[NAD Fi]

…if a company doesn’t listen to customer aspirations, that company shouldn’t get its hopes up…for survival…

I also felt some arrogance was on display.

 

[Alex May]

I also felt some arrogance was on display.

That's very typical of Audeze.

 

[Mad Lust Envy]

Let me make it clear: These are my opinions as an individual (I have been a headfier for over a decade, long before Audeze), outside of Audeze. So any issues you may take here is NOT with Audeze but with ME.

If you guys feel arrogance, that's definitely not my intent. I'm more of a bluntly spoken person, and I'm simply trying to say that we don't comment on speculation or tell people what is or isn't coming until we're ready. That's all. It's standard practice from most companies NOT to disclose any info on things that aren't unveiled. I can only speak for myself on the outside of those talks (I'm extremely low on the totem pole), but I do know that disclosing products well ahead of their release or even putting it in the public is really bad for any business, and kills sales of existing products. At the end of a day, all companies exist to make profit.

I would only think huge companies like Apple or Samsung (i.e. any electronics company) is immune to this, but a small company like Audeze is not.

No one has said we aren't listening to the needs of customers and what they'd like to see in the future. We definitely are, that's exactly why things like Maxwell and the MM-500 exist. A lot of it was based on feedback.

But we (or any company) not going to go: "Hey in 6 months, XYZ is coming out, and will have everything you want! ZYX is now obsolete!" That's 6 months of products that now a company can't sell because everyone will now just wait.

An example: Say Sony has a PS5 Pro coming next year (just a theory), they'll unveil it once they're ready. If they announce too soon, that's quite a lot of lost revenue for existing PS5s. These things are planned way ahead of time, and unveiled when they feel the time is right.


That is the sum of my opinion (personal option, not Audeze) on the matter. I'm nowhere near important enough to have 'arrogance' over anything and I'm truly sorry if my response came off as such.

You can generally assume we aren't going to sit on what we currently have and always push to innovate and improve. So yes, in the future, it's not like we won't have anything ever coming out. We're always planning, as most companies are.

To not cause offense, I'll go back to just not answering these questions as they are not something we would typically answer to begin with (as we can't talk about future plans). In the future, I'll just say: We can't speak on speculation.

 

[Alex May]

At the end of a day, all companies exist to make profit.

Companies should exist to make value in the first place, in order to justify their existence in society. Profit is just a measure of value. If a company places profit ahead of value in their list of priorities, such company may not take advantage of social approval in the long run. Which in turn can undermine profit. That's the principle of public relations. Based on my personal shocking experience with Audeze, I can only confirm, regrettably so, that you are indeed the voice of your company.

If you or your company is afraid of devaluing an existing product, then why do you produce something that's so easily devalued in the first place? Look at the HD600 - a legendary classic that hasn't been devalued since 1997, is still in production and demand regardless of countless newer products and speculations. I'm well aware that these are much lower tier. There are even more devaluing factors and competition in the lower tier. This is simply an example of the value principle.

 

[Mad Lust Envy]

Like I said, I'm low on the pole and do not make business decisions, and was stating my opinion on the matter. Take that as you will. I'll just be providing basic answers from this point when necessary. Why do we not speak on improvements and future products? Simple answer: We can't comment on speculation and rumors outside of official unveilings and product launches.

 

[chargedcapacitor]

Companies should exist to make value in the first place, in order to justify their existence in society. Profit is just a measure of value. If a company places profit ahead of value in their list of priorities, such company may not take advantage of social approval in the long run. Which in turn can undermine profit. That's the principle of public relations. Based on my personal shocking experience with Audeze, I can only confirm, regrettably so, that you are indeed the voice of your company.

If you or your company is afraid of devaluing an existing product, then why do you produce something that's so easily devalued in the first place? Look at the HD600 - a legendary classic that hasn't been devalued since 1997, is still in production and demand regardless of countless newer products and speculations. I'm well aware that these are much lower tier. There are even more devaluing factors and competition in the lower tier. This is simply an example of the value principle.

Not sure how any of this relates to Audeze not desiring to comment on future products. No company will publicly give detailed statements about future products, especially if it can be seen as an update to an existing product.

