Why Is Hi Fi Gear So Darn Expensive?

Hi tech stuff that's well made costs big bucks.Thats  life!!

Can't comment on the high-end prices, but I'm staggered by the inflation in prices over the past 2 or 3 years.

Admittedly, COVID, supply-chain issues and Brexit (here in the UK) have been disrupters, but looking at reviews only 3 years old indicate rises nearing 100%.

Paradoxically, it's made me spend more as if I delay for a couple of years on a purchase it will only be hugely more pricey.

@fsonicsmith 

The trouble with the expensive watch analogy is that they require regular expensive servicing.  

When I sold my 20 year old Omega recently I had spent more on servicing than on the original purchase.

Hi-fi can require maintenance, but nothing like this.

The watch analogy does not work at all in the high end audio field. In high end audio cost is based on performance… not even remotely true in high end watches.

Before I retired I realized one of my aspirations, if I was successful in life was to own a Rolex. So, ten or fifteen years ago I bought a starter watch to introduce me to nice watches (I had used Seiko divers watch’s for decades because I was a diver). I was shocked at how bad it was at keeping time… it’s primary function. I got it adjusted, but found that one second per day was standard for all mechanical watches… $2K, $10K, or $25K. I was shocked and disappointed… and if you get a quartz movement Rolex… then you loose cashe.
 

I lived much of the time in Japan and China, flying back and forth a couple times a month. This was not a watch for me. All luxury goods I have purchased before, first and foremost outperform… that is their raison d’être. But not watches. I finally found a Seiko Astron which was tied to the clock from GPS satellites and automatically adjusts the watch to where you are. In Japan, if your watch is off 30 seconds, you get on the wrong train. Anyway, watches, not a good analogy.

High end audio first and foremost is about performance. 

Was it Julie Mullins from one of the legacy mags that recently described the trend of manufacturers targeting the "ultra" high-end? I know I commented on it, and thought it was here (though I'm not a regular reader of the magazines anymore).

In the early '70s, when I got serious about this hobby, everybody had a stereo system. It might not have been a great one, but usually TT/Receiver/bookshelf type speakers. 

Today, hi-fi is not just a niche pursuit, but a luxe goods product. Which allows a lot of room for profit- from the importer/distributor to the dealer and on to the consumer. The market will bear these costs to a degree but the enthusiast market, in my estimation, was never about how big the check was- it was the pursuit of building something excellent (whatever that means to you) over time--many of us gradually upgraded to get where we are after various systems that were probably more than "OK" to the average consumer. 

Part of it is simply consumer culture. An Hermes store opened on South Congress near me. For old Austinites (I don't include myself in that category), it is emblematic of the "new Austin."

A lot of the people I know who have long been deep in this hobby are not in the billionaire class- they are just ardent hobbyists who don't spend on boats, Ferraris, second or third homes, jet shares or whatever. (I read a funny thing recently that said that X was a product for people who ran out of things to spend money on). For some reason, I don't think hi-fi is even on that list for most people.

In short, we are nuts about this stuff- hi-fi bugs (I think I did keep the LP with that title and the art is photos of insects).

Respectfully,