Why are so many companies like harbeth making old speakers designs and charging thousends?

Hi Marty,
     "Active digital crossovers (and room correction) are a more recent innovation, so there's been some recent technology developments out there, but Tim's point is mostly taken" 
Back in 1980 we were experimenting with the stk086 chip used individually on drivers to actively cross, bi/tri/quad amp etc. (we actually made a few fabulous sounding amps with this simple chip)  We could not do the hard core analytics for room correction then that a laptop program can provide now,  but even then it was quite simple to graph and eq a room, I suspect that room correction as we think of it today has been around longer than we realize.

Have the prices of the speakers (and everything else) gone up ... or has the value of the money gone down?  

Little bit of column A, little bit of column B.

Have the prices of the speakers (and everything else) gone up ... or has the value of the money gone down? 

IMO samething, Inflation!  

Because they're mostly made in England, so its gonna cost more. If you're not into sound and quality, then you can always buy some Chinese made for a fraction of those British, such as Wharfedale; QUAD; Monitor Audio. 

Btw, if prices of B&W's and Harbeth's shock you, try prices of the Wilson Benesch lol

You should consider Merlin speakers. They are a tremendous value for the quality of sound they reproduce. I am not affiliated with Merlin in any way, but I have been an audio salesman, audio equipment technician, speaker designer, and have had 40 years experience listening to audio gear and live concerts.

I have owned both the Merlin TSM-MMM and currently have the Merlin VSM-MXM. The TSM's replaced Totems (used to sell them) and the VSMs replaced the TSMs. I have been upgrading my system a lit over the past 8 years, but nothing has displaced the Merlins - they are wonderful speakers.

If you look at audioreview.com, they won awards for there outstanding reviews on that website. They also have a passionate following on audio asylum, as these speakers have been constantly improved over the years by Merlin. Instead of a completely new model, they will find a great new capacitor and replace all the caps in the crossover. Then, they will change the model number slightly and offer inexpensive upgrades to existing customers. They have also won a lot of Best of Show awards at various audio shows.

You can pick up a used pair of TSMs (get the mme or mmm model) for $1500 ($4000 new) or a used pair of VSMs for $4000 ($15,000 new). I recommend checking out Signature Sound in New York.

if you do listen to these speakers, you will be glad you did. 

Happy Listening
Dave