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MusicLover
566
Dec 28, 2017
I have made many purchases on Massdrop and sometimes the asking price just doesn’t make sense. After watching this drop and knowing that Focal makes great products I have to question why changes to the price didn’t happen. If Massdrop really wanted the sales that they predicted for the Elex they would have priced to sell. This should have been $499. - $599. At most. I already have the Elear which they may not be perfect but they were definitely worth the price I paid $699. so why pay more for just a few changes for a Headphone that’s supposed to be a Great Deal? On the next drop of Quality Headphones I hope Massdrop will sell for a more reasonable price. I would have even bought the Elex at $499. and might have jumped on for $599 but Never for $799.
rhenom
528
Dec 28, 2017
MusicLoverYou make it sound like Massdrop arbitrarily decided what the price would be. I guarantee you that Focal had more say in the price than Massdrop. The MSRP of the Elear is still $1000, how much you (or anyone else) paid on the street is irrelevant. The price needs to be at a place where both Focal and Massdrop can make a profit. Early reports are that the Elex is a slightly worse version of the Focal Clear, which has a $1500 MSRP.
Unfortunately for you the world doesn't revolve around your arbitrary idea of what a "great deal" is.
MusicLover
566
Dec 28, 2017
rhenomSounds like someone is a little confused. If you don’t like my opinion then that’s fine. But to be insulting to someone you don’t even know is sad. You can disagree with someone without being insulting or degrading. I have made many purchases on Massdrop and items that are a Good or a Great Deal go fast. This deal is not and has had many back out because of it not being a good deal. I’m sorry if you are having a bad day but know you facts before commenting. This is NOT the $1500. Clear this is the $699 Elear with Different Pads and an extra and better wires for a price that is $100 above retail. Enjoy your Elex that is if you are actually pretty your money where your mouth is. I do hope you feel better soon
The_Dentist
13
Dec 28, 2017
rhenomThe world does not revolve around ANYONE's arbitrary idea of what a "great deal" is. Everyone has different values in their minds. I will NEVER drop that kind of money to buy iPhone X but I bought the Focal Utopia without even need to think too much. If that iPhone X is 1/3 of the price of what it is right now, may be I will get it. But I have lots of friends buying that iPhone X without hesitation. Everyone has different value including their lives, their health. You see my profile name and you know what I do for a living. There are people that will do whatever they can to save their teeth and there are people that will tell me to just pull them out. And you know what? And it doesn't matter how much money they make, it is how they value certain thing... I do see the value in this pair of headphones and sounds like you do too, so me and you both stay in the drop but obviously, there are a lot of people don't see the value of it. In this drop, I see that Massdrop and Focal drop the ball by not explaining the value of Elex compare to Elear. When the discussion started to the direction stating that "its just an Elear with a pad swap..." at that point the value of Elex drops in people's mind. Massdrop or Focal should have someone stand up and explain what's the value of Elex compare to Elear. But they stay quiet and you can see the no. of drops now. Whenever you hear "it is just xxx..." it de-values the objects... hope Massdrop and Focal will learn from this marketing lesson.
rhenom
528
Dec 28, 2017
MusicLoverFirst of all, I didn't insult or degrade you, if I wanted to do that I could have called you a crybaby whiner. Everything else you said is your personal (wrong) opinion and I you can refer back to my earlier post. Have a nice day.
MusicLover
566
Dec 28, 2017
The_DentistI couldn’t agree with you more. I have jumped on several drops where the item sold extremely fast. Why because it was obvious what we were buying. I have read and watched several reviews of all the new Focal Headphones. I almost bought the Utopia when they were on sale with the Elear Headphones but my wife threatened to wrap them around my neck in my sleep. The most I have ever spent on good Headphones has been around $1000. ( Beyerdynamic T1.2). Even if we don’t agree I appreciate your comments as this is supposed to be where we are supposed to get advice and vent to Massdrop. I also hope they could help with explaining why this is a drop worth taking a chance on.
djfluffkins
157
Dec 29, 2017
MusicLoverHonestly... I got scared in the beginning... because this drop shot from 42 to 148 REALLY fast, so I hopped in, but now I'm kind of questioning it.
Here's my thoughts on the "good deal" bit. I wasn't aware of how new Focal was to the headphone business... someone at work asked me about them when they did their promo and I was like... I'm not buying 3k headphones from a company I haven't heard of, I'm not buying 700 headphones either...
After this drop released I went and did the research and the interviews that Head-Fi did with Focal really helped me understand that they are bringing a new approach to the table with these headphones and that even the materials cost could be really high.
I fully expect older models to drop in price as they get cheaper due to materials sourcing and manufacturing efficiency, so in that sense comparing the "good deal" of the Focal vs a Sennheiser/Fostex/AKG or even HifiMan (who is fairly new) isn't completely fair. I do expect that if this relationship continues we may see a deeper discount on a Clear equivalent (still above the 800 of the Elex). I mean I'm tempted just because I would actually use the case on the Clears and that's $150 retail.
