EcchiWhaleYes, pretty much something that many residents of different countries have to keep in mind. Won’t get into the politics and social goals of such practices, but if you are “importing” anything yourself in countries like Australia, Canada, the EU, UK (soon to be non-EU, maybe!), etc, you will have to pay the import duties/tariffs; buy from a local source and you are still paying, just it is hidden in the price as opposed to a separate fee.
For my fellow Americans who are aghast at the thought of having to pay higher tariffs on imports from China... the rest of the world has been doing this for some time now!
EcchiWhaleThanks for the heads up - really helps getting a real figure for AU residents.
How are you liking them? Worth it over getting something local?
Chap-eauThey're worth it, but with that extra $200 slapped on last minute it's a bit of a tough pill to swallow.
I'm really enjoying them and they sound excellent. They require treble dampening with the included cloth pads if you want to listen to music with crowded or loud instrumentation, which makes the sound a bit less precise and adds warmth. The treble is a bit much otherwise. Although you can add bass pads and make them an all-round pair for a lot of genres.
As for if you'd rather get something local, idk... You can get ether c flows from addicted to audio but they cost an arm and a leg so in comparison it's not too bad. The audiophile market here is crap, so anything is better honestly unless you're scouring gumtree every day for sennheisers. I just can't justify anyone buying these with the taxes because it comes to $1500AUD landed. They're worth it, but it's still not pocket change.