pay $300 for Beats but will scoff at a $399 HD600, much less a $1000 HD800.

 

There are also geographic factors. Some audiophile stores cater to headphones and other high end gear, but it depends on two things. First is the average income level or house prices in the zip code. In SoCal for example there's one in Costa Mesa and a few close to Beverly Hills, plus a few in similar areas. This increases the likelihood of people who would be interested in such things, although obviously the business economics kicks in harder due to more expensive rent, but of course they are more likely to have as their primary products huge speakers that you can try out and order if you like them (they get more net profit/mark up per unit than have to rely on selling more of them). One other geographic factor is population density, which increases the number of people within metro train/subway or driving distance to try them out vs getting an Amazon package and returning it if they don't like it. You're in Canada where that is fairly low, which is why, no matter how you crunch per capita economic figures, Manila has three stores selling HD800s and Audezees in two malls four blocks away from each other (and there's one giant mall between those two).

 

First store was more of a kiosk under an escalator in one mall...

 

 

...then they opened one in another, more upscale mall with metro train direct access just a few blocks away. On top of this one there are three other audio equipment stores, one of them selling HiFiman and Audezee alongside Shanling and Macintosh, and another is the retail outlet of the Focal distributor. On top of these there are at least three steakhouses in this mall along with a wine bar and a farm-to-table restaurant that serve steakhouse quality steaks, if not the same ambiance as a dimly lit steakhouse. It also has a high-rise residential building attached to it, so the stores selling gigantic speakers and TVs can one day just use a trolley to that building instead of a delivery truck to some other building or house in the suburb, assuming the sound insulation between each flat is good. This mall is basically the collusion of both geographic factors mentioned above.

 

[chrismini]

Right you are, sir. No international sales.