Case in point: a $90,000 power cord by ASUNZ
There is a line between excellence and exploitation. In high-end audio, we celebrate passion, precision, and engineering that bring us closer to the music. We accept that real performance costs real money. But every so often, a product comes along that crosses the line into absurdity — and, frankly, insults the intelligence of the global audiophile community.
Case in point: a $90,000 power cord. (https://eqaudio.ca/power-cables/ansuz-mainz-d-tc3-gold-signature-power-cable/) A blatant insult to the intelligence of the global audiophile community!!!!!
Yes, you read that correctly. A piece of wire dressed up as “innovation,” sold for the price of a luxury car. It is not just excessive, it is contemptuous of the very customers who sustain this hobby.
The danger here isn’t only to one brand’s credibility. When companies market cables at such outrageous prices, they make the entire industry look foolish to the outside world. They reinforce every stereotype: that audiophiles are gullible, that high-end gear is snake oil, that this pursuit is less about music and more about status symbols.
We, as music lovers, are not idiots. We know the difference between engineering and opportunism. We know when craftsmanship justifies a premium — and when pricing is simply a provocation.
If high-end audio is to survive, manufacturers must show respect for both the craft and the community. Otherwise, the “legacy” they leave will not be of sonic breakthroughs, but of arrogance, excess, and ridicule.
This letter is not just directed at one company. It’s a call for honesty, sanity, and responsibility across the industry. If the goal is truly to celebrate music, then let’s price gear like it’s made for music lovers — not billionaires with no sense of value.
Steve Pappas
A concerned audiophile
Very pretty and very expensive, but pales in comparison to the new Corvette ZR1x in terms of $/bhp. So I'd be embarrassed to admit I paid 3.4M for only 780bhp. And while ugly IMO, the Tesla Model X Plaid is nuts.1050bhp. Used they are less than an entry level Beamer. I've been for a couple of launches in Cheetah mode. Surreal. |
I agree. Distribute all the wealth equally and then we can all buy $90K cables (well not everyone, just Agon members with resolving enough systems), a yacht (albeit just a regular yacht and not an ultra super yacht like Octopus...not trying to be greedy), and a few other toys. But seriously, who cares about a $90K wire. If you can afford it buy it. Connect your $1M system to it. You can probably afford the $2M car, $20M home etc etc. as well. What I’d really like to make fun of though, is the idiot that buys one to power his $10K system. But I doubt the opportunity will present itself. |
You mean like LA? I’m pretty sure no one else would argue that $90K power cords are obscene and relate that to homelessness. It would be a lot closer to reality to call out the billionaire members of the state and city stewards for wasting billions of tax payer money and barely making a dent in the situations. For clearing out encampments on the motorcade route when "their president" or the Olympic Games Committees visits. Then letting them all come back. For closing mental institutions, allowing the unfettered flow of drugs and making buying a house and living here far too expensive. Not to mention making it REDICULOUSLY convoluted and expensive to run a business here, which ultimately contributes to declining economic opportunities for everyday people. So please, be bit more serious if you want to discuss REAL social issues. |
