People don't have to buy Home Theater so they can hear dinosaur feet walking around their living room, they don't have to buy Bose or some crappy rack system, and kids don't have to buy recordings from a genre that has not produced a single memorable song in over 20 years. In feudal days the aristocracy determined what artists and fine craftsmen would produce. Now, the tyranny of the wealthy patron has been replaced by the tyranny of the consumer. OK, so maybe the audio consumer did not demand the digital player -- that was forced down our throats. But audio mediocrity is basically consumer driven.
The main problem for the high end designer-manufacturer is that their retailers are being undercut by the internet -- primarily Audiogon and EBay. It was possible for high end manufacturers to enjoy respectable margins when they could protect their authorized dealers from price competition. But now, you can buy pretty much anything you want at deep discount. At first glance this would appear to be a wonderful development for the sophisticated consumer -- those of us who do our own research and can bypass the retailer (or the unsophisticated buyer with an audiophile friend). But is it really? How long can the high end designer-manufacturers and retailers last under these conditions? Could savvy buyers force high end manufacturers either out of business or into less service-oriented marketing?
The main problem for the high end designer-manufacturer is that their retailers are being undercut by the internet -- primarily Audiogon and EBay. It was possible for high end manufacturers to enjoy respectable margins when they could protect their authorized dealers from price competition. But now, you can buy pretty much anything you want at deep discount. At first glance this would appear to be a wonderful development for the sophisticated consumer -- those of us who do our own research and can bypass the retailer (or the unsophisticated buyer with an audiophile friend). But is it really? How long can the high end designer-manufacturers and retailers last under these conditions? Could savvy buyers force high end manufacturers either out of business or into less service-oriented marketing?