We are all suscebtible to the siren song of accessories I am afraid. I rember seeing a review for the first £1000 interconnect I had seen and thinking " What sort of idiot would buy that?". Well me evidently, my only defence being I buy them cheaper second hand and yes, they do work, more's the pity.
We live in an economic climate where manufacturers have abandoned the intro and middle of the road buyer, for the ultra high end, because there is'nt a mass market anymore, it's dead, we are a dying interest group, misunderstood and ridiculed. None of this is new to you, I know and it does'nt worry me. My kids love music and I am sure, will use bits of my system, when I've gone to the great demo room in the sky. Would they spend the sort of money I have in the past? absolutely not and mine is a middle of the road system, by most peoples standards.
A fascinating fact, if it's true, from Ken Kestler, I read recently. The market for Ferrari memorabilia, tea shirts , mugs, model cars etc, is bigger than all the sales of Hifi from Us manufacturers, in the US. That is just astonishing. Most manufacturers are a cottage industry in the US and Europe, building individual units, on demand, in the 10's at best, rarely the hundreds. That sort of business community needs high prices and margins to survive. They are chasing each other up the price ladder.
There are only a few worthy holdouts, still making kit and selling at reasonable prices, in small numbers, Odyssey Audio, some of the cable makers, Vapor Audio. I think the owners probably scratch a living at best.
We live in an economic climate where manufacturers have abandoned the intro and middle of the road buyer, for the ultra high end, because there is'nt a mass market anymore, it's dead, we are a dying interest group, misunderstood and ridiculed. None of this is new to you, I know and it does'nt worry me. My kids love music and I am sure, will use bits of my system, when I've gone to the great demo room in the sky. Would they spend the sort of money I have in the past? absolutely not and mine is a middle of the road system, by most peoples standards.
A fascinating fact, if it's true, from Ken Kestler, I read recently. The market for Ferrari memorabilia, tea shirts , mugs, model cars etc, is bigger than all the sales of Hifi from Us manufacturers, in the US. That is just astonishing. Most manufacturers are a cottage industry in the US and Europe, building individual units, on demand, in the 10's at best, rarely the hundreds. That sort of business community needs high prices and margins to survive. They are chasing each other up the price ladder.
There are only a few worthy holdouts, still making kit and selling at reasonable prices, in small numbers, Odyssey Audio, some of the cable makers, Vapor Audio. I think the owners probably scratch a living at best.