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jrmhng
13
Jan 4, 2017
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Svstem1 - It is a $55 IEM and most cables run $25+. It just does not make that much economic sense
2 - It is a $55 IEM...when did we all start expecting a detachable cable at this price range?
3 - I have the newer 3. They have the same cables and I can say that they are actually pretty good
Svstem
17
Jan 4, 2017
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jrmhng1. Most. But then again most good IEMs are above the S5's price. You can easily buy a good MMCX detachable cable for $10 from China.
2. This is Chi-Fi. There are $8 IEMs like the KZ ZS3 which have detachable cables. It's becoming a standard for cheap IEMs, look around. Auglamour R8, Tennmak Pro, Mee M6 Pro, Senfer 4in1. All have detachable cable systems. It's really cheap to implement this, but it seems like all the hype is making TFZ more confident and less prone to making such an improvement. TFZ B2 is $140. Want a detachable cable? Get the B2M for $200. That's silly, because it's still Chi-Fi at the end of the day. Their manufacturing/advertising/CS costs are minimal and their products simply shouldn't be priced this way.
3. The cable may be nice, but what if it breaks? Most people aren't too happy about pulling out the soldering iron. That's the main reason why detachable cables are a thing.
2. This is Chi-Fi. There are $8 IEMs like the KZ ZS3 which have detachable cables. It's becoming a standard for cheap IEMs, look around. Auglamour R8, Tennmak Pro, Mee M6 Pro, Senfer 4in1. All have detachable cable systems. It's really cheap to implement this, but it seems like all the hype is making TFZ more confident and less prone to making such an improvement. TFZ B2 is $140. Want a detachable cable? Get the B2M for $200. That's silly, because it's still Chi-Fi at the end of the day. Their manufacturing/advertising/CS costs are minimal and their products simply shouldn't be priced this way.
3. The cable may be nice, but what if it breaks? Most people aren't too happy about pulling out the soldering iron. That's the main reason why detachable cables are a thing.
jrmhng
13
Jan 5, 2017
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SvstemI am going to take some time to respond to this because I feel the TFZ 1/3/5 and the corresponding S versions are the best, reasonably priced earphones you can get right now if you are a basshead. Note, I have no affiliation with TFZ, just a fan of their lower priced products.
I may not be able to change your view but I don't believe anyone else reading through the comments should be at all discouraged from the lack of detachable cables.
Trade-offs
All else being equal (Ceteris Paribus), more features is better than less features. But in reality, it is never Ceteris Paribus. The other two factors which are traded off are price, sound quality and build quality. The point here is that if you want detachable cables at this price, either sound or build quality suffers.
It is wrong to think that all 'Chi-fi' brands are of the same class or have the same quality control. I have had my share of 'Chi-fi' products. I have also interacted with a seller where I live who exclusively deals in 'Chi-fi' products both in his online and brick and mortar store. He provides a seller's warranty. You walk into his store and show him the product does not work - he replaces it or refunds you regardless of what happens between him and the manufacturer. So he is taking on the risk and will only stock brands which he can stand behind. Of all the brands mentioned so far, he stocks TFZ and Mee as he trusts their QC.
A more concrete case study is with Vsonic and the VSD range. The first batch of VSD 3 had detachable cables. The price and and sound quality (but not sound profile) are comparable with the lower end TFZs. The build quality was just rubbish. So much so that in their next revision, they changed to a non-detachable cable. Sound quality stayed the same (some argue they actually improved). Pricing stayed around the same. Trade-offs had to be made.
For the basshead, the lower end TFZs provide the best sound and build quality at this price range. Not having a detachable cable a more than acceptable trade-off.
Solving a problem no one has...
The main reason detachable cables exist is because cables are generally the first to break in an earphone. Nobody who breaks the cable their $10-30 earphones thinks to themselves "I should go buy another cable". They just replace the earphone. As such, having detachable cables for cheap earphones is solving a problem no one has.
The economics start changing as the earphones get more expansive. However for the reason I list on point 1 below, at $50-60, it still does not make economic sense (for me at least).
