Trends in value of vintage / used audio equipment?

I’ve got blue meters, and it’s not a Mac. Best of both worlds.

kidding…I have nothing against Macs:)

My original GAS Ampzilla must take the crown with its decadel VU meters! 

To be on the level (cheap pun), I used to have a lil' LED box that would read VU & power at the amp output...and became obvious what mattered in 'play'....

Education is where it happens....])

Under the presumption that technology improves the performance of the newest gear over anything from the past, and because most buyers put a premium on buying something new (meaning instantaneous depreciation after purchase), all gear lose value quite quickly.  However, some gain favor with enough buyers that the price slide comes to a halt and can even reverse.  While it is extremely rare that this reversal can be so extreme that the vintage price exceeds the original price.  Western Electric gear is an example.  Their amps and speaker components can sell for many times the original price with inflation factored in.  Even parts are expensive.  The input transformers in my amp now sell for $10k a pair, and the output transformers sell for about that much too.  Their wire used to hook up telephone switch boards can now command up to $10k for an 8” diameter spool.

No one has to tell me, I already know I'm a low percentile kind of guy. But I collect Carver amps, and I have noticed an increase in prices. I think the increase is ahead of inflation. In the past I was (happily) surprised at the value of Kenwood KD 500 and 550 TT's (I have 2 in the TT stable). As new equipment prices climb out of the reach of common folk, the market for "Vintage" will grow.