The economics mentioned in the first post assumes a rational market where demand is created by first order information. Consumers would buy the best product and shift demand based on somewhat perfect information. Hifi is more akin to religion. The opinion makers, which are in the most part the magazines, drive the demand. Once something is a few years old and no longer on this or that list, the demand and prices drop.
The situation is akin to Keynesian beauty contest analogy.
"It is not a case of choosing those [faces] that, to the best of one’s judgment, are really the prettiest, nor even those that average opinion genuinely thinks the prettiest. We have reached the third degree where we devote our intelligences to anticipating what average opinion expects the average opinion to be. And there are some, I believe, who practice the fourth, fifth and higher degrees." (Keynes, General Theory of Employment, Interest and Money, 1936).
It’s immaterial whether Class D or Class A amps are better. By the way, I love my Pass Labs XA100.8. ;)
The situation is akin to Keynesian beauty contest analogy.
"It is not a case of choosing those [faces] that, to the best of one’s judgment, are really the prettiest, nor even those that average opinion genuinely thinks the prettiest. We have reached the third degree where we devote our intelligences to anticipating what average opinion expects the average opinion to be. And there are some, I believe, who practice the fourth, fifth and higher degrees." (Keynes, General Theory of Employment, Interest and Money, 1936).
It’s immaterial whether Class D or Class A amps are better. By the way, I love my Pass Labs XA100.8. ;)