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Modern Linestages

This is a general question about how complex and expensive some linestages have become. I'm looking to understand why? I can grasp that really good volume controls are complicated and that equally good switches are not inexpensive. I also have a general understanding of the importance of a high quality power supply, which again is not going to come cheap. I just don't comprehend how you get to a 50lbs. plus preamps that cost well over $20k. Is this level of complexity really needed or is it the equivalent of the spate of 500hp "sedans" for every day driving?
128x128onhwy61
tbg
5,263 posts
 
Charles1dad, I think it would be a communist who would say that capitalists are ripping off the consumers. Socialists merely want to use government to counter extreme capitalism and to provide services.

Under capitalism the buyer is expected to seek quality at the lowest cost. This may include pressing the dealer for the very lowest price. Similarly there is no such thing as an uber price. Rather there will be a high price that no one or few will pay and the manufacturer will either lower the price or cease production.
charles1dad's avatar
charles1dad
10,250 posts
 
"Socialist merely want to use goverment to counter extreme capitalism and to provide services"
Tongue in cheek I surely hope Tbg.
pubul57
3,712 posts
 
You know, like soup kitchens for a rainy day.

As to uber prices, it is not a rip off if the sound is commensurate with the cost, even accepting the law of dimishing returns - unfortuanately some expensive products justify the expense and some do not - eventually the market figures it out, but it can take a long time, especially against concerted advertising and "review" campaigns.
onemug
784 posts
 
Seeings this tree of a thread has branched off in many directions, it's my turn.

My curiousity has me wondering why/how some artists can charge so much for their paintings??? I mean how much does canvas and paint cost anyway? And worse, there are people who pay these prices, millions sometimes. Wow.

Don't know why I had those thoughts (or do I). :-)
pubul57
3,712 posts
 
Because some art is an investment grade asset driven by the psychologogy of scarcity creating "value", and a marketplace with enough buyers for whom having enough money is a small concern. Spending $1,000,000 to get $2,000,000 five years later for some dried paint doesn't seem irrational, though perhaps inexplicable. Though there does not seem to be a correlation between complexity and simplicity and the price of art, unlike some "modern" linestages.
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