Magico M9 The new 'norm' in speakers

@mike_in_nc many of the recent price increases have been due to the changing trade policies and their impact on materials and shipping costs.

@nekoaudio : Interesting point. I know that when some users were complaining about Auralic’s increases, the CEO pointed out that they only partially absorbed the cost of tariffs.

On the other hand, it’s my impression that Bryston’s prices were steadily going up long before tariffs were imposed. And some increases (Parasound JC1 to JC1+) seem higher than I’d expect from tariff and inflation alone (and of course there are no US tariffs on Canadian electronics). So yes, I am sure that tariffs have caused some increases, but I’m dubious that they have caused the bulk of them.

My impression is that manufacturers are observing that in audio-land, Veblen’s theory holds (that a higher price makes a product more desirable), and they are jumping on the bandwagon. This is encouraged by The Absolute Sound, whose only ranking of products is by increasing prices.

Dubai has fallen on hard times so not sure how many they will sell!🙊

@mike_in_nc companies in countries that don't have direct tariffs imposed on them have still been hit with materials cost increases because of the global impact those trade changes have had.

For example, even if you made everything from US materials in a US factory your costs would have increased because changes in competition allowed US suppliers to increase their prices.

Another example is a product that sources materials from a country where global economics have resulted in price increases (possibly moving between multiple countries as the material is processed) before final assembly in a country and into a product that is not itself subject to tariffs.

I suspect the rebalancing of international shipping costs is actually more fair now, but has resulted in higher costs for US consumers because it was unfairly beneficial for US imports instead of exports before.