julian67
500+ Head-Fier
- Joined
- Apr 26, 2013
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The above statement shows you have actually not even read this thread......
Your posts somehow only show your suspect for those who have more than you?
1: Actually I have read the thread. The fundamental problem with it is that the supposed observation is in fact only an unsubstantiated conflation of opinion and assumption.
2: I'm reasonably content with the stuff I have but if I lived somewhere quieter I would be more interested in high quality open backed headphones, and would almost certainly spend quite heavily on them and perhaps on superior source and amplification. Because I live somewhere with substantial extraneous noise (except for the odd winter when it snows so heavily that vehicles can't be used for a few days) I content myself with my Sennheiser Momentum circumaurals and various IEMs. Sorry to be apparently navel-gazing but this goes to the heart of the hugely biased and unsubstantiated premise of your original post, quote: ".....discount the performance of superior models".
You can ascribe the above view to envy if you like, or you could attempt to address the points made (and not just by me!) which describe how this thread is very badly flawed in being presented as some kind of rational or scientific exercise.
There are, for many people, good reasons for not buying the "superior" models and acting on those reasons does not necessarily mean that the person is "discounting" supposedly better alternatives. Here are some examples:
The superiority of "superior models" doesn't matter if that superiority cannot be discerned in the listener's particular environment.
The financial cost of that extra "superior" experience may be very, very large compared to differences in sound that the listeners perceives as small or marginal or even non-existent.
Depending on the source and amplification available, the "superior models" may even be completely unsuitable and in situ actually sound worse than their "inferior" cousins.
The "superior" models may be less comfortable, have shorter warranty, very distant service centres, more expensive parts, poorer reputation for build/component quality, poorer aftermarket support (i.e. cables with proprietary fittings and so on) etc etc. All of this is possible and hardly unheard of.
I think any reasonable person can see that there are numerous circumstances and reasons why the "superior" product is not always the most appropriate and that there are plenty of common situations where it may not even provide a better sound or better comfort.
An unusual theme here at Head-Fi would ask the question "How and why does the general public prefer a non-audiophile sound signature delivered by Beats by Dre?"
Another question simply loaded with assumptions. Everyone who buys Beats buys them because they made a conscious decision about their preference of a "sound signature"? I refer my learned friend to a previous reference to the product of the broader end of a horse.