The new dynamic in speaker pricing

Anyone can spend whatever they want- if it’s worth it to them is all that matters, 

Just please don’t say something sounds X times better than something else.

it’s like saying one girl is twice as pretty as another or an acting performance was X times as good as another. This is art, not science as the objectivists would like you to believe, but even they wouldn’t say one piece of equipment sound X times better than something else. Much better, noticeably better, not in the same league, sure, but please don’t try to justify the increased cost with proportionally increased sound quality.. 

Everyone knows the law of diminishing returns…..

@laoman 

My experience in owning speakers of the character I appreciate at $6K, $12K, hearing $22K, and now owning $32K is that the sweet spot is way over $32K. Each step has been a revelation, and s-eake5s in the hundred thousands, although I have not owned them were incredible.

A few months back i heard the new Wilson Alexx Vs. These are a very impressive speaker. What struck me was that at this level, and room dependent, the speaker can portray the sense of ’scale’ of a large ’live’ event! That is something that I think only larger speakers can accomplish. ( plus the room has to be large enough to allow for this portrayal!). What the multi kilo buck ( $700K+) speaker brings over this is not obvious to me. The Wilsons’ retail for about $135K and require a stout amp upstream and a very large room, but give them this...and I think most of us would be happy. OTOH, maybe the top of the line Magico’s and the others mentioned above do offer something in addition...question in my mind is what that is? I would like to hear for myself if the additional large $$ is easily heard, or if the law of diminishing returns is so great at this price point that all you are buying is ’bragging rights’??

I have a smallish pro horn sound system set up in my studio that I've actually used for a "live event." So, if you want the sound of a live event, just get some well designed P.A. speakers and save the hundreds of thousands for something else.

One thing to consider is that these speakers are not made for the masses. They are absolutely made for the 1%. Just with any manufacturer in any category, they invest R&D to make their statement products. This is true in any precision performance category - auto, watches, etc. They are not intended to sell many, which is also why it is priced so high, because there was considerable time spent to develop the product.

The decision to make these types of moves is not to increase the overall median for a price of speakers, but to distinguish the brand from others in terms of innovation and impression. Other brands recognize this, and they follow suit. But most are also smart enough to know that most of their products need to be in a price range that is accessible to a larger population.

Because of this, many of these products are also not designed for the average space, and it will make most people wonder why anyone would ever settle for them. But there are the people who have the money and right gear, people who have the right space, and people who have all of the above to accommodate these ultra-expensive speakers.

Are they worth it? To echo @ghdprentice, that decision is up to the individual.