clearaudio turntables

Weak dollar? Other currencies (e.g. EUR, GBP) are even far weaker. Looks like just typical inflation over the years, coupled with no economies of scale from the very low volume in this high-end niche market.

Huh, I see a lot more the Satisfy/Tracer options in the big online sites selling ClearAudio table bundles, instead of the Clarify. The Tracer looks really nice! Any retailer would be wise to discourage the Clarify, to avoid potential/likely customer problems. 

theoriginalauthor1,

The $ USD is not a weak currency.  On the contrary all other currencies are lower.  Here's a basic macroeconomics fact: a strong currency in the importing country makes imported goods more expensive.

priced as a status symbol

FACT, the EURO is worth MORE than the US $ , Today only 14 % , usually higher ,Were the dollar not the world reserve it would be worth half of the Euro .