El Reg reports
Sennheiser has announced a new pair of headphones it says will cost "around €50,000" (£35,314 or US$54,279).
The forthcoming "Orpheus" model boasts silver-plated copper cable and "gold-vaporized ceramic electrodes and platinum-vaporized diaphragms ... exactly 2.4 µ thick, the result of extensive research that shows that any thinner or thicker would be sub-optimal." The accompanying amplifier boasts "comes from Carrara in Italy and is the same type of marble that Michelangelo used to create his sculptures.
The tubes "rise from the base and start to glow", and "the control elements, each of which are crafted from a single piece of brass and then plated with chrome ... slowly extend from the marble housing."
We could go on, but fear doing so may induce ire among some readers. Know, then, that there's a very gushy website here [ecmascript required] full of all the jargon a rich audiophile could want.
(Score: 2, Informative) by CaTfiSh on Friday November 06 2015, @03:14AM
I bought my first pair in 1978. At a time when "sweaty ear syndrome" was par for the course with headphones, they used a lightweight plastic headpiece and open-air foam earpieces. It was revolutionary for the time, sounded excellent, made in West Germany, and cost the princely sum of $60. While I'm sure these sound superior, I think I'd rather purchase a new car.