I think the conclusion of the overall discussion seems to be... Focal's headphones are worth this much, but the Elex might not be a really great deal (or different enough for an Elear owner). The only reason I'm still in this drop is because I don't own any of Focal's headphones. If I was an Elear owner... I might consider it, but I'd definitely be out if I was a Utopia or Clear owner (I know others might not). Because you can definitely do better things with $800 in the headphone market. But I don't know if I would drop $800 on Elears over the Elex, but that's also because I'm ok with waiting (not everyone is).
rastus
1391
Dec 29, 2017
MusicLoverI had my finger above the enter key to join when it hit,, then thought again about what this was at this price point, if it was $599 the finger would never have hesitated. Yes, this is a marketing lesson for MD; the numbers should never go into reverse.
MusicLover
566
Dec 29, 2017
rastusThank you. That’s all I was trying to say. I also know that a few times Massdrop has gone back during a drop and lowered the price. I know some things are beyond Massdrops Control but after all the time that has passed since they emailed me about this great deal? that they would have tried to adjust this drop or at least commented on why the drop is priced this way.
rastus
1391
Dec 29, 2017
MusicLoverYes, if Focal treated this not as a "loss leader" and taken a -profit hit, but lowered the deal to MD and considered it more of a "brand introduction" establish a base loyalty ~ seed the market @ $599, this would already have had the 1,000 units sold out,, and just the request button would be getting hits now...
The_Dentist
13
Dec 29, 2017
rastusI don't think they will need a "brand introduction". The Utopia was sold out for months when it first came out. And they are still famous for their speakers. Lots of people jump on the drop for the first 30 min. So that speak for itself for the power of their brand. I am guessing they don't really care too much about the sales at MD and probably just a test for them they should partner up with MD in future. They probably kind of like Ferrari in cars, they don't take losses to sell it for cheap to establish a loyalty base - if you have money, and like it, you buy it, if you don't, they don't care... Still, if they want to have a successful drop and not lowering the price, all they have to do is have someone stand up and defend the value of Elex and its "not just a pad swap" but they let it go and we can see how the numbers go. I personally still have faith in their product and I have faith that the sound of Elex will not be "just ear pad swap" and probably a few people are too (that's why the drop isn't 0) but obviously a lot of people don't think there is a value there for selling it @$799 and that's why people drop out.
rhenom
528
Dec 29, 2017
rastusIs it a good idea for Focal to sell their headphones at a loss on each unit? Because that's exactly what everyone whining about the price of the Elex is asking them to do. If they are taking a loss on every headphone sold then that means the more units they sell the more money they lose.
And that's not even taking into account the money they would lose from people not buying the Elear, Clear, and Utopia because they undercut their entire headphone line by creating the Elex.
Everyone on here complaining about the price of this product are being extremely selfish. Their argument is basically the same thing as if they walked into a Tesla dealer and say "You know man, this $67,000 price tag is a real bummer, if it was $35,000 I would buy it in a heartbeat! And so would everyone else! You'd sell millions!"
rastus
1391
Dec 29, 2017
The_DentistMD is a new paradigm in this biz; mass buying power brought to the individual; with a brand-twist. If Focal, Vervent, did not desire/need growth using this new marketing (seeding) mechanism, they would not be here, plain - simple. Marketing does not reward the "best", it rewards the game "best played". Yes, this can also be construed as a consumer best played... Just to be Clear here; I do want a Focal.
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rastus
1391
Dec 29, 2017
rhenomRead again; did not say a loss, I said spread seed...
rhenom
528
Dec 29, 2017
rastusSo you're saying you know how much it costs them to R&D their products, pay for parts, all their employees salaries, and manufacturing costs? How do you know they aren't already as low as they can go? And like I said before, reducing the price of the Elex would undercut the headphones that they already offer. Your idea of some sort of "brand introductory offer" seems silly and I doubt it would lead to any long term profits.
fallenmig
249
Dec 29, 2017
rastusI totally agree what you saying, MD as a platform or bridge between manufacturer and consumer need to realize the ultimate goal is to make the sales happen, either through a solid product or good price. If either this failed then they simply don't fit this business model. I personally did not hear any Focal product before but giving the reviews online and their retail price I'd put them in the same rank as higher end Fostex or Sennheiser. As the price stands now it is very difficult to pull the trigger given there are couple very solid product with much lower price point. Not saying lower price means cheap, I am sure the HD6XX made a very good profit for both MD and Sennheiser, but the ultimate winner is the community, I hope Focal can learn from that.
MusicLover
566
Dec 29, 2017
rhenom$699. I guess Massdrop listens
rastus
1391
Dec 29, 2017
rhenomJust my 2 cents as to how I would be playing the game. I play marketing with ~$20M and 25 employees, Vervent is ~$94M and 200 persons, so bigger and different stuff, but this is how I would work the MD angle. I have never been inside a Vegas or any other "casino", I know the draw though, I play reality casino. Focal is a boutique hi-end product, with a small share in the audiophile market, they are "other" in the charts. They would be squeezing some profit @ $599, and not hurt a single employee. The upside is what you are playing for, yes, long term profits, Focal's name on the charts. They have a chance to do it faster using MD as a tool (no offence MD;) Yes, silly looking stuff that marketing, I so fully agree, that so is what it looks like from the outside. Obtaining unicorn is so rare and sooo delicious... digital unicorn is best served tombé en masse...
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rastus
1391
Dec 30, 2017
MusicLoverThey should include that case, everyone so wants...
MusicLover
566
Dec 30, 2017
rastusI agree as that would be enough for me to jump in on this drop
TonyRizo
179
Dec 30, 2017
rastusYou nailed it!
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