Has the cost of HiFi gotten a bit too much?


I don't have any specific example but just from looking at it overall, it seems like high-end components prices have really risen more than inflation.  

Or may be it is must me?

andy2

It is simpler than all of these long winded posts. There is more money out there chasing the same goods. If demand even stays the same, the prices will go up. 

It's all very well saying that all prices are rising. That is broadly true. However the audio industry was merrily hiking prices when inflation wasn't a factor at all. So what you have now is a situation where prices are indeed ridiculous. The industry only has itself to blame if the momentum from Covid is completely lost.

@bdp24 Was it really Mark Levinson who started charging these ridiculous prices for Preamps, Amps and DACS ?
 

It’s too bad because all this nice equipment from Dan Dagostino, Boulder, and even some Pass Labs is only attainable if you take out a second Mortage. 

It’s too bad because all this nice equipment from Dan Dagostino, Boulder, and even some Pass Labs is only attainable if you take out a second Mortage.

not really -- at least for pass -- their first watt amps are relatively affordable and even a pass xa25 is a $3500 amp used, as is an int150 which is also just superb

The best way, IMO, to build a really fine audio system is to completely ignore the nonsense from peddlers, self-aggrandizing poseurs, and self-proclaimed audiophiles about what "Hi-end" means, and what is the minimum $$$ outlay required to reach that exalted plane of existence.  Sample gear, listen for yourself, and find the gear that speaks to you. Learn some acoustic and treat your room. And forget about what anyone else thinks.

I think you'll find that you can build a far better system, at a far more reasonable price, today (well, when the supply chain gets unfutzed) than in years past. So if you want "Hi End, sniff, sniff," yeah it's going up. If you want high quality gear and great sound, you have far more to choose from now than 50 years ago when I started out, with a much greater value/$$$ ratio.

Sorry, didn't mean to interrupt the financial one upmanship, carry on...