Can someone please justify the cost of headphones

[Briebee72]

So I had to get a new toilet for the place we moved into. So i was standing there thinking to myself once home, look at all the materials involved with this the packaging for a toilet alone is substantial, watch a video on how they are made its rather involved. Then the vales and hardware and so on... and it was 100 bucks. Bikes at Walmart. hundreds of parts sourced from everywhere less then 80.00 for most. Hell a play station 4 with all the tech in the world in it is under 200.

why the hell are headphones and ear buds so flipping expensive? 2, 3, 400 dollars? there is no way on this earth a 400.00 set of headphones has more tech or anywhere near the manufacturing cost of a PlayStation 4.

And a better question why do people buy them and spend that ridiculous amount on them.

im not talking about Walmart bargain bin ear phones either. although im sure they are made for about the same cost.

Ive listen to beats headphones they are not that good why do they cost so much? oh yeah apple bought them.


Anyway I know my examples will get picked apart but my point is have you seen simple items that cost way more then something big and complex and you are just why?

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[Questortapes74]

If you are into high end audio equipment the prices become logarithmic. These Astell & Kern earbuds will set you back by $3.5k in US greenbacks...

 

[ExtantPuzzle]

To go back to your example -- you can get an $80 bike at Walmart, of course. Why then do people spend $10k on a top end bicycle? It's still a bike, right? You can still ride it.

Quality materials, reliability, durability, attention to detail, features, etc.

Same for headphones. I've got a $300 pair of headphones, but a friend of mine dropped probably $2k for his (and an additional several thousand dollars on the rest of his audio setup).

In the case of headphones, anyone (regardless of how good their ears might be) can tell the difference between $20 and $300 headphones (as long as the $300 didn't go to the brand name and actually went to components that aren't shit). There's a huge jump in quality of audio. It's a lot crisper, you can hear individual notes, the bass is solid, the soundstage (close your eyes and try to imagine like you're there - does the audio sound like it's in the room?) is excellent, etc.

I had a $50 set of headphones that I'd used for years, but upgraded to a $450 audio setup (headphones + DAC) about a year ago. It's made my music (of all genres) sound SO much better. If you have the extra money and you love music, give it a try and see.

 

[Shifting_Gears]

To go back to your example -- you can get an $80 bike at Walmart, of course. Why then do people spend $10k on a top end bicycle? It's still a bike, right? You can still ride it.

Quality materials, reliability, durability, attention to detail, features, etc.

Same for headphones. I've got a $300 pair of headphones, but a friend of mine dropped probably $2k for his (and an additional several thousand dollars on the rest of his audio setup).

In the case of headphones, anyone (regardless of how good their ears might be) can tell the difference between $20 and $300 headphones (as long as the $300 didn't go to the brand name and actually went to components that aren't shit). There's a huge jump in quality of audio. It's a lot crisper, you can hear individual notes, the bass is solid, the soundstage (close your eyes and try to imagine like you're there - does the audio sound like it's in the room?) is excellent, etc.

I had a $50 set of headphones that I'd used for years, but upgraded to a $450 audio setup (headphones + DAC) about a year ago. It's made my music (of all genres) sound SO much better. If you have the extra money and you love music, give it a try and see.

This.. the bike example is spot on. My $600 when new bike is lightyears behind my bike that’s roughly 4x that.

Another reason is trending brand names. People hop on a bandwagon and the company can make huge profit from inflated prices because of market demand. How much do you think a pair of Beats really costs to make? lol.

 

[catchthecarp]

So I had to get a new toilet for the place we moved into. So i was standing there thinking to myself once home, look at all the materials involved with this the packaging for a toilet alone is substantial, watch a video on how they are made its rather involved. Then the vales and hardware and so on... and it was 100 bucks. Bikes at Walmart. hundreds of parts sourced from everywhere less then 80.00 for most. Hell a play station 4 with all the tech in the world in it is under 200.

why the hell are headphones and ear buds so flipping expensive? 2, 3, 400 dollars? there is no way on this earth a 400.00 set of headphones has more tech or anywhere near the manufacturing cost of a PlayStation 4.

And a better question why do people buy them and spend that ridiculous amount on them.

im not talking about Walmart bargain bin ear phones either. although im sure they are made for about the same cost.

Ive listen to beats headphones they are not that good why do they cost so much? oh yeah apple bought them.


Anyway I know my examples will get picked apart but my point is have you seen simple items that cost way more then something big and complex and you are just why?

