how can high end headphones get discounts? (Stax)

[Jiraya369]

The Stax SR-009S is 3300 USD where I live. It used to be 5000 USD a few days ago. How does something like this get such monstrous discounts? Isn't the point of a high end headphone to be the "halo" product whose high price gives it the luxury status?

I'm not in the market for such outrageously expensive headphones but if i were, this'd be on the top of my list.

This headphone right now is cheaper than an Audeze LCD-4 in the same store. I can literally get this headphone and a Hifiman HE-1000 V2 Stealth for the same price as an Audeze LCD-4Z.

High end headphones are ridiculously priced but with this pricing, I think this estat makes sense. The Audeze ones are absolutely mind boggling though, at least electrostats have the special sauce that everyone talks about, Audeze's ones although good, just don't belong in that tier. I'd take Japanese tech over American one at this pricing any day TBH

 

[Doodski]

Products in the AV business can be very hot and very cold. Some products do very well and others just don't move and sometimes the local business competition can be very polarized and they actually are fighting in the advertising and their sale prices and on the price tags in the stores and they literally are trying to put the other business out of business. The manufacturers do all this sorts of stuff too. I worked AV sales for ~9 years and then I was a tech for ~15 years and I watched all this stuff going on... Sometimes the product just sits in the store(s) and collects dust for many months or even a couple of years, no reason really maybe it's good product but customers can't pull the trigger on that product and so the store or the manufacturer or importer/wholesaler decided to cut their loses and get rid of it ASAP because it is cash sitting stagnant or they have a new model coming down the pipe etc. I saw electrostat headphones that where wonderful product and sounded great and looked cool and desirable sit for over 2 years... many people test drove and they could never pull the trigger for some reasons we never understood. The manufacturer dropped their drawers on the price, the retailer I was working for was then able to drop their drawers and sell them for ~1/3 of the usual price and that was the only way we could get them out the door and stop collecting dust and the worst part was they looked cool and are electrostat and so many people want top test drive and it takes up vast amounts of our time and every and we get really annoyed when no sales occur and product is just sucking all the time... My personal experience too is I bought stuff that was great as a discounted product and then I find the product has weird stuff or awkward this or that and that's why the great price... i do not shop based on price anymore... I select what I need and then find the the best deal on that item...

 

[Jiraya369]

Products in the AV business can be very hot and very cold. Some products do very well and others just don't move and sometimes the local business competition can be very polarized and they actually are fighting in the advertising and their sale prices and on the price tags in the stores and they literally are trying to put the other business out of business. The manufacturers do all this sorts of stuff too. I worked AV sales for ~9 years and then I was a tech for ~15 years and I watched all this stuff going on... Sometimes the product just sits in the store(s) and collects dust for many months or even a couple of years, no reason really maybe it's good product but customers can't pull the trigger on that product and so the store or the manufacturer or importer/wholesaler decided to cut their loses and get rid of it ASAP because it is cash sitting stagnant or they have a new model coming down the pipe etc. I saw electrostat headphones that where wonderful product and sounded great and looked cool and desirable sit for over 2 years... many people test drove and they could never pull the trigger for some reasons we never understood. The manufacturer dropped their drawers on the price, the retailer I was working for was then able to drop their drawers and sell them for ~1/3 of the usual price and that was the only way we could get them out the door and stop collecting dust and the worst part was they looked cool and are electrostat and so many people want top test drive and it takes up vast amounts of our time and every and we get really annoyed when no sales occur and product is just sucking all the time... My personal experience too is I bought stuff that was great as a discounted product and then I find the product has weird stuff or awkward this or that and that's why the great price... i do not shop based on price anymore... I select what I need and then find the the best deal on that item...

when amps that are available cost as much as the headphones and used amps cost 60% of the headphones, i can understand why nobody wants to buy estats where i live but still, the price drop is insane to me.

 

[Doodski]

when amps that are available cost as much as the headphones and used amps cost 60% of the headphones, i can understand why nobody wants to buy estats where i live but still, the price drop is insane to me.

I know the insanity well... LoL. I have seen product literally sold for like $20 or $50 that is $500 product and it is used to get customers to line up outside the door all nght and the news to make a article and get attention... it works... i saw "Lost Leader" allll the time... it happens lot... sometimes they lost leader chosen is actually great product but the brand is not a popular brand and so businesses will prostitute the model and ignore the brand and not a single bit of concern about what they are doing by offering the product at like ~80% off and absurd stuff like this... It's what the AV business is about... The manufacturers try to keep their product out of trouble like this and the discount when they need to for various reasons ...