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MSRP, diferentiation and the illusion of value

I've been an audiophile for a very long time.  I've gotten to listen to a wide variety of gear, and even participated in the creation and manufacture of some audio gear in my past.  Took college courses in audio engineering I was not prepared for, and read quite a bit from the usual audio rags.

I want to share something I think every audiophile should know, which is how manufacturers leverage the suggested retail price (MSRP) as well as product differentiation to create this illusion of value.

A lot of gear sounds different. Cables are good examples. You make a cable which sounds different to a perceptive ear.  It doesn't matter if it's better or worse, but just make it different, and raise the MSRP above other cables costing similar prices to manufacture. Throw on some connector jewelry and exotic fabric to dress them in and bam, your $1 to make cable just became $250.

My point is, too often audiophiles want to equate different sounding with better. If the MSRP is higher, well, that reinforces this idea that this difference must be going towards some illusory holy grail, floating above the tower of nuns. Another factor that benefits the seller is that we almost never ask ourselves how much this difference is worth.  Lets accept that these cables, or speakers or amps are different sounding, and that you have judged that difference as preferable to what you wanted to buy when you started. How many of us step back and ask "is this difference worth the $$$ being asked?" Will it make my life that much better, or am I just bejeweling my sensual pleasures every chance I get?

I'm not begrudging anyone the right to spend money how they please.  I do however think audiophiles who feel like they work hard for their money to stop and think about these natural forces when judging how they will spend it.
erik_squires
mahgister's avatar
mahgister
13,029 posts
 
Ha! Very true and well said.

For many decades I made wine professionally. It’s very much the same in the wine biz. Every wine is at least somewhat different, but there is no objective or absolute standard of wine quality. (Defect, yes.) Since wine quality is almost entirely subjective, people, even professionals, often judge a wine’s "quality" based on price. Some inexpensive wines are very good, even some Two (now Three) Buck Chuck. (Now THERE’S a story!) It’s largely a matter of selling one’s story to the customers and embellishing it with a fancy or unique label or bottle, then convincing them that the wine’s difference somehow makes it special and uniquely desireable. Then, if the quantity is limited — this one barrel or this special vineyard — a talented vintner (vintner means "wine merchant," NOT winemaker...) can con an outrageous price out of a bamboozled consumer.Caveat emptor!
Great post in an interesting thread....

My system value is 500 bucks...

I did not bought anything called an "upgrade" because of this S.Q. /value ratio...

I decide to buy a vintage amplifier and very good vintage speakers and a bargain NOS dac...

Never look back and i have no interest to read review because they dont make me dream anymore...

When the piano is in your room 3-D it is enough....Thanks to mechanical,electrical and acoustical controls...

my speakers S.Q. listening choral music compare to a "tower of popes pleasuring each others without nuns tough"....Anyway i will not upgrade to buy the nuns....Because this addition will mute some popes.... And the resulting sound will not be necessarily better....Only different.....Great thread!....
glupson
7,842 posts
 
"If the latter is not an issue (or one is willing to part with whatever for the sake of the two formers), then the entire fruit stand is open to peruse."


"...my speakers S.Q. listening choral music compare to a "tower of popes pleasuring each others"...."
First tower of nuns and then fruit stands and popes. This is a great thread, indeed,

More, please.

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cleeds
5,950 posts
 
minorl
I actually don't agree that Audiophiles don't give thought to the value (read, price) of equipment. They are very much aware of the value/price. Some either don't care, or the price is acceptable to them ...
Exactly. It seems so obvious, yet it seems to drive some users here totally nuts.
bob540
407 posts
 
I think a lot of the difference might come down to the last 10% of performance.  As noted, there is a steep climb in the lower price ranges of equipment in terms of sound quality.  You can gain a lot in sound quality moving from a system that costs hundreds to a system that costs thousands.  This is the appeal for many consumers, like myself, in investing in better equipment.  But the point comes when spending more, even judiciously, results in little or no improvement.  

The question then becomes:  How much more money is it worth to you to spend to get the last slivers of musical enjoyment?  To some, the level is $10,000, to some the level is $30,000, and to some the level is $50,000 or more.  As others expressed, I also have no problem with other people choosing to spend their money this way — it’s their money.  If they think it is worth it, it is.  And we each have our priorities, including things we spend money on.

My advice to newbies (and I am one) is to spend their money on the most-bang-for-the-buck equipment they can afford.  If that only amounts to $1,000 or $2,000 total, they have come further toward satisfaction than additional amounts will bring them.
erik_squires OP
16,060 posts
 
I liked the mind visual of floating over the tower of nuns. That is why I asked. Seemed truly imaginative.


It was, but not mine, all credit goes to Monty Python.

https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0071853/
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