That's what blind tests should be used for more often, evaluation.
You can't say all earbuds are weak, they vary a lot, I have around ten pairs.
Not really. I tend to stick to my Sennheiser HD 598, driven by my own pure class A headphone amp, using shunt regulation.
I have tried their bigger models, as well as those from Grado and Beye Dynamic, but in the end concluded that the price difference was simply not worth the sound difference.
My plus point is that both my tuner and CD player have dual output lines, so I can hooke them up in parallel to both the system preamp AND my headphone amp, which has selectable A or B inputs. That way I can bypass the preamp altogether, all the more so since my headphone amp also has a switch for stereo or mono (as L+R) and a balance control, meaning that I can adjsut for perfect balance on it and need nothing else.
He didn't say whose and which model. Since he says he's a patriot, could be from Koss.
I don't know what does "overpriced" really mean. Some take it on price alone, others do try to consider how much work went into them, some love headphones, others hate them, etc. In short, it's a very relative thing.
Mine used to cost €350 for a plain black case, or €499 in a swanky big case, with copper bottom and a thick machined front plate, and in true dual mono configuration.
I thought that was a fair price, given that I hand matched trnsistors throughout the device, checked literally every component that went into it, etc. But I am well aware that people who don't care much for earphones will think that a rip-off, since they can buy some Chinese made junk for about 10% of the lower price. IT looks the business, but in reality, inside it's almost the same thing they give you in commercial devices, one dual op amp and that's it. I love headphones for late night listening, so I guess my value scale is much different.
The semiconductor output stage uses 50W devices ... VERY much in pure class A.
An extra transistor to me is a lost opportunity. Find a spec and Gold medal for least parts. In this example the size is ultra critical and may well have to be surface mount. My major design task it a correct lithium iron battery charger. Boeing will say why.
Naim and Quad . Many times better than the sum of the parts. I can only think in some way the amp only works with the ESL 57's. Deep sound stage and sweet with speed. The Nait has exactly the power they need. I dare say a capacitor upgrade worth doing. Tantalum's out.
Without any exaggeration Nait + 57's beat to oblivion Martin Logan + Krell. It wasn't subtle. It is about working well together. The best Krell sound I heard was with of all things Linn Isobariks!! That was with Musical Fidelity The Preamp also ( LP 12 ) .
Naim and Quad . Many times better than the sum of the parts. I can only think in some way the amp only works with the ESL 57's. Deep sound stage and sweet with speed. The Nait has exactly the power they need. I dare say a capacitor upgrade worth doing. Tantalum's out.
Without any exaggeration Nait + 57's beat to oblivion Martin Logan + Krell. It wasn't subtle. It is about working well together. The best Krell sound I heard was with of all things Linn Isobariks!! That was with Musical Fidelity The Preamp also ( LP 12 ) .
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So you have a pure Class A headphone amp you sell? I see, that's cool.
If you are the factory or inventor you can charge the price you consider right.
I think overpriced is mostly within the retailer side, such as when they buy a speaker for $100 and sell for $700.
If he was using Koss it would be the DJ100 maybe, they don't have many models.
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Going back and thinking about hearing limitations and the audio industry. When I owned a stereo store in the late '70s and early '80s, my store manager wore hearing aids. Yes, he took them off for critical listening. One of the other employees had worked on jet engines when he was in the military, and had a severe loss at 5k.
In both cases, they seemed at least as able to tell what sounded good and what didn't.
As for profit margins, none of the equipment we had, including Magnepan, Audio Research, etc. had more than a 50% margin. If it sold for $1000, we typically paid the manufacturer $600 for it. Exceptions were low-end phono carts, where we paid $7.50 for a "$60 retail". These were the things you got "free" with your turntable.
In both cases, they seemed at least as able to tell what sounded good and what didn't.
As for profit margins, none of the equipment we had, including Magnepan, Audio Research, etc. had more than a 50% margin. If it sold for $1000, we typically paid the manufacturer $600 for it. Exceptions were low-end phono carts, where we paid $7.50 for a "$60 retail". These were the things you got "free" with your turntable.
First i did not know if i should post it in the " Thoughts about retirement .. " thread :
Five Myths in Assessing the Effects of Noise on Hearing William W. Clark Hearing Evaluation - Adults Hearing Conservation/NIHL 1292
The sky is is gypsy.....
Five Myths in Assessing the Effects of Noise on Hearing William W. Clark Hearing Evaluation - Adults Hearing Conservation/NIHL 1292
The sky is is gypsy.....
I love this bit:
An excellent demonstration of how lopsided people's thinking on what to worry about can be ...
That was most certainly not Gordon.
High end equipment at that time was usually 40% profit, unless you didn't pay on time.
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