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.

p05129

Seems too much to cover for the OP’s post: economies of scale, niche market, target market, supply and demand, increasing costs, luxury goods reaction to market movements, strictly blaming management when it could be other factors….

$10M is the new million. $1M for retirement is almost poverty. I don’t get why people get so upset with people making good money. When I had to work, my goal was to make the most I could and have fun doing it.
 

I know several people with much more than $10M and they have Sonos/Sony/Pioneer type equipment but have Porsche’s and Ferrari’s or better.

Some people like nice stuff. Sometimes such a buyer will pay a lot of money for something he considers valuable to himself. 

Passion for excellence and a love for finely made things is not limited to the rich. When I was a poor kid I wanted an Audio Research D150 and a set of Magnepan Tympani speakers. I think that rig cost about $4,500 with tax. That was more than I made in a year! I wanted a Cartier Pasha watch- which cost more than I made in 2 years. I wanted a Ferrari Boxer- which cost more than I made in 5 years.

None of those things were to show off and get noticed. I loved the art, passion, precision, pride of craftsmanship- they were important to me. They spoke to me. No way could I afford them. However rather than resenting the people who could easily buy them I dreamed. I put up pictures in my bedroom. I set a goal.  One of the items on that list took me 45 years to buy.  Do I care what people think good or bad when I'm rejoicing over God's blessings toward me? Nope, I'm feeling warm satisfaction and admiration of someone's vision and creation that I now enjoy.  (to be honest I never got the Tympanies. By the time I could afford them much better things were available. I got Maggie 3.7x and then added a set Wilson Sasha 2 last month). 

Purist stereo is a stagnant tech area that has remained stagnant for 40, 50 years or so, easy. High end purist stereo is a group of shiisters who are in it to make some quick easy cash for doing very little to no work. There is no innovation (he's too low iq to innovate), just extra shine and polish on a cabinet.

Now, multichannel audio is an area that continues to innovate and the prices are normal

 

Willie and Magicci are 3 silly drivers in a box.

Do you know what all goes into making a car?

DON'T EVER compare a bozos speaker to a car.

Porsche Panamera $110k 

Nice luxury speaker like Wilson, Magico, Marten also $100k