I'm totally in agreement with you. Sony, Bose etc. show that you can build a fantastic pair of noise cancelling "prosumer" headphones in the $250-350 range. I'

I'm totally in agreement with you. Sony, Bose etc. show that you can build a fantastic pair of noise cancelling "prosumer" headphones in the $250-350 range. I'll accept a $50 markup for Apple's tight integration and marketing. That's $400. $550 (or, in Europe, $775...) is a ridiculous price.