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Art Dudley Calls B.S. but without naming names - PLEASE DO!

Hey all,

As someone who hasn't been reading the audiophile press for all that long, I stumbled upon this article that I'm sure it lit up these airwaves when it was first published: https://www.stereophile.com/content/skin-deep

It's a great article and one that any knowledgeable person would most likely agree with, but hey, spending your own hard-earned (or inherited) money is a right and a privilege.  Art does call out some brands that he perceives to give great value:  AMVR, VPL, Conrad-Johnson, DeVore and Harbeth and Kimber and Peachtree and Quicksilver and Rega and Rogue and Spendor and Wavelength.  Shouldn't NAD be on this list?  

But what he doesn't do and I think is warranted, is name the companies that are most egregious in selling high-end products where the performance is far below the cost.  

I, for one, would love to see a list of those manufacturers from the people who read this forum.  You can group them by what they manufacture or just put them in order as you see fit.  I think it would be most helpful in calling b.s. but with "added-value", which is what this whole article was all about.  Right?

128x128lgoler
david12
1,454 posts
 

I'm not sure the June HiFi Plus is available over the pond yet, but this issue of price arose when I read it. It concentrates on whole systems, not individual items and at least two of the articles feature whole systems well into the £400,000+ area. I thought of writing to the editor, but what's the point. I'm sure there are a handful of people who could consider that sort of expenditure, but a small handful, so who are the articles written for?.

Actually, the articles were quite interesting and I don't object to the idea of wasting space on them in principle. Just as I wouldn't
 object to a review of a Bugatti Veyron, in a car mag. It's just that more and more space is being devoted to super expensive kit, very few of us could consider even second hand, so there is less space for kit I could consider.

It would be interesting to know if the manufacturers mark up is more on$200,000 amps than on$3000 ones. It ought to be a lot more, development is presumably more costly and has to be spread over 10's of units sold, not 1000's.

kw6
692 posts
 
There some overpriced stuff out there like the Alsy vox ribbon speaker. Really nice but 80k for entry level model.  C'mon man!
syntax's avatar
syntax
2,193 posts
 
When a reviewer "likes" something ...


These "rants" from a "reviewer" pop up from time to time.
It is meaningless, I think, it is done to catch a few new subscribers or to show, that oneself CAN think different (but first getting the permission for this "rant" from his boss...) or is it to show that "we" can bury a manufacturer when he won't advertise in our mag?   You'll never know ...

Some time ago we had a nice conversation here at Agon, probably you’ll find some interesting "news"


Click me (yes, it is virus free.....)
https://forum.audiogon.com/discussions/when-a-reviewer-quot-likes-quot-something
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joekapahulu
251 posts
 
A couple of observations. 
1-Value is in the eye of the purchaser. It differs based on our engagement in the category and product considered.
2- We live in a consumer culture but each persons perception of appropriate spending is different and reflects more variables than I can discuss here. Wealthy people tend to think differently. 
I worked for a self made millionaire business owner years ago running two of his company's four divisions. I turned the businesses around making him more millions for which  he paid me Ok. I say ok because my initial contract gave me a share of the profits. He paid me on that one year, hen proceeded to "compel" a renegotiation to more of a salary based deal. He admitted this was not fair but said he needed the money to invest in the company....which I foolishly believed. While he did invest in the business, he also bought 2 new Mercedes and a Rolls Royce, for himself, his wife and his girlfriend......to him that represented a better use of money than paying a proven executive who got results or funding the strategic plans he had agreed to previously. 

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