Is it possible for a high end manufacturer to overprice their goods?

There will always be consumers who believe the more expensive something is, the better it is, or simply want the bragging rights to having paid the most for something.  And so long as there are people with more money than they can spend in 100 lifetimes (Elon and Jeff B. come to mind), there will be a small market for $500,000 speakers etc...  Are they worth it?  Doesn't matter.  

No - free market so they can price things however they want to.

Whether they make enough profit or not is another question that depends on many factors other than price alone.

Yes. It's definitely possible. A fool and his money are soon parted, and there is no denying corporate greed. Think about it... Product parts may equal three thousand dollars max. Product sells for a hundred and thirty three thousand dollars. That's a net profit of a hundred and thirty thousand dollars. Well over my annual income if they sell just one pair to somebody rich and wanting an elitest speaker.

This also is not Rockport’s most expensive speaker. The Lyra is $190,000

Typically all out assaults at building the very best possible component of a category results in a product with an extreme price. It serves to show what the company is capable of and its value gets assessed mostly by professional reviewers. If favorably reviewed it builds the companies reputation and can cause folks to look at their lower priced models. Trickle down technology and techniques benefited the customers and company. It may not be the profit or volume of the highest price model that is important to the company. A few sales to well healed customers may be well worth it. look at Wilson, they have been selling speakers for over $500K for decades.

Plenty of choices at any price range. I personally only look at stuff in price ranges I can afford. The cheaper the better. I also don’t protest on prices of the stuff I cannot afford. I just admire them, but I also ignore them when it comes to making a purchase decision for myself. Simple

I see a lot of ultra exotica being offered these days. For instance, road bicycles in the $20,000 range are available. That prices out people like me, but it doesn't mean that really great new bikes aren't available for much less, and these are lighter and better in many ways than anything I could have bought 20 years ago for the same price, even if not adjusted for inflation. You can spend $100K plus on a TV now, or spend $1600 and get something astounding compared to what you could get for $1600 20 years ago. There are those who have the money and want something extra special. The market is providing those goods, it seems to me more now than it ever used to. It's possible to over or under price the exotic stuff. You'll know it's under priced if  it sells well but you can't make a profit on it. It's over priced if you can't sell enough to make a profit. Or it can be fine to lose money on it either way if it's viewed as a marketing campaign. 

I don't wish to rag on anyone trying to make money in music reproduction, but I do wish the industry didn't make me feel like the new, younger, and not yet inherited listener is being priced out.

From what I read Rockport really put a lot of work into the cabinet, and my guess is a lot of the speaker’s cost lies there.  That said, it’s a competitive market even at this level and Rockport will find out rather quickly if they overpriced it.  Rockport’s been around the block before and I’d be surprised if they overpriced the Orion, but whether customers hear something they deem worth that price relative what else is out there in the same price range — that’s the bigger question.  We’ll see. 

The fact that speakers are priced like that only adds to arguments against the value systems we have allowed to get set up. Someone is buying a $133k speaker while someone else is living in a cardboard box.

A quote from Pope Francis:

"Today consumerism determines what is important. Consuming relationships, consuming friendships, consuming religions, consuming, consuming... . Whatever the cost or consequences. A consumption which does not favor bonding, a consumption which has little to do with human relationships. Social bonds are a mere 'means' for the satisfaction of 'my needs.' The important thing is no longer our neighbor, with his or her familiar face, story and personality.

"The result is a culture which discards everything that is no longer 'useful' or 'satisfying' for the tastes of the consumer. We have turned our society into a huge multicultural showcase tied only to the tastes of certain 'consumers', while so many others only 'eat the crumbs which fall from their masters’ table'. This causes great harm. I would say that at the root of so many contemporary situations is a kind of impoverishment born of a widespread and radical sense of loneliness. ... Loneliness with fear of commitment in a limitless effort to feel recognized."

-- Address to bishops at St. Charles Borromeo Seminary, Philadelphia, Sept. 28, 2015

I think long standing, big time companies like Rockport are well aware of the sales dynamic, not that they always guess correctly...and for some, it's almost an advertising statement product, not one they actually expect to sell many of...questions of "value" become irrelevant with so many super wealthy potential customers...I like seeing these products, though with no expectation of ever hearing one...

@jl35 That business model is common. Question is whether a product in this hobby can be so high priced, that the result is zero sales? Or,not enough sales to justify the product and its cost to come to market?
I do wonder if these questions even occur to these folks?

"Is it possible for a high end manufacturer to overprice their goods?"

Do Bears Poop in the woods?

A few years ago I read an interview with an amp manufacturer. He had just introduced an extremely expensive amp. When asked about sales, he stated he expected to sell maybe 3 a year for 3 or 4 years worldwide...