I've been using my pairs of Grados and Sennheisers for 20 years each. The Grados were $200 and the Sennheisers were $150. Apple has never been known for hitting audiophile quality, so even though we don't have reviews yet, they likely don't sound as good. Your Apple headphones will be in the trash in a few years and mine will still be delivering wonderful sound.
Does this imply the majority of consumers care more about the brand perception than actual value?
I mean, we all know apple fan-bois are vividly after the apple logo, but come on, there's still the majority of sensible people who put actual value higher than the show-off effect.
Been using my Grado RS2 headphones for around 18 years. Their repair service is excellent! Also I expect each Grado headphone to have a overall lower carbon footprint.
I did notice the Apple website does not list the Frequency Response specs.
I got a free repair from Grado about 13 years ago when someone stepped on my headphones. Other than that I've just worn out the ear foams a few times which are 2 seconds to replace. They're also still made in Brooklyn!
I totally get how much engineering goes into the Apple products. There's also something beautiful about a completely passive headphone using a hundred year old connector technology made by a 67 year old company with a BIFL philosophy that is repairable and will never go obsolete. White and seamless is not the only kind of cool.
