5 ms·

Wonderful, this market has been out of whack for a while. They've been sold like a medical device instead of a piece of technology, 5-10x markup. Having fitting

by sdwr 4y ago

Wonderful, this market has been out of whack for a while. They've been sold like a medical device instead of a piece of technology, 5-10x markup. Having fittings and prescriptions done in-store induces learned helplessness and is an excuse for cartel pricing, just like with eyeglasses.

deleted 4y ago
[deleted]
bsder 4y ago
Fittings and cost of good in-ear monitors are $2,500+. I'm not seeing where "markup" is coming into this.
- josh2600 4y ago
  There is a difference between “good” and “audiophile.”
- ceejayoz 4y ago
  > I'm not seeing where "markup" is coming into this. In the spot where a couple hundred bucks worth of services and a couple hundred bucks worth of electronics becomes $2,500.
- WheelsAtLarge 4y ago
  Not everyone needs to be specially fitted but every hearing aid is priced as such. I know I'd like to try the lower end of the spectrum before I decide I need a specialized hearing aid.
- anderiv 4y ago
  I have a stellar pair of four-driver custom molds from Alclair. Including mild-taking, costs were around $700 all-in. Your $2500 figure seems very high, unless your “good” means “absolute top of the market”.
- tecleandor 4y ago
  Fitting is $100-$200. Then you can expend 200-1500 in your in-ear monitors depending on what you want, and the ones that are in the $300 range are already pretty good sounding. Of course, the same as with headphones, you can spend $5K, 6K or even 10K in some top of the line planar magnetic whatever Audeze, Stax or Hifiman, but really, you don't need them. Think also about the economy of scale. Hearing aids are more common than hi-fi high end in-ear monitors. If any big player in the electronics field enters this game, prices (and features) could be way better than they are now.
- rdtwo 4y ago
  I got some good ones for 600-700 5-6 years ago fitted. Maybe with inflation they are 2x now but still not what you quoted
WheelsAtLarge 4y ago
Lower price is good but I'm looking forward to the variety of hearing aids and the improvements to them that are bound to happen. Apple has been interested in getting into the health space. This is a perfect new product for them. The only problem I see is that the market might be too small to make a difference in their profits.
- HappyTypist 4y ago
  If your hearing aid is made from Apple, you're probably going to be locked in to Apple products for as long as you don't replace your hearing aid.
  - franga2000 4y ago
    I love hating on Apple as much as the next guy, but I doubt that would happen. They'd probably have some fancy features that could only be controlled from Apple devices, but surely none of the core functionality.
  - Broken_Hippo 4y ago
    I very highly doubt it: They cannot very well have people's hearing aids fail to work if some sort of doom destroys the phone. It is probably simply that it isn't so absolutely difficult for Apple to start making these. The company is already experienced in making small electronics, earbuds, and things like this.
    - bayindirh 4y ago
      They know how to make feedback-based sound equalization via their latest generations of airpods. This bit is very important for adapting the devices to the hearing loss profiles of patients. This is what made them extremely expensive for a good part of their history. Adaptability and auto-adaptability. Also, they're very small electronics for what they do.
- mort96 4y ago
  AirPods Pro essentially function as hearing aids already, with their "transparency mode" which routes sound from the microphone to the speakers. It wouldn't surprise me one bit if they'd eventually make a "hearing aid mode" which lets you calibrate the volume and frequency response to more appropriately fit a person's individual hearing issues.

by sdwr 4y ago

deleted 4y ago

[deleted]

bsder 4y ago

Fittings and cost of good in-ear monitors are $2,500+. I'm not seeing where "markup" is coming into this.

josh2600 4y ago
There is a difference between “good” and “audiophile.”
ceejayoz 4y ago
> I'm not seeing where "markup" is coming into this. In the spot where a couple hundred bucks worth of services and a couple hundred bucks worth of electronics becomes $2,500.
WheelsAtLarge 4y ago
Not everyone needs to be specially fitted but every hearing aid is priced as such. I know I'd like to try the lower end of the spectrum before I decide I need a specialized hearing aid.
anderiv 4y ago
I have a stellar pair of four-driver custom molds from Alclair. Including mild-taking, costs were around $700 all-in. Your $2500 figure seems very high, unless your “good” means “absolute top of the market”.
tecleandor 4y ago
Fitting is $100-$200. Then you can expend 200-1500 in your in-ear monitors depending on what you want, and the ones that are in the $300 range are already pretty good sounding. Of course, the same as with headphones, you can spend $5K, 6K or even 10K in some top of the line planar magnetic whatever Audeze, Stax or Hifiman, but really, you don't need them. Think also about the economy of scale. Hearing aids are more common than hi-fi high end in-ear monitors. If any big player in the electronics field enters this game, prices (and features) could be way better than they are now.
rdtwo 4y ago
I got some good ones for 600-700 5-6 years ago fitted. Maybe with inflation they are 2x now but still not what you quoted

WheelsAtLarge 4y ago

Lower price is good but I'm looking forward to the variety of hearing aids and the improvements to them that are bound to happen. Apple has been interested in getting into the health space. This is a perfect new product for them. The only problem I see is that the market might be too small to make a difference in their profits.

HappyTypist 4y ago
If your hearing aid is made from Apple, you're probably going to be locked in to Apple products for as long as you don't replace your hearing aid.
- franga2000 4y ago
  I love hating on Apple as much as the next guy, but I doubt that would happen. They'd probably have some fancy features that could only be controlled from Apple devices, but surely none of the core functionality.
- Broken_Hippo 4y ago
  I very highly doubt it: They cannot very well have people's hearing aids fail to work if some sort of doom destroys the phone. It is probably simply that it isn't so absolutely difficult for Apple to start making these. The company is already experienced in making small electronics, earbuds, and things like this.
  - bayindirh 4y ago
    They know how to make feedback-based sound equalization via their latest generations of airpods. This bit is very important for adapting the devices to the hearing loss profiles of patients. This is what made them extremely expensive for a good part of their history. Adaptability and auto-adaptability. Also, they're very small electronics for what they do.
mort96 4y ago
AirPods Pro essentially function as hearing aids already, with their "transparency mode" which routes sound from the microphone to the speakers. It wouldn't surprise me one bit if they'd eventually make a "hearing aid mode" which lets you calibrate the volume and frequency response to more appropriately fit a person's individual hearing issues.