Like every year I went to Capital audio Fest on Sunday. It was great, I felt like I was the only one there. Had several rooms to myself like the big Focals. Exhibitors started packing up around 3. Show goes to 4.
Somehow the industry thinks that one can just sell things without advertising or promotion. No posts on forums what to expect, what is new, why it is relevant and why one should care. How are people supposed to know about this show? How is it supposed to attract younger visitors which are future premium buyers?
Why are the shows not structured to show entry level rooms up to ultra premium so visitors don’t get turned off by $150.000 Siltech speaker cables right away.
Unfortunately unless one buys McIntosh it’s an immediate 50% off retail once opening the box. Not even luxury cars devalue that fast. Shows that the value proposition is off.
Why are there not more manufacturers offering upgrades to their equipment instead of planned obsolescence every 2-3 years to give some sense of long term value to the buyer? I.e my 20k Esoteric K01x is now several generations behind. It was bought in 2018. Why could one not offer, DAC board, drive upgrades to keep customers coming back? I would never buy another Esoteric again at this speed of “innovation” in CD players. It does sound good, also not needed at this time..
Last thing is that many of the people building these products are small companies with no succession plans. Why buy an ultra expensive product from someone that is hopefully another 5-10 years able to support the component? Could be solved via properly supported and licensed repair shops across the US.
Many problems today can be addressed. It would take the industry coming together that would help everybody to benefit instead of just increasing prices.