What Does 80 Grand Get You Nowadays?

I had one of the old WAMM up until around 20 years ago.....For its time, it was whatever....but, it had many flaws that were hard to ignore after you put your head in a vise, of course. Nothing has improved since then,...all this  material x, material y and the potted crossover crap (depot that crap and look at it) is all some bull marketing. When the IQ is too low to innovate, all you can do is spend more on marketing, get with some D’oggistino guy or whomever (have him scratch your back too), pay the magazines for embellishment and shine your teeth. 

I guess I’m just "uninformed" with "pedestrian ears", because I have never understood the hype around Wilson speakers.  I have a Wilson dealer in my town, and the store owner is a friend.  I have heard every model except for their flagship, the Chronosonic.  Every time he demos a line for me and I see the price tag, I just ask myself, "Why??"

 

I just don’t get it.

Op, I’d guess that if you went to a dealer who actually knows how to put together a system for $80K , or maybe in the case of the place you went to one in any amount, you’d walk away with a different reaction

@facten 

You're right; but, in fairness, a shop that deals primarily in pre-owned hifi is, by definition, going to be constrained by whatever inventory happens to be at hand in what demo systems they are able to put together.

Notwithstanding the hate, the Marantz amp is probably more than capable. It's Purifi-based, pushes 500wpc @ 4 ohms. That ought to drive one pair of Wilson Sabrinas.

Your point about the need to actually know how to put together a system for $80K is well-taken, but all the skills in the world can't and won't make up for inadequate speakers and will not change their character. 

@allenf1963

The reason these small companies charge a lot is they have rent, they need to pay employees, electricity, customer/warranty and material.   And they don’t have the volume to spread that cost over 1000’s of speakers.  Simple economics.

@tomrk -- I fully understand basic and simple economics -- the principles are the same whether you are selling pencils, cars, or audio gear.  But my point remains with Wilson (and any other "elite" brand mentioned in this thread)...I just don’t get it.

I think it is summed up best by @deep_333 ​​​​and @mylogic .

@devinplombier  "You’re right; but, in fairness, a shop that deals primarily in pre-owned hifi is, by definition, going to be constrained by whatever inventory happens to be at hand in what demo systems they are able to put together."

No where in your original post did you characterize the shop as such, nor did you state that the equipment in question was used and hence systems were piecemeal-ed together.  Perspective is everything before jumping to conclusions about what you can get for $80K  or any other price target higher or lower for that matter.  

What is ability to drive a speaker has to do with sound quality @devinplombier 

you keep referring to the marantz as a capable amp. It might be. But it doesn’t mean much. Amplifiers have sound. And all amplifiers sound different. 
Same as preamps. Careful system matching is what it takes to make it sound the way it should. Room is a key component as well. Cables matter too.