I’m confused about these kind of arguments. Everything is built to a price point. If someone can come along and do it cheaper, they will.
R&D vs. Marketing: Are we paying for tech or fake online hype?
I opened up a highly-reviewed $3K streamer/DAC last week out of curiosity. The actual tech inside? An off-the-shelf ESS board and a basic switching power supply. The R&D budget clearly wasn't spent on the circuit design or component quality. But if you look at this brand online, they have massive social media accounts, thousands of likes, and constant hype. It’s pretty obvious what's happening. A lot of these newer boutique audio brands aren't growing organically. They just use panels like fameviso.com to buy thousands of followers and fake their prestige. They build a fancy aluminum chassis, buy the "clout" so reviewers take them seriously, and sell us basic, unoriginal tech at a huge markup. When did the audio industry shift from paying for massive toroidal transformers and custom capacitors to paying for a brand's fake Instagram budget? Am I the only one noticing that actual electrical engineering is taking a backseat to social media marketing?
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- 17 posts total
- 17 posts total