GreggD - "I just dont want W4S to be a victim of their hype. Its a great amp for $1500, but its still an amp for $1500."
I'm all for level-headed cost comparisons but isn't one of the advantages of W4S amp pricing that they dispense with a) retail distribution and b) expensive, attractive casings? So if you compare a W4S ST500 at $1500 with a unit like the AudioResearch 300.2 with a sale price of $4000, you need to discount the AR unit for the dealer mark-up and the attractive case, the prices are in the same ballpark (although I would guess the AR is still more expensive on an apples-to-apples basis, maybe by $500-750).
I'm all for level-headed cost comparisons but isn't one of the advantages of W4S amp pricing that they dispense with a) retail distribution and b) expensive, attractive casings? So if you compare a W4S ST500 at $1500 with a unit like the AudioResearch 300.2 with a sale price of $4000, you need to discount the AR unit for the dealer mark-up and the attractive case, the prices are in the same ballpark (although I would guess the AR is still more expensive on an apples-to-apples basis, maybe by $500-750).