Why the hell do headphones have to be so expensive?

Why the hell do headphones have to be so expensive?
Is there another tech commodity with such an insane markup, because I can't think of any, or is it perhaps the case that the headphone business has more in common with the fashion industry than technology.
You have literally nothing as far as your bill of materials goes and "R&D" because audio is probably the most stagnant market possible, and even if it were true the chinese would just make knock offs anyway and we'd be flooded with good headphones for 10-20$.

Attached: square_louped_HD_800_black-sq-01-sennheiser_600x.jpg (600x600, 30K)

Other urls found in this thread:

chink
audio-gd.com/Products-EN.htm
twitter.com/NSFWRedditImage

But user, we are flooded with $10-$20 cheap Chinese headphones. I bought one. Roverbeats something. It's ok.

>good headphones for $10-20
here you go

Attached: 71GhZ-zdnTL._SL1500_.jpg (1500x1500, 171K)

literally all you need is this

Attached: dt880_perspective.jpg (652x700, 31K)

professional sound engineer here. our studio uses sennheiser HD280PROs and samson sr850s. you can get the sr850s for $20, and they sound just as good, even at the professional level.

>nothing as far as your bill of materials goes
>"R&D"
>the chinese would just make knock offs anyway
The R&D comes in the form of developing manufacturing methods that can consistently create extremely high precision drivers that have the exact performance characteristics that you want. The reason that the Chinese haven't started producing HiFi headphones is that it takes decades of R&D to develop the manufacturing techniques that companies like Sennheiser, AKG, and Grado have.

Comrade.

Though like all headphones, they have trade-offs, and I understand if people with less refined tastes prefer something else.

Demand for quality is low, and ability to actually appreciate quality is even lower, so price mark-ups not only economically justify a product that will never move large numbers, but add a placebo effect: "I paid a grand for these, they MUST sound noticeably better than the ones that are a quarter the cost."

I do think you're underestimating the construction costs though. To be good, headphones need precision engineering, and that costs money, even in China (not as much money as they're charging, but more than ten or twenty bucks).

in my experience, the chinkshit sounds nearly as good as the expensive ones and any difference is due to software or additional hardware, such as amps. My wireless gym headphones that I paid like $40 for sound just as good as my Astro A50s if I plug them into the mixamp.

TVs are the same way. There's like 3 parts manufacturers and the $400 store brand TV could have the exact same components as the $2000 Sony TV.

Why do you need top of the line headphones?

or 770s if you want closed back.

Audio in general has very rapid diminishing returns.

just bought m40x but they bleed a good amount of sound, any recs or earpads?

>no changeable chord
I hate when they to that on any 70€+ headphone
I'm interested in the DT990, but if the cable breaks, is it easy to change it or fix it myself? This may be a deal breaker

It's a very easy solder job, though. I changed the cable on my DT 770's with minimal experience.

>so expensive?
Isn't the HD800 only $1k?

Think 5-600 these days. Can get hd800s for under $1000 too on the grey market.

Attached: E80A4B59-2DFB-4869-92E1-E31B66CA7359.jpg (2772x3698, 2.08M)

k712 pro is just as good, unless it comes to soundstage, nothing beats the hd800

Nope. Especially not Grado.

So you can brag about it online, duh

I get the impression, at least in the /hpg/, most posters don’t even own headphones but are “experts” at making recommendations. Those and the jealous sort shittalkong anyone having anything they can’t afford and have never heard.

Attached: dims.jpg (620x340, 140K)

blame beats

Attached: images.jpg (275x183, 7K)

It takes rd to achieve the consistency of quality, which you clearly don't value. Refer to /csg/'s guide for headphones which are built to fit your needs better; chink shit.xyz /infographic.pdf

You dirty American dogs can buy a HD6XX for $199.99. You can spend $99 on entry level headphones or $199 on something you can use forever. Holy fuck stop complaining.

this

you are paying for the small details of craftsmanship. if you don't care about that then it's not like that market doesn't exist.

>There's like 3 parts manufacturers and the $400 store brand TV could have the exact same components as the $2000 Sony TV.
You must be blind as fuuuuuuck.

First off, a $2000 TV is OLED range, and you can't even get an OLED TV for $400, or even $1000.

Second, it'd be difficult to list all the shit that currently does not come in a $400 generic TV, and the things they are absolute trash at. One of the most that really annoy me about cheap shit TVs is the hilariously terrible black levels and uniformity. I can't even think of a single $400 TV that is even remotely close to being able to display HDR (yes, there may be SOME that advertise it, but zero of them can actually do the brightness, black level, or gamut; they simply are able to accept the signal). And HDR is way more noticeable in the majority of viewing situations than 4k.

>insane markup
literally doesn't understand how products work
this is a widget that you pretty much buy once (unless you're a fucking idiot and blow them out or put the chords through a blender)
as such, they need to make quite a bit of money to make up for the fact that you end up buying one
it's not a goddamned lightbulb

not sure why you're bitching about, you can just get your $20 headphones and no one will give a shit if you do

>b-but other people

High end headphones cost a LOT more to make and RND than you think they do. The sub $100 market has gotten a LOT better as of late. Not everything from China is cheap garbage. Making high precision electronics isn't exactly cheap anywhere you make them. FFS look at audio GD (a completely owned, RND'd, and manufactured in China). audio-gd.com/Products-EN.htm

Attached: 6tHfvIM.jpg (398x685, 39K)

the excuses people make for 25 cent plastic and 5 dollar drivers lol

you know they make cheap headphones? nothing is forcing you to even consider high-end headphones other than your envy.

poorfags are so pathetic.

headphones peak price/performance ~$500-600. Get a job

no, the funny thing is that you think all the expensive headphones use exclusive shit when they don't at all and utilize the same exact technology, you've fallen for the placebo rich people shit meme and think that as long as it costs more it must be better hence why you constantly cite costs as if it matters

Something tells me you haven't been to head-fi.

this applies to meme audiophile equipment and snakeoil like special cables, not mid range headphones. stop being angry and poor

i know what driver technologies are, retard. better drivers are better and thus more expensive, regardless of technique. this is like saying a $80 celeron is equivalent to a $1500 threadripper because they both use silicon lithography and the threadripper is snakeoil.

fucking poorfags lmao

>$1000 is now mid tier when it comes to customs
>TOTL stuff and breaking $3000

I know Etymotic are still very good for $300 but you could make the most accurate headphones ever and people may still hate it.

I've owned 2 pairs of Etymotic, both have sounded like shit.
>Clamps on your cheekbone and sounds mediocre
There are a ton of cheap headphones on the market, so I don't understand why you complain. Even cheap $2-300 headphones can compete with the best.