Has the cost of HiFi gotten a bit too much?

The issue is not being framed correctly and is being viewed mainly from the point of view of the domestic market.  But I remember reading an interview with a large cable manufacturer who said that some of his overseas distributors (e.g. Saudi Arabia, Singapore) asked him to introduce a new cable line priced significantly higher than his current flagship model, because they could sell that exclusivity.

The range of products and the range of prices differs significantly from brand to brand.  How much they sell overseas and where they sell overseas varies significantly too.  So it's best just to ignore the headline-grabbing nosebleed prices because they are not being pitched, and were never pitched, at the likes of you and me.

Inflation and government over-spending is harming everyone. Even SpaceX had to raise their prices of a Falcon 9 launch from $62 million to $67 million. Fuel and shipping costs, raw materials, and of course labor (if you can find people to work) are all adding up to 7% (maybe more) inflation.  I noted audio speakers jumped 20% at the first of the year, some by more. 

It is the price of admission if you want to get the best you can for whatever budget you set. 

The only good thing is that technology continues to improve. Speakers today at any price sound better than similarly valued speakers from 20 years ago. And integrated circuits, discrete components, etc., have a much higher quality as well. 

So, at the end of the day, we live in whatever times we live in and made our choices based on price, performance, and our budgets. And we can hope some manufacturers will occasionally run a few "specials". 

As others note in the high end, that may mean buying lightly used and well cared for products to get the most bang for your bucks. 

I do hate it. I was all set to buy some new speakers instead of tackling the job of replacing the crossovers (capacitors) in my vintage ones, but now, that job is looking more palatable and more logical and saving the money for a better DAC. 

This is not coming from the mouth of a neo nazi...

Instead of insulting people, some must READ books...

This one article about the PONZI financial global scheme did not come from the neo nazi either..

Educate yourself... The writer teach economy in London...

Then some MUST refrain themselves by ignorance to insult others members of this thread  with neo-nazi or anti semitic  scapegoating or strawman  accusation here...

PONZI FINANCE AND GLOBAL LIQUIDITY MELTDOWN: LESSONS FROM MINSKY

Anastasia Nesvetailova

https://www.city.ac.uk/__data/assets/pdf_file/0005/83993/CUWPTP002.pdf