Wait a little while and when the Mk2 version comes out people will be dumping the original version for less than 50% of original price.
New level of ridiculousness
$8,995 for a power strip???
Stick 8 off the shelf receptacles in a marble??? box, and there it is.
It is getting more and more ridiculous. As if manufacturers are now driven by a desire to extract as much $$$ from aaudiophiles with sufficient income, and not by a desire to advance the quality of their products.
I wonder...
Stick 8 off the shelf receptacles in a marble??? box, and there it is.
It is getting more and more ridiculous. As if manufacturers are now driven by a desire to extract as much $$$ from aaudiophiles with sufficient income, and not by a desire to advance the quality of their products.
I wonder...
97 responses Add your response
I agree with you, just don't blame the snake oil pushers. They would not make it, if no one bought it. And besides, there is no FUNDAMENTAL difference between paying $8000 for a power strip and paying say.... $500 for one. I bet someone will accuse you of not having audiophile grade ears! hahahahahahhaah peace. |
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I share the same viewpoint as Elizabeth. Why care or be envious/jealous of what adults do with their disposable income? Maril555, there are many people(I would`nt) who`d question your judgement in owning 30k speakers and a 19K preamp for example.Nonaudiophiles would find it near insanity to spend 500.00 for a single interconnect,what, 3 feet of wire? ( and we know they can certainly go much higher than that) or how about 200-500.00 for a pair of NOS tubes(those small glass things?). What people decide to do with THEIR money is up to them.What some consider to be a justifiable price is totally ridiculous to another with different values. Regards, |
Maybe it came across as if I care how people spend their money. Just let me be clear- I could have cared less. What I do care about, is how the industry takes advantage of the psychology of the wealthy consumers at the expense of people with more realistic approach. Some time ago I posted here, comparing a technology, R&D, materials, etc., involved in making two different products- a pair of speakers (Wilson Audio Alexandria, Magico Q7, insert other models here) and a Mercedes Benz S600- both priced at approximately $150,000.00 When you think about it, it becomes abundantly clear, how insanely overpriced our hobby is, and that includes the very components, that are in my own system. We all have gotten kind of desensitized to this fact, but an example of $8,995 power strip just seemed a little extreme even to me. That was my point. |
We are all suscebtible to the siren song of accessories I am afraid. I rember seeing a review for the first £1000 interconnect I had seen and thinking " What sort of idiot would buy that?". Well me evidently, my only defence being I buy them cheaper second hand and yes, they do work, more's the pity. We live in an economic climate where manufacturers have abandoned the intro and middle of the road buyer, for the ultra high end, because there is'nt a mass market anymore, it's dead, we are a dying interest group, misunderstood and ridiculed. None of this is new to you, I know and it does'nt worry me. My kids love music and I am sure, will use bits of my system, when I've gone to the great demo room in the sky. Would they spend the sort of money I have in the past? absolutely not and mine is a middle of the road system, by most peoples standards. A fascinating fact, if it's true, from Ken Kestler, I read recently. The market for Ferrari memorabilia, tea shirts , mugs, model cars etc, is bigger than all the sales of Hifi from Us manufacturers, in the US. That is just astonishing. Most manufacturers are a cottage industry in the US and Europe, building individual units, on demand, in the 10's at best, rarely the hundreds. That sort of business community needs high prices and margins to survive. They are chasing each other up the price ladder. There are only a few worthy holdouts, still making kit and selling at reasonable prices, in small numbers, Odyssey Audio, some of the cable makers, Vapor Audio. I think the owners probably scratch a living at best. |
Phaelon, And the other point- I do get your statement about IWC Grande Complications showing exactly the same time as $20 Timex. By analogy $150 000 MB S600 will get you from point A to point B the same, as 1998 Hyundai, but that's not the pont of owning one. I drive $65000 BMW and I'm OK with splurging on it, but I'm certainly is not OK with spending $65K on say a pair of Wilson Maxx3. I honestly think my $65 K get me much higher value, being spent on BMW. Again, when I think about a stupid box with a few off the shelf drivers in it, compared to a technological tour de force, that my 2011 BMW 535 is, I'm having all kinds of seconds thoughts about our hobby. It is all about a degree of a compromise, a person is willing to make with his/hers expenditures. |
