Re: Can we pressure Beyerdynamic to reissue the M380?

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I have a thread here about a pair of these I DIYed. Steve replied and said he's been trying to convince them to reissue it. I don't think there's anything particularly complicated about it, I know the element was also the driver for the older DT-770/880/990 and the newer models of those cans use a different driver design, but I can't imagine it's all that different, or hard to go back to producing the earlier iteration.

Seems dumb that companies aren't paying attention to markets for their discontinued products. Money to be made there.

I'm all for convincing them to reissue, but if you can find a set of the older 600 Ohm DT headphones, and are willing to do a little hardware hacking, you can get functionally comparable results.

Re: Can we pressure Beyerdynamic to reissue the M380?

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thecr4ne wrote: Wed Oct 26, 2022 11:57 am I don't think there's anything particularly complicated about it, I know the element was also the driver for the older DT-770/880/990 and the newer models of those cans use a different driver design
Off topic.. but I wondered why those had dropped significantly in price (those are barely $100 cans now, and used to be more like $250)

Which probably means the M380 wouldn't be inexpensive either, but considering they're hard to find and expensive a certain number* of people would be willing to pay for it. The * is probably what it boils down to..
Music

Re: Can we pressure Beyerdynamic to reissue the M380?

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I have engaged in a long email exchange with a rep from Beyer about the M380, and there is no evidence they are interested in reissuing it. The specific parts they used to make the M380 are long gone, so production would need to begin from the ground up, and there is apparently no enthusiasm for that from the rest of the company.

I have tried to impress on them how unique and useful the mic is, and have offered all manner of whoredom of myself and my enthusiasm if they should deign to do it, but all to no avail so far.

This is a good reminder to hassle the guy again, so I'll do that.
-s

Re: Can we pressure Beyerdynamic to reissue the M380?

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I dug mine out not too long ago and used it as a heart mic on a drum kit and it sounded great. Next time I have cause to mic a drum kit, I want to try it as a combo under-snare/kick batter. Very stoked to have been introduced to them by Bill Skibbe back when they were $100 mics.

If beyer won't do it, it seems like a project someone like Warm Audio or another affordable cloner of niche audio equipment might be interested in taking on?

Someone call Uli.

Re: Can we pressure Beyerdynamic to reissue the M380?

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IDK, maybe everyone reading this could at the very least drop a line to info@beyerdynamic.com
steve wrote: The specific parts they used to make the M380 are long gone, so production would need to begin from the ground up, and there is apparently no enthusiasm for that from the rest of the company.
mdc wrote: Thu Oct 27, 2022 7:03 am If beyer won't do it, it seems like a project someone like Warm Audio or another affordable cloner of niche audio equipment might be interested in taking on?
This is brilliant. I've been quite pleased w/ every purchase I've made of Warm stuff.

I'm not as familiar w/ the rest of you who have opened these mics up and have some specific knowledge about what makes these special, but aside from the housing, I would think a well-built clone is absolutely do-able. Confirming my original thoughts about BD in the About section of their website, they very much feel like a company that is keeping old mfg traditions alive and continuing to stick w/ "hand-made" products in Germany - and that's fine, good for them & full respect for it! I think though that Chinese mfg has come along so far that they have proven they can build/clone about anything with a high-degree of success & durability when it's part of the spec. We've had clone debates before and I'm generally of the mind that if the original mfg can't be arsed and there's established demand, it's fair game.

Maybe a dedicated thread to "What would you most like manufacturers to reissue or clone?" is in order.

Re: Can we pressure Beyerdynamic to reissue the M380?

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Dang! Warm replied quickly. They're sending my suggestion to R&D AND the feller who replied even stated this is something he'd like to see as well.

No way to know if this could gain any real traction or not but I will say lately Warm has been doing some kinda interesting and unexpected product releases of items that are a little more off-the-beaten-path so...maybe?

Personally I've been really happy w/ all the Warm stuff I own or have used, so if this is something they take on, could be pretty darn close to the originals?

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