Just wondering out loud here -- B&Ws like other import items may have increased in price as a result of unfavorable currency movements of the US dollar versus the British Pound Sterling and/or the Euro. I don't follow the B&Ws, but I do follow Paradigm speakers which are a Canadian import.
Perhaps some may recall not so many years ago when the one (1) Canadian dollar was worth only $.70 US dollars. Today, the currencies trade at near parity. So ... do the math. A pair of Paradigm S8s might have retailed in the US for $6000 when the exchange rate was 1 Cnd dollar = .70 US dollars. Forgetting inflation, those same speakers might retail for $8700 today, which btw, isn't far from reality (MSRP of $9K).
And forget the fact that Paradigm can achieve operating efficiencies that alude most smaller American based companies, plus lower labor costs to boot.
I've read that the cost of Chinese made audio gear is increasing too -- for many of the same reasons just mentioned. If this trend continues, domestic companies may get to a tipping point where they bring the work back home. Bless the free market.
