I meet people who have smoked cigarettes, cigars and used tobacco all their lives. Peer pressure and advertising got them hooked long ago. Now they have advanced cancer and lung disease. Some have tomatoe sized green tumors on their mouth. Was it worth it spending thousands of dollars on these enjoyable habits. I don’t think so. Were they tricked, duped and misled. Yep and someone got rich off of their decisions. Yes but it was their choice. In my opinion, a poor choice. BTW at this stage of their life someone has to take care of them. Just like a quadriplegic who rides a motorcycle everyday and has had an accident. Someone feeds them and wipes their butt everday.
They know we will pay anything they can think of
Anyone have any idea how long ago Hifi manufacturers discovered we (audiophiles) will pay almost anything chasing our perfect sound? I individualized it because each of us are reaching for our own personal nirvana. You can go to any audio show, see someone point to a piece of equipment and ask the price. Out comes a price you know the rep made up while sitting in his office wondering how much he can ask those sick people to pay. We know advertising, manufacturing, and overhead is relatively expensive but we also know that the asking price should take care of that if he sells maybe 4 or 5 of them all year. Knowing that I have paid quite a bit for equipment over the years that I knew I shouldn't have but did anyway.
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I really don’t get the premise of the OP’s scenario. Do you mean to suggest that you went to an audio show, and the Rep sized you up, and made up a price on the spot?? Well aren’t YOU special! What about their website and printed brochures that most likely already had the price settled before you arrived? As for complaining about prices.... it’s a free market... and the last time I checked I can buy an amp for $100, $500, $1200, $4000, $12,000.... should I keep going? Are they all worth the asking price? Some are, some aren’t. For some you are paying a premium just for good looks and build quality. Others are more basic bang-for-your-buck. It’s the same for any other component. I really don’t see the problem. If you normalize the cost of a Pioneer receiver from the ’70’s into today’s dollars, you’ll see that mid-fi audio is about the same price it’s always been. It’s just that the extreme high end has gotten a lot higher. |
Unfortunately its no different then whats happened in the used high end watch markets or on Bringatrailer.com where people continue to purchase at shockingly high prices, driving prices up. As the economy cools prices should - I hope- soften. I've noticed that the more expensive used gear here on Agon is now often seeing price cuts and or very long "for sale' periods, indicating reduced interest... |
@mirolab Actually it wasn't me who asked... I was sitting in a chair in the front row when another audiophile walked over and asked the price. I happened to overhear the conversation. As the price being on the brochure, whether it was or not.... it definitely wasn't worth the price. Does your company by any chance have a preamp priced at $22,000? I could be completely off but I have you sized up as a rep for an audio manufacturer which is a good thing.... Hearing all sides keeps us informed. |
...mmm... I think we could ask this question about any consumer good... car, house, watches,... if some of us have the means to pay for these dream toys, why not? I have no moral issue on this question... if people want to spend 100k or more, it’s their choice... when I was young, in the 1970s, a good system cost about 2k. In the 1980s it was 10k... and now there seems to be no limit... which is quite incredible when you think of it... the most expensive turntable was the Goldmund at 10k and the ARC SP-10 preamp cost the astronomical sum of 10k... peanuts compared to the price of certain components today... I’ll never be able to afford these expensive amps, preamps, DACs, speakers... like many of us, I read and dream... although I’m quite happy with my system which cost me less than 4K... as I say sometimes, I was never as thrilled by music as when I was playing those noisy 45s on my little pickup... what matters most — for me at least — is the music... 😎 |