I will confess that I have never heard $1 million speakers. I am sure that they sound amazing, paired with equally amazing electronics, room, cables, etc. But the point is that there are plenty of very wealthy people in this country and in the world, and if they have $1 billion+, or hundreds of millions, dropping $1 million on a pair of speakers is nothing . . . it is meaningless to them, just like buying a Bugatti Veyron for $1.8 million is meaningless. Do you think someone that has a 200 ft. yacht gives a hoot about yearly maintenance? Or someone who has a Gulfstream 550, that costs more than $1 million a year just to maintain and for pilots, not to mention fuel? They have the money to indulge in whatever they want and cost is irrelevant. I don't think that the existence of these folks impacts the industry as a whole at all, other than the "trickle-down" effect of the technology that went into building the audio equipment.
The new dynamic in speaker pricing
Yesterday I received the latest issue of the Absolute Sound mag. This issue has the round up of the varying speaker manufacturer’s wares along with the retail pricing. One thing that struck me is the number of speaker manufacturer’s who have a speaker in their line up that cost close to a $1M!! There are good number of speakers now available with prices in the $700K+ range. A few manufacturer’s are also a little ’glib’ with their top model pricing, such as Oswalds Mill--who state- price upon inquiry only!
This new speaker pricing dynamic is interesting, as it clearly indicates that there are buyers out there who are happy to pay these prices and presumably enough buyers to make these products viable. A trend that is certainly interesting and yet questionable as to how it will impact the hobby as a whole.
Opinions on this trend?