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1964 Ears Owners Group

#1,141
bucephylus said:
Perhaps. But, you have to ask how supply and demand are working. It may be that cats you consider to be lower life forms are buying the cables and jacking up the demand. But, supply typically tends to respond; unless it is controlled by non-free market forces.

I honestly don’t know where all this stands. It’s complicated. But, allowing our manufacturing to go to non-free market economies has a high probability of being a poor long term decision.
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I get what you're saying, but the free-market theory would also suggest that a 'local' company (eg US for you) would still be able to respond to a gap in the market by contracting an offshore manufacturer to make the product that they want to sell. When offshore manufacturers are making things for another company, the economics of the country/ies where the product is being sold in ultimately has a big determining role. I agree that it's complicated and I certainly don't understand it all! My comment was based in the theory that IEMs and their accessories can be sold to audiophiles at higher margins and in greater numbers than they can be to musicians, thus providing an economic incentive for companies to prioritise audiophiles over musicians. Still, the free market is working in a way - there are newer IEM companies who are still aiming their products at musicians. Whether they succumb to the audiophile temptation is up to them!
 
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#1,145
I got the impression that they are now price parity with UE and Westone. Don't like it, but I'd say they are taking advantage of their pricing power to say they are now in the big leagues.

It does make the entry level musician need to look elsewhere in many cases though. Wonder if InEarz or someone else will capture that side of the market.
 
#1,146
TedH said:
I got the impression that they are now price parity with UE and Westone. Don't like it, but I'd say they are taking advantage of their pricing power to say they are now in the big leagues.

It does make the entry level musician need to look elsewhere in many cases though. Wonder if InEarz or someone else will capture that side of the market.
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There are a few good options coming up in this end of the market, which is great. I got my new IEMs just recently but that's for another thread ;)

I'm fine with 64 Audio choosing to go after the audiophile market (it's their prerogative), but it frustrates me to see other musicians (particularly church musicians...) throwing big money down on them just because they think that there aren't other options.
 
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#1,150
Logic_11 said:
Hey guys! I know this thread has been inactive for a while now but... do you think there will be a Presidents’ Day or Valentine’s Day sale with 64 audio?
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Probably best to check with 64 Audio or just watch the site for sales announcements. They've kinda fallen out of favor around here because of the price increases and leaning toward the audiophile market (with big money).

Personally, I'm looking to JH Audio for my next pair of IEMs.
 
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#1,151
Geri O said:
Probably best to check with 64 Audio or just watch the site for sales announcements. They've kinda fallen out of favor around here because of the price increases and leaning toward the audiophile market (with big money).

Personally, I'm looking to JH Audio for my next pair of IEMs.
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Thank you! I appreciate the help. Yeah, was mainly looking at three companies which were: 64, UE, and JH. They actually all have similar prices for four driver in ears and I was thinking of just going with whichever one offers a greater discount on president's day. Ue's 4 driver IEM's cost $1199, 64's: $999, and JH's are also $999. I'm not exactly sure what you mean by audiophile market. Do you mean that 64 Audio has been focusing on making IEM's for non-musicians instead?
 
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#1,152
Logic_11 said:
Thank you! I appreciate the help. Yeah, was mainly looking at three companies which were: 64, UE, and JH. They actually all have similar prices for four driver in ears and I was thinking of just going with whichever one offers a greater discount on president's day. Ue's 4 driver IEM's cost $1199, 64's: $999, and JH's are also $999. I'm not exactly sure what you mean by audiophile market. Do you mean that 64 Audio has been focusing on making IEM's for non-musicians instead?
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Yeah, the group of people that aren't necessarily players, but spend all kinds of money on listening devices (speakers, headphones, IEMs) for "the ultimate listening experience". Manufacturers have caught on to the sometimes-insane amount of money these folks will spend on their habits and have sometimes priced their products accordingly. And some manufacturers have come out with snake oil products in the form of $1000 10ft long speaker cables, even $1000 AC power cables. That side of the market is a complete and a total rock, but hey, if you can sack it, you can sell it. So more power to them.

