Audio-Technica’s Tube Headphone Amplifier for $108,000 - Is this price still normal?
Use four Takatsuki 300B power tubes, ECC83S gold pin small-signal tubes, amorphous-core silver-wire Lundahl input and output transformers, dual-mono configuration and a fully-balanced drive design.
What do DIY tube specialists say about this?
Audio-Technica’s $108,000 Tube Headphone Amplifier Must be Heard at CanJam NYC 2024
https://www.ecoustics.com/products/audio-technica-narukami/
Use four Takatsuki 300B power tubes, ECC83S gold pin small-signal tubes, amorphous-core silver-wire Lundahl input and output transformers, dual-mono configuration and a fully-balanced drive design.
What do DIY tube specialists say about this?
Audio-Technica’s $108,000 Tube Headphone Amplifier Must be Heard at CanJam NYC 2024
https://www.ecoustics.com/products/audio-technica-narukami/
You could certainly build it yourself?
Apart from the fact that the power balance is completely wrong. The power consumed by the tube heaters alone is probably more than a modern balanced headphone amplifier including DAC requires. And that would be much closer to the ideal of "a pice wire with gain". The tube sound is also provided by a DSP or software on the computer.
You can bet that with a good configuration, nobody would be able to tell the difference in the ABX blind test! Or?
Apart from the fact that the power balance is completely wrong. The power consumed by the tube heaters alone is probably more than a modern balanced headphone amplifier including DAC requires. And that would be much closer to the ideal of "a pice wire with gain". The tube sound is also provided by a DSP or software on the computer.
You can bet that with a good configuration, nobody would be able to tell the difference in the ABX blind test! Or?
The cost of the headphone amplifier probably includes development costs
as they do not expect to sell a lot of them.
as they do not expect to sell a lot of them.
It's why we have DIY. A house to live in, plus that good sound. I suppose anyone who can afford >$100k for a piece of audio gear already has a house and the bank is paid off. Or, there's that credit they'll sell you; have everything you want now, worry about how to run away from it later.
Another player in this game Sennheiser HE-1
I heard them several times, but I don't give them €60.000
Clearly a very good headphone tonally, but a little warmly tuned when compared directly with the HD800 / HD800S.
Now he cost $70,000 and comes from Ireland - before he cost $55,000 and comes from Germany.
Sennheiser HE1: What Goes Into a $70,000 Pair of Headphones (Published March, 2024)
High Tech Meets High Touch: Inside Sennheiser’s High-End Headphone Factory in Tullamore, Ireland.
https://www.ecoustics.com/articles/sennheiser-he1/
New Products (Published November 3, 2015)
Sennheiser Orpheus Headphone System – $59K for Best Sound in the World?
Priced at $55,000, Sennheiser claims its new Orpheus headphone system surpasses every other headphone system in the world.
https://www.ecoustics.com/products/sennheiser-orpheus-headphone-system-2016/
I heard them several times, but I don't give them €60.000
Clearly a very good headphone tonally, but a little warmly tuned when compared directly with the HD800 / HD800S.
Now he cost $70,000 and comes from Ireland - before he cost $55,000 and comes from Germany.
Sennheiser HE1: What Goes Into a $70,000 Pair of Headphones (Published March, 2024)
High Tech Meets High Touch: Inside Sennheiser’s High-End Headphone Factory in Tullamore, Ireland.
https://www.ecoustics.com/articles/sennheiser-he1/
New Products (Published November 3, 2015)
Sennheiser Orpheus Headphone System – $59K for Best Sound in the World?
Priced at $55,000, Sennheiser claims its new Orpheus headphone system surpasses every other headphone system in the world.
https://www.ecoustics.com/products/sennheiser-orpheus-headphone-system-2016/
My last DIY attempt was a long time ago, it was the WNA MKII - it was published in the RockGrotto forum and also on Head-fi.
I modified a few things and used better components. Tried out several OPAs, including some from Burson Audio.
Here is more of my contribution to this WNA MKII DIY project
https://www.head-fi.org/threads/new-wna-mkll-head-amp-kit.99596/page-51
At the moment I'm testing a completely discrete headphone amplifier from AustrianAudio (Full Score one). If I were to build one myself, I would be more interested in a hybrid - tube in the input, transistor as output driver.
I hope that it doesn't bother you here in this area if you also discuss cross-topic issues.
I modified a few things and used better components. Tried out several OPAs, including some from Burson Audio.
Here is more of my contribution to this WNA MKII DIY project
https://www.head-fi.org/threads/new-wna-mkll-head-amp-kit.99596/page-51
At the moment I'm testing a completely discrete headphone amplifier from AustrianAudio (Full Score one). If I were to build one myself, I would be more interested in a hybrid - tube in the input, transistor as output driver.
I hope that it doesn't bother you here in this area if you also discuss cross-topic issues.
I know about, but if they sell 100 pices, the development costs are more than covered in my opinion.
With today's means and available knowledge, it can't be witchcraft to develop such a thing.
I know some developers of headphones and power tube amplifiers (one even personally), they don't have big sales figures either and their price is a fraction of that!
Lundahl offer schematics
https://www.lundahltransformers.com/schematics/
One of them The Revenge KR842VHD Amplifier
https://www.lundahltransformers.com/wp-content/uploads/datasheets/pannari-3.pdf
Another source for some (except here diyaudio) are AudioXpress.
https://www.lundahltransformers.com/schematics/
One of them The Revenge KR842VHD Amplifier
https://www.lundahltransformers.com/wp-content/uploads/datasheets/pannari-3.pdf
Another source for some (except here diyaudio) are AudioXpress.
I know that I realise that there are people who don't know what they should buy for money.
I once saw a documentary about how the super-rich have their flats in NY penthouses handed in and where they get the posh ingredients from. Nothing is too expensive.
But does that make sense?
We are moving away from this topic.
I think your volume estimate is likely high. Even mid-fi stereo components in the $1500 range may only sell a few hundred pieces a year these days, and they have a much larger potential customer base.
At a basic level, no luxury item has to make sense from a simple price/performance standpoint.
But you're also dealing with a shrinking mid-to-hi fidelity audio market. Could they sell the same amp for $5-10,000? Probably, but would their gross sales or profits improve significantly? Why sell a hundred units at $10,000 if you can sell 10 units at $100,000? Hand building a few pieces a year is relatively straightforward and some might find it interesting. Trying to make 100 of something a year is a pain. I work for a company that does low volume production in a non-luxury market and it's a constant struggle for wire harnesses, displays, IC's, computers, fans, etc. Things are always getting obsoleted, presented with ridiculous lead times or new insane prices, etc.
Unfortunately, some of the top producers of good components have disappeared from the market.
Just think of the manufacturer Jelmax with its BlackGate electrolytic capacitors. In my opinion the best electrolytic capacitors for audio applications (or is there already something equivalent that I don't know about?)
Fortunately, HOLCO resistors are still around.
I had many components sent to me by Michael Percy Audio (USA). https://www.percyaudio.com/
Just think of the manufacturer Jelmax with its BlackGate electrolytic capacitors. In my opinion the best electrolytic capacitors for audio applications (or is there already something equivalent that I don't know about?)
Fortunately, HOLCO resistors are still around.
I had many components sent to me by Michael Percy Audio (USA). https://www.percyaudio.com/