Has the cost of HiFi gotten a bit too much?


I don't have any specific example but just from looking at it overall, it seems like high-end components prices have really risen more than inflation.  

Or may be it is must me?

andy2

@bdp24 Was it really Mark Levinson who started charging these ridiculous prices for Preamps, Amps and DACS ?
 

It’s too bad because all this nice equipment from Dan Dagostino, Boulder, and even some Pass Labs is only attainable if you take out a second Mortage. 

It’s too bad because all this nice equipment from Dan Dagostino, Boulder, and even some Pass Labs is only attainable if you take out a second Mortage.

not really -- at least for pass -- their first watt amps are relatively affordable and even a pass xa25 is a $3500 amp used, as is an int150 which is also just superb

The best way, IMO, to build a really fine audio system is to completely ignore the nonsense from peddlers, self-aggrandizing poseurs, and self-proclaimed audiophiles about what "Hi-end" means, and what is the minimum $$$ outlay required to reach that exalted plane of existence.  Sample gear, listen for yourself, and find the gear that speaks to you. Learn some acoustic and treat your room. And forget about what anyone else thinks.

I think you'll find that you can build a far better system, at a far more reasonable price, today (well, when the supply chain gets unfutzed) than in years past. So if you want "Hi End, sniff, sniff," yeah it's going up. If you want high quality gear and great sound, you have far more to choose from now than 50 years ago when I started out, with a much greater value/$$$ ratio.

Sorry, didn't mean to interrupt the financial one upmanship, carry on...

@mahgister 

"To answer this thread the cost of hi-fi has never increased like the prize of butter in Canada.... From 3 dollars few years ago to 9 canadian dollars at regular price...."

 

I did a shop with my wife today and it's quite clear that there has been a considerable rise in prices recently.

Yesterday I went out for a meal and noticed that the prices had risen by about 15% in under 3 months. In some cases - cooking oil, margarine, and tinned peas etc it's more like 30%.

My cousin recently told me that the price for replacing a front door with a PVC one is now £1200.

On the other hand my employer has recently said that we are to get a wage rise of, wait for it, 0.95%.

Oh well, I guess someone has to pay for the costs of the lockdowns, and it's not going to be the global banks, is it?