An incredible challenge posted by Audeze official - will Dan, Sennheiser and Focal step up?

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ElectronicVices

2932

Mar 31, 2020

The absurdity of this inquiry is mind-boggling.

Apr 2, 2020

ElectronicVicesThings that are mind boggling:

1. this post: https://drop.com/talk/31692/an-incredible-challenge-posted-by-audeze-official-will-dan-sennheiser-and-focal-step-up-to-the-chall/2592871
2. Hardware the size of a nickel with one moving part costing this much

Things that aren't mind boggling:

1. Curiosity about extreme markup

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ElectronicVices

2932

Apr 3, 2020

dm94aq7Curiosity isn't mind-boggling, having even the smallest expectation that this might happen is the mind-boggling part. Where do you get the idea that materials cost is ever high a high percentage for complex goods? Ever hear that the whole is greater than the sum of its parts? The other aspect that most of the people making these types of requests fail to ever account for is the overhead and R&D that goes in to making products with more than a couple parts. Combine those expenses with the relatively small market for high-end headphones and you get the cost structure we see today. If anyone is looking to TOTL or high end headphones for a strong value proposition needs to re-evaluate their thought processes, because that is never going to happen. This is a niche luxury market, not something usually associated with cost effectiveness. Luxuries are never a good value, that's inherently why they are considered luxuries.

Mar 30, 2020

Would you look Vincent Van Gogh or Claude Monet in the eye, and ask them how much the paint and canvas cost them?

Ripter

Apr 23, 2020

EvshrugYes

Vote

Apr 23, 2020

RipterHang on, I’ll ask for you... Vincent: “My ear.” Monet: “My eyes.”

No one asked you, Gimli!

Mar 30, 2020

@Evshrug Audeze issued this challenge on the i4 page, where the BOM is more than a "couple times" the cost of materials. I think it's a valid question

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Mar 30, 2020

dm94aq7It’s a question alright. I really doubt Audeze expects other headphone manufacturers to chime in, and so it was “safe” for them to say, essentially, “If you can get them to share their BOM, then we will.” If you read between the lines, they’re saying the other companies don’t and won’t disclose that information. Again, people will look at the materials cost out of context. At the end of the day, the BOM cost doesn’t matter at all. So what if, say, HiFiman HE-400 S materials cost the same as an HE-6SE? I value the HE-6SE more. Also, the first units off the line for a new headphone (especially for a new company) cost way more than the headphone of equal quality down the line, once the process is optimized and economies of scale kick in.

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Mar 30, 2020

This is NOT a challenge from Audeze... you could call it a rhetorical comment to show that no manufacturer is going to disclose their BOM. Frankly, consumers would misunderstand, and the cost of materials is besides the point. Headphones are not like basic carpentry nails or lumber. It is both a highly developed and highly researched science, AND an art. So, cost of materials is besides the point. Maybe Sennheiser’s resin they use to make the earcups of the HD 800 S is inexpensive (I don’t know the cost), BUT they researched it (I think they developed it in-house) specifically because of its low resonance and lightweight properties. Maybe it doesn’t cost Sennheiser any more to set the drivers at an angle, or the cost of the 56mm driver is a miniscule increase over something smaller, or the absorber in the HD 800 S that prevents masking is cheap, but a BOM doesn’t take into account the years of experimentation, iteration, and unique inspiration of the designers behind it. And then there’s operating costs of companies. Margins are an absolutely required part of doing business. The materials and construction labor per unit cost of a headphone doesn’t take into account R&D the the current product or future ones, nor does it pay for marketing, shipping logistics, etc. A company is simply larger than a single product. I don’t want to be price gouged either, nobody does. If I want something, an attainable, affordable price is necessary for me to buy it, and I don’t want something that appears to cost way more than it’s peers in the market. Value and BOM are completely separate things for most products on the market. So, I know it’s going to cost me a couple times more than the cost of materials.

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