Sunny you said a lot above and here are my thoughts.
First I have owned/listened the Apollo, Ayre top of the line player, Cary 306,
Marantz 7s1, one of the top Esoteric models, and several other top end
players. Some I owned, some I sold for audio friends and had them in my
rig for awhile etc....
The Romulus is the best I have owned in terms of drawing me into the
music and not offending with glare.
Now Aesthetix may be small, but that plays a smaller role than you think in
my opinion. If by small you mean people, then I agree. They sell a good
amount of gear however and may have large outside companies making
their boards etc..... You are really paying for the engineering and design.
They are skilled designers, Jim White, and know how to make musical
sounding gear.
That is what you and I pay for. I don't know if they populate all the circuit
boards or if they come from an outside supplier in or outside of the USA. I
just don't know and don't really care. The parts quality and build quality is
very good.
The power supply in the Romulus is something to behold and one of the
reasons it sounds the way it does. I love the design and the designer
knows what he is doing for sure. Ya, we pay for Jim and his knowledge and
electronic innovation.
The building of the unit is just one part, one expense really.
I am not a long time "fan" of the company or anything like that, but know
enough about gear to know this unit is special and well designed.
Is it worth $7,000 to $10,000? Ha! That's really not the question. Fact is it
must be priced this way or it would never be available to audiophiles. We
audiophiles make up a small total population and basic economics demand
a high price must be paid to sustain an esoteric business endeavor like the
Romulus.
Yes great players can be made for less, but they cannot be sold for much
less as the company will not stay in business. The selling price is based on
demand......which is very small. Lowering the price will not bring about
enough new business to offset the loss in margin. No, total net margin
dollars will shrink.
So yes the Romulus is worth it because the business math is the truth
barometer here. Now it is worth it to you or I or Joe next door, well that is a
question only the individual can answer. There is no universal answer for
this question.
First I have owned/listened the Apollo, Ayre top of the line player, Cary 306,
Marantz 7s1, one of the top Esoteric models, and several other top end
players. Some I owned, some I sold for audio friends and had them in my
rig for awhile etc....
The Romulus is the best I have owned in terms of drawing me into the
music and not offending with glare.
Now Aesthetix may be small, but that plays a smaller role than you think in
my opinion. If by small you mean people, then I agree. They sell a good
amount of gear however and may have large outside companies making
their boards etc..... You are really paying for the engineering and design.
They are skilled designers, Jim White, and know how to make musical
sounding gear.
That is what you and I pay for. I don't know if they populate all the circuit
boards or if they come from an outside supplier in or outside of the USA. I
just don't know and don't really care. The parts quality and build quality is
very good.
The power supply in the Romulus is something to behold and one of the
reasons it sounds the way it does. I love the design and the designer
knows what he is doing for sure. Ya, we pay for Jim and his knowledge and
electronic innovation.
The building of the unit is just one part, one expense really.
I am not a long time "fan" of the company or anything like that, but know
enough about gear to know this unit is special and well designed.
Is it worth $7,000 to $10,000? Ha! That's really not the question. Fact is it
must be priced this way or it would never be available to audiophiles. We
audiophiles make up a small total population and basic economics demand
a high price must be paid to sustain an esoteric business endeavor like the
Romulus.
Yes great players can be made for less, but they cannot be sold for much
less as the company will not stay in business. The selling price is based on
demand......which is very small. Lowering the price will not bring about
enough new business to offset the loss in margin. No, total net margin
dollars will shrink.
So yes the Romulus is worth it because the business math is the truth
barometer here. Now it is worth it to you or I or Joe next door, well that is a
question only the individual can answer. There is no universal answer for
this question.