Are These the World’s Most Expensive Headphones?
Hey, 1 percenters! Here’s something you might want to buy. Note that these headphones–excuse me, earspeakers–not only cost $5,200, but you also need a special $2,000 to drive them.
Strangely, the manufacturer is NOT Beats by Dr. Dre. (Via Wired)
Wow those are some really expensive headphones! I suppose they're worth the money… What's up with the $2,000 amplifier you have to buy too though? Geez!
oh no..these are actually very reasonable. i have several sets laying around.
Oh no, the Sennheiser Orpheus system is the most expensive, originally clocking in at $16,000 MSRP, though it did included a DAC and an amp. And for Eric Bennett, do you need an amp for a good speaker system? Yes? What are headphones? Miniature speakers? Yep. Simplest explanation for why you need an amp for mid to high end headphones I can give. 😛
But these are also electrostatic earspeakers, they require an insane amount of voltage to even produce noise. The diaphragm is a film that's lighter than air, that's pushed and pulled by an energized metal frame, via static electricity. The amplifiers are difficult to design for that reason, and tend to be expensive, but the result of all this money is unparalleled clarity and detail, much more than a conventional dynamic or planarmagnetic headphone driver could reproduce. It's not for the student, sure, it's aimed squarely at those with disposable income to spare.
The major downside to this, is for half the price of these things, not including the amp (!) you can get a speaker system that's twice as good. They're horrendously overpriced.
Also Beats by Dre isn't a manufacturer, the manufacturer of Beats is Monster Cables. Funny enough if you do a bit of research on them they were known, before the catastrophe that was Beats, for little more than horrendously overpriced cables. $400 HDMI cable anyone? No?
Hi Alan!
I'm afraid I have to agree with Ben. I've seen those Sennheiser Orpheus headphones and they are ridiculously expensive.
I have some Sennheiser HD800s that are closer to the Stax headphones up there.
Here's a post where you can peruse the truly Expensive Headphones..