Speaker Asylum

Hifi prices seem unrelated to currency fluxuations and inflation. Its a one way street - up, up, up.

100.35.67.208

Rick W

A

In Reply to: RE: Can someone explain why brittish Speaker prices rose posted by fin1bxn@msn.com on April 06, 2017 at 10:11:09

In 2005 according to prices listed in a Stereophile review EAR 834p phono stages ranged from $895-$1295. Needle Doctor now lists them from $1695-2595 despite the British Pound decreasing in value vs. the Dollar.
If ya just compensate for inflation the top priced 834p ($1295) in 2005 should cost $1615 today, so there is now an additional premium of about $900 added! There's lottsa examples of this in hifi pricing.
Funny how the hifi mags never mention it :-)

Edits: 04/06/17 04/06/17

Follow Ups:

RE: Hifi prices seem unrelated to currency fluxuations and inflation. Its a one way street - up, up, up. - PAR 00:59:51 04/08/17 (1)
Increases in hifi prices can be caused by many factors including greed on the part of distributors. However inflation is measured in a number of ways but usually by a government agency comparing what is known as a "basket of goods" with that of the previous year. The goods in that basket changes over time as they are chosen to reflect what most people are buying or otherwise spending (mortages etc). Hifi probably has never been in the basket or if it features at all is subsumed within a broad category like "electrical goods" or " home entertainment". So it can be misleading to apply a general inflation figure against a specific item or group of items if they are not generally consumed by the populace e.g. kobe beef, yachts, old master paintings, tube phono stages.

One reason that the top of the line 834P has gone up may be that the chrome fascia, which I believe is plated in Germany, has incurred an increase in price due to the reduced value of the pound v. euro meaning that Tim de P has to pay more for it. In additon the price of raw chromium has increased significantly this year which may work through to another increase.
- Ahh, the price of the NON-chrome mm unit has also gone up waaaay past inflation - from $895 to $1695. nt - Rick W 07:18:38 04/08/17 (0)
  nt
Conservative purchasing choices can lead to pricing abuse. - jusbe 06:45:15 04/07/17 (0)
That, and a lack of suitable, equally celebrated alternatives. I have seen people default to 'the usual choices' time and again, and pay through the nose as a result of not being robust enough in their decision making process.

Being part of a club has its costs.

Big J

"... only a very few individuals understand as yet that personal salvation is a contradiction in terms."

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