[Dinerenblanc]

"Good enough" is the operative term here. If they are good enough for you - they are. Full stop. If you want to try for more performance, explore. But the idea that everyone's ears are different and that the $5 Target IEMs are just as good as say, a Hifiman RE400 is ludicrous. You are happy with them no doubt. But in actuality you are settling for less - and there is no problem with that - the amount you are willing to spend is equal to the performance you expect from your gear. All that matters is that you are happy. Don't let one-upmanship drive purchases - Don't let envy drive purchases. There are headphones that punch above their price point at every price point. I own the Philips 3590's and they sound great - but they aren't a 1+2 by any stretch of the imagination.

But to say that "should" be enough? For who? A hamburger tastes great and lets me enjoy the taste of beef - but "should" I stop there and not have a steak if I can afford it and it is readily available? I think not. Unless I have to steal a cow from a neighbor and slaughter it myself... 

You clearly have not had a Kobe beef burger, Ivabign. Lol

 

[Ivabign]

You clearly have not had a Kobe beef burger, Ivabign. Lol

Perhaps - but as a Laker fan, I have a beef with Kobe.

 

[jruschme]

  And slaughtering your neighbour's cow is a metaphor for what exactly? 

I think it's like the old anti-piracy PSAs: "You wouldn't steal a car... You wouldn't download a pair of headphones..."

 

[Dinerenblanc]

Perhaps - but as a Laker fan, I have a beef with Kobe.

I have always found it odd that his parents named him after a type of beef. Supposedly, they were in Japan and they were served a delicious steak, and upon being told that it's call Kobe beef, they thought it was a good idea to name their son after it. So yeah . . . High end IEMs = Kobe beef.

 

[mdiogofs]

Asian brands have to impose themselves to the market. That means higher sound quality and lower prices for start.

 

[Dinerenblanc]

Asian brands have to impose themselves to the market. That means higher sound quality and lower prices for start.

More like higher build quality and higher prices. Chinese products are already known for being cheap, they don't need to be cheaper. Picky buyers will continue to write most of them since many of them break within a year, and high end buyers will ignore anything that's under $300. The only Asian brands that have a decent market share in the high end audio business is Audio Technica and SONY. The average person won't even touch Chinese brands like FIDUE & DUNU, neither of which have a presence in western retailers. They're only popular with the most dedicated hobbyists, and that's a problem.

 

[Ivabign]

I think for non-boutique Asian manufacturers (UM, Lear, Hidition, Spiral Ear) that can command large prices for excellent custom work, some of the companies that would like to be the next JVC or Sennheiser, have a pretty big hill to climb. Buyers expect a lot when they start plunking down $300-$400 for their IEMs - Astrotec had a hard time selling the AX60 at almost $400 - I don't have the sales numbers for the T-Peos H300 and the Fidue A83 - but when someone pays that kind of money - elements other than just sound reproduction come into play - warranty support and retail presence (can I buy this anywhere/everywhere) become important. I know I think twice before paying that kind of money on a company with a small footprint (again, other than custom manuf.)
 
Remember when Vsonic was bandying about huge numbers for some of the new headphones that were in the pipeline. Sure they had a winner with the GR07 - it punched above its price - but how would you find value in a $500 Vsonic? I don't think you could. And what did they come out with first? The $60 VSD3 - a nice phone, but certainly not a giant killer.

 

[Dinerenblanc]

 

Good points. I don't believe I've ever seen a Chinese, or any central Asian manufacturer. offer a warranty that lasted more than a year, not for universals anyway. That just doesn't inspire consumer confidence. The lack of presence is definitely another significant problem. Despite all the rave about the A83, I still decided not to purchase it because of logistical issues that might arise if I ever need a replacement. 

 

[neoh77]

I've recently come to terms with this. I just prefer certain components for different types of music and that's OK. My se530s work well for acoustic and vocals. The sound magic e10 work for metal and rock and because they are so cost effective.

I was a live sound engineer for many years and I find it difficult to even enjoy music. I'm so focused on the technical aspect of how it sound and is mixed that I completely lose sight of the music itself. My wife can effortlessly listen to a song and enjoy it for what it is.

 

[Dinerenblanc]

I've recently come to terms with this. I just prefer certain components for different types of music and that's OK. My se530s work well for acoustic and vocals. The sound magic e10 work for metal and rock and because they are so cost effective.

