Well actually I have close to a 100k system I bought on Covid specials , a couple liteley used items and used cables for about 40% of the cost which is still a ridiculous amount of money. All Mark Levinson with Cardas cables and Revel speakers, Aurender server and 10k in turntable setup. Friends and family think im crazy with what I have in it, but when they hear it they're always blown away. That said I'd never spend 100k and even what I did pay is in my opinion hard to figure the cost for stereo equipment no matter how good. It can get very pricey for this hobby and I still wonder about prices on the top tier products. I must need my head checked!
Why did high end audio manufacturers take the wrong path in manufacturing gear?
We all know that high end audio manufacturers took the route of "my gear is the most expensive with only a few made, so it must be the best and the best value" and we wonder why so many high end manufacturers are having financial trouble. Does Classe, Auralic, MBL, darTZeel, and others come to mind? If we would apply this same manufacturing process to computers and cars (build low volume items so the price is high), your computer would cost you tens of thousands of $$ and your Toyota Corolla would cost you $100,000.
If you compare audio equipment to say a car, the audio gear doesn't have that many pieces that would justify the high cost. For example: How many pieces are in a speaker? 100? 200? The Koenigsegg carbon wheel (it is hand made, takes 3 days to make each wheel) is comprised of 350 pieces (for each wheel,) and 4 of these wheels cost $65k. That's 12 man days of labor, Caron fiber is expensive, and over 1200 pieces of material. Compare that to say 1 of the high end brand $700,000 speakers. Probably take less many hours to make a speaker, with less parts.
I know, I know, some of the high end manufacturers will say they have R&D costs to make their widget, but doesn't everybody have these same costs? How many designers does a car manufacturer hire? How many clay models do they produce? How many cars are made, tested, tweaked, then destroyed for safety reasons during development? It's public knowledge that it cost Toyota $500M to $1B to develop a new car. How much does it cost the high end speaker company to develop a new speaker? Peanuts compared to what it costs a car manufacturer. So if Toyota has this much upfront cost, plus the cost of all of their thousands and thousands of employees, plant costs/maintenance, how can they charge only $20k for a Corolla? Remember, there are many tasks to build a car that are hand made: engines, transmissions, etc. IMO, if you would apply the Toyota development process to high end audio, you wouldn't have any piece of gear that would cost more than $10k, maybe even $5k.
Now, if you agree with me that high end is way overpriced for what goes into each piece, answer me this: Would you buy a new home or a stock knowing that the value would drop 50% tomorrow? So why do people buy high end equipment knowing that it is a commodity that will be worth 50% less the day after you bought it? PLUS: you have people buying audio equipment on credit, maybe paying 10% interest. So not only are you underwater paying cash, you will drown by buying audio gear on credit. IMO, the only people that should be buying high end audio equipment are those that have true financial freedom. But even then, why would I buy a $700k speaker, even if I have financial freedom, when I can invest that money and double it within a few months? Since early last year, I have increased my stock investments value by 100-300%.
I know what people are going to say: my car value goes down when it leaves the showroom and I'm underwater if I take a loan out for the car. 90% of the time this is correct, that's why you always pay cash for a car. Let me talk about the other 10%: if I would have purchased the Porsche 918 Spyder back in 2015 for the same price that the high end speakers cost, around $750k, you would be able to sell the Porsche today for $3.5M. Too rich, if you would have purchased the 2019 Porsche Speedster for $500k, you would be able to sell it today for $750k or more. How much would a 5 or 10 year old $700k speaker sell for today?
I love audio, love listening to a very nice systems, but I think most manufacturers took/take the wrong approach on the manufacturing process.
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Speaking of Porsche, not that successful lately.. “Porsche is navigating a severe financial crisis entering 2026, marked by a 99% drop in Q3 2025 operating profit and its steepest sales decline (10% in 2025) since 2009.” As far as hi end audio, it’s all relative. Most of my friends use $100-200 bluetooth speakers, and they all think I’m insane for spending $900 on a vintage Pioneer amp. To them - even buying a cheapest $500 Denon amp at Best Buy is a waste of money, and $1k is already super high end - and at that point it’s all the same $1k or $100k. Lastly, @p05129 - nothing against Porsche Spyder, but if instead you had invested $750,000 in NVIDIA at the start of 2015, your investment would be worth approximately $282.93 million as of February 20, 2026. And you could have a huge mansion and a pair of those $100k speakers in every room :) |
Price/cost is what it is. My personal gripe, although I do agree that there are "high end" products that in no way justify the asking, is that too many can't let go of the concept of price equating to quality. Those companies that are able to produce decent products for a mostly affordable price seem to be looked upon with disdain. Companies like Yamaha or Panasonic/Technics are usually dismissed as big box junk unworthy of consideration. As said, the market will usually sort it out in the end. Meanwhile, know that it is possible to assemble a really good system for less than the price of a single "Uber" speaker or power cable. |
There are a couple issues at play. 1. It is well known that if you offer a more expensive product, there will be a market because a percentage of buyers equate higher prices to higher quality. They will not change. You have audio products being advertised as " statement" pieces. They are coming right out and admitting part of the high cost is bragging rights. If there is a demand, someone will fill it. 2. I'll use a golf analogy. During the time of Covid, golfing golf courses were doing record business. One of the few places that were not shut down, most raised the price and watched it rain money. Since that time, the golf industry has figured out the sweet spot for the number of golfers, green fees, staff requirements and course maintenance. It turns out the highest profitability comes with higher fees but less golfers. Half the golfers at twice the price = same revenue, but requires less staff and only half the wear and tear on the course. I must assume audio equipment manufacturers have run the various scenarios and come to the same conclusion. Charge more, sell less, same profits, less employees, less work....... Hey, maybe I'm just cynical. Cheers. |
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