It's just hard for many of us to understand why someone would spend $500,000.00 on a system. First is, if it cost more it must be better. Then there is perspective. To a person who earns 40,000,000.00 yearly half a million dollars is chump change. They just want top quality and usually everything done for them. They view money and privilege much differently than we do. It is just what happens to people when they get that wealthy. They live in a totally different reality. All is right in the world when you live in a gated community. You don't even interact with normal people anymore. If you spend a day or two at Ocean Reef in Florida you will get the message loud and clear.
Stratospheric audio gear prices
The more time I have under my belt pursuing quality audio, the more I realize that high audio gear prices have some basis in their quality. Yet there is a limit. When you buy a Ferrari the cost is high, but you can see the money involved in the design and parts. Many would argue that high quality audio gear is similar to the quality and design of a hyper-car. But when you look a the sheer quantity an complexity of this kind of car, there is no piece of audio gear that compares. To me, a piece of audio gear that costs as much as even an inexpensive car is just a manufacturer cashing in because they can. Can you imagine what audio manufacturers would want to charge for a piece of audio gear that was the size and weight of a car? Like $100 million. I believe it just drives the whole market up and we end up getting a little bit suckered. This is all perhaps a little overstated. I guess I just want to shame audio manufacturers. I do understand that they are not charities, or here for the betterment of mankind. If you are not frustrated by this, good for you. Here is a quote from a book about marketing. The reference is a victim of link rot. Nevertheless it has common information.
"Premium Pricing
Premium pricing is the practice of keeping the price of a product or service artificially high in order to encourage favorable perceptions among buyers, based solely on the price. The practice is intended to exploit the (not necessarily justifiable) tendency for buyers to assume that expensive items enjoy an exceptional reputation or represent exceptional quality and distinction . A premium pricing strategy involves setting the price of a product higher than similar products . This strategy is sometimes also called skim pricing because it is an attempt to "skim the cream" off the top of the market. It is used to maximize profit in areas where customers are happy to pay more, where there are no substitutes for the product, where there are barriers to entering the market, or when the seller cannot save on costs by producing at a high volume. It is also called image pricing or prestige pricing.
Luxury has a psychological association with price premium pricing. The implication for marketing is that consumers are willing to pay more for certain goods and not for others. To the marketer, it means creating a brand equity or value for which the consumer is willing to pay extra. Marketers view luxury as the main factor differentiating a brand in a product category."
Source: Boundless. “Market Share.” Boundless Business Boundless, 26 May. 2016. Retrieved 07 Feb. 2017 from https://www.boundless.com/business/textbooks/boundless-business-textbook/product-and-pricing-strateg...
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If nobody bought the stuff, they wouldn't make it or they would go out of business. These are low volume niche products, some pricing elevation because of the look of the materials that have nothing to do with sound. Also for some, there is snob appeal that they know everyone will know what they spent for something, like a Mercedes, or more likely Bentley or Rolls Royce. It's called luxury - which really means expensive. The law of diminishing returns kicks in in my mind for systems listing for about $20K (depending on how many sources you play) to $25K. For this money you can get incredible sound if you know what you are doing. If you don't, you could spend $100K and it wouldn't sound as good. |
I don't much care what a manufacturer chooses to charge or why. I also don't much care what someone else spends on whatever gear they want. That's really none of my business. What matters to me is how much I'm willing to spend. And what I'm willing to spend on audio gear is almost always less than how much I can afford to spend. I have other hobbies and other uses for the money. So if a manufacturer charges 100k for a pair of mono blocks and someone else sees value in purchasing them, I'm fine with that. Be happy with what you have, or can reasonably obtain. Don't be upset over what somebody else chooses to do with their money, or charges for their goods or services. |
One high quality manufacturer that has bucked the high price trend is Cary Audio. They have seen their dealers dwindle as a result of all of the hifi store closures. They now offer their equipment direct to the consumer at a discount. Rather than keeping prices high, they have passed at least part of their savings to the customer. I have taken advantage and bought several pieces of equipment at pretty hefty discounts. Billy Wright is doing it the right way. Also, they are made in USA. https://carydirect.com/shop-now.html |
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