I’m pretty sure no self respecting audiophile pays retail. Not in this economy. I also suspect one reason why some audiophile products are priced so high is because of the cost of maintaining dealer networks. Like the $500 toilet seat it depends on how many of a particular thing one expects to sell or if each one is customized, etc. As well as developmental costs, cost of advertising, whatever. Not to mention whatever the market will bare.
Are audiophiles still out of their minds?
I've been in this hobby for 30 years and owned many gears throughout the years, but never that many cables. I know cables can make a difference in sound quality of your system, but never dramatic like changing speakers, amplifiers, or even more importantly room treatment. Yes, I've evaluated many vaunted cables at dealers and at home over the years, but never heard dramatic effect that I would plunk $5000 for a cable. The most I've ever spent was $2700 for pair of speaker cables, and I kinda regret it to this day. So when I see cable manufacturers charging 5 figures for their latest and "greatest" speaker cables, PC, and ICs, I have to ask myself who buys this stuff. Why would you buy a $10k+ cable, when there are so many great speakers, amplifiers, DACs for that kind of money, or room treatment that would have greater effect on your systems sound? May be I'm getting ornery with age, like the water boy says in Adam Sandler's movie.
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- 486 posts total
- 486 posts total