Are audiophiles still out of their minds?

jl35
1,057 posts
06-23-2016 8:28am
not to mention the many who do not have to choose...they can do the $4k room treatment, a batch of $10k-40k cables, and $100k+ components...without concern with how much these items cost to produce...

Eggs ackly! Not to mention that room treatments are not intended to replace - nor can they replace - cable upgrades in the first place. I’m pretty sure they call that a Strawman Argument. Cables and room treatments are two independent variables. The enthusiastic and thorough audiophile must actually pay attention to a host of issues, and address them according to his wants and budgetary constraints.

dracule1 OP
963 posts
06-23-2016 1:58am
Geoffkait: "I never said you did say there’s NO difference between cables. What you keep saying, though, is that there is NO SIGNIFICANT DIFFERENCE in sound quality between very expensive cables and inexpensive cables. And you yourself provided evidence to the contrary when you linked the blind test that showed otherwise."

To which dracula replied,

"Sigh. You just don’t get it do you? How many times do I have to repeat myself. CORRELATION, CORRELATION, CORRELATION!!!
You’re a horrible troll."

Oh, I get it alright. You apparently don’t seem to know that going to audio stores is no way to audition cables or anything else for that matter. For one thing they keep changing their equipment so much the system never gets a chance to break in. Hel-loo! You can repeat your correlation mantra as many times as you like. It still makes you seem like a naive troll grasping at straws. Some guy somewhere claiming that some audio product or another is too high priced. Yeah, like that’s not a troll we’ve seen a hundred times.

Obviously how much anything is worth is a matter of opinion and opinions will vary.

Resale prices over the long run are most likely the only reliable metric to bank on when it comes to determining value.

Another truth would seem to be that those resale values are almost always way less then original retail price especially when it comes to more commodity type products like wires.

So its fine to pay a lot for nice new wires just don't expect anyone else is likely to pay you the same amount if you paid full retail.

I hope I'm wrong but I suspect in many cases here touting new expensive wires or other accessories that the touters did not pay full retail yet those influenced may well end up doing just that. 

mapman
13,405 posts
06-23-2016 1:04pm
"Obviously how much anything is worth is a matter of opinion and opinions will vary."

The only opinion that matters is the person’s who is selling the thing.

"Resale prices over the long run are most likely the only reliable metric to bank on when it comes to determining value."

i see. You’re investing in audio. That’s so funny.

"Another truth would seem to be that those resale values are almost always way less then original retail price especially when it comes to more commodity type products like wires."

again, you seem to be under the impression audio is supposed to be an investment.

"So its fine to pay a lot for nice new wires just don’t expect anyone else is likely to pay you the same amount if you paid full retail."

Nobody pays retail. Not in this market. Strawman alert. Example: a dealer pays what, 50-60% of retail. And sells them for whatever he can get, let's say 80-90% of retail. So, no one is paying retail. Gee, do you think the manufacturer knows that everyone wants a deal.

"I hope I’m wrong but I suspect in many cases here touting new expensive wires or other accessories that the touters did not pay full retail yet those influenced may well end up doing just that."

gee, ya think? ;-)

Resale prices over the long run are most likely the only reliable metric to bank on when it comes to determining value.

Mapman,
I understand your point but I look at it differently.  I guess it depends if you are going to keep stuff or resell stuff but if you plan to keep things for awhile, another measure of value could be considered the enjoyment something brings to the buyer/user.

I just finished auditioning two very good monoblock amplifiers in my system with the intent to keep one pair or the other.  One was designed and manufactured by a highly-regarded designer whose products command universally high resale prices.  The other was designed and manufactured by another well-regarded designer that mostly flies below the mainstream radar and whose products do not command anywhere near the resale prices (as a percentage of the new price) as the first designer.   I liked the "below the radar" amplifier better in my system and will keep that amplifier and sell the other.  In this case, the amplifier I enjoyed the most and kept provides the higher value to me.


Geoff,

The only opinion that matters is the person's who is selling the thing.

Replace the word "selling" with "buying"