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Sennheiser HD 800 S is $1700 and has been around for years. Or the Meze Elite Tungsten at $4,000 - if Apple can get 80/90% of the way there at $549, they'd be a

by bombcar 8mo ago

Sennheiser HD 800 S is $1700 and has been around for years. Or the Meze Elite Tungsten at $4,000 - if Apple can get 80/90% of the way there at $549, they'd be a steal for the right customer.

Shebanator 8mo ago
The quality x price curve is not linear. Expensive materials and engineering often produce only incremental quality improvements, if any. Sometimes the improvements are only cosmetic. So Apple's headphones would need to be a lot closer to the best of the best than 80-90% in order to justify their price.
- Kon5ole 8mo ago
  The feature that applies a hearing test as an equalizer setting make the APM sound pretty damn good, so much so it ended my 20 year long headphone-collecting hobby. Before hearing-tuned EQ became a thing, trying headphones was like trying food. No matter what someone else said it was no guarantee you'd like the sound. Conversely, you might find a cheap pair that sounded spectacular to you. The APM will sound very good to just about anyone, with the hearing test EQ applied. I think every headphone maker (or better yet, DAC maker) should have this feature. Audiophiles are often old, a hearing test EQ can make them hear music like they're 20 again, and they'll pay for it.
hackingonempty 8mo ago
Just buy the good ol' HD-600, or some sealed cans, or whatever fits your head the best and use an eq profile from AutoEq.
Foobar8568 8mo ago
You can't compare wired and open back design with Bluetooth headphones. Anyway, I own a Meze 109 pro, and cheap iems with 3M hearing protection that I use when my commute is too noisy. Replace nicely my old ANC headphones.
- mft_ 8mo ago
  > cheap items with 3M hearing protection Can I ask which, please?
  - Foobar8568 8mo ago
    Something like that, comfort is crap, but then again, it's mainly to cut loud people chatters in bus or train. https://www.3m.com/3M/en_US/p/d/v101643027/ https://www.3m.com/3M/en_US/p/d/v101643027/ And also I am a bit apprehensive for long term hearing lose with ANC headphones.
    - bombcar 8mo ago
      You can get those kind of things with speakers also: https://www.3m.com/3M/en_US/p/c/ppe/communications/over-ear-headsets/ https://www.3m.com/3M/en_US/p/c/ppe/communications/over-ear-...

by bombcar 8mo ago

Sennheiser HD 800 S is $1700 and has been around for years. Or the Meze Elite Tungsten at $4,000 - if Apple can get 80/90% of the way there at $549, they'd be a steal for the right customer.

Shebanator 8mo ago

The quality x price curve is not linear. Expensive materials and engineering often produce only incremental quality improvements, if any. Sometimes the improvements are only cosmetic. So Apple's headphones would need to be a lot closer to the best of the best than 80-90% in order to justify their price.

Kon5ole 8mo ago
The feature that applies a hearing test as an equalizer setting make the APM sound pretty damn good, so much so it ended my 20 year long headphone-collecting hobby. Before hearing-tuned EQ became a thing, trying headphones was like trying food. No matter what someone else said it was no guarantee you'd like the sound. Conversely, you might find a cheap pair that sounded spectacular to you. The APM will sound very good to just about anyone, with the hearing test EQ applied. I think every headphone maker (or better yet, DAC maker) should have this feature. Audiophiles are often old, a hearing test EQ can make them hear music like they're 20 again, and they'll pay for it.

hackingonempty 8mo ago

Just buy the good ol' HD-600, or some sealed cans, or whatever fits your head the best and use an eq profile from AutoEq.

Foobar8568 8mo ago

You can't compare wired and open back design with Bluetooth headphones. Anyway, I own a Meze 109 pro, and cheap iems with 3M hearing protection that I use when my commute is too noisy. Replace nicely my old ANC headphones.

mft_ 8mo ago
> cheap items with 3M hearing protection Can I ask which, please?
- Foobar8568 8mo ago
  Something like that, comfort is crap, but then again, it's mainly to cut loud people chatters in bus or train. https://www.3m.com/3M/en_US/p/d/v101643027/ https://www.3m.com/3M/en_US/p/d/v101643027/ And also I am a bit apprehensive for long term hearing lose with ANC headphones.
  - bombcar 8mo ago
    You can get those kind of things with speakers also: https://www.3m.com/3M/en_US/p/c/ppe/communications/over-ear-headsets/ https://www.3m.com/3M/en_US/p/c/ppe/communications/over-ear-...