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Critic's Corner Discuss a review. Provide constructive feedback. Talk to the industry. |
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Critic's Corner Discuss a review. Provide constructive feedback. Talk to the industry. |
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In Reply to: Art Dudley, thank you for "Skin Deep" ... posted by reelsmith. on August 3, 2012 at 13:00:42:
>> It's time to call bullshit on five-figure interconnects and four-figure isolation cones. It's time to call bullshit on $30,000,00 amplifiers that would be priced to sell for $10,000.00 tops, if not for their massive, jewelry-like casework. <<
Personally, I have to agree, at least overall. There are some things that make a significant difference in performance and have a high intrinsic cost. (Take a look at some of Mr. Dudley's beloved Lowther drivers for some examples.) So it is certainly possible to end up with something expensive but that is worth it and justifiable.
Everything we make is based on our parts and labor costs. The more expensive products use more expensive parts. Our top-of-the-line amps and preamp use chassis machined from solid billet. We deliberately made these as small as we could to minimize this aspect of the cost. While they undoubtedly sound better due to this solid construction (less vibration, separate compartments for audio, power supply, control circuitry, et cetera) it is probably on the marginal side when it comes to return for the money. But we reserve this type of thing for our top-line equipment. After all, if you can afford a $16,000 component you probably won't mind spending an extra thousand or two for a unique and beautiful cabinet that also improves the performance.
However, we never rely on this to sell our equipment. Quite the opposite. Even our lowest priced components incorporate new design features never before implemented by *any* manufacturer. Our aim is to build products that have an an intrinsic value, and most of it is hidden or invisible. (Eg, only stainless or aluminum chassis parts and fasteners so it will look just as good 50 years from now, even if you live near the salt air of the ocean, and of course sound quality is not something that can be discerned by looking at a piece of equipment, even the insides!)
The thing thing that makes me crazy is not a pair of speaker cables that cost more than a car, but that the cables cost more than a pair of our best amplifiers. After all, a car is mass produced by the hundreds of thousands, with robotic assembly lines and a distribution model that couldn't be further than what it found in high quality audio equipment.
But comparing a pair of speakers *can* be compared quite fairly to a pair of amplifiers. And there are at least a half-dozen brands of speaker cables that cost more than our top line amplifiers. These are just frickin' *wires* for Pete's sake!
I don't care how many 9's come after the decimal point denoting the metal's purity or how fancy the connectors are, or even if they have a "network box" that solves interface problems magically. They are NOT worth more than a pair of our best amplifiers.
Part of the problem must be laid at the feet of the consumer. A high-roller that spends $100,000 (or more!) on a pair of loudspeakers *wants* a pair of expensive speaker cables. If they think that the $20,000 pair sounds better than the $10,000 pair, they will buy them. The money doesn't matter to them. In fact, it becomes a way to show off how much money they have, like wearing a Rolex watch, or driving a Lamborghini.
This price madness occurs at ALL price points, not just the high ones. We make at least four or five products that would sell in *higher* quantities (as well as make us a lot more money) if we priced them higher. There are specific things we make that sell relatively poorly *because* they are low priced. People don't take them seriously. They think, "How can a $2500 thing-a-ma-bob sound as good as the ones I am looking at in the $5000 to $10,000 price range?"
All I can say is that listening with your wallet is a bad idea. You can save a lot of music for buying new music if you are a bit more discriminating with your purchasing dollars.
End of rant.
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Follow Ups
- One manufacturer's perspective - Charles Hansen 22:03:49 08/12/12 (1)
- RE: One manufacturer's perspective - josh358 17:31:09 08/13/12 (0)
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