What are some of these 'good number of speakers' costing $700K and up? I've not seen all this gear advertised and/or sold (except for one online retailer I've seen who does have gear in these ranges on their website) so I can't say much about the trend in speakers being to sell them for over half a million dollars.
The new dynamic in speaker pricing
Yesterday I received the latest issue of the Absolute Sound mag. This issue has the round up of the varying speaker manufacturer’s wares along with the retail pricing. One thing that struck me is the number of speaker manufacturer’s who have a speaker in their line up that cost close to a $1M!! There are good number of speakers now available with prices in the $700K+ range. A few manufacturer’s are also a little ’glib’ with their top model pricing, such as Oswalds Mill--who state- price upon inquiry only!
This new speaker pricing dynamic is interesting, as it clearly indicates that there are buyers out there who are happy to pay these prices and presumably enough buyers to make these products viable. A trend that is certainly interesting and yet questionable as to how it will impact the hobby as a whole.
Opinions on this trend?
111 responses Add your response
While I appreciate the attempts at humor, the question that maybe should be asked is how superior are these speakers to the more common place offerings that most of us have heard? Is it possible that these ultra speakers can bring the very well heeled audiophile a lot closer to the sound of the ‘real’? |
Of course they are not worth the price they ask for but theres no other way to obtain these speakers so audiophiles will continue to buy them. If one speaker company charges $10k, the next will charge $50k and so on. The prices have continued to rise over the years and soon we will be seeing speakers costing tens of millions of dollars that are made of wood. There will always be someone that can afford em so the hoodwinking will continue in the foreseeable future. |
There are many billionaires in this world. They do not blink at paying a million for some "state of the art" speaker system. And when they are standing there talking to one of their billionaire friends they need to say well I stole them for a million. My question is what did it actually cost to build million dollar speakers....! |
Put any of these upper six figures speakers in an average room and my bet is my $18,000 speakers in the house of stereo will make them sound silly. Meaning you would be better off spending low six figures in building a proper listening room first before spending your money on top level speakers. If you can do both, good for you. |
I've been looking into Von Schweikert a little bit and I can't believe some of their prices. I'm sure they're great speakers, but the Ultra 11 costing $350k to me is ridiculous for a brand that doesn't seem that well known. Even the Gryphon stuff costing close to $100k seems insane. I guess there is a market, but are the speakers that good? Or is the carriage leading the horse? |
"the number of speaker manufacturer’s who have a speaker in their line up that cost close to a $1M!! There are good number of speakers now available with prices in the $700K+ range. " If I counted correctly there were 3 speakers in the $700-900K range,, none above $900K . Not seeing a plethora of them as suggested. In the $150K-500K range there were 54; not sure that this is new news. Total speakers in the listing 769. Those who can afford the higher end ones and the associated equipment/rooms I suspect thoroughly enjoy their listening experiences. Good for them! Those that can’t or don’t want to spend to the same level should just focus on maximizing the listening experiences that their equipment and room will provide; and just sitting back and enjoying the music . Seems like that would be time better spent than worrying about why some manufacturers are building and pricing certain equipment that one is never going to purchase |
A top level speaker company needs to advance the art. To do that they constantly refine and build the very best, cost no object speakers. They are critical in showing off what they are capable of. Then they substitute compromises to build speakers that are much less expensive, where they can sell many. These cost no object speakers come with installation to make sure they sound their very best. I doubt they sell many, but they are priced to be profitable. A set goes to professional reviewers. About thirty years ago I spent a couple hours with a set of Wilson WAMM… I think about $350K at the time… currently $685K. The experience was revelatory… I understood what Wilson was about and set in my mind what Wilson can do. It doesn’t happen to be the sound I am going for… but it is for many. I am happy to sample them. I do not think they are over priced… some people have a lot of money… good for them. Most don’t care about audio, a few do. |
Another factor in speaker pricing for the top-end models is just branding and marketing. While they may or may not sell a few of the most expensive models to a billionaire here and there, a bigger goal may be to simply add caché to the more ordinary products in their lineup. Consumers can become very entranced with the brand name of the products they buy and like their more modest purchase being associated with something fancy and exclusive. That's true whether one is talking about stereo gear, cars, clothing or whatever. |
I think one is always paying a hefty premium for "statement" design and esoteric materials with a "luxury" product, not necessarily better performance. As a subscriber to the FFF ("Form Follows Function") philosophy, I generally avoid such products. When the function is audio reproduction, the visual aspect of the equipment, including design, fit and finish, and "unobtainium" materials may contribute nothing. Given the same level of performance, I will generally choose the less expensive product over the more expensive prettier one. However, if the more aesthetically appealing one is priced only marginally higher, I will sometimes pay a little more for that, but not so much an order of magnitude. |