I was a live sound engineer for many years and I find it difficult to even enjoy music. I'm so focused on the technical aspect of how it sound and is mixed that I completely lose sight of the music itself. My wife can effortlessly listen to a song and enjoy it for what it is.

That's kind of depressing.

 

[Ivabign]

I've recently come to terms with this. I just prefer certain components for different types of music and that's OK. My se530s work well for acoustic and vocals. The sound magic e10 work for metal and rock and because they are so cost effective.

I was a live sound engineer for many years and I find it difficult to even enjoy music. I'm so focused on the technical aspect of how it sound and is mixed that I completely lose sight of the music itself. My wife can effortlessly listen to a song and enjoy it for what it is.

You need to have a drink....  let your left brain free - or is it the right side? oh, well - both sides are equally scorched 

 

[Currawong]

I've recently come to terms with this. I just prefer certain components for different types of music and that's OK. My se530s work well for acoustic and vocals. The sound magic e10 work for metal and rock and because they are so cost effective.

I was a live sound engineer for many years and I find it difficult to even enjoy music. I'm so focused on the technical aspect of how it sound and is mixed that I completely lose sight of the music itself. My wife can effortlessly listen to a song and enjoy it for what it is.

 
A friend of mine used to love drawing cartoons. She ended up working for Disney and it completely ruined her appreciation of anime. She could watch their old hand-drawn cartoons (such as The Lion King) and tell you who drew what parts.
 
I tend to find two ways to appreciate music: In the car when I just want to appreciate listening, and with high-end headphones (or speakers) where I'll listen to well-recorded acoustic music and can appreciate the subtleties of how the performer(s) sing or play instruments.

 

[Retrias]

This kind of stuff happens alot doesnt it ? Like most "artist/engineery" job somehow failed to appreciate what we normal people would think as good. I most only watched technicalities when auditioning iem and even then usually it ends with the question of "do I enjoy this " , thats prolly why I subjectively think that the ER4 is pretty bad since I cant enjoy my music with it

 

[Whitigir]

Uhm..this isn't the first time I have heard this. The technologies are there and existed. So I consider engineering and designing Iem or cans to be an art.

Just like any art products, some will be outstanding for their price and labor. That is why to me the hunt for cheap and outperforming Iem is such a hobby as long as you have good sources. I guess. I love hunting for budget cans and iems.

Picasso paintings held no values in his time. Now? There are still ancient headphones which can rival many high end now...especially Beats loll...Dre is such a Troll.

 

[BlinkST]

  So something just happened now that makes me question all this spending on HQ iems, so I was going through some old stuff in my drawer and came across these from my old sony ericsson phone.
 
http://www.amazon.com/Sony-Ericsson-Original-Headset-Walkman/dp/B0027V4AR4/ref=sr_1_4?ie=UTF8&qid=1406126133&sr=8-4&keywords=sony+ericsson+headset&dpPl=1
 
I figured, let me test them out with all this HQ music and compare to my XBA30, back then I didnt know about music as I did now, so I plugged them in expecting to be disgusted; to my amazement....they sound great! I thought to myself ok its probably jsut the mind adjusting, I went to my xba30 expecting to be blown away, sure it has cleaner bass, bigger sound stage and little details but overall its not what IMO you would expect for a $200 iem compared to a measly $10 pair.
 
These sound very good, everything is super clear, the mids and highs are good, the lows are not as clear per say but they are there at least, aside from a slight low end leakage they are balanced as well.
 
Now obviously the 30's are better no doubt but are they $200 worthy? Recently I bought the xb90ex and those retailed for like $60, to my amazement too aside from the obvious low end and sub bass emphasis they are clear and the mids and highs are just as good as the 30, so I wonder are these $200, $300, $400+ iem's really worth it? Something like the re400 is another example of price/value.
 
I mean being 100% honest, if I was stuck with these headphones I would not be complaining at all, the only headphones I cant stand are earbuds, those things suck lol

I had a similar moment with my own XBA-H3 and my little brother's MDR-EXB50. Or 90. Not sure which one. Granted, the H3 was smoother and less harsh, but they otherwise had exactly the same kind of presentation. I paid $350 + taxes and shipping for my H3.