In the book of intelligent questions, I’m struggling to locate this one. If something retailed for $40,000 and the ask is now $4,000 then I wouldn’t worry too much and drink its former Koolaid. Cars and stereo gear seem to get alot of comparisons but while similar, they have different decline and appreciation curves. The summary though is good stuff holds it value, less than good stuff does not. 1979 Toyota Landcruiser vs 1979 Chevy Blazer. Ok but what about that same Landcruiser vs something modern? Hmmmm. 1988 Porsche Carrera vs 1988 Chevy Camaro. Ok but what about that same Porsche vs something modern? New stuff works better in most cases but resale tends to be won by classics rather than commodities.
Good stuff finds a price floor rather quickly but cars and gear differ because of what my car collecting buddy calls static cling. He identifies cars that buyers may want to drive, relive their glory days or more importantly, the ability to enthrall on “static” display. Eye candy in other words, conversation topics, a prop for a lifestyle. Audio gear doesn’t typically fall into that category unless it has the “Goldberg factor” as in Rube. Does it look cool and is it something that pushes the envelope engineering and design wise. I haven’t seen everything by a longshot but if a bunch of people gather around to stare at an amp, I would be concerned for them but make no mistake, McIntosh meters are an attempt at this. There isn’t a $40,000 amp available for $4,000 unless it was broken and really bad to begin with. Please feel free to cut and paste this response on your other 20 threads asking the same question. Peace.
