AKG Austria is Reborn - Austrian Audio

Discussion in 'Headphones' started by LauriCular, Oct 12, 2017.

  1. LauriCular

    LauriCular Acquaintance

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  2. purr1n

    purr1n Desire for betterer is endless.

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    I hope they bring back the K1000 so they can be commonplace.
     
  3. LauriCular

    LauriCular Acquaintance

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    And lose their mystique?
     
  4. purr1n

    purr1n Desire for betterer is endless.

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    Yes. Because mystique is bad for consumers.
     
  5. james444

    james444 Mad IEM modding wizard level 99

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  6. Lyander

    Lyander Official SBAF Equitable Empathizer

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    As much as I have high expectations for, and would absolutely love to demo the MySpheres, I doubt very many people in my corner of the globe will be picking one up. For one, the Utopia-level asking price is likely enough to discourage blind purchases unless you've got money to burn (still laughing over @ultrabike 's reaction in the K1000 thread, lol), and as much as good-condition K1000s cost on the used market, the average asking price still isn't quite in the same league as the MySpheres, making the vintage set a marginally more sensible purchase if all you want is to try floating earspeakers (or whatever you call them). Having said all that, I'm certainly hoping that the new kids have sonic improvements enough to justify the asking price!

    For what it's worth, I'm looking forward to seeing what Austrian Audio comes up with. Given the restructuring, I hope what comes out of AA is more in line with older AKG, that is to say, serious cans for not-improbable prices. Heck, given the company's long history they could probably make a HD650 killer for roughly the same price if they set their mind to it.

    ... Okay, that last bit was basically SBAF blasphemy. I'll see myself out now :p
     
  7. purr1n

    purr1n Desire for betterer is endless.

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  8. nithhoggr

    nithhoggr Author of the best selling novel Digital Jesus

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    Is it really that unreasonable, given what TOTL headphones are going for these days? I mean, I couldn't buy them myself, but clearly somebody's buying these Utopias and LCD4's and HD1000's. Considering what the K1000 went for when other TOTL headphones were basically the HD650 and various Stax and $1k was nuts for a pair of headphones, it's not crazy for their successor to go for current TOTL prices. Especially since it probably costs more for a smaller, newer company to make these things than it did for AKG.
     
  9. purr1n

    purr1n Desire for betterer is endless.

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    Just for good measure in case there was any misunderstanding:

    f**k you Focal
    f**k you Audeze
    f**k you Benchmark
     
  10. nithhoggr

    nithhoggr Author of the best selling novel Digital Jesus

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    Fair enough. Though personally I hope they do well enough to produce lower-priced variants...i's hard to see them expanding the line upwards if they're starting at $4k. I guess my thoughts on the matter is that it's no worse for me if there's a $4000 headphone I can't afford than if it doesn't exist. Worst case scenario either way is that I don't get that headphone, but if it exists then maybe the price'll come down enough someday for me to pick up a used pair.
     
  11. 9suns

    9suns [insert unearned title here]

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    The real question is...was the K812 their vision of ideal sound or a Harman thing?
    I mean, it's nice to see AKG reborn and bla bla bla, but will they produce new headphones with the same treble fuckery as the K812, K701, etc?
    I would like to know that, I couldn't care less for a K812 MK2 with a different name.
    EDIT: I'm talking about "Austrian Audio", not LB-Acoustics (Mysphere).
     
    Last edited: Oct 12, 2017
  12. ultrabike

    ultrabike Measurbator - Admin

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    Let say they came down. Lets play the haggle game:

    -MyHairyBallz rep: $2k. That's 50% off!
    -Nobody: f**k you.
    -MyHairyBallz rep: $1k. That's 4x less than the MSRP man! Common. Given volume this would barely cover R&D, distribution, manufacturing, packaging, rent, kid's college tuition, and the company's "Big Mistake" yacht.
    -Nobody: f**k you. Maybe $300 cuz maybe they sound good but they look stupid: http://www.superbestaudiofriends.org/index.php?threads/akg-k1000.4793/#post-156322
    -MyHairyBallz rep: f**k you.
    -Nobody: f**k you.

    Result: Fail.
     
  13. cskippy

    cskippy Creamy warmpoo

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    Ugh, they were throwing around the $3k price point for the longest time but then pulled a Hifiman.
    Ah, forgot about this! I listened to them at RMAF and I thought they sounded pretty good except there was something going on in the upper mids/lower treble I guessed a little bump around 2-3kHz. Lol, I was right! This reminded me of the AKG house sound which I don't care for. Not to mention the now even higher price point at $4k, I thought it was supposed to be $3k, makes them a non starter for me.
     
  14. purr1n

    purr1n Desire for betterer is endless.

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    The Mysphere drivers seem to be much closer to the ears than the K1000?
     
  15. westermac

    westermac Friend

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    Nice! As a big fan of older AKG phones (and mics) Harman has really been killing me slowly with all the consumer crap they've been peddling under the AKG brand, hope these guys can get back to their roots.

    The new logo is nice, I think the cardioid pattern is a good indication they will be keeping it professional... Don't f**k with the Austrians.
     
  16. Donald North

    Donald North Friend

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    I noticed this too and wish they were adjustable like the K1000.

    I agree they are asking a lot of money for them but am willing to give them the benefit of the doubt and hope they deliver on the sound quality.
     
  17. Donald North

    Donald North Friend

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    I have been to Austria a few times for work and it is a great country and they are good, fun people.

    I have the classic K240M and K240DF from the 80s-90s and while not being the last word in resolution, they are thoroughly enjoyable and musical.
     
  18. pavi

    pavi Almost "Made"

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    I've been listening to the MYSPHERE 3.2 for about 8 weeks now.

    My primary chain is Roon -> Yggdrasil Analog 2 -> EC Aficionado (EML 300B mesh), though I've also listened to it from the WA5-LE premium using Takatsukis, and I've listened to it from the Phonitor X.

    It is superb.

    The low-end is confident and assured; the mid-range simply wonderful; the highs are clear and pleasant. Overall, there's genuine clarity, warmth, precision, authority and sheer delight. The headstage is remarkable. There is no sound isolation, of course.

    I've compared it with the other transducers I have access to: LCD-4, Utopia, Abyss 1266 phi and the 800S. Each of those is amazing in its own right, but I find the MYSPHERE 3.2 to be the most enjoyable, with the Abyss and the Utopia very close behind.

    Wearing the MYSPHERE has its challenges - it has taken me a while to get to unconscious comfort.
     
    Last edited: Aug 24, 2018
  19. sacredgates

    sacredgates Audio-Technica's high priest

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    Are you happy with the amount of bass on the mysphere? I have heard quite a few impressions here with our local community which say bass response is rather weak, unless you swing the transducers very close to the ear, but by doing so you loose the other unique properties like speaker like staging...
    And yes, even though a lot of research and novel thinking went in this headphone, I also detest where the pricing policy has been going. (There also has been quite a bit of dismay with the rather outrageous prices they are asking for a private test loaner).

    N.B. The creators of the Mysphere are a different company as Austrian Audio
     
    Last edited: Aug 24, 2018
  20. pavi

    pavi Almost "Made"

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    @sacredgates agreed on pricing. that’s a real issue.

    bass & soundstage: you’re right on the trade-offs there. perhaps not the ideal option for edm, for instance. i listen mostly to jazz, indian & western classical, and that shapes my response for sure.

    i posted to the wrong thread, didn’t i? was trying not to start a new thread, wasn’t careful.
     

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