I was more poking fun at calling a $300 headphone a ācheapieā, something Iād more put in an under $30 mark, budget sub $100(maybe sub $200).
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In this hobby, on this forum, $300.00 is pretty cheap.
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In a comparitive sense, yes, it is within more peopleās means, and is comparitively cheap compared to some other offerings.
I would still say, however, that:
āCheapieā - $30 and under
āBudgetā - under $100-200
āAffordableā - Under $400
Mid-range - Under $700-800
High-end - over $800
Does that sound reasonable?
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Budget is different for everybody. If Focal put out a headphone for $399.00, it would be their ācheapieā option.
I am sure many people look at my Elexās as entry level for the Focal line.
To me, $1K (Cdn.) is a ton of money.
Personally I think of $99, $199, $299 and even $399 as the cheapie/affordable/entry level category. You pay your money and you take your chances.
$500.00 to $1,000.00 is mid-fi/entry level of high end. Some very nice stuff here.
Anything over $1K is very High End to me.
That is full over-ear headphones in US dollars.
But of course it is different for everybody.
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So in your opinion, the people that anything $300-400 is out of their reasonable price range may never see even mid-fi, let alone high end?
if you quality mid-fi and high end simply by price and not performance yes, that would be so.
but if you approach it with my approachā¦not so much. everything I listen to is totl at the moment Iām listening to it. didnāt put them on because I wanted to note every fault and issue they haveā¦I put them on because of how they sound and because I like how they sound.
price points for audio quality have dropped substantiallyā¦take a look at how well Drop has done with their collaboration products. 
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Part of why Iām anxious about how the 5XX turns out. Iām trying to get my 4XX mailed down to me to compare the two.
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youāl lhave to get the 6xx, if you donāt have them already so you have all the xxā¦
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Iāve thought about either them or the 58X
yehā¦I guess the 58x would count, especially if you got the 6xx and the new 560s.
By and large, yes.
However, there are products that punch above their weight. The two biggest ones, in my experience, are the HD58Xās and the Liquid Spark. To me those are cheapies that punch above entry level.
But again, this is just my feelings on categories and in no way a rule. I am not sure why you take my thoughts so seriously. In this hobby $299.00 is pretty economical for a big chunk of forum regulars.
Of course for the general public, $299.00 probably seems an obscene amount for headphones so everything is relative.
indeedā¦a lot of recent stuff punches above their weight. itās a great time to get into audio!
another that hits above itās price is the Zen DAC. wicked little unit!
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That trio has me really tornā¦ The 6xx and 58X have both gone up $20 from their starting price($220 and $170 respectively), and the reviews seemā¦ confusing. From DMSā review of the 58X, he liked the fact that they where tonally nearly identical to the 660s (with some caveats) but recommended the 6XX more. In his comparison of the 6XX and 660s, he claimed them to be at most 8% different. Iāve owned the HD559 andā¦ Didnāt care for it too much, mostly because they where uncomfortable, particularly for longer periodsā¦ The thought wars go on, but maybe Iām being too picky again.
find someone selling a used pair of the oneās you want
Any idea what a decent market price for a used 58X or 6XX should be(as thereās no way Iāll see a 560s used, since retailers still have it listed for pre-order).
I would say you should pay $30 - $50 lower than list price.
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I bought used HD58Xās for $200.00, shipped. That turned out to be a SUPER deal.
Must be the second wave of pre orders because I got mine awhile ago
Are you in Canada? Because I think Shane means 200 cad
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US
(for whatever reason Crutchfield has one that is $10 off open box)
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Must be a return.
Really nice headphones for sure. Pretty stiff competition with things like the 880 and sundara but I think it competes.