still-one
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Since $250k is more than any of us here has admitted we are willing to pay for any amplifier we could use our savings to purchase this Reinast Luxury Toothbrush for $4k. I wonder what's inside?
D'Agostino Helius Monoblock Amplifiers
- Thread starter Adrian Low
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Myles B. Astor
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Since $250k is more than any of us here has admitted we are willing to pay for any amplifier we could use our savings to purchase this Reinast Luxury Toothbrush for $4k. I wonder what's inside?
You know Jim there's more people than not who would say that your gear is ridiculously priced and a rip off. Especially those Opus cables.
lol!!!!
this is a funny subject, i was recently listening to a $75k pair of speakers which to me is 2 times the money i would need to put together a good enough sounding system for me to live with forever, but when i was listening to them playing with $200k monoblocks (kaguras), the speakers didnt seem like as much money anymore. lol.
the price is going up and up in this industry. i remember when dynaudio came out with the evidence, all the reviews started out "if your internet company just went public and you are looking for speakers" . now $85k speakers are almost mainstream.
but i still love to go hear all this stuff, i neither would nor could buy. its all in good fun, and is always entertaining. and the look on your non audiophile friends face when you told him he was just listening to a $200k pair of amps is priceless.lol.
still-one
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Myles, I do not disagree with those sentiments. I think that the MSRP is unjustifiable. My mistake was trying them in my system. I didn't want to buy them but they were not coming out. I have had many animated discussions with my dealer over current pricing models.
What bothers me is that new brands think they have earned the right to enter the market at these high prices without a track record or distribution network. The market is getting saturated.
Myles B. Astor
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Certainly that's a point of contention. OTOH, if you have the money and can buy a yacht--and perhaps more of his amplifiers will be sold in Asia and Russia--what different does it make? That's his and other company's market.
Again certainly arguable and perhaps a topic for another thread. But what better way for a company to get attention?
I wonder what bothers people the most the price at 250,000
The steady rise in price
The cost of parts to what it sells for
The free market being seen as out of control
The Russian and Asia Market out spending the North American Market
The how good can it be anyway thoughts
Or the fact that it is selling
Or that most of us do not have 250 grand for what is only one part of a system
Just wondering
The steady rise in price
The cost of parts to what it sells for
The free market being seen as out of control
The Russian and Asia Market out spending the North American Market
The how good can it be anyway thoughts
Or the fact that it is selling
Or that most of us do not have 250 grand for what is only one part of a system
Just wondering
None of the above. Doesn't bother me at all. Neither does a million dollar bugatti veyron.
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Good thought it does not matter if you can not have it that is just the way it is.
"The steady rise in price" in the industry overall could see affordability levels fall especially against a rising $USD. Whether or not that would impart on those demand levels partly depends on whether new product offerings enter markets to fill in voids at lower price points, that do offer compelling price/performance ratios. Problem with what I see with new price level benchmarks is that total value proposition is lowered, in other words you get less performance and quality for the dollar spent.
Progressively in a digital world, HiFi technology is embracing more advanced electronics than ever before. So you would think that the principles of Moore's Law would equally apply and that high priced electronics would also be subjected to high depreciation factors. So I suppose unless it is unique, exclusive, collectible with a long useful life engineered into it, it is going to struggle with much of tomorrow's competition and depreciate rapidly as Moore anticipates with quality-adjusted processor pricing.
I think for example McIntosh has faired well historically with their core product lines. A value proposition driven consistently by:
1. Technical and aesthetic formula.
2. Quality Construction and Craftsmanship.
3. Long brand gestation in the market place.
4. Long refresh lifecycles. If it's a winner, why change it.
5. Traditional Resale/bluebook values.
These factors helped me to choose the brand over others. Certainly, there are better performing brands that I salivate over, but it got down to the overall value proposition for me.
Not knocking D'Ag. He is building his own brand reputation. If he can pre-sell 30 sets for $250K each, in advance of even launching physical product to market, then he must be a talented engineer but an even better business man.
mep
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Excellent point Myles. It just goes to show that being outraged at pricing is all relative. It reminds me of a cartoon I once saw in a mag I won't mention.
KeithR
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Why don't you share with us if you know. Dan's not on this forum.
mep
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In the grand scheme of things, whats it matter? Would you buy the amps if you liked the explanation? If the answer is no, why does Dan or anyone else owe you an explanation on how he prices his products for the market? Explaining yourself to people who never intend on being your customer makes little sense to me. If I'm in the market to buy a new VW Jetta because that is all I can afford or that's all the car I'm willing to pay for, do I really have any business asking Ferrari to explain how they arrived at their retail price for their 2014 Ferrari F12berlinetta?
?
Myles B. Astor
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You know I wish I could afford some of this gear too. Not to mention like some of our Asian audio buddies who have three systems. But I'm not bitter or jealous-two traits that always seem to rear their ugly head in these discussions. Hey if someone works hard and legitimately earns their money, all the more power to them!
KeithR
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Thanks for making my point, Jim- we're at that place in audio, just few will come out and say it. There really isn't that much "inside." The circuits aren't changing much. Parts quality has been the larger improvement (caps, etc) in the past 10 years. But the death spiral up in prices continues. When does it end?
And I agree with you that newer competitors are primarily focusing at the uber-high end now.
KeithR
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mep
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But you weren't going to be a customer when the price was 40% lower were you?
KeithR
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mep
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If you were ready to purchase these amps when the price was 40% lower, you would have a case for righteous indignation because you missed your chance to snap them up at a bargain price before the price went up and you probably would have had a rant about that. I don't remember reading that anywhere. As for your ability to purchase high-priced gear, I wouldn't have a clue. Usually people who complain about high prices at the edge of the art gear can't afford it. I know, I have bitched in the past about the price of some gear that I would like to own but know I can't afford. I try and not do that anymore. So, were you seriously contemplating buying the amps when the price was 40% less?
As I said before, the pricing of high-end gear is all relative. If you have the money to play at the top levels of this hobby, the pricing doesn't really matter. If you have to take out a second mortgage on your home or cash in your retirement account and jeopardize your future and end up in a nursing home with a 300lb woman who makes minimum wage beating the snot out of you because you crapped your diapers twice on her shift, you might want to rethink your position in the audio market. I know where I stand in the audio pecking order, and it's not buying a pair of amps that sell for $250k. That's out of my league for sure.