When someone tells you it's a $40,000 amp, does it sound better?

@dwmb Is that $264k each, or for the pair? I ask because he claims that his monos cost $500.000.

@jumia 

I don't agree because I haven't heard such an amp to make that judgement, and apparently, neither have you so it's all just talk. As another poster here said, those who would spend that kind of money will normally compare, and unless they're buying for looks (which is normally a part of the decision), the main criteria is usually performance.

This thread is way off the rails and now has become boring.

@jumia 

Apparently, you haven't been the thread closely. It has been explained many times that amplifiers (or anything) that is made from expensive parts and materials by skilled labor in very small quantities is costly. Those who make these items want to make a good profit from their efforts, as do the distributors and retailers.

No one is "misleading" anyone, and just because some can afford and want to buy these products does not make them "gullible".

I don't anything that can be supported in your comments.

@larryi 

I agree with you. Also, the question of "value" can only be answered by the buyer. If they place high value on the appearance of an amplifier whose casework adds 10k to its price, that is still good value for that buyer. There's no way to determine an absolute universal "value" for anything, although it is often spoken about reasonably in reviews on the correct assumption that the majority of readers looking for a new amplifier in the range of say, 3.5k to 5k will all have a similar take on what constitutes a good value. 

@unreceivedogma 

That's a good observation.

@ps 

I can't see any relation between those lyrics and what you were trying to say.

@jumia 

Not to be unkind, but I think that the factors that make such an amplifier cost what it does have been explained in detail multiple times within this thread. If you still don't understand, I doubt that you ever will.

@milpai 

Yes, Jay was very defensive, even though I asked members (not him), the question is a courteous way. I was interested to know how many here find his advice worth paying for. After all, this is a man who just got into audio a few years ago, and now considers himself to be an authority whose advice is worth paying for. Even if he had a background in electronics or music, his opinions would still be purely his opinions, which are worth no more than anyone else's.

Of course, he's being protective of his income stream, so he immediately got defensive and came off like the bully on the playground. If I was peddling that nonsense, I might do the same thing.

@cleeds 

No matter what level you subscribe to on his site, all you're really getting it to see this very expensive gear; you can't hear it in any real way because it is replayed over inexpensive computer speakers. So, it's like a type of voyeurism, with the addition of his opinion of this or that being "this year's model"; and of course, that always changes.

Plotz? What does that mean @mapman ?

Thanks @mapman 

I grew up in a Jewish community, so I knew some Yiddish words even though I wasn't Jewish, but I never heard that one.

"Dollar value is used as a proxy for sound quality in order to remove our differences in sonic preferences out of the equation."

I don't think that is true for the majority. I think that it is for a small number.