Also it’s cheaper to pay a couple of guys $15-$30 an hour to operate a few robot and electrcity can be really cheap and occassional maintainance costs than an assembly line
lol I’m starting to think the only good headphone company is the garage headphone company and the individuals who decide to make their own headphones and sell them over the web. But will they succumb to the temptation of selling their headphones for a 1000 bucks? Because all the big companies out there have already created an inflated market.
Well if they can produce a product that’s cheap to make but built well as well as sounds the price then then that’s up to competition to compete and lower it
Here’s my take, FWIW: Sennheiser had one big hit on the tuning side of things (HD 580 followed by 600 and 650). They then tried to improve on that, but have instead made it worse ever since. This well-received HD 600 series was based on a properly modified diffuse field curve. They got that right as far down as the mid-bass but didn’t have the techniques or technology to achieve a flat sub-bass from an open-back dynamic driver.
Receiving criticism for that, they elevated the entire bass in subsequent models. This brought up the subs, but the elevation also extended well into the mids causing them to be recessed after the elevation ended. They’ve been struggling with this dilemma ever since. Focal showed how to get a major step closer by using an m-dome design etc, but Focal presumably have this wrapped up in patents.
Trouble is, this is all based on an old-school Central European idea that quality in headphones involves accuracy of tuning. Lots of other companies have shown that accuracy is pretty much irrelevant to the vast majority of consumers and have made some serious bucks doing so. When the old-school brass in Sennheiser retire then maybe Sennheiser will finally get smart and follow the lead of the competition.
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but their german brother Beyerdynamic seems to get it I don’t know how Senn doesn’t
I would love to see their take on the Harman curve even though Im starting to kinda get harman fatigue
I dont like Sennhieser. I didnt even like the 600 and 650. i sent them back lol. But they are probably the best known audio companies out there. People define headphones by referencing their headphones lol
More like the Hermann curve? lol
They love tubes though 
sennheiser is the gateway drug for a reason it was mine. tried my buddies 598 then with that same buddie’s help got me a k240
lol meant a headphone tuned with the harman target response in mind probably already exists and Im ignorant
Yep and its made by Harman, lol: AKG K361 and K371. See Metal571 and Oluv reviews if curious.
Supporting my contention that accurate tuning is irrelevant, lol.
They got their brand recognition by inventing and marketing the open-back headphone. Then they were early to market with a diffuse-field-tuning based headphone when everyone else was doing free field. Then they made a splash with the Orpheus. Then they made a splash with the ultra-wide HD-800. After that … well, inertia is a powerful force.
aware of the akg offerrings I just want to see it from sennheiser
Gotcha. Suspect there are some egos in the way of that one. And even if there weren’t don’t think they have the in-house know-how to do it. Bet a lot of companies including Sennheiser have been busy taking the 371 apart and trying to see how it works. Even so, doing it closed-back is a whole different challenge than doing it open-back. Suspect even the engineers at AKG are still scratching their heads on that one.
i mean if the hgarman target leads senheisser into making a good budget closed back that I personally enjoy then thats what they have to do
So just to clarify Antpages dream is essentially a summit fi headphone for 150 but built with low quality materials. Am I missing anything
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Exactly! but for everyone Mon 
Dont you want Meze Empyean headphones for 150$? wait! you’ll have to sacrifice something, materials, big company, ect… 
PS. you can call me Ant, its short for Anthony
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I think I’d be pretty depressed if I got a headphone and it was the best thing my ears had ever heard only to have it fall apart after 5 minutes of listening. I guess that’s less a dream and more a nightmare though.
That’s what I’d expect though if someone tried to say their cheap headphone was endgame. But who knows what the future will bring?
Oh and maybe Zach from ZMF will become so wealthy he’ll mass produce headphones for cheap and give them to everyone in need for free.
Well look at the STAX headphones. they managed to stay held together, their selling vintage STAX on ebay. but unfortunately their price is horribly inflated.
What im saying is the important thing about headphones is the sound. the build materials, the box it comes in, cables and inflating prices we dont need.
Prices are what people are willing to pay.
I’ve owned cars that would be worth more now than when I bought them. I certainly didn’t sell them at a profit.
I’ve seen companies with good products go under, because they priced things too low. Kickstarter proves this over and over for every success story there are multiple failures.
Now the margins on high end audio gear are probably large, but that reduces the potential market, companies have to make those calls.
Considering a price inflated just means it’s more that you would be willing to pay, it’s all relative.
There are certain things I probably over value, because they have sentimental value. Other people drive prices up on say used Stax gear.
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