Why Is Hi Fi Gear So Darn Expensive?


Why Is Hi-Fi Gear So Darn Expensive?! - The Absolute Sound

Interesting read.

"I recently heard a small 2-way stand mount speaker at a show. The sound was excellent. The product was priced at $50,000 or thereabouts, per pair. Allowing for distribution and marketing leaves about $25,000."

$25000 for distribution and marketing? Really? That much more for this than a similar product at 1/10th the cost?

I don’t doubt the marketing cost per unit could be much higher with boutique products. Makes sense. Is the cat is out of the bag regarding the value proposition of boutique products?

How about fancy fuses marketed for free here that cost practically nothing to ship? Oh my!

I guess there are "excellent" expensive boutique products and others that offer value everywhere. Hifi not unique. Take your pick! Live and learn!

The article also chalks up people’s reactions to high-fi prices to emotion. What about the sound they hear? Real or emotionally distorted? What would Mr. Spock think about that? I know he likes music...he plays a harp!

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Showing 1 response by richopp

Depends.  With a company I know about, the face plates were impossible to get made properly without spending WAY more than the owner wanted.  The internal components were picked BY HAND from boxes of the "TOP 5%" of the manufacturer's output--already expensive--and about 30% of THOSE were rejected as being inferior to the desired quality, etc. 

Labor to do this is expensive, boards ordered in less than 100,000 copies are expensive, etc., etc., etc.

If you decide to invent and make a truly super-high-end product that has little chance of failure, you spend a lot of money doing so.  Since the customer wants the company to last, and since you are not running a charity, you charge what it takes to keep in business.  Two of the best from the 1970's are still around; their stuff is WAY expensive today in my opinion, but it ain't 1975 any more.  Cars are WAY expensive today as well--5 to 10 times more than they were back then.  

SO, if you want the best, buy used like I do or settle for less-than-the-best if you can't afford new.

Cheers!