New Chifiman Playnar Flagship Unveiled!

Hifiman flagships Since 2009: HE-5 $600, HE-6 $1200, HEK $3000, Edition 6 $6000, can't wait for the the 2018 flagship at $12,000.

 

You mean you will buy it for USD 3000? I won't even if it drops to USD 500. I'm not on team planars, though

 

Better get one now. At that rate, the flagship will be $96,000 in 2021.

 

Not really. I was referring to when the HE1k came out and HFM offered a discount in exchange for writing a review.

 

$6k? Wow... I'm at a loss for words.

 

The good news with this is that the prices of former flagships will fall fast. Won´t be long until the HE-1000 will be 1k new. The older HiFiMaN stuff is superb value, too bad they have chosen to go this route now... That being said, it has to work commercially or otherwise this trend wouldn´t be happening.

 

Must be a difficult life for HFM fan who keeps saving for the next flagship only to see the price double.

 

Or you could buy 30 HD6XX, build a lazy susan on your ceiling, suspend the cups and drivers around your head, and make a 60.0 surround system!

 

Audeze fans don't seem to have too much trouble with that.

 

This isn't even on my radar.

 

$6k is a lot to spend on cheaply made plastic with a short, limited warranty. Especially when that cheap piece of plastic says Hifiman on it.

 

Most of our tech is made in China, some of which is really slick, but Fang is just a cheapskate and decided to have them use leftover metal from tin garbage can lids.

 

Well, I've been officially out for a while on here as a fan(boy) of the HEK, even more so the v2, to the extent that I'm just about willing to pay the ridiculous asking price. This ED6 however is another matter entirely and confirms what the Shangri-la suggested, that Hifiman is the narcissist of the headphone world. Considering the likely BOM cost though, they'll probably be laughing all the way to the bank even if they sell just a few. The worst part is, chances are I'll probably really like how it sounds.

 

I remember the big justification for the HE-1000 and original Edition-X prices were that they were Halo products, and the technology would trickle down to cheaper offerings. Meanwhile the HE-560 and 400i/s are still just loosely based on the HE-4 and the next over ear products were an Orpheus wannabe and now a Utopia wannabe. All the while they still have awful designs, materials, and customer service. They're everything wrong with Chinese manufacturers.

 

Once upon a time Hifiman used to produce products that were price/performance leaders. In exchange for flimsy build quality and parts you got sound which was a clear cut above almost everything else at or near the same price point. This was a good tradeoff and one many people, myself included, willingly made.

Somewhere along the line someone (Fang?) figured they could get away with charging boutique prices while still producing the same dirt cheap (but good sounding) product. This is not cool for multiple obvious reasons and frankly I think we should create a special "limp dick" award (awarded at managements discretion or as a specific yes/no vote) to go along with the Golden Schlongs in order to bring light to this kind of foolery. It would be good for the community to call out things we think are blatantly bad for both the consumer and the personal audio industry as a whole and this IMO is definitely one of them.

 

So am I the only one ordering 1of these? Seriously considering getting 2, one for the office and one for home so I don't have to carry it with me. Hard not to get 2 at the bargain price of $6k each. Plus, they will probably move a lot of them, so I don't want to wait on back order. Let's get the group buy going!!!

(please no dislikes, I'm being sarcastic)