2. speakers
  3. 168846-435

Magico A3 price increases 50%+

I have been doing a bit of research in my search for a new Loudspeaker upgrade .
since 2018 The Magico A-3 has gone up from $10k to $15k in 3 years That is dramatic .
and that doesnot even include the better feet they are a $1500 option . They are a good speaker but no longer the great deal they once were , and their Xover uses the low cost Average at best ,
Mundorf Evo capacitors, when they should have at least Mundorf Supreme , and Mundorfs cheapest $2 
Green resistors, the M-resist are only $13 retail  they get over $50% off them in a $15 k speaker going cheap? Having done Xover mods for years . If I find a good used pair ,I will use the Excellent VH audio Odam capacitors , and superb Path audio resistors which are noticeably better then even in their best speakers ,which use Mundorf supreme silver gold oil capacitors  which I have used several times  in the past.


128x128audioman58
danvignau's avatar
danvignau
935 posts
 
     The Veblen effect is also called the OREO effect, because when the inventor of this cookie, Hydrox saw the efect on sales, the price was lowered.  To counter, OREO raised its price to make Hydrox seem less valuable.    Hydrox has no animal fat.  OREO uses lard and other animal fat, but because it costs more, People see OREO as better.     Many psychology experiments confirm this bias.  Jewelry pricing is the epitome of the use of this bias.
     Maybe the speakers will not actually sound better, but people will think they do. After all, how can a $10,000 speaker possibly sound as good as a $15,000 one?
stereo5's avatar
stereo5
6,266 posts
 
@danvignau 


Oreo's taste MUCH better than Sunshine Hydrox.  My mother bought Hydrox because they were cheaper and they tasted like it.
danvignau's avatar
danvignau
935 posts
 
stereo5  We are all brought up to love the taste of animal fat, precisely because of conditioning.  Yes, a part of this conditioning is our fatty diet, but many studies show that pricing affects the perception of quality, even when the items are reversed as a control.  Whether you prefer OREO or HYDROX, the company intentionally priced OREO to foment that perception.  You might not like OREO if it were the one that cost more. I felt cheated when my Mom bough HYDROX.  This feeling had to affect my perception.
millercarbon's avatar
millercarbon
12,531 posts
 
Right. A billion years of evolution means nothing. Oreo cookie "bias", that's the ticket. World's biggest eye-roll.
steve59's avatar
steve59
1,651 posts
 
I was reading an old review about the dsp8000’s where JA asked Bob Steuart why they didn’t make the speaker time coherent and his reply was this xover topology was the one that sounded best. Could it be that simple with the A3?
More to discover