There will always be consumers who believe the more expensive something is, the better it is, or simply want the bragging rights to having paid the most for something. And so long as there are people with more money than they can spend in 100 lifetimes (Elon and Jeff B. come to mind), there will be a small market for $500,000 speakers etc... Are they worth it? Doesn't matter.
Is it possible for a high end manufacturer to overprice their goods?
Having just read the interesting and hyperbole laden review by RH of the new Rockport Orion speakers in the latest issue of The Absolute Sound, one thing struck me..
is it possible in the high end for a manufacturer to overprice their product ( doesn’t have to be a speaker, but this example comes to mind)? I ask this, as the Orion is priced at $133k! Yes,a price that would probably make 99% of hobbyists squirm. Yet, the speaker now joins a number of competitors that are in the $100k realm.
To that, this particular speaker stands just 50.3” tall and is just 14.3” wide…with one 13” woofer, one 7” midrange and a 1.25” beryllium dome ( which these days is nothing special at all…and could potentially lead to the nasties of beryllium bite).
The question is…given this speakers design and parts, which may or may not be SOTA, is it possible that this is just another overpriced product that will not sell, or is it like others, correctly priced for its target market? Thoughts…
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@labguy while I think your math is not quite correct for this particular speaker, as it leaves out a number of factors, including the R&D costs, shipping, advertising, dealer mark up etc., I do think that it is likely that there is a very significant profit in the Orion. Not saying there is anything wrong in that, particularly if the consumer rewards the company with multiple sales. Question in my OP, and I think it bears repeating here, is this…is there a price to value ratio in this hobby that will make the hobbyist say, enough is enough, that’s just not worth it…and therefore..pass on the sale? Clearly, this price has a differing number for each consumer, but I do wonder where it becomes more than thin air for all consumers in this hobby? So, is the new Orion with its design at that level, or is it not even close? |
The manufacturing process of the Rockport enclosures are pretty insane compared to many and if you're not familiar with their design, research it. Although at this upper end, there are many which are impressive for sure (engineering/manufacturing). Whether or not that equates six figure prices isn't my point, just that these aren't some MDF boxes slapped together. Also I believe they now manufacture their own drivers (not 100% sure though). Not many that do (Dynaudio, Focal etc..), which just adds to the overall R+D costs. |
Is it possible for a high end manufacturer to overprice their goods? If it is true "high end", no, their market buys overpriced jets and yachts so an amp is no BFD. Now, is it possible for cheesy amps to be priced to high? It gets me sick just thinking about it because the only thing "high end" about those products is often the name. |
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