I feel like looking cool is definitely a factor, but the OP-1 is also about being portable and fitting into your lifestyle. Photographers will tell you that "the best camera is the one you have with you", and the OP-1 is like the phone camera of music. It's like a step up from singing into a voice memo. You can use it to capture ideas reasonably accurately whenever you feel inspired, and refine them later at an actual workstation.
Obviously not everyone will think this is worth $2000, and there's definitely an element of status symbol there, but I've genuinely enjoyed owning one.
The fact that there are some cyclists which actually need a $20k bike doesn't mean that the majority of $20k bike buyers are not doing it just for status (the famed dentist cyclists).
Obviously not everyone will think this is worth $2000, and there's definitely an element of status symbol there, but I've genuinely enjoyed owning one.