I can't begrudge those folks because at least they are buying and supporting recorded music.
 
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#1,153
Logic_11 said:
Thank you! I appreciate the help. Yeah, was mainly looking at three companies which were: 64, UE, and JH. They actually all have similar prices for four driver in ears and I was thinking of just going with whichever one offers a greater discount on president's day. Ue's 4 driver IEM's cost $1199, 64's: $999, and JH's are also $999. I'm not exactly sure what you mean by audiophile market. Do you mean that 64 Audio has been focusing on making IEM's for non-musicians instead?
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Yes, exactly - and so have many others. When the products are differentiated by driver count but have similar response profiles (which all conveniently favour listening applications) then you can tell what’s up.

What exactly are you going for with a four-driver IEM...why four, and which four (eg 2 LF, 1 Mid, 1 HF, or 3 LF, 1 HF)?

Alclair is one manufacturer that is filling the value-oriented, musician-focused niche that 64 used to operate in. They have a range of IEMs, many with the same number of drivers but very different response profiles aimed at different applications. I am quite happy with my Alclair Dual XBs - they’re not a singer’s IEM but can handle plenty of kick drum without losing clarity.
 
#1,154
I agree with the above that it seems like 64 Audio has been getting more and more expensive. I will say that I have a set of 4-driver 64's with the ADEL module. I use them all day (responsibly) and don't generally experience ear fatigue. So I do think they have done some innovating in the space at least. If/when they die though, I'm not sure I'd buy another pair at their current cost. Certainly not without one of the occasional discounts they do.
 
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#1,155
Chace90 said:
I agree with the above that it seems like 64 Audio has been getting more and more expensive. I will say that I have a set of 4-driver 64's with the ADEL module. I use them all day (responsibly) and don't generally experience ear fatigue. So I do think they have done some innovating in the space at least. If/when they die though, I'm not sure I'd buy another pair at their current cost. Certainly not without one of the occasional discounts they do.
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I’m using a set of (then) 1964 Quads that are going on 6 years old. They still sound just fine to me (after I roll off a little low end, which I’ve done since day 1), but I do look forward to some new IEMs, maybe later this year. Probably some JH Audios.
 
#1,156
Geri O said:
I’m using a set of (then) 1964 Quads that are going on 6 years old. They still sound just fine to me (after I roll off a little low end, which I’ve done since day 1), but I do look forward to some new IEMs, maybe later this year. Probably some JH Audios.
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I have (as you know) an older set of fully-working Qi's (quads) and still using my A8's with the ADEL diaphragm's. I guess they rebranded them to APEX, but the same "fatigue free" listening occurs with the A8's - last used at my gig last Friday, and will use at church tonight!
LOVE THEM.
If the A8's break/die, I'd probably go back to using the Qi's while looking for another cost-effective "musicians" brand as 64Audio have firmly moved into the audiophile market, and replacing my A8's with N8's (at ~$1,700 BASE price) simply ain't happening!
 
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#1,158
s0c9 said:
I have (as you know) an older set of fully-working Qi's (quads) and still using my A8's with the ADEL diaphragm's. I guess they rebranded them to APEX, but the same "fatigue free" listening occurs with the A8's - last used at my gig last Friday, and will use at church tonight!
LOVE THEM.
If the A8's break/die, I'd probably go back to using the Qi's while looking for another cost-effective "musicians" brand as 64Audio have firmly moved into the audiophile market, and replacing my A8's with N8's (at ~$1,700 BASE price) simply ain't happening!
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They're leveraging Nathan East's name just like Yamaha. They also are not far off of JH pricing once you get up into that number of drivers.
They also are able to market their tech. They seem to put more R&D into tech than other companies, at least when looking at the different marketing. From my experience with my A6t's, the LID technology seems to do what is advertised, which is not always the case with other iem's/headphones. Not saying I love their prices... But when comparing to the rest of the market, there are other industries, and even segments of the music industry that have much more price gouging.
 
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