Is it possible for a high end manufacturer to overprice their goods?

@thyname 

1) Lot of noise in the internet. You are right. Coming from "innocent" people with a secret agenda, whether from the manufacturers' side, or themselves profit motif. The key is to get to know the people online or personally that you learn to trust, both integrity wise, and from the perspective of matching their taste with your own. This takes years (if not decades) and constant exposure to what goes on in the hobby, user forums and publications / reviewers.

You're right, when it comes to opinions in audio, it can take years to find people who you can trust.

The same thing applies to cars, electrics, plumbing, health etc.

I still have fond memories of Derek Whittington who ran Sound Advice from Loughborough. I bought my first system from him and I'll always be grateful for his honesty and patience.

He was big on Linn and Naim, like so many were back then, but neither Derek nor anyone in his shop ever pushed anything on me.

I remember one difficult listening session where I couldn't find a single well reviewed loudspeaker I liked more than what I had already until someone there suggested listening to the Rega Kytes.

That was a classic case of using your own ears to make a purchasing decision. 

As you say, trying a product at home would be best but listening at a dealers is still far better than taking a gamble on what you've read or heard.

Howard Popeck is another name that comes to mind. Years ago my sister fancied some new speakers and auditioned some Harbeths at home.  She was unimpressed until Howard suggested listening to some vintage JBL L100s which she still loves to this day.

@cd318  Quite a difference between Harbeth's and JBL L100's!! Presumably your sister was primarily into rock, which might explain the preference for JBL's.

@jl35  You ask a good question, how much do consumers in the very high price range for some of this audio gear concern themselves about re-sale value? I suspect little, because most of this gear drops heavily in value once used. There are numerous examples of high $$ speakers that are not easy to sell at 70% of new- once hitting the used market, regardless of age! 

OTOH, while this is an interesting point, i am not sure at what price point this relates to my OP, because there are also examples of far less expensive gear that also fails to hold value, and naturally, there are a few examples of gear that has actually risen in value ( although a much much smaller category).Albeit, I can't think of a ultra pricey speaker system that has risen in value.

@daveyf

@cd318 Quite a difference between Harbeth’s and JBL L100’s!! Presumably your sister was primarily into rock, which might explain the preference for JBL’s.

Your presumption is correct.

If I remember correctly from what she told me, Howard demonstrated both the SLH5s and the C7ES3s which she thought were better but neither were to her taste.

Apparently Howard had been into rock himself and was familiar with what the JBLs could do.

It sometimes pays to have a dealer that has a wide range of tastes and experience in music.

Perhaps every good dealer or reviewer should have that?

It sometimes pays to have a dealer that has a wide range of tastes and experience in music.

Perhaps every good dealer or reviewer should have that?

Great idea, @cd318 .... on a practical level?

Rare.  Anyone who could remember the 'sound, the qualities' of even most of the various speakers and/or the equipment would be considered to be a savant of sorts....

May not be a good salesman for what you came looking for....just saying... ;)

"Freds' great.....but diapers?  On a 35 yr. old....well, whatever....Fred claims to be....today....🙄🤨 "

( Likely to be there all night with Fred as the contrasts/+/-/=/>/</etc. unreels...*L*)

While the news about ARC going into receivership is not really a speaker forum subject, it does possibly connect to this thread.

About a year or so ago, I was at an ARC dealers premier of their new Reference 80s amp. While I was there, the ARC rep was discussing with the attendees some of ARC’s future product line up. It was to include a new flagship model with, if I remember, about 64+ KT150 tubes and slated to be a replacement to the Ref 750SE model. I asked the rep two questions, one was how much heat this beast would give off, and two…how expensive? The rep told me that he didn’t know about the heat, which I thought could be a considerable problem in a hot climate, and that the price was not yet set, but definitely more expensive than the Ref 750 SE! Many attendees said nothing, but the look on their faces said it all.. and it was obvious to all that this new flagship would be a VERY hard sell.