It might be comforting to think of audiophiles as having a single noble purpose; particularly when the vast majority of the world would call us all a bunch of nuts if, of course, the vast majority of the world even knew we existed. But we dont all share a single motive. Some are seeking to maximize their enjoyment of music, others are obsessed with the science of duplicating the sound of a piano, still others are feeding their egos. These three motives probably exist in all of us to varying degrees. In this hobby, more than any other that Im aware of, its important that we open our motives to examination and try to be honest with ourselves. As one moves up a product line, it is not unusual for a company to focus its appeal towards the wealthy, whos egos and sense of self esteem are typically more property driven - relatively speaking. IMO, there is nothing intrinsically stupid about the power strip. If a person feels they are getting value for their money - something that only they can determine - its a good purchase. |
Modern cars and high end hi-fi, all pretty much depreciating assets. Very few are worth more money 5-10 years out. I still like hi-fi and cars. I've done my run of expensive modern sports cars, more interested in older cars at this point. As to watches, I been wearing the same Panerai for a long time. It's not too flashy, and I can see the dial. You need to be selective about your bling. :):) |
I just read a review of the Koenigsegg Agera R from Sweden in WSJ, mostly because I enjoy the reviewers writing. $2.5 million is a lot to pay for a car! Gets you from point A to point B just like most other cars but standing still to 186mph in 14.5 secs. Talk about losing your license. Still a car though. 8^) |
Car reviewers and hi-fi reviewers are in some ways similar. One of my neighbors is a well-known car reviewer. He's always got something new and flashy in the driveway for review, but his personal cars are odd and quirky-Morris Minor pickup truck, 64 Volvo, E type and an assortment of other old British stuff. He does have a 69 6.3 Benz that I would buy in a minute. K-Egg is cool, but to me, the 'classic' modern supercar is the McLaren F1 and that one has appreciated. (Never liked the Enzo, just plain ugly). Old School- 250 SWB. But now out of reach to mere mortals. You would have had to buy in 20 years ago for it to make sense. I kept one car out of the 10 or so flashy ones that I had since 1995- it's the least flashy and hardly the fastest: a 993 C4 Cabrio. I didn't buy it as an investment but it has held its value. |
Aaudio showed a SOTA $300K+ rig at RMAF. An $8K power bar is a waste in a $25-40K rig. In a $300K rig it is 2.6% of total system cost, or less. Simply addressing the question from a system quality standpoint, if I were building a cost-no-object rig from $300K+ I sure wouldn't use crap as a power bar. |
Some people equate cost with better sound quality and it is`nt that strong a correlation in high end audio IMO.This is why I`m an advocate of an open market and free enterprise. People are free to purchase what that want without a need to explain or justify.Choice and freedom is great. If you feel the price is unfair,too high,low value etc.,well you just don`t buy and move on along. Regards, |
10-31-12: Charles1dadI'll second that. As I see it most audiophiles, including both "believers" and "skeptics," would agree that generally recognized science cannot explain why a $9K power strip might provide better sonic results than a well made power strip selling for say 1/20th of that amount. At least in terms that would stand up when analyzed quantitatively. A corollary to that which seems to not be widely considered, however, is that even if we assume that the $9K price is justifiable based on the use of exotic materials and construction techniques, if the mechanisms by which those ultra-expensive materials and construction techniques work their magic are not technically explainable, how do we know that a lot of what is being paid for is not overkill that provides no sonic benefit? And how do we know that if a careful and genuinely open-minded comparison was performed in a $300K system between that power strip and a variety of $500 strips, that one of those relatively inexpensive strips would not provide sonic results that are comparable or even better? Regards, -- Al |