Depends on whether or not your an audiophile. For knock around headphones like I use when I mow the lawn or workout I wouldn't spend that much.
I use a $50 set of Sennheisr PMX 686's, they sound pretty good and if they break or I lose them, no big loss. With Beats, you're paying for the marketing and hype.

All I can say to those that claim the difference between a $30 and > $300 headphones is not that big have probably never listened to decent headphone system.

Most headphones in the > $350 price range will usually require a dedicated headphone amp to drive them properly which can cost as much or more than the headphones. Having a good source in the audio chain is needed too. A decent set of headphones + amp can be put together for $800 or less. That isn't expensive and worth every penny if you enjoy listening to music and want to hear all the details. Most people that buy these headphones are not usually plugging them into a phone and listening to Mp-3's or crappy compressed music streams. That would be dumb.

 

[kz]

Can someone justify the price of Mustangs ???!? Mitsubishi Mirage is under $10k and both cars drive as they're supposed to.... ;-)

 

[Matti777]

and I thought I wasted money buying the Shure 215s

 

[Sivi70980]

I am a cyclist. My $600 bike is absolute garbage when compared to my $2200 + $3000 in mods and gear bike. Aluminum vs. carbon fiber and different ergonomics. The higher priced bike basically pedals itself while the other one seems to slow down when you stop pedaling downhill. For sure build quality and materials.

Nowhere near an audiophile. I listen to music maybe once a week sometimes 2. When DDing to work and back, it's just the sounds of the car/road and am more than happy. I had a rando (Gozer) brand $30 set of noise canceling Bluetooth headphones I used for flights to watch movies on my tablet that worked great for 3 years before they broke. A few months later by sheer coincidence I hit my 10 years with my company and was able to get a $300 Sony set for free. Quality and materials are for sure better and some cool features but as far as the noise canceling and sound goes, basically the same to me.

It could be argued that our mustangs are like the Sony headphones. Far from the cheapest and farther from the most expensive cars out there. But what we take out of it varies based on how much we're into them. An audiophile will likely not notice much difference in my bikes because both will leave them out of breath and with a sore taint after just a few miles. A 16 year old driving their first car likely wont notice much if it's a 300hp Ferrari or a 300hp Kia unless they're already super into cars.

 

[Interceptor]

I don't get it either,
I don't get paying millions of dollars for collectables either.

Not my money so, it don't matter to me.





Maybe the difference between a $20 crack whore or a $200 call girl.......

 

[traktrbeam]

Google how much it really costs to make a pair of Beats headphones.

 

[shogun32]

Maybe the difference between a $20 crack whore or a $200 call girl.......

about 3ft. 9ft broom stick for the 'ho and 6ft long for the other one. The price for a quality experience per Charlie Sheen is $2000 minimum. In 2005 constant dollars. And even then a side-hustling pharmacist should be on speed dial.

Thai/Vietnam girls may be inexpensive, but once you factor in hotel, flight, and follow-up co-pays to your HMO, are they still?

My earbuds are about $60 and I listen to 32 or 64k sampled MP3s or the god-awful Ford 9-speaker audio so a "good experience" is not high on my priority list.

 

[Briebee72]

Can someone justify the price of Mustangs ???!? Mitsubishi Mirage is under $10k and both cars drive as they're supposed to.... ;-)

well if its anything like the silverado I think Chevy said that 23k of the cost is to just cover investors stocks. The cars and trucks themsleves dnt cost all that much to make. its us paying for all that make believe paper money (stocks) and ceo bonuses.

 

[Briebee72]

I am a cyclist. The higher priced bike basically pedals itself

Um isnt that the point that you are suppose to pedal it? so pay a lot of money so the thing you are trying to do you dont have to?

 

[Briebee72]

Google how much it really costs to make a pair of Beats headphones.

exactly my point. no matter how much self proclaimed audiophiles defend it. there is absolutely nothing in headphones that cost that much to make them I dont care how good the quality is.

 

[Briebee72]

I use to install network systems for coffee shops. we had a Nike executive who quit and started a chain of coffee stores. He told me if you knew how much it cost to make a pair of Nike shoes you would get so upset. I said well it wouldnt matter cause people will go spend it anyway. the average price for manufacturing, shipping and getting the product to self all in for a pair of Nike shoes is..... 1.25. but people still go out and spend 2 or 3 hundred on a pair. these companies dont have 100 billion in the bank cause they are charging you fairly. and people are all to happy to go out and blow the money

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