The Snob Appeal Premium


I have learned that speakers are a typical victim of "Designer Label Syndrome".  Supposedly an $8 billion a year market (hard to believe) speakers are fairly simple beasts with little substantive improvements over the last 50 years. Ever since Paul Klipsch ( a character in his own right) read the Bell Labs 1934 papers and revolutionized speaker technology there have been few similar revolutionary improvements to the speaker. So- if you are an enterprising manufacturer of speakers (which are relatively cheap to build) how do you extract more and more money from the consumer ?  Answer: Synthetic demand driven by cachet' !  Like a pair of Louis Vuitton sneakers @ $650 a pair vs. New Balance runners @ 60/pr. It's snobby bragging rights stuff I'm describing here- perceived vs. actual value in a product. 

Here's an anecdotal example: 

I recently set out to build a high end mid-fi system (ARC preamp, power amp, Dac 9) for a large room "main house" (not a listening room) system. The goal was big, full, rich sound in a room full of furniture, chow dogs, kids and untreatable other things like 20 foot ceilings, multiple openings such as a balcony to the upstairs bedrooms, etc. Basically an audiophile's nightmare. 

I auditioned a number of speakers- Perlistens supported by JL Fathom subs, B&W Signatures, Bryston Model Ts, Vienna Acoustics Mahlers and Bethovens. IMO all of these are somewhat similar towers (except the Perlistens). The price point was not as important as the sound- given the limitations of the application. 

In the shopping for new or used I found a number of odd prices. The most unusual finding was a brand new set of Model Ts here in Audiogon advertised for $4K with a 20 year factory warranty. The dealer had one slide around of his hand truck and it put white paint smears on a corner of the Boston Cherry cabinet. Hmmm- 4 grand vs. 12 grand for a small fixable cosmetic flaw? I bought them. They sound fantastic. Some elbow grease and a furniture marker pen made the flaw vanish. 

I asked the dealer (Paul Kraft in Easton PA- great guy BTW) why the Audiogon Blue Book for a Model T was so low. His answer was "snob appeal". Apparently there is a big bragging rights  premium paid for having the UFO looking B&W Signatures vs what the snobs call the Bryston Model Ts "Axioms in a fancy suit".  I later learned that there are some prominent reviewers who refuse to listen to A/B speaker comparisons behind a silk curtain unless they know what brand is being scrutinized. To me that means "payola". 

Do the Model Ts sound better to me than the Mahlers, Bethovens, B&Ws? No. But they don't sound worse either (in my application). Do the above sound $8,000-$14,000 better than the Brystons in the listening rooms of the dealers? IMO NO WAY. To be fair price/value does color my perception much like a bottle of $40 Rumbauer Zin tastes better to me than $200 Silver Oak expense account wine. 

I'm guessing this post will anger brand snobs and garner snarky comments because their taste in sound is different than mine. Although this missive is really about personal perceptions of value v. sound I found my education on pricing fascinating and I feel great about finding amazing value in the brand new Model T's that needed 30 minutes of TLC to be at home in my family room. 

Moral of the story: Try em before you buy em, and look for value. It's fun and rewarding with no buyers remorse. 

128x128Ag insider logo xs@2xyesiam_a_pirate

Wturkey;

I'm pretty sure these are 100% maple syrup and frostbite made- but who really knows these days?  There is so much shell-game switch-a-roo now... largely because it's really hard to make a North American product economically. There is a video of the Axiom plant in Canada and it looks like the product is made there. I'd guess that the Bryston product is North American but who really knows anymore...

The fit and finish is really good, and feels heavy and local. The packing is definitely North American. The Asians have some terrible cardboard. These came in some stout big arse boxes with hard foam blocking. They didn't feel Asian FWIW. 

I learned that the dealers are forced to buy the product outright- much to the frustration of the dealer I dealt with. Gun-to-head guess is that the cost to the dealer is about $4K. Speakers uniformly have massive mark up. 

My listening conclusions: The sound is muscle car big block in your face. Not delicate like the Vienna's. The Brystons are boring at low volume. Flat and dull. But with some volume (dinner party conversation volume after some wine and laughs) they wake up. Pushed to loud talking level they really start to sing. At higher volume levels they are just plain rowdy and fun. Me- I like quiet, but when nobody's home it's party time! They are a joy to listen to when they are loud. Subtle as a jack hammer and just as punchy. 

I have no doubt there is payola happening. A while back there was a review in Stereophile for a brand of speaker I'd never heard of and the reviewer admitted the same. A few short pages later, guess what? That's right, a full page ad for those speakers. Of course they deny such a thing happens but Lil' Donnie says he doesn't like too. 

@mikelavigne congrats on being able to build an off-the-chain system. I'll be able to use your incredibly detailed virtual system to prove to my wife that I'm not crazy.

OP. The Louis Vuitton analogy is weak; they wear out (or rather, become soiled) just as fast as New Balance. A better luxury-goods analogy is a fine time piece. My watch tells the time, but it's 15 years old, looks brand new having been factory refurbished once, and will outlive me. The same could be said for high quality audio gear; R&D, quality materials, workmanship. These attributes don't come cheap.

The difference is bragging rights, or lack thereof.

As an example, this long weekend I'd had a few friends and work colleagues over for a cook out. None of them are into hi-fi (or mid-fi). 

They were intrigued by my new tube amp. Some had seen the prior one. One person asked if the tubes were functional or just for looks!

There was no discussion about brand or cost. No one asked and I didn't tell.

There was a discussion about the music I played though.   

"Don’t waste your money on a new set of speakers
You get more mileage from a cheap pair of sneakers”

B. Joel, in case you've forgot...

*wry sigh*G*

...still true, but in varying and varied degrees, as pointed out above by those who can afford the entry tickets..and I'm not in competition by any means...

,,,nor interested anymore, either.

I only have to impress myself at this time and place with the means 'n green I've for the pursuit.  And 'being happy' means more than impressing those who'll never hear where I've been and currently am....

"I took off in thе dead of night
But before I did, got my affairs in ordеr and my boots on
The Hallelujah choir needs a score
And they're knocking at my door, let them knock some more

They're saying I need a little, direction
But following the leader gonna turn me off the religion...."

Spoon, The Hardest Cut

Deal....but I do wear long sleeves...;)

Enjoy the music, not the method.