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Inflated prices in audio

Not being funny but I put a post into the thread about SME no longer selling tone-arms on their own saying they are not silly priced - I then had to row it back a bit when I saw that the SME V retails at £5500. 110 years ago it was half that price. My salary ain't doubled.

Likewise there are some real silly price audio equipment. If you index link top end audio from the 80's they would still come out significantly cheaper than now.

I'm not convinced that the best high-end from now is necessarily better than the stuff back then - different perhaps.

Is there any logical explanation for this? I think magazines like hi-fi world and what hifi are fairly responsible and do review a lot of real world products, but other publications are fixated with the utterly un-affordable.

What do you 'goners think?
lohanimal
clearthink
1,421 posts
 

lohanimal"I must say that I hate cables with a passion"

I cannot imagine what cables might have done to you to invoke, provoke, and incite such profound emotional response from you in reaction to a completely inanimate object.
korakotta's avatar
korakotta
51 posts
 
What about inflation in the second hand market? A guy in Rijeka ,Croatia is selling a Shun Mook quartett. He couldn`t sell it for 1500Eur, so he raised the price to 2000 and now above. 
douglas_schroeder
3,281 posts
 
cakyol, if we are to take at face value the announcement, "I am developing..." I wish to inform you that farting will not improve the sound quality of your system. ;) 


smandlej
75 posts
 
The December 2019 edition of Hi-Fi News carries an old review of the SME V by Martin Colloms from June 1986, the price of  the arm was £1188, not exactly inexpenive at the time. Mine cost £2300 in April 2010 albeit for the "VD" model with detachable headshell. High retail prices in audio must reflect the fewer people now interested and buying hi-fi generally. Looking back one forgets what good value some kit was back in the day - my Michell Gyro Dec was priced at a "mere" £659 back in 1992 and it serves me well to this day. The SME VD will be/is my final upgrade though !!!. Steve M
mijostyn's avatar
mijostyn
8,570 posts
 
Consumer beware. It is always that way. Human's are extremely dangerous animals. How many friends do you REALLY trust with your wallet, your car, your kids or your wife. 
Having said that many high end manufacturers have very ethical business models. They make their living on their least expensive models
not their signature pieces. They do not sell very many ultra expensive models and have to amortize the cost of development over sometimes as few as two or three units. The benefit of doing this is to use the technology down the line in less expensive units and get a few very rich fan boys to pay for the development. Pass labs is now using XS circuitry even in their least expensive units. 
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