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IMO it's all relative to income or disposable income. If a working class guy makes say, $60,000 a year and has speakers that cost $5,000-$10,000 per pair, then a guy that makes 10 times that income can afford speakers costing $50,000-$100,000 dollars. it's the same amount of 'pain' so to speak. Lets not even go to the guys making millions a year. And the same applies to all other components, and income levels. And there are many, many people making mega bucks these days. So we have to put all this into context. The item in question is a nice looking piece, and as someone has pointed out, would blend in nicely in a high-end room. Probably does not 'sound' any different than my $16 dollar APC. But it's a nice piece. There are many people who would consider my $1,500 polks to be an obscence outrage. Members of my family included!! I tell everyone they cost $200. They seem to think they are 'big enough' in physical size to justify that amount. :) Peace. |
'It was about the value of this particular product, as well, as the value of other high priced audio toys.' Well only a buyer can answer that question. Unless you turn to science for the answer, and then the answer is obvious and known by all. We all splurge on something!! It's a personal choice. Logic, performance and value do not apply. If it did, we might all have BOSE table radios and Honda Civics. Cheers |
Phaelon, It's really pretty simple. Imagine a person with an annual income of $10,000,000.00, buying this power strip for $9K. Is it affordable to him? Of course, it is. Does the fact of such purchase changes the value of the above strip? No, it doesn't, it's still overvalued, relative to the content offered. That's the whole point- 8 outlets in a shiny marble box for $9,000.00 is overvalued no matter how you slice it, regardless of the affordability. |
10-31-12: Viridian Reminds me of Steve Martin in "The Jerk" https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7sELqobCIXU |
Maril555, There are two issues here. There are those who say, if people can afford these overpriced items it's up to them. Of course it is. But I agree with you -- for most people, many of these items are crazily overpriced with the cost reflecting only the greed factor of the manufacturer. Some of these high-priced products deliver superlative performance, granted. But others deliver hardly anything to write home about. So, we are talking about two things here -- high prices and bang for your audio buck. I have found that the price you pay is often not reflected in sonic value. For example, I have paid the most ridiculously low prices for Bybee items on the after market. They are far and away the best bang for the audio buck in my system. I have never been let down by a single Bybee product. On the other hand, I have had a lot of SR products in my system -- but with mixed results. I paid an outrageous price for an SR product that is guaranteed to send your system to the moon -- hoopla-ed to death on their site. What did I get for my money? I got the sound choked out of my system -- a very scary event for a product that is supposed to deliver an expanded sound stage and blacker backgrounds. In my system this SR product delivered only the black background -- with no sound at all coming from my speakers. It scared the hell out of me. The moral of the story? If you have deep pockets you can go for anything and everything out there without having to worry about value. But if you are an audio mortal you will have to be very careful with your hard-earned dollars to get the best value for your audio buck -- especially in our "new normal" economy. |
And how do we know that if a careful and genuinely open-minded comparison was performed in a $300K system between that power strip and a variety of $500 strips, that one of those relatively inexpensive strips would not provide sonic results that are comparable or even better? Al, of course, we don't know that, but it is also not very likely to be objective after spending that much money. Person who really believes that ultra expensive power strip should sound better will hear that. There is nothing wrong with improvement thru placebo effect as long as one can afford it. Please don't doubt or conduct blindfold tests since it might ruin perfectly good placebo effect improvement. Just let this person be (that's perhaps what my friends think, seeing my double runs of inch thick speaker cables) |
if I were building a cost-no-object rig from $300K+ I sure wouldn't use crap as a power bar. At RMAF, I think those power strips were in the room with the big 100k Lansche speakers. IMO, the sound was pretty uninspiring, not contending for one of the better rooms in the show. I wonder if they should have spent more on powerstrips? John |
