$100,000 line stage

Do you really think the reviewer bought the review unit at 50% off retail? Mark-ups on some of these uber priced gear can be unbelievable. When I was importing Kondo gear (Audio Note Japan) and selling Ongaku amps they had a retail of $89,000. I sold them to  customers for 24-26k depending on the value of the Yen and still made a profit! I bet the reviewer didn't pay more than 20k for the pre-amp.

That may be accurate in this case. I'm not going to question any reviewer's ethics or practices since I do not know them personally or follow their work. I know some reviewers in major stereo rags purchase equipment as well. 

Do you think reviewers should disclose their "discount"? I know that would not look good for a company that is selling a $100,000 piece of gear for $20,000 to the reviewer. However, knowing that huge discount is available, could that have influence the review itself? A reviewer is not going to "pretend" to like a component and shell over $20k. However, a reviewer could be "over" excited about talking up the value of the equipment at MSRP (knowing he's going to get at 25% of the price). Without directly saying, the reviewer of the preamp in this thread does give the impression that he is paying full price (at least to me).

The transformers they use were buried underneath the base of Mount Fuji for 10 years prior to being installed, allowing them to project that very organic sound.  

It is good that 90% of the threads here are NOT like yours and that 90% of the members are NOT like you.

You can call me more names now.

Dave

The transformers they use were buried underneath the base of Mount Fuji for 10
years prior to being installed, allowing them to project that very organic sound.

One of my goals is to attend one of the major audio shows next year. It will be exciting to hear the components at ultra high price levels. I know hotel rooms are not always optimal listening conditions, however, probably the closest ill get to such pricey stereo equipment

Do you really think the reviewer bought the review unit at 50% off retail? Mark-ups on some of these uber priced gear can be unbelievable. When I was importing Kondo gear (Audio Note Japan) and selling Ongaku amps they had a retail of $89,000. I sold them to  customers for 24-26k depending on the value of the Yen and still made a profit! I bet the reviewer didn't pay more than 20k for the pre-amp.

That may be accurate in this case. I'm not going to question any reviewer's ethics or practices since I do not know them personally or follow their work. I know some reviewers in major stereo rags purchase equipment as well.
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As someone who's been in and around the business for a long time, I don't think those numbers are accurate at all.

That bit of information, if true, would have hit the streets long ago.