Hifiman Shangri-La (Jade 2, or HSL)

Its a bit like saying, blame the addicted gambler, don't blame the casino. Either way, both hands are dirty.

Its an imperfect analogy, but you get what i mean.

 

Tesla is planning on releasing a car that's cheaper than this thing...

 

Interesting perspective, Sphinxvc.

Jeff, when is Dr Fang coming out with the Taipei DAP, the Xinjiang On-Ears, and the Diaoyu Islands IEM?

 

Once I went to a wealthy customers house to repair his pc. I told him that the computer was really not worth the repair given it's age and fact that it needed a new mobo. We agreed that I'd help him order a new Dell desktop and monitor. I asked him what kind of pc he wanted, his budget etc. He just smiled, put his credit card on the table and said, "I want the very best one they've got."

I ordered a new Dell XPS fully loaded special edition blah blah blah. He never even asked the cost. When it arrived I returned to his house to get it setup. It was in a box the size of a medium refrigerator. When I got it out of the box, I realized that it was too heavy for me to pickup. It weighed just at 90 pounds.

There will always be people who want nothing but the best, period. Cost be damned. This is unfortunate for the budget minded audiophile...me.

 

Any reason you went with a Dell instead of building one - since you're already doing repairs and etc for him I imagine it'd be easier to repair/replace your own build.

 

I should have told him that a custom pc was more expensive. Could've made a killing.

 

News just in: Fang executed by Communist Party for treason in support of the "free Tibet" movement.

 

No offense to Hifiman but I feel like somebody in the market for headphones of this price would sooner pick up a second Orpheus 2 than this Shangri-La. I hope the final production model actually has something to 'justify' such an asking price. Sennheiser have their marble, motorized gimmicks and even some new(?) technologies like the amp in the headphone itself and the (supposedly) highly researched and tested stator material coating/thickness.

Then again I'm not a Chinese businessman or Saudi prince so what do I know.

 

Reading through this thread, I'm legitimately curious: is the genuine opinion of most that these are not worth $40k+? In order to assume that, we must first assume that Fang is erroneously assuming there is a demand base, but realistically, we know that there is. As pointed out in the above anecdote, there are plenty of individuals that will happily pay an astronomical asking price if not just for the braggadocio. It'd be great to assume that headphone (audio) manufacturers should, or must, owe the 'community' some sort of benevolent pricing strategy, but that's naive at best. HiFiMan is a business and it must operate as such. Their pricing of the HEK/HEX doesn't appear to have hurt them in any way. In fact, one could assert that the current pricing of the 560/400i could be proof of the success of the HEX/HEK*. But I digress, this is a horrible first post. And I could (realistically), have no idea what I'm talking about. Admittedly pure speculation, but this is a objectively a hobby that deals in subjectivity. Thus, there is no baseline to justify assertions that Fang is pricing himself out of the market.

* This assumption is based on my belief that HEK/HEX margins and sales are so high that HiFiMan can supplement decreasing their margins (MSRP) on the 560/400i whilst still maintaining a healthy revenue stream.

 

I certainly understand where you're coming from, but my point was that Fang may be targeting an atypical consumer. There's also the fact that it must also be assumed that there is market demand, therefore justifying the price (which he will get). If the Orpheus 2 is sold out, why do we assume the SL won't be by the end of CES, regardless of its sonic ability.

 

I was looking at it as hifiman simply making a statement and playing the psychology game. You're not ultra high end until you're halfway into the six digit realm. Capture the eye of a couple of those 1%'ers, get your product in the magazine filled with stuff that no one buys, try to establish some sort of mythical status.

Then for the people who actually can buy the "lower" end products, they will never be satisfied because there's still something above them.

 

Cans will be available separately; price will be five figures.