Stratospheric audio gear prices

On another note, for those of us who are really serious about sound and who don't belong to the 1% club you do not have to spend near stupid money to have the best sounding system. The best sound systems I have ever heard cost less than one Boulder 3050, soup to nuts.

Breath taking sound can be had for the price of a used car. So who cares about the uber expensive stuff? I've heard some of it at audio shows. I always click my heels as I walk away from it. Joe

One benefit of high prices is to keep the time wasters away from showrooms.  My local Audio/Video installation specialist is a Linn dealer, with a Plain Jane $25000 turntable that looks like its predecessor Ariston. The sticker shock will keep anyone who cannot afford it from being invited back to see the effects of the incredible $65000 projector.  When the prices quit justifying the sound, which might be now, the Chinese, etc, can fill in the gaps in the pricing/value equation.  There used to be several companies which provided exceptional value for extremely good products, including, but not only, B&K, Adcom (They tell me), Audire, Phase Linear (Amps at least), GAS and Hafler (If you could put up with products haphazardlty assembled by the lowest bidder), and many more.  I Have a set of Bryston, which is good, but not as good as my Audire, etc.  My B&K tuner sounds at least as good as my Kenwood KT-917, but is an ugly black box Yugo looking thing, instead of a beautiful, function laden work of art.  I have owned NAD and Phase Linear, and could easily live with them if necessary.  Much perceived value is simply marketing, e.g. diamonds.

I see your point, but the reality is, these products are not being targeted necessarily for the audiophile, they are going after the affluent egos...the ones that have to have the most expensive show cased in their multi million dollar mansions...higher priced is not better...there are plenty of manufacturers that build high fidelity gear that is kind of obtainable...NAD, ROTEL, ARCAM, ANTHEM, Parasound, Primare, etc. Though I would say even this equipment has become unobtainable to most people...they are expensive, because they rely on internal computers, software and for home theater applications, expensive licensing from the various codecs...I see the prices not unreasonable for new current gear, though not so value driven as they have become increasingly user unfriendly...it’s in the old used stereo receiver’s I see a total price gouging for equipment that went obsolete in 1982 with the invention of the CD player. I never found that gear particularly special and the sound stage is often narrow and blah...but getting back to the esoteric gear and creating a false exclusivity... you are educated into the practice...just don’t buy into it...
the current used market has great gear at the most affordable prices, it may not have all the current bells and whistles, but the amps and design is superior to a lot of the gear that costs more. But to be glad it a lot of the more expensive pieces have the best of power supply, capacitors, the design of the carriage and efficient amps..
Thanks for bringing attention to this strange world we live in, I get it, I see it all the time...The branding has replaced the importance of sound quality...Brand Recognition is king in today’s crowded audio industry...This is why Denon/Marantz is so popular...Sound United has created the best brand recognition in home audio...they were known pretty well to people who loved audio, but know they target the newb to sell them mediocre gear.

The consolidation will only make things worse and more expensive.

it is the used 

If the money wasn't out there, these over-priced products would not exist. Huge disparities in disposable income causes us to perceive them as being in that category. One analogy that comes to mind is the salaries of professional athletes.....most people probably think those are also ridiculous, but considering the money generated by professional sports (billions for the NFL alone), they're not. I quit chasing the rabbit long ago and am perfectly satisfied with my lower and mid-level gear. I still spend time actually listening to music, not so much about what weak link needs to be jettisoned so more cash can be shoveled out the door.