Has anyone heard the SAT XD1

While what lewm says is true, there is a revived interest in vinyl, it has ( from what I can tell) nothing to do with the audiophile hobby, and more to do with the physical media itself.

The largest turntable market here in New Zealand by a considerable margin is not audiophiles, it is university students buying DJ decks from music shops - low cost direct drives from Pioneer/Technics et al.

@daveyf
The value proposition is very straightforward - for the customer to own something unique and expensive. Most wealthy folk assume that if you pay more you get a better product, particularly when it comes to technilogical based products.

For the manufacturer it is a very simple calculation - can you make more by selling fewer, more exclusive, items at a higher price.

This is the inverse of the Levi Jeans saga when they almost went bust lauching a high end clothing. Their value proposition was cheap, rugged clothing, not consonant with high end suits.


The barrier to making these expensive products more affordable exists in the body of this forum - the forum is full of folk who want to believe their clapped out 70’s audio product ( think direct drive TT here ) that cost a nickel in a garage sale is the greatest audio product ever made and can compete with anything made today, particularly when they have added their own unique take on snake oil. You know them, "when I stuck some Wrigleys pepperment chewing gum on the headshell, my 1983 Grace 707 with the wonky bearings blew away an SAT tonearm". 

In a shrinking upper end 2 channel audio market the skinflints are killing off whats left of any potential market for innovative product at a "reasonable price".

@daveyf
Yes, I’ve seen the pricing, and I have no issue with it.
If I could afford it and it was the best, based on my own in home audition, I’d buy it.

For those of us who cant afford it, I still welcome these products on the basis of pushing the envelope, and trickle down.

There are many advances in everyday motorcars derived from Formula 1 technology, but we cant all afford a Formula 1 racing car.

Personally I have not heard a direct drive that I like, but that doesn’t preclude that from happening one day.

Every time someone launches a new product, good or bad, should be celebrated because it means more interest generated in our hobby that exists in a shrinking market.

Most western economies are becoming hourglass in shape, very rich or poor, middle class hollowed out, and with it follows the shape of the audio market and products launched.

@daveyf 
@lewm 

I forgot to mention that Davey was right to point out there is no analogy between the value or cost of vintage Ferrari race cars and the SAT turntable or tonearms.  

I'm not so sure. I see the arm and turntable quite differently.

From my perspective I could make the SAT turntable myself. The engineering and technology can be purchased through outsourcing quite easily today. My guesstimate would be 25-35k US$ would be more than sufficient. 

By contrast I could not manufacture the tonearm so easily. The costs of the carbon fiber arm including set up would be quite substantial, even here in New Zealand where we have access to world class carbon fiber composition curtesy of our yachting industry. The bearings and metal fabrication are relatively straightforward.

What we dont know is how many hours of designing, specification , producing, testing and trialling prototypes have gone into the design of the tonearm.

Conversely you could produce the turntable straight off the design board. Its not that complicated.

My perception is that the arm and turntable are out of whack with regard to pricing relative to each other.