DarTzeel’s new direction


Looks like DarTzeel is looking to start producing more affordable equipment. After reading a statement by the man himself he has decided to shift from ultra hiend to a more affordable alternative to his designs.

hiendmmoe

I owned one of the original Dartzeel NHB pre amps which I bought 2nd hand, it was about 4yrs old with the built in phono. I was going to get it upgraded to V2 or trade it in for a new one but there was a very long wait time, due to part shortages apparently, so went another route.

In the UK the preamp was around 15k GBP when it came out around 2004/5. Within a few years it went up to approx 24K due to the weakness of the pound.  According to the bank of England’s inflation calculator 24K (in 2008) would be 38k in todays money. Even allowing for some improvement costs the current a price tag of 54k  is a very large increase, needless to say it puts the amp in the ultra expensive category.

In 2008 the cost of the Dart NHB was equal to the average annual income in the UK (24k). Average income is currently around 30/4k so about 60% of a new Dartzeel. No wonder they are not flying off the shelf in spite of being an excellent amp!

I am not sure why he would pull all of his products from his website if he was actually coming out with a more affordable lineup.  Why would u not offer both ?  Doesn't add up.

I almost quit Audiogon because of the "rich" bashing.  When in high school I mowed yards and had a paper route.  I got my first Dynaco Kit with the proceeds (I/2 of my income went to a college fund) that I soldered together and made speakers.  At that time I never dreamed I'd have the system I have today.  Many wealthy people you will never see as they live below their means.  That's why they are wealthy.  They are not "gullible" or have made all their money with bit coin.  Most just work hard and smart.

That said I don't think the uber high end products provide the level of performance commensurate with their price.  

Thanks for this post skinzy! Sweeping generalizations about individuals of any economic status are the indication of a small mind.