Checking the news, "German high-end audio manufacturer MBL Akustikgeräte has filed for bankruptcy."
Krell, MBL, Levinson, et al... What if 50% off?
Lot of talk about the death of high end audio, which is warranted. But is it just about price?
What if a Krell K-300i was $4000 with DAC and not $8000 - would you buy it? The i800 monblocks were $40,000 not $73,000? Would they sell 4x as many?
What if an MBL 100 MkII speakers were $45,000 and not $95,000 and could be paired with their digital streamer for $6,000 not $11,000 and N15 mono amps for $7500 ea instead of $21,000... that gives you a state of the art digital system for $66,000 instead of $150,000.
Is that the answer, or is it something deeper (system is still big, requires a big room, space from the walls, looks odd, etc)?
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@8th-note + 1 |
Old new there @alb59 |
In order to stay in business a manufacturer has to multiply parts costs 5 to 6 times to cover engineering, labor, energy, advertising, etc. There is no doubt many high end products are over engineered but we mostly want them that way. Some CEOs make the mistake of spending above their means for flashy cars and the like. |
I guess I was lucky to have a dealer located near me. When I heard something really amazingly good, I waited until I could afford it - or waited until a more well-off customer no longer wanted the component and I bought it then. I stuck to my saving's goals in the meanwhile since I still had music. My only long-term complaint was having to send things back for repairs, since I thought solidly built gear should have been more reliable. One piece actually had to be re-designed from scratch to work properly (the power supply) even though it sounded exceptional. Oh also, it wobbled on a flat surface. Maybe I was being too picky.... |
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