Unlike Gold, expensive audio gear is not a sound investment because when its driven off the showroom floor, it loses considerable value. However you will never really own it if you don't pay the price. What happened to the term "Diminishing Returns" as you climb the money ladder?.
Why Is Hi Fi Gear So Darn Expensive?
Why Is Hi-Fi Gear So Darn Expensive?! - The Absolute Sound
Interesting read.
"I recently heard a small 2-way stand mount speaker at a show. The sound was excellent. The product was priced at $50,000 or thereabouts, per pair. Allowing for distribution and marketing leaves about $25,000."
$25000 for distribution and marketing? Really? That much more for this than a similar product at 1/10th the cost?
I don’t doubt the marketing cost per unit could be much higher with boutique products. Makes sense. Is the cat is out of the bag regarding the value proposition of boutique products?
How about fancy fuses marketed for free here that cost practically nothing to ship? Oh my!
I guess there are "excellent" expensive boutique products and others that offer value everywhere. Hifi not unique. Take your pick! Live and learn!
The article also chalks up people’s reactions to high-fi prices to emotion. What about the sound they hear? Real or emotionally distorted? What would Mr. Spock think about that? I know he likes music...he plays a harp!
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Today Hi-Fi is a niche. The heyday of Hi-Fi was the late 1960s into the early 1980s. Sales volumes were relatively large, build quality was excellent and prices were moderate considering what you got. Today, there's so little product sold; the companies are literally guys in a small shops either building them by hand or having them built in China. And to sell them, you've got to take out ads in niche publications, show up to small trade shows, send out review copies to people on the internet all of which cost a lot of money. And of course you've got to have guys who service, answer the phone, and give the appearance that you're a real company. That overhead has to be recovered somewhere, and it's the price of the product. |
I tried really hard to get the best sound i can afford. I did not have a big budget so i ended up with USED but "like new condition" items. Aerial 5T with Pangea stands, Parasound Hint 6, and a new Bluesound Node (new model) with a Tidal hifi subscription. Paid a little north of $5k for all of it. I think it sounds great, and i couldn't be happier at this price. |
I often buy used but a while back I commissioned an amp to be built. It was about twice my original budget but from the feedback of other owners it will be worth every penny. Hopefully that will be true. My kids are grown, have high paying careers so now that I have no obligations I said screw it and had something special built.
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@oddiofyl you have some dang nice kit now. |
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