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In Reply to: RE: According to a local dealer, manufacturers must all be geniuses posted by jhrlrd on July 19, 2016 at 10:19:57
The cynic in me would say that the dealer took his cue from reading too many magazine reviews and their price-proportional rankings.
I wouldn't say that a lot of components are miss-priced. They are priced at what the market will bear for a particular (loosely defined) segment.
So of course that shiny new $10,000 DAC with the thick front panel wrapped in the latest marketing spin must sound better than the $900 unit built in a folded sheet metal enclosure. It just has too!
Follow Ups:
The $10K DAC "probably" does sound better, but what kills me is the
$1300 one sounds better than the $1200 which sounds better than the $1100 one.
But does the $15,000 DAC sound better than the $12,000 one?I wouldn't know 'cuz I don't have that kind of coin to throw at audio gear. It's all relative though. My pain point begins around $2K - $5K depending on the piece I'm buying so that's the 'segment' I live in.
And guess what? The $1200 MSRP DAC that I presently use sounds significantly better to me than the $5000 unit I had a year ago. Go figure. ;-)
Edits: 07/19/16
Ya, me too, $2K to $5k, but I have nothing against the $100 cable or the $15,000 DAC, they both have their place.
But what we'll never know is if the "$100" cable is priced $2495 just because a big name is on it.
But what we'll never know is if the "$100" cable is priced $2495 just because a big name is on it.
Really? Never?
well Geoff, I guess we could know, if compared, the $100 and $2400 sound identical, the the $2400 really is only a $100 cable. Or maybe the $100 cable is really worth $2400! That's what I mean by "never know"And I'm on board with not wasting the dealers time if I'm gonna buy it online. Do your research and take a chance.
Not saying I know everything, but I do know everything can't be priced absolutely in order of there SQ. And HE should know better than I which ones are over priced. He can't stay in business if he tells me. If he has any salt, he would just quietly drop the brand. Unless there's a big demand for the name of course, regardless of sound.
I want a Nagra, don't care how it sounds...
Edits: 07/19/16
Several forces at work here.
Sure, TODAYS product might or maybe even SHOULD sound better than the same 'thing' from 2, 3 or even 5 years ago. Don't doubt for a second the subtle and NOT so subtle progress being made.
The 2nd factor is the 'more expensvie MUST be better' line of thought. If my thought, above, is correct, no reason at ALL for a 1000$ DAC today to not outperform the same price point from a few years back AND probably even 2x or 3x that price. From a few years ago.
You can make your OWN allowances for the fact of Inflation. Figure maybe 20% since 2006. That 1000 DAC in 2006 is about 1200$ in TODAYs money.
Too much is never enough
No all manufacturers are geniuses but I'd say you have met a genius dealer indeed! This guy has all of this figured out for the better sounding rig!
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.Thou shall not stand where I type for I carry a bottle of Certified Audiophile Air and a Pure Silver Whip.
Just struck me...wouldn't it be cool if a dealer auditioned all his equipment in the various combos, then DID price them accordingly, with MSRP only as a guideline. He'd make less on some, more on others, but at least the buyer could say that $500 upsale was worth it!
I have nothing against dealers (most of them anyway!). Many are in the business because they enjoy the hobby as much as we do and it affords them the opportunity to play with lots of gear and make a living at it too.I do have a problem with walking into a dealer's store, playing around with his stuff, then buying it online at a better price or used off Audiogon. If I visit a dealer and like what he shows me, I'll buy it from him. I won't shop it around for best price.
On the other hand, I do have a problem with dealers who have aggressive idiot sales people. I walked into one store many years ago and the snotty nosed kid with his wrinkled white dress shirt and crooked tie walks up and says, "so how much are we spending today"? What an ass.
Even though this dealer carried the brand and specific model I was interested in, I DID shop that one around because they were the only so-called "authorized dealer" for this brand in my area.... and the sales person was an ass!
Edits: 07/19/16 07/19/16
Good story Abe.
Reason number 768 why good dealers are worth their weight in gold.
bigshow
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