Is it possible for a high end manufacturer to overprice their goods?


Having just read the interesting and hyperbole laden review by RH of the new Rockport Orion speakers in the latest issue of The Absolute Sound, one thing struck me..

is it possible in the high end for a manufacturer to overprice their product ( doesn’t have to be a speaker, but this example comes to mind)? I ask this, as the Orion is priced at $133k! Yes,a price that would probably make 99% of hobbyists squirm. Yet, the speaker now joins a number of competitors that are in the $100k realm. 
To that, this particular speaker stands just 50.3” tall and is just 14.3” wide…with one 13” woofer, one 7” midrange and a 1.25” beryllium dome ( which these days is nothing special at all…and could potentially lead to the nasties of beryllium bite).

The question is…given this speakers design and parts, which may or may not be SOTA, is it possible that this is just another overpriced product that will not sell, or is it like others, correctly priced for its target market? Thoughts…

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It is possible for low end manufacturers to overprice their goods.  

People say audiophile gear prices are crazy and they might be right.  However, show me a (component) for cheaper that sounds as good in all categories,  

Unfortunately many times the price you have to pay is the price of admission for that kind of sound.  

I have been playing with audio equipment since I was 13 and now I am 50. I have worked in the industry on an off over the last 37 years. I was was a dealer of new and used equipment. In 2013 I purchased a huge collection of equipment that it took almost 4 years to sell. During the early part of Covid I started selling audio equipment again. I could own just about any kind of audio system I want. In Dec of 2019. I had a pair of Yamaha NS 1000m on L100 stands, a Bryston B60R and BDA 2, Bryston Moving Magnet phono amp, a Technics SL 10 linear tracking turntable with the factory moving coil cartridge rebuilt by the sound smith. The turntable has a built in mc step up transformer for the cartridge. A Simaudio Moon streamer. All of this wired with Mogami. I have owned some of the most exotic beautiful equipment you have ever seen and rarely does it sound as good as my cheap system. Much of the ultra high priced equipment rarely sounds all that great even with really well designed listening rooms. I still have the system that I have mentioned above. I do have a much more resolving system at my office. I have come to the conclusion that price has no correlation with sonic performance. There are many products that are well engineered, built well with great materials that perform at a very high level at a very reasonable cost and there is the pixie dust BS.

yes of course,, need profit 2000 percent minimum to survive for high end manufacture

For it to be really good it has to be expensive right?  

My current phono stage, a Schitt Mani, sounds great to me but it's so cheap that I keep thinking there must be something better because it's so cheap, but I'm not finding it.  If it were priced higher I probably would not be looking.  If I paid a grand for it I would make sure in my mind that it sounds great and wouldn't doubt it and I wouldn't be looking.  

I do not generally think that cost necessarily parallels performance in high end audio. I was recently at an old friends house listening to vinyl on a $1500 rig and it sounded great. There is a very real phenomena of luxury pricing designed to make people THNK it’s better when it’s not. That said the Rockport Orion is worth every penny. Joy and happiness achieved from music do not require anywhere near this investment. That is a different question.