Responding to our original points
1 - The $10 cables are a bit hit and miss in terms of build quality. If you get a good one, they are great. But if you get a bad one, it will take upwards of 3 months plus with Aliexpress sellers and their slow shipping to get it resolved. So to me, a $10 cable just isn't worth the risk and wait. You may be OK with that though. A $25+ cable from a local seller resolves this issue but then at that price, the economics don't make sense as you are betting the earphone body/innards lasts 4 times as long as the cable.
2 - See my point on trade-offs above and the case study with Vsonic in particular. While per unit cost of adding detachable cables may not be high, it increases complexity which also implications for quality control. I have worked with manufacturing companies and the cost of QC rises exponentially with complexity. As both I and the seller I mentioned before believe that TFZ has decent QC, I can't imagine the total cost of adding in detachable cables is very low when you consider the all-in-cost. Don't take my word for it, do some reading on Vsonic and their VSD range and see how this bears out in reality.
3 - By good cable I mean that it appears to be durable with decent strain relief. I will obviously have to see how well they hold up but if and when they do break, I can imagine that I would have had the earphones for a long time. I would not be cursing at TFZ for not making the cables detachable. I would just buy another pair...
I may not be able to change your view but I don't believe anyone else reading through the comments should be at all discouraged from the lack of detachable cables.
Trade-offs
All else being equal (Ceteris Paribus), more features is better than less features. But in reality, it is never Ceteris Paribus. The other two factors which are traded off are price, sound quality and build quality. The point here is that if you want detachable cables at this price, either sound or build quality suffers.
It is wrong to think that all 'Chi-fi' brands are of the same class or have the same quality control. I have had my share of 'Chi-fi' products. I have also interacted with a seller where I live who exclusively deals in 'Chi-fi' products both in his online and brick and mortar store. He provides a seller's warranty. You walk into his store and show him the product does not work - he replaces it or refunds you regardless of what happens between him and the manufacturer. So he is taking on the risk and will only stock brands which he can stand behind. Of all the brands mentioned so far, he stocks TFZ and Mee as he trusts their QC.
A more concrete case study is with Vsonic and the VSD range. The first batch of VSD 3 had detachable cables. The price and and sound quality (but not sound profile) are comparable with the lower end TFZs. The build quality was just rubbish. So much so that in their next revision, they changed to a non-detachable cable. Sound quality stayed the same (some argue they actually improved). Pricing stayed around the same. Trade-offs had to be made.
For the basshead, the lower end TFZs provide the best sound and build quality at this price range. Not having a detachable cable a more than acceptable trade-off.
Solving a problem no one has...
The main reason detachable cables exist is because cables are generally the first to break in an earphone. Nobody who breaks the cable their $10-30 earphones thinks to themselves "I should go buy another cable". They just replace the earphone. As such, having detachable cables for cheap earphones is solving a problem no one has.
The economics start changing as the earphones get more expansive. However for the reason I list on point 1 below, at $50-60, it still does not make economic sense (for me at least).
Responding to our original points
1 - The $10 cables are a bit hit and miss in terms of build quality. If you get a good one, they are great. But if you get a bad one, it will take upwards of 3 months plus with Aliexpress sellers and their slow shipping to get it resolved. So to me, a $10 cable just isn't worth the risk and wait. You may be OK with that though. A $25+ cable from a local seller resolves this issue but then at that price, the economics don't make sense as you are betting the earphone body/innards lasts 4 times as long as the cable.
2 - See my point on trade-offs above and the case study with Vsonic in particular. While per unit cost of adding detachable cables may not be high, it increases complexity which also implications for quality control. I have worked with manufacturing companies and the cost of QC rises exponentially with complexity. As both I and the seller I mentioned before believe that TFZ has decent QC, I can't imagine the total cost of adding in detachable cables is very low when you consider the all-in-cost. Don't take my word for it, do some reading on Vsonic and their VSD range and see how this bears out in reality.
3 - By good cable I mean that it appears to be durable with decent strain relief. I will obviously have to see how well they hold up but if and when they do break, I can imagine that I would have had the earphones for a long time. I would not be cursing at TFZ for not making the cables detachable. I would just buy another pair...
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