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  3. 119765-2215

Is the main reason audio equipment depreciates so much is

1.Because technology is always changing and people always want the latest and greatest.
2.It is expensive to repair when it breaks.
3.It has always depreciated a lot since the inception and that is just the pattern it has always stayed in.
4.It is overpriced to begin with.


taters
theo1124's avatar
theo1124
40 posts
 
I am in product development. Don;t forget that R&D expenses can sometimes be significant. Initial product samples are all hand made. Co-manufacturers of subsystems or other parts charge for their prototypes If you are developing something new then you have to go through many rounds of prototyping to get the results you want. And then once you have the design you are looking for you have to scale up and figure out how to manufacture it. Sometimes you have to buy new equipment, a new line. Then you have to iron out the manufacturing wrinkles, so the first line runs may have high defect rates. All of this can be very expensive, Engineering time, craft people to hand make samples, materials travel ect. All of these expenses have to be built into the cost. The actual material and labor cost of any piece of gear sometimes not the most significant cost. If the projected market or number of units that they think they can sell is not large then all the development costs are spread over a relatively small number of units. For the most part I don;t think that greed is driving the cost of high end gear. As in most things you get what you pay for. However it seems that charging what the market will bear can be a factor.
mitch2
4,007 posts
 
I read recently where a guy took apart some 20k Transparent cables and try to duplicate them.


Jafant, where can I read that?  I once took apart a well-regarded $600+ power cord and found.......about $25 of hardware parts and wire.  I am no longer easily impressed.
jafreeman's avatar
jafreeman
689 posts
 
"The dealer actually makes in the industry trunk money."
Well I'll be go to Hell, I didn't know that--thanks, Taters. 

Yeah, I would not be too impressed with the expensive cables these days, not with the quality of DIY parts out there.  Anyone can now use OCC wire for any application.  If Transparent et al cannot divulge the type of wire they use, why spend that much? 

kennythekey
593 posts
 

Yes, I went to order a second power cord to find out that the price was now double for the same cord!!!? There went the "loom" idea for that cable company.

There's a lot of this going on, but it's not everywhere. There is actually expensive gear out there that's worth it. It depends on who makes it and the channels that it goes through.

For example, there are some passionate audiophile engineers out there building their own brilliant stuff one piece at a time. Most of these folks are just getting by or doing okay, but they love what they do. They are not raking it in, even though they're delivering hi-end goods at hi-end prices. For instance, having just one quality chassis built, because you only have one amp to build right now, can be a major cost factor that leads to escalated pricing.

Of course, this does not explain why the big companies with much higher production and reduced costs, charge so much or as much.

Maybe, the big company's product got an "A" rating in that mainstream publication. Of course, advertising in that publication can cost them a bunch, right?

1extreme's avatar
1extreme
161 posts
 
"the main reason audio equipment depreciates so much is"

Any question of this nature about ANYTHING can be answered with Supply vs Demand.

There is more used audio gear than used audio gear buyers.

I would like to take this opportunity to thank all of you audiophiles who continue to buy new and sell your used gear in your never ending search for audio nirvana. Keep on churning baby. Keep on churning. I will be here to buy your hand-me-downs.
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