Lake People/Violectric Niimbus

As I understand it, a large part of their cost is wages.

Taken from https://www.head-fi.org/threads/lake-people-g109-g103-thread.620082/page-27#post-12066716

 

So they managed to double thee price of V281 because of what? They doubled the wages?
what a sanctimonious crap.

 

They have just as much right to charge whatever they think the market will bear as I do to shop elsewhere for a more cost-effective solution. They are far from the only company that charges more for their products than my tiny little corner of the market will bear. Doesn't matter to me even if they did double wages, I guess I look for companies that pay shit wages.

 

I can respect their wanting their employees to earn a decent living without having to work multiple jobs, but I can also respect consumers' not wanting to offer their custom to a manufacturer whose CEO calls their own amps "overpriced". Granted, benefit of the doubt that it was used with humorous intent, but if there are those that sound roughly as good for less then they can't reasonably expect very many people to bite.

Then again, I'd be lying if I said I've never knowingly paid a premium for a brand name and good build quality. It's a free market.

So as to keep this as on-topic as possible, has anyone here gotten ears on this amp? Or anything connected to it, really. I'm wondering how this fares against the local favourites, though given Violectric/LP's alleged track record I'm thinking this'll be competitive with stuff in the $2.5k range?

 

Maybe I'm missing something but that post was from 2015 so doesn't explain the pricing of this amp, just Violectric pricing in general (eg why their old amps were more expensive than the cheaper Chinese clones of their designs). The "overpriced" bit was a reference to that I think.

Don't particularly like their sound but their CEO has always seemed a pretty reasonable person willing to discuss openly issues that aren't always discussed. I can't imagine being that reasonable if people are openly saying they are buying cheap clones of my designs and I am charging too much.

Also they do tend to have amazing volume knobs.

 

As I've gotten older and more secure in my income, I find myself leaning away from the "clone" brands. I'm not at a place where I can go premium boutique all the way, but I can appreciate the work and resources required to design and build a product, and I'm willing to pay for that. Granted, I will also haggle and trawl through used classifieds... I've got a mortgage to pay for after all.

 

Yup, but if it's reflective of V/LP pricing in general then it's probably safe to assume that the same extends to this amp

I like playing with their knobs (/innuendo)! Not really my style since I prefer smooth pots, but definitely fun to use. And yeah, it's refreshing to see someone in Fried Reim's position speaking with what appears to be candor. We need more of that sort all over, not just in the audio industry.

 

Ok, that pricing is just stupid.

 

I still find the fact that they have different sub-brands pegged at different price points feels a little like a tarp for the unwary. I'm imagining @schiit starting a "premium" brand called Dior Ear or something, and how tiring it would be to keep track.

(But yes, nice volume knobs, 11/10, would grasp firmly but gently and manipulate.)

 

Took a minute or to to get that! Have a large lol

 

The Source AV recently became the Lake People/Vioelectric/Niimbus USA distributor. Was shared some info about the new upcoming Niimbus:

For those going to RMAF, a Niimbus will be at the Audeze booth. We will be getting a demo unit for our showroom but not sure yet an exact timeline.

 

Tis the Season people .......anybody done the ol' "Merry Xmas to ME" and bought one of these? I would luv to hear impressions about how it sounds .....

 

Last I checked nobody puts a gun to your head forcing you to buy the amp....if it is too expensive it will not sell, if it is deemed worth the money it will...simple as that

 

You should go through the proper channels and introduce yourself & getting familiar with the place instead of barging in spouting off at the mouth. Your opinion means jack shit here

 

He's not prolific, but he has been around almost 2 years. His post does have a point.

 

Strong solid states could have fairly expensive material costs too. I don't know about Lake People's design but the Mass Kobo 394 uses a fully custom built switching power supply unit that costs upwards of $1,000. Basically Masuda needed to price hike the amp because his supplier keeps increasing the cost for the part.

Early comparisons are pretty positive, someone over at Headphoneclub already has his unit in hand and the word is that it compares favorably to the GS-X mk2. As a big solid state guy myself, I'd love to get my hands on one to test.

 

I am not allowed to put forth a post suggesting that nobody is forcing anybody to buy anything?....gee, what kind of forum is this then?....come on...personally i am glad we have a choice of more expensive and less expensive items. Does this thought process apply to other items other than Hi-Fi gear?...It is quite silly and believe me i didnt think the comment was controversial

 

"What kind of forum is this?" Find out and come back. Your aggrieved wankery is already tired in 6 posts.

 

You had a point, now you're whining and creating noise.

 

IMO from my own experience listening to both, the GS-X MK2 can get a bit hard & strident, while the Niimbus is a bit on the sweet side.
When I heard it, I didn't know anything about the unit, and thought it would be a very nice $600 amp. Then I realized this is a $6k unit.. ugg
No more comment except that its not a bad unit at all, very nice.
Just rediculously over priced.