Auralic goes belly up

[treitz3]

Mike, I gotta hand it to ya'...

Anyone who has been in this hobby for some time and has owned tubed gear has seen the "magic smoke" at some point. I don't recall anyone EVER actually taking a pic of it while releasing said magic smoke. Kudos.

Sad what happened to Auralic. The Vega G2 was a pretty stout beast. Not the best, but no complaints when I had it.

Tom

 

[a.wayne]

I think what happened was that Mc ripped off the bandaid and terminated BestBuy who has literally hundreds of pieces of new and demo Mc gear in inventory.

Not to worry, there will be plenty of Mc gear to buy at rock bottom prices for months, if not years to come. The stock pile BB have is incredible.

Stay tuned….when this all comes out, there will be giant eyeballs popping. Heck, I may even grab a few pieces myself for pennies on the dollar. Four 1.25kws on my JBL’s?

Yes , but is that paid for inventory..?

 

[a.wayne]

I have never critically listened to any Mcintosh equipment, where would you place it in the high end hierarchy?

As good as any , some of the current stuff can be gimmicky , others are more than capable of good sound IMO…!

 

[Mike]

Yes , but is that paid for inventory..?

Yes! Just imagine the stock!

 

[a.wayne]

Wow …!

 

[nicoff]

High-end audio is facing a reckoning.

The traditional audiophile base is aging, and most have already bought their “last Cadillac.” Younger listeners aren’t chasing esoteric gear — they’re buying measurement-driven products from companies like Topping, SMSL, Benchmark, RME and a few others that deliver state-of-the-art performance at a fraction of the price.

Digital technology has closed the gap. Transparent DACs, amps, and streamers now cost hundreds, not tens of thousands. Once transparency is reached, the old narrative of “dramatic differences” collapses.

The market for boutique brands is shrinking fast. To survive, many will have to reposition themselves as luxury lifestyle goods — just as watchmakers did when quartz made mechanical precision irrelevant.

Many names will vanish. Others will be absorbed. The era of “absolute sound” in the high-end is giving way to an era of “absolute branding”