The Audio High-End Has a Cadillac Problem

[TheOctopus]

Just like I don't see any discussions about $50 Million+ dollar yachts on this forum, it is no different for the youngsters and $100k speakers. We may as well talk about SpaceX rockets as they are just as unobtainable to the youngsters as they are to us.

 

[mep]

Too much doom and gloom. High End Audio has always been around in different forms and guises and so it will remain. The high end will adapt to changes in the market place and remain vibrant in spite of people predicting its demise.

 

[TheOctopus]

Too much doom and gloom. High End Audio has always been around in different forms and guises and so it will remain. The high end will adapt to changes in the market place and remain vibrant in spite of people predicting its demise.

It will evolve is all. Not overnight either. It has been evolving. Much more "value oriented" gear now than ever before and just as much "exotic stuff" We certainly didn't have a thousand speakers to choose from in the 80s.

In the mean time, I actually see much more of the pricey and exotic offerings. There has been quite a bit of wealth built up in the market over the last decade. The rich just keep getting richer... Gotta spend it somewhere. Let's hope the market doesn't implode.

 

[Bruce]

Bruce I was serious. That thing has to be a collector item now. Why was it behind the fridge? Power factor correction or did the beer taste better that way?

Oh Sorry I was not so serious --the damn thing I've discarded twice over that last 35 years--and moved house about the same number --and the little bugger always seems

to pop up again!:huh:

Honestly the Fridge--cannot recall why-maybe desperation to render it a life of total damp darkness--my bad

Cannot seem to sell it or give it away-so I guess its with me now till my demise:blush:

Excellent thread by the way--carry on chaps!

Bruce

 

[Mordante]

Not sure where $100k comes from ... the 2021 BMW M3 Competition starts at $72,800. More yes ... Not $100k by any means and BTW I upsized the house getting ready for retirement so I can have a room for everything I wanted!

That all said ... I sold hi end audio in Atlanta in the late 80's and early 90's and they were predicting the demise of Hi End Audio back then too. Didn't believe it then and don't now either. Will it change? Sure ... everything does but 30 years later I can still go audition and buy tube equipment, turntables and huge mega dollar speakers and I can still bring home tons of very expensive speaker cable that people will argue about endlessly just like they did way back then ... some of the brands are still there, others went away and many newer ones have emerged. It will continue ...

Cheers!

George

$73k for an M3 is extremely cheap. To be honest cars should be taxed more in the USA. Txed upon the amount of C02 they exhaust.

Where I live a basic M3 no options is $122k that sounds about right to me.

 

[Mr Peabody]

I read an article the other day talking about the reliability issues with Tesla, Porsche and some of the other high end EV's. If Cadillac put all their eggs n one basket and didn't do it right, it could be the end.

 

[puroagave]

Too much doom and gloom. High End Audio has always been around in different forms and guises and so it will remain. The high end will adapt to changes in the market place and remain vibrant in spite of people predicting its demise.

I deal with the glass half empty crowd all day long, it becomes a self fulfilling prophecy you can see it in their lives. I have this quote on my office dry erase board that I point out to the new guys: "Opportunity is missed by most people because it is dressed in overalls and looks like work" - Thomas Edison

 

[mep]

I deal with the glass half empty crowd all day long, it becomes a self fulfilling prophecy you can see it in their lives. I have this quote on my office dry erase board that I point out to the new guys: "Opportunity is missed by most people because it is dressed in overalls and looks like work" - Thomas Edison

I like that quote Rob.

 

[mep]

$73k for an M3 is extremely cheap. To be honest cars should be taxed more in the USA. Txed upon the amount of C02 they exhaust.

Where I live a basic M3 no options is $122k that sounds about right to me.

Carbon emissions and taxes are a political issue and shouldn’t be discussed on audio forums that don’t condone politics being discussed. Compounding this is having foreigners lecture Americans on how much tax they think Americans should pay for the vehicles we purchase.