No one knew the HD660Sv2 was coming out until it was available to buy.

 

[pataburd]

For the time-being, I am quite pleased with the MM-500.

 

[Alex May]

Not sure how any of this relates to Audeze not desiring to comment on future products.

It does not. My comment was related to a specific phrase from an Audeze employee. It's not that Audeze is unwilling to comment on future products, but specifically about their tone of communication and the fact that Audeze only cares about profit, which is placed above the interests of their customers. Let me just remind how Audeze treats their customers (all the communication is documented): https://www.head-fi.org/threads/audeze-mm-series-mm-500.963588/post-17175607

That particular financial dispute with Audeze was resolved in my favor, all the reference numbers recorded. Sorry but this is not a good business regardless of how highly some users praise their products. For me personally, Audeze headphones do not deserve high praise according to my subjective perception of their quality. But again, product quality aside, the tone of communication from Audeze is not something I would relish the prospect of dealing with.

 

[MacedonianHero]

Here is my review of these very impressive headphones!

https://headphone.guru/the-audeze-m...headphones-not-just-for-studio-professionals/

 

[pataburd]

The MM-500: faithful to the recording and musical.

 

[kamikazeing]

Me: I've got a channel imbalance in my Arya.
Hifiman: We are so sorry, we will replace it immediately, no questions asked. We trust you. And here is a complementary present as a sign of our sincere apology (a $100 item!). Enjoy!

Dang, they were definitely not as nice to me just now. They sent me a broken OG HE6 with a dead left channel and a faint right channel (they claim they were 'tested' first, so now they're blaming shipping damage), and since they don't have another pair to send me they just offered a plain old return/refund with a 'sorry this happened to you'. I don't say this to be entitled mind you, since they don't owe me anything more than that, but still. I felt kinda screwed out of a once in a lifetime opportunity for some really good, hard to obtain headphones.

 

[kid vic]

Dang, they were definitely not as nice to me just now. They sent me a broken OG HE6 with a dead left channel and a faint right channel (they claim they were 'tested' first, so now they're blaming shipping damage), and since they don't have another pair to send me they just offered a plain old return/refund with a 'sorry this happened to you'. I don't say this to be entitled mind you, since they don't owe me anything more than that, but still. I felt kinda screwed out of a once in a lifetime opportunity for some really good, hard to obtain headphones.

Off-topic, but I had hoped that that was going to end well for you when you posted about it in the HE6 thread. That's a shame.

 

[pataburd]

The HE-6 OG are definitely "pick-of-the-litter" of the entire HE-6 line.

 

[John Buchanan]

I think the moral of the story from a tentative buyer perspective is that Audeze existing design language and headphone weight are starting to show their age. Buyers are looking for fresh products from your stable.

The LCD5 was a response to exactly that mindset.

 

[corbin1]

I have a head scratcher, something I've never encountered. So afer I bought my MM-500's I bought a reasonably priced (read off-shore) 4.4mm balanced cable to try out. Sounds great. So a couple months later, fairly recently I bought a Corpse Cable Grave Digger 4.4mm to Mini XLR, great cables, at least to me as I have 3 others of different configurations. So I plug in the Corpse Cable and I get very reduced sound from the left cup and nothing from the right cup. Reverse the headphone connectors and same thing. So I'm thinking shoot, a cable issue. So I pop the cheap cable back in and all is good. So I'm very surprised but thought what the heck, try the Corpse in a different pair of headphones so I plug the Corpse into my LCD -4Z's and much to my surprise everything in both cups sound great, even better than great!

So then just for the heck of it I plug the unbalanced cable that came with the 500's in and using a 1/4" to 3.5 adapter try them and everything is fine. So for some reason the MM-500's don't like the 4.4mm balanced Corpse but the 4Z loves the 4.4mm balanced Corpse. But the MM-500's are fine thru the cheap offshore 4.4mm balanced and the standard Audeze cable. All being driven directly from my SONY NW-WM1A DAP which always (knock on wood) performs flawlessly. Very odd, anyone have any thoughts? Thanks!