I have a little personal anecdote that may be relevant to this discussion.
Over the summer, I was walking past a quality boutique "hi-end audio" shop and saw through the window a suspiciously familiar-looking pair of speakers in the showroom.
I walked inside and asked if I could audition them. They had an LP that I had in my own collection that I was very familiar with, I asked that they put it on the turntable and that we listen through some tube equipment.
After we listened to one track, I asked for the price of the speaker pair.
As there was no grill cloth over the driver, I could see the driver design. I asked if they were the Altec 604C. The salesperson looked a little taken aback, and so as to avoid the possibility of him stepping further into it I said "because they sure do look exactly like my pair of 604Cs. I see that the cabinet volume is the same as well, although the wood type used here seems different". Nothing exotic, mind you, just birch instead of maple, maybe? So I asked "Could you tell me what would justify this price point?" He muttered something about the crossover. I asked for specifics, he couldn't provide any, they were "proprietary". I told him that "the 604C was famous for its crappy crossover, but Mastering Labs fixed that. And Great Plains Audio makes a decent crossover for this driver today".
At this point we have attracted a small crowd, and I conclude. "Well, the proof is in the pudding. I listened to this pair and I am hard-pressed to hear a great difference in their sound compared to mine, but there is a huge difference in price. Whereas mine cost $3,300, your pair here cost $33,000. I could still find the parts on eBay today to build another pair for no more than $4,000 max.
At that point, I could see that I had worn out my welcome, I said thanks for his time and left, but not before several customers followed me to the door and asked for my contact info.
I feel very strongly that we need another Haffler building the 2016 version of Dynaco. Far to many so-called audio engineers are less interested in designing audio gear below the point of diminishing returns, and are instead chasing huge dollars in a market that is distorted by the gross income disparity found in society today. Why make quality audio that more people can afford when you can build $600K speakers for a class of people who just don't know any better?
Some here will complain that that most young people prefer to listen to earbuds and don't appreciate hi-end-audio, but it could be that not enough quality equipment at a price point that the plebeian masses can afford is being made that they could appreciate and compare to.
Regards,
unreceivedogma
