PriceWatch/Conor Pope: The comparatively high cost going to one of Kanye West's upcoming Irish concerts has attracted the ire of a reader from Dublin.
Billy Hanley writes to point out that tickets for the US rapper's concert in Dublin's Point Theatre are selling for €54.50, while tickets for West's London concerts are just £27.50, approximately €40.
The price differential grows when you add Ticketmaster's Irish booking fee of €5.95, bringing the full price in Dublin to €60.45. In London, when the booking fee of £3.75 (€5.46) is added, tickets sell for a euro equivalent of roughly €45.55. "It's a pity, as I would love to see Kanye West," Hanley says.
We got in touch with the promoters of the Dublin concert, Aitken Promotions, to try to establish how the ticket price was determined and why it cost so much more to see West in Dublin than London. Peter Aitken expressed his surprise at the price differential and said that the price of concert tickets were generally speaking the same "or sometimes even cheaper" here than the UK.
He said that following discussions with West's management team, the price of €54.50 was decided. There was, he said, no discussion of the prices for tickets in other jurisdictions. While Aitken was unable to definitively explain the substantial price difference he did point out that costs, including insurance, were generally speaking higher in the Republic.
What's more . . .
TUCK IN There is some rare good news for Tuc lovers from Hilary Spurgeon in Dublin who has been in touch again to report on a dramatic decline in the cost of crackers since the beginning of the new year.
At the end of last month Spurgeon wrote in to complain about the comparatively high price of Tuc crackers north and south of the Border.
While Tesco in Dublin was selling them for €1.61 a packet, stores in Northern Ireland were able to sell them for considerably closer to a euro. "I am happy to report," she writes "that Tesco in the Republic have these on special at the moment for 68 cent per packet. I have stocked up!"
Value4Money Headphones
Sennheiser PX 100 Headphones €55.99
Highs: These are lightweight and very sturdy, and offer sound of an extremely high quality, blocking out all but the loudest of background noise, despite the fact that they do not sit in your ears. If you really care about sound quality then these are the best option to go for. With a soft foam mesh material on the ear pieces, they're also pretty comfortable and fold and flip into a natty plastic case.
Lows: Mind you, the case has several obtuse diagrams explaining how to fold the speakers away, which seems a little redundant. At €55.99, they are pretty pricey. They're not too discreet and may prove to be a little bulky for some.
Verdict: Big sound from big headphones.
Star rating:****
Vivanco Stereo Headphones €4.99
Highs: These are incredibly cheap and you can hear music with them on your head. While not a patch on the higher spec models, the sound quality isn't as bad as you might think when the volume is turned right up. They also have a kind of retro charm that might appeal to some.
Lows: Mind you, one person's charmingly retro is another's hilariously old fashioned - these look like the sort of headphones Cliff Richard might have coupled with his roller skates for his Wired For Sound video back in the early 1980s. They're also quite flimsy and not particularly comfortable.
Verdict: Low cost, low quality.
Star rating:**
Sony MDR-J10 Over Ear Clip Earphones €20.99
Highs: These wrap around the ears, making them perfect for gym-goers and joggers. They sit nicely and the sound quality is excellent. They are lightweight - they weigh just 10g - yet they manage to be remarkable sturdy to boot. They are also comparatively good value.
Lows: It shouldn't make any real difference, but they do look faintly ridiculous. They also have an incredibly irritating tendency to tie themselves into ferociously complex knots if left sitting in an unruly fashion in your pockets for more than 10 minutes.
Verdict: Good sound and good value.
Star rating:***
Bang & Olufsen Earphones €150
Highs: The sound that comes from these earphones is pretty much flawless but it's still hard to escape the feeling that they're more about lifestyle than sound quality. With a polished chrome finish and funky hinged ear clasps they look very, very cool. More to the point, perhaps, they display the Bang & Olufsen branding in a subtle, but distinct way, allowing everyone around you to know how much you've spent on them. The leather carrying case is a welcome addition to the package and should stop all the coolness getting knotted up.
Lows: They are expensive, horrendously expensive.
Verdict: If money is absolutely no object . . .
Star rating:****
