The new dynamic in speaker pricing


Yesterday I received the latest issue of the Absolute Sound mag. This issue has the round up of the varying speaker manufacturer’s wares along with the retail pricing. One thing that struck me is the number of speaker manufacturer’s who have a speaker in their line up that cost close to a $1M!! There are good number of speakers now available with prices in the $700K+ range. A few manufacturer’s are also a little ’glib’ with their top model pricing, such as Oswalds Mill--who state- price upon inquiry only!

This new speaker pricing dynamic is interesting, as it clearly indicates that there are buyers out there who are happy to pay these prices and presumably enough buyers to make these products viable. A trend that is certainly interesting and yet questionable as to how it will impact the hobby as a whole.

Opinions on this trend?

128x128daveyf

Don’t care if you are rich or not, you are a certified nut to pay a million dollars for a speaker.....and even nuttier trying to justify it...nothing in audio is worth a million....

Anyone can spend whatever they want- if it’s worth it to them is all that matters, 

Just please don’t say something sounds X times better than something else.

it’s like saying one girl is twice as pretty as another or an acting performance was X times as good as another. This is art, not science as the objectivists would like you to believe, but even they wouldn’t say one piece of equipment sound X times better than something else. Much better, noticeably better, not in the same league, sure, but please don’t try to justify the increased cost with proportionally increased sound quality.. 

Everyone knows the law of diminishing returns…..

@laoman 

My experience in owning speakers of the character I appreciate at $6K, $12K, hearing $22K, and now owning $32K is that the sweet spot is way over $32K. Each step has been a revelation, and s-eake5s in the hundred thousands, although I have not owned them were incredible.

A few months back i heard the new Wilson Alexx Vs. These are a very impressive speaker. What struck me was that at this level, and room dependent, the speaker can portray the sense of ’scale’ of a large ’live’ event! That is something that I think only larger speakers can accomplish. ( plus the room has to be large enough to allow for this portrayal!). What the multi kilo buck ( $700K+) speaker brings over this is not obvious to me. The Wilsons’ retail for about $135K and require a stout amp upstream and a very large room, but give them this...and I think most of us would be happy. OTOH, maybe the top of the line Magico’s and the others mentioned above do offer something in addition...question in my mind is what that is? I would like to hear for myself if the additional large $$ is easily heard, or if the law of diminishing returns is so great at this price point that all you are buying is ’bragging rights’??

I have a smallish pro horn sound system set up in my studio that I've actually used for a "live event." So, if you want the sound of a live event, just get some well designed P.A. speakers and save the hundreds of thousands for something else.