What makes an expensive speaker expensive

Ive had 20 year old $2500 B&W 801's with new upgraded crossovers built by Solen sound better than a lot of $10k speakers that ive heard in dealers showrooms, Totem, Dynaudio, to name a few. My monet stayed in my pocket when I was shopping around for potential new speakers and to see whats out there.  Revel Ultima Salon were the only ones that sounded better at $20k  to my ears.

Ego?  yes, for some.  Most of my audio friends who can afford a speaker over 30k let's say, do it because they fall in love with the sound.  They can afford them without even noticing the debit in their accounts.  Audiophiles are of two groups usually.  One group collects gear.....some collect as much as they can and they keep sites like this going.  Others love their gear, but love the music more.  That's one of the few statements any of can make in audio that isn't really subjective.  Just ask any dealer who's been around for over 30 years and they'll say the same thing.

As for 'what's in the box', we have discussed that at length in this thread.  Too many avenues to discuss about that from scale of economy to R&D to cabinet build/finish to quality of the components in there to most importantly drivers and their implementation.  

Derrick, I do disagree with you about being able to listen at a show and then make any real subjective thoughts.  Show conditions usually stink at best.  The rooms alone are usually terrible, then you have so many in a room.  Any speaker will only sound it's best in the sweet spot and it's nearly impossible to sit in that sweet spot. I don't think many will argue with that, but many who love the shows still will say I'm wrong.  To each their own. 

Many of us have been fortunate to go listen at friends houses as well as top dealers, to many of the speakers in the market over 50k up to 250k.  The other major part of the equation is the system as a whole.  Some speakers must have specific amps to sound their best as well as cable etc...  I loved a Tidal system I listened to that probably cost north of 400k when it was all said and done.  Man did it sound awesome.  It really did, but it didn't sound better to me than a system I love that costs less than half of that.  Even half is still 200k.  For some they laugh at this thread or get upset that folks even question why they'd pay so much for audio.  Why do they own an Bugatti or other esoteric auto? Why does their house cost so much?  Why do they......its' because they can and because they can, it allows smaller companies to make a nice profit and filter down the tech to speakers in the lower price ranges that most of us play in.  I thank the manufacturers and the fellow audiophiles for helping us all out.  In the end, we are all winners.  How cool is that?  

I totally agree with you on the audio show set ups. The best scenario would be in your home listening to any high cost speaker. Audio shows are a great way for the masses to hear, (although crappy room set up as you stated) and see the high end products. Synergy ( equipment and room ) is the key to getting the most out of your speakers and system. I think the point is the sound perceived per dollar spent on speakers. As you stated the sound of the speaker in your example did not sound any better than the sound of the half priced speaker. We all have systems based on our means and wants. Should I inherit $50 million dollars, you bet Id be auditioning the high performance speakers out there, still that $200k speaker may not sound any better than a $100k speaker, my new found wealthy Ego allows me to try it thus fueling the demand for manufacturers to create such things of beauty. Cheers my friend.

About listening at shows.... one tip that I go by now is I go through the hallways first. If the music sounds good outside, then and only then do I bother to go in.

It sounds really weird, but this was a tip I had learned before, and was confirmed by an acoustician from ASC at one show.  If a room is well treated, it's going to sound good inside and out.  You can tell outside the room how well a room is going to sound. 

Of course, if you are on the "never acoustical treatment" camp this tip won't work for you and you don't care about what I was listening to in the first place, but for those on the other team, I suggest nest time you go to a show, pay attention and see what you think.

One thing I also realized is that there are a lot of audiophiles who are perfectly happy to listen past the rooms, while I'm usually not.  There are usually only a handful of rooms I can even tolerate to be in.  So, depending on your listening style this tip may help you. 

Best,


Erik