WATT Puppy 6's are being discontinued...

I own the current Jaguars, plan on selling them to upgrade to these. I bet they'll more than give the Watt/Puppies a run for the money. They have the advantage of built-in amplification and EQ for the woofers. That to me is a practical advantage in most rooms/systems. By selling direct the price is drastically reduced and we get 30 in home to make sure they trip our trigger.

http://www.audioc.com/speakers/JagLE/intro.htm

I am probably a little messed up, I know. I was just reading an article over on VMPS audio's webpage called "money in the high end" and they were discussing how some manufacturer's decision about whether or not to sell a speaker for $60,000 or $100,000 is just a matter of "arbitrary" choice, whatever mood the designer is in. Sometimes they just decide $100k looks nicer and commands more respect and the price tag of the speaker becomes a selling point too: so they sell the speaker for more. I'm not emotional about it, but its just like aaaah what's 40k difference.

At first glance it is easy to agree with Ezmaralda, but I agree with Jfrech. Most high end is a 60% business. So a $20,000 pair of speakers is $12,000 to the dealer. The dealer will discount them and has to cover his expenses so not a great deal is made on that end.

To make any money, the manufacturer has to be able to get the speaker out the door for way under half of what he sells to the dealer. The cost of raw materials is a small portion of the manufacturer's total expense. Raw materials, research and development, real estate, test equipment, tools for assembly, salaries, taxes, warranty repairs, shipping, marketing and advertising, sales reps, and other costs. Then you hope to make enough profit to afford a decent standard of living. I applaud any manufacturer of high end equipment who can survive in this enviroment. I don't see how anyone can build speakers to Wilson's high standards and sell them for any less.

IMO it's not so much the parts as the sum of the parts. The tolerances, the cabinet materials, the finish, etc. If you can do better, please do, I'll buy em...but I want great speakers plus the resalability.

I heard the Sophia was a little too good compared to the w/p 6. It won't be long before the w/p is up to $30k though. They used to be $10k way back on the first series. The pricing just kind of annoys me. Even if I had the money I don't know if I'd pay full price for'em. There's just not enough in parts knowing what the raw drivers cost to justify 'em. And if I was dying to spend that much money: I could buy even better drivers and build something better.

Ericbee, beat you to the punch by a few posts :) ! You answered my question though...looks like upgrades are out of the question. I have 6's...awesome speaker...good luck getting a pair at a great price!

John