Verum Audio - Exciting high performance DIY planar

Some sort of heavy duty case. Or a good quality cable with choice of balanced connection maybe? They're dual mini-xlr input right?

 

At least some bag\case. That's a good idea, cause in my plans Verum 1 will be sent in a thick carboard box. Will think about it. Cause If I exceed 1 kg of weight I need to pay extra 20$ for international shipping. And that's significant.

@Panohm Verum has 2.5mm connectors and cable is 3.5mm * 2x2,5 mm. Extra XLR cable is an idea.

 

Off the top of my head, a good carrying case (personalised?), custom finishes, extra cables?

As for future pursuits, an amp built to your specifications is a good idea

That aside, I suppose you could just refine your process and create something with higher tolerances (and the costs that'd entail). Based on the discussion so far it seems to me that you've largely achieved what you set out to do, so making another product just for the sake of it seems like something other brands would do. On the other hand, you could make a closed-back supraaural variant to satisfy that niche. It'd be a hell of a lot easier to sell to people who aren't as invested in home setups and who listen on-the-go.

 

Are you planning to offer other color schemes? I know many people would be only interested in a black/carbon/gunmetal combo.

 

My priorities as an enthusiast are: Can I hook it up to my gear, and if the sound isn’t quite to my taste can I get it there without having to find new equipment that has better synergy, or selling it for another headphone.

I would find a 4-pin XLR cable and a tuning kit the most practically useful. A copy of the frequency response measurement for the headphone received would also be helpful for equalization, though I can appreciate this may not be feasible.

 

If custom finishes would delay shipments for other customers I would say to avoid them. Probably much more of hassle than it is worth.

 

Fair point, though I was thinking it'd be something along the lines of a perk that people can opt in on while understanding that there'll be a delay in shipping due the same reasons you'd mentioned. Granted, I was thinking this'd be something along the lines of an Enigma product where buyers are given the option of requesting weird finishes, but since this is an initial run and all I can see why this'd be a massive PITA.

Eh, loads of people are likely gonna go for the sleek black/gunmetal and all, but I'm aiming for the red and gold

 

IMO, use it as a "group buy", just make sure to deliver the headphones in time and in good condition, one color fits all. Once you've made some money out of it, and also got an idea of what the market demands are/would be approximately, if you see that you can manage it, offer different color options.

 

A heavy duty case would add a lot to shipping, but here's a couple other ideas:
1) a semi-hard case or maybe a zippered foam contraption like Beyerdynamic does with their DT##0 series.
2) make a foam cutout for the nearest fitting Pelican/Gator/SKB/etc case. This will give you plenty of protection for shipping, and the customer can source the case themselves and plop in the precut foam pieces for it.

 

How about unit-specific measurements?

... Assuming there's some level of variation, as is the case with many planars.

 

There won't be any variations. Tolerance between different units will be less then 0.5 db.
On Head-Fi in DIY thread I've explained in details how to make identical membranes for left and right channel at once, without matching similar pair from lots of units.

Different colors will be available as extended goals. For now I've already made 4 different color schemes. If I made them in single copy - i'm able to produce them in series.

 

I agree...anything perks I'd like to be functional. A 2nd cable (longer/shorter depending on how long stock is) 2nd set of earpads, storage case...that sort of thing.

I thought the video was fine BTW.

 

I'd like to have XLR cable + XLR-TRS short cable

 

I regard most Kickstarter perks and stretch goals as completely extraneous to the core product, and if they become distractionary to whoever is behind the project, they detract in value.

Verum is a very distinctive product already- a high quality yet low(ish) cost planar headphone. You don't need extra frills to try set this apart from a bunch of almost identical products (e.g. yet another bluetooth 'smart' fitness tracker/headphone + lifestyle management phone app).

As long as it can be connected to an amp (i.e. TRS/XLR converters?) then it's good. Bags, cases, meh. Anyone who cares can arrange their own easily, and probably to their greater satisfaction via the convenience of Amazon. Different cosmetics? As long as the colour is not, say, lime green or fluorescent orange, then it's not terribly relevant. They are headphones, kind of hard to see when they're sitting on your head.

 

Does the price include EU VAT? How will you handle it for everyone?

For example this is what Smyth Realiser is doing..
"A recent EU advisory states that crowd funded pledges which are a significant proportion of the market value of the reward are to be considered as payment for the reward. As such we are compelled to collect VAT on pledges from EU supporters. Since Kickstarter has no systems in place to charge VAT we have put the VAT element into the EU and UK shipping charges."

 

All taxes and international shipping are included into pledges cost. Also I'll do my best to help backers to avoid customs tax

 

One perk could be an extra pair of ear pads and/or magnetic rings to put in other ear pads.

 

What about some options for cable length as an extra perk? Often I end up buying another headphone cable just because I was unable to select the correct length for me right away when purchasing headphones. This I consider a serious waste.

 

Perk options:
- Case
- Stuff to assist in pad rolling
- Extra cables
- Multiple pairs at a discount

I wouldn't mess with anything too difficult like headphone colours because all you end up with is scope creep. I think more Kickstarters should have the primary goal of getting the product out, I'm still waiting for my Loque Ghost mITX computer case and it keeps getting pushed back because the community keeps asking for more features, colours and items.

 

Alternative grille designs maybe?

Edit: I agree that the best option is "more of what you already have available. Don't start manufacturing new stuff just to be nice. Don't have a ton of tiers just because.