These manufacturers know that the people who pay these exhorbitant amounts are almost never audiophiles. They also know these buyers are the most easily sold a bill of goods in terms of value. I saw this ALL the time when I worked in audio...guys who bought the most expensive gear and barely knew how to turn it on. |
" These manufacturers know that the people who pay these exhorbitant amounts are almost never audiophiles. They also know these buyers are the most easily sold a bill of goods in terms of value. " Kind of a broad statement don't you think? Plenty of serious audiophiles with big ticket systems over on WhatsBestForum; and elsewhere. |
There will always be folks who earn seven figures or more. If these folks haven’t stolen their earnings, why on earth would folks begrudge what they purchase? If I earned more, I certainly would have a bigger house, better system, better cars, better clothes… and the list goes on and on. I buy what I can afford. They buy what they can afford. Why do folks have such an issue with other’s spending habits? It’s life. There will always be winners and losers. Everyone doesn’t get a participation award. |
Everything in this world is worth exactly the intersection of what a willing buyer will pay and a willing seller will accept. I expect that any enthusiast with the means would have the finest system available to him/her, cost no object. So they may be making THEIR value judgements with speakers with 6 figures, while others do so with 5 figures, or 4 figures, or 3 figures. Its like driving … we all think someone going 10 mph slower is a moron, and 10 mph faster a maniac. |
So there is a thin line between moron and maniac LOL. Anyone can spend money how they wish, it is their perogative. I guess my point was pretty much missed across the board. It seems to me a majority of those willing to spend high 6 figures for speakers end up spending about one percent of that on their listening room/acoustic treatment, if even that much. And to me that makes zero sense. If any of you are one of those lucky enough to have been spending high six figures on speakers and 5 % of that on your room acoustics, I apologize. |
Strange reply for someone who is usually well spoken. I can only guess you felt like this implied to you. Of course, no one is stupid or ignorant for buying such speakers, but few go the extra mile to get the most out of them like Mike LaVigne by example. Love the commitment he made to his listening barn. Had fun learning from his design. The ones who don't care about room acoustics just don't get to enjoy their equipment to their full potential is all I was getting at. Sorry it upset you. |
+1 @baylinor |
I do not in any way feel this was directed at me. I do not have a system remotely in this category. I have heard some. I have known dealers that have installed high end systems. Typically, the installer is given limited carte blanche with limited to make the system sound great. What I am offended at is folks that put down categories of other audiophiles, whether their budget is small… or in this case large. We should be respectful. Folks with little money or lots all share the same values… the best most enjoyable sounds. |
its not a question of whether they have stolen their earnings. The issue is that, if one idiot buys a million dollar speaker, all the speakers companies will raise their prices and make them unaffordable for the rest of us. Why is that so hard to understand? |
Of course we can have great sound with much less, but the question is whether any of us would commit if we had the funds.
I believe potential buyers have more than 3 Ferraris, and i expect that if it was for me i would initially want to impress myself not others.
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"its not a question of whether they have stolen their earnings. The issue is that, if one idiot buys a million dollar speaker, all the speakers companies will raise their prices and make them unaffordable for the rest of us. Why is that so hard to understand?" You and some others act like manufacturers haven’t been making and selling very expensive speakers for some time now; and yet there are still plenty speakers being made at all price points. Not hard at all to find speakers to fit anyone’s budget.
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Nothing wrong with it, but we know they aren’t getting say 500X "better" sound than from a pair of $2000 Polk R700 for their $1M. What they are getting (hopefully) are speakers that are a work of art, beautiful beyond imagination, ones that will fit into their similarly priced living room and all its expensive appointments. |
This (of course) speaks to my own persona....but I'm thinking if a person has $1M to spend just on speakers to flesh out the rest of the system is going to be several million if not many millions including software. And I doubt that is their last millions. So, I would just buy the Fillmore East or create my own venue and bring in top performers. Regards, barts |
My personal opinion, and really, it is only that. I have a sneaking suspicion that the average person who spend $500K+ on speakers is not an audiophile. I am sure some are, but I expect many are not. I would even question how many of those speakers end up in the very necessary to extract full performance highly customized and tuned room. (Of course I would also questions whether these are really as good as the cost, but that is another discussion). For some people, these are truly audiophile items, but I suspect, again purely opinion, that for many, these are simply luxury items for those with very very large disposable incomes. Without the fully customized room and all the tuning associated, other than visually, the audio experience you will have will be no better than someone who spent far less, but has an acoustically proper setup. This would extend to crazy expensive turntables and electronics as well.
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The thing about Ferraris is that unless you belong to a track club there is really no where to stretch them out. It's an acquired taste that crazy need for speed is! I've driven enough Ferraris and Lambos in my day, fantastic cars, just get ready for $10k service appointments. I've never gotten cited for playing my music too loud...but have plenty of speeding tickets to my name. Regards, barts |
