Rocky Mountain Audio Fest (RMAF) 2018

Discussion in 'The Meeting Place' started by thegunner100, Aug 24, 2018.

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  1. Nordpol Anton

    Nordpol Anton New

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    Did anyone listen to the Sony IER-Z1R everyone at HF is raving about?
     
  2. Elnrik

    Elnrik Super Friendly

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    For $2300 they better be the second coming of Audiophile Jesus. I didn't hear them.
     
  3. msommers

    msommers High on Epipens

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    Which should then be the same principle applied to ZMF models?
     
  4. Elnrik

    Elnrik Super Friendly

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    Yes. With that said, ZMF is the second coming of Audiophile Jesus.

    edit - Seriously though, I am concerned about the pricing of the Vérité. $1100 for an Atticus is hard enough to justify for most people when purchasing a headphone, and the $1700 for the Auteur is a big stretch. I think Vérité was going to be $2500-ish... There's a lot more to that headphone regarding cost and labor compared to his previous models, so I get the justification for setting the price there, but IMO it's simply out of most people's price range.

    I also have a certain view of IEMs in that you get very little product, physically, for the price you pay. With full sized hand made headphones, it's a little more tolerable.
     
    Last edited: Oct 10, 2018
  5. maverickronin

    maverickronin Friend

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    Because demanding to know his real name isn't creepy at all.

    You'd think he was hoping to send out a hit squad if Chris cracked or slipped. He was trying to conduct and interrogation from the audience.
     
  6. Gruss Gott

    Gruss Gott Almost "Made"

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    There's also a psychological factor there (like $1.99 vs $2) - $2500+ might have a weed out factor (which could be good or bad) ... I can see paying $2399, but higher starts to feel ridiculous for me ... just my psychology I guess.

    Nerd Point
    That said, typically the premium market is a good place to be, especially if you speculate a market crash coming. Porsche, for example, used to be in a position to roll right through a downturn because high net worth people still buy 911s in a crash, but over the last 10 years Porsche has built a large SUV business which relies on volume of sub-$100k vehicles. Granted a $80k suv isn't cheap, but many people can and have stretched into them - in a crash Porsche stands to lose a large piece of volume.

    Anyway, Zach is probably smart to build a following in the ultra premium market well before he does anything volume based. Most small businesses go bankrupt at their highest point of profitability - which is counterintuitive - but it's because they invest in materials to meet massive demand, which then drops, leaving them stuck with people and materials they can no longer afford
     
  7. Elnrik

    Elnrik Super Friendly

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    I'd bet you make more off volume sales though, in Porsche's case that is.
     
    Last edited: Oct 10, 2018
  8. Thad E Ginathom

    Thad E Ginathom Friend

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    Perfect comparisson
    Multi-orgasmic brilliant
    :punk:
     
  9. Lyander

    Lyander Official SBAF Equitable Empathizer

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    Volume sales do tend to be the primary source of income for most manufacturers (speaking from other experience in other hobbies, not audio, but the logic should still hold water), which is why loads of pen manufacturers like LAMY, Sheaffer, Parker, Pelikan, et al still manage to survive in an era where fountain pen sales, despite finding a second wind similar to what happened with vinyl (arguments that FPs write better and vinyl sounds better notwithstanding, that's another conversation entirely), still can't really hold up to the millions of cheapo Biros that move; the bulk of their sales are less pricey models, and these can be produced in large volumes at significantly lower cost similar to how Schiit does stuff.

    Having premium products is f'ing great for PR, though. For every thousand affordable pens you've likely got someone rocking an Omas Arte Italiana LE or the latest Montblanc Writer's Edition which can easily go into the thousands of USD just for flaunting's sake. It's great publicity. In a more technologically-oriented industry like audio (let's face it, how would one even begin to improve on analogue writing instruments?), overcoming the myriad hurdles that exist in sound reproduction makes for excellent box decor and marketing spiel.

    Also, the fact of the matter is that people tend to enjoy products they've invested more (money, time, effort, desire, etc) in than ones they've spent less on. Psych 101, which is pretty much how Ultrasone and MQA happened.
     
  10. Schlappen

    Schlappen New

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    Hi guys,
    is anyone here, who tested the new QUAD ERA-1.?
    A planar magnetic headphone for a fair price.
     
  11. AllanMarcus

    AllanMarcus Friend

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    yep. it was OK; nothing special. It was new, out of the box, so it might improve with break in (might not). I would wait and see how it gets reviewed, and if it sells well enough for Quad to even continue it. So many other well established headphone brands selling good stuff in the 500-1000 range, I would be hesitant to buy from a relative (headphone) newcomer.

    Also, $800 is the dealer price. I would imagine it's more of $500 headphone.
     
  12. Biodegraded

    Biodegraded Friend

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    Just dropped at MD. $570, incl. amp $1200. November 23
     
  13. brencho

    brencho Friend

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    Way I see it, anything over a grand is a lot of money for a fuckin headphone when shit like the hd800 still rips almost anything new of today. Thickness be damned I'll just fix it with tubes LOL. Sure everybody gotta eat but I find the pricing disturbing. Cause headphones ain't speakers but market is trying to treat them as such. Now watch me preorder a Zarate.
     
  14. Riotvan

    Riotvan Snoofer in the Woofer

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    Agreed, when i see price above 1k i just start thinking oh it's speaker money now, pass. That said i do have clears but i got a very good deal on it. And even then i felt uneasy and wanted to sell but finding a nice amp that didn't break the bank changed my mind.
     
  15. AllanMarcus

    AllanMarcus Friend

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    That's actually a pretty damn good deal, especially if desktop space is limited. I only tried the ERA-1 with whatever pads it had on. I imagine the other pads change the sound, and possible for the better.

    The amps is a DAC, BT, and speakers (15W). Add some decent small speakers and possibly a small sub, and this is a decent package. Quad even makes some desktop speakers, or get any number of decent small speakers. Some might way they would need to be efficient, but for low volume desktop listening, pretty anything should work.
     
  16. TSAVJason

    TSAVJason MOT: TSAV

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    Sorry I missed you when you came by. While at TSAV did you try the 820 on any of the other amps/dac’s? Or maybe in a quiet room at RMAF?
     
  17. TSAVJason

    TSAVJason MOT: TSAV

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    I don’t disagree but speaker money for some is Ferrari money for others. The Clear is a pretty sweet headphone and drives very nicely with a lot of gear
     
  18. TSAVJason

    TSAVJason MOT: TSAV

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    I haven’t had the chance to hear ZMF’s new amp. Any chance you could offer up any more on your impression?
     
  19. Hands

    Hands Overzealous Auto Flusher - Measurbator

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    That's about all I have to say about it...Would need an extensive test at home for more.
     
  20. AllanMarcus

    AllanMarcus Friend

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    Hi Jason,

    No to both questions. I’m not sure what happened when I listened at your store. Like I said, maybe just bad pairing. I do think there are merits to the 820, but it’s not for me.
     

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