High End is Dead?


Browsing used audio sites such as Audiogon and the Marts, high end gear ads are dominated by several dealers. Non-dealer ads are usually people trying to push 15+ year old off-brand junk at 60-70% of MSRP (when they were new). They don't sell anything. You could slash Wilsons, Magicos, etc, 50% off retail and no one will buy them.

No one buys if it costs more than 1k. It's not that they're not interested -- the ads get plenty of views. It's that the asking prices are just way over the ability of buyers to pay. Fact is, if you see a high end piece for sale it's probably by a dealer, often times trying to push it at 15% off retail because its a trade in, but also often they are taking a good chunk off the price 30, 40 sometimes 50% off. They can be famous brands with a million positive reviews. No buyers.

Are we just poor, and that's all there is to it? 
madavid0

Showing 9 responses by geoffkait

Of course not. That was Bo. The Tru Fi dude or whatever.  Fremer over at Stereophile also reviewed another expensive Audioquest power cord recently.
What are the icons of snake oil? What are the tweaks that really bring out the hostility from the naysayers and pseudo scientists? What are the Top Ten? Here’s my list in no particular order,

Silver Rainbow Foil
The Red x Pen
Mpingo disc
The Intelligent Chip
Demagnetizers for CDs and cables
Schumann Frequency Generator
The Teleportation Tweak
Photos in the Freezer Tweak
Wire directionality
Fuses in AC circuits

Let’s see, who started this thread, anyway? Oh, it was madavid0. Nevermind....😛
What’s it called when it’s dead but still walking around? Oh, I know! A zombie! 🧟‍♂️ It’s kind if a zombie jamboree!

Back to back, belly to belly
I don't give a damn, I done dead already
Oho back to back, belly to belly
At the Zombie Jamboree

Inasmuch as the high end is oft identified with audio nervosa and similar neurotic or quasi neurotic traits associated with the obsessive and compulsive pursuit of perfection and demand for nearly continuous improvements to sound quality, many folks have backed off the throttle just a tad. Coming back down to reality, if you’ll excuse the expression, sometimes involves downsizing, not only in terms of cost but actual size, paradigm shifting from speaker systems to headphones or streaming. Have you ever felt the system was, uh, taking over? Or maybe folks have developed other competing interests like Blu Ray movies or YouTube or whatever.
The great high end store Excalibur in Alexandria Va closed around 1986. Among other things they had the big dog Infinity Reference System in the large room and the then new Martín Logans in one of upstairs rooms. Since then the high end has been like a wounded wildebeest running through the Kalaharii. Know one knows for sure how long he’s going to keep on going. The recent economic depression could not have been very encouraging for anyone with aspirations of making a big splash in the high end. Can you say downsize?
The sure fire way to wind up with a small fortune in the audio business is start off with a big fortune.
My guess is because it’s a viral global conspiracy of profound proportions.