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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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aldavis
202 posts
 

I do not generally think that cost necessarily parallels performance in high end audio. I was recently at an old friends house listening to vinyl on a $1500 rig and it sounded great. There is a very real phenomena of luxury pricing designed to make people THNK it’s better when it’s not. That said the Rockport Orion is worth every penny. Joy and happiness achieved from music do not require anywhere near this investment. That is a different question. 

vinylshadow
497 posts
 

If it's one of the best sounding speakers in the world, it fits your listening room and you can afford it, what does it matter. It will be appreciated and give joy as much or more than a Patek Phillipe or other super expensive watch. It's all relative. Provided the speaker performs as one of the best. 

mitch2
4,002 posts
 

Who is to judge?

With most products and services, if at least some people don't complain about the price then it is probably not high enough.   If it priced too high, then it won't sell.  The purpose of most businesses it to make money so the good ones price their goods/services based on "what the market will bear" for the value provided.  With a group that will pay $250 for a pink fuse, the sky's the limit!  

mikhailark
278 posts
 

Very few goods are priced as 'cost + small margin'. Goods are priced at market - as high as buyer may be willing to spend. So sure. Just look as Porsche tax 

daveyf's avatar
daveyf OP
2,874 posts
 

@mikhailark    This brings about my point in the OP.  Looking at my new copy of 'The Absolute Sound', there are many speaker manufacturer's who are now supplying speakers with pricing in the same league ( and many times much more) than a new Porsche!  The number of companies that are offering speakers in the range below even $10K is considerably less than those who are offering speakers for more than this figure, and many times --much more. Looking at the cable offerings, the same can be said about these folks. Some cables in the $70-$100K price points. ( Many mostly silver based, but anyone look at the price of raw silver recently!). IMHO, there are a lot of vendors who seem to believe that the high end is made up of primarily folks who say...'pass the Grey Poupon'.

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