6 Price-Shock Reviews

[j.phelan]

Ones that went WAY beyond anything, at the time. Includes the year of release.

1992 -Madrigal-Levinson No.30 DAC $15,000

1994 -Wilson X-1 speaker $65,000

1997 -Boulder power amp $59,000

1999 -Rockport turntable $73,000

2003 -Boulder phono stage $29,000

2005 -Tara 'Zero' interconnect $15,000

 

[esldude]

The ones that went beyond anything, at their time. Includes the year of release.

-1992 Madrigal-Levinson No. 30 DAC -$15,000 / (Ed Meitner) IDAT -$14,000

-1994 Wilson X-1 speaker -$65,000

-1997 Boulder power amp -$60,000

-1999 Rockport turntable -$73,000

-2003 Boulder phono stage -$30,000

-2005 Tara 'Zero' interconnect -$15,000

Yes, I agree other than the Wilson. The Wilson WAMM had been around several years and cost twice as much as the X-1/Grand Slam. I might substitute the Wilson WATT. For such a small speaker without bass at the time it was on the verge of shockingly priced.

 

[j.phelan]

But was the WAMM reviewed ?

 

[FrantzM]

We have "progressed" it seems.. Nowadays a $500K speaker elicit a big yawn from most ... $100 K +amps are commonplace ... Arms are routinely above $50K ...

 

[esldude]

But was the WAMM reviewed ?

Yes, I even have somewhere an Audio magazine review of it. They were looking at SOTA speakers. As I recall they reviewed 3 speakers. The WAMM, the big Infinity IRS V at the time and one I can't remember.

 

[JackD201]

Wasn't the Levinson HQD system priced at $30,000 in 1972? Dang, I was in diapers.

Using the handy dandy inflation calculator http://data.bls.gov/cgi-bin/cpicalc.pl?cost1=65,000.00&year1=1994&year2=2015

The HQD trumps the X1 by over 60k.

 

[Ronm1]

Wasn't the Levinson HQD system priced at $30,000 in 1972? Dang, I was in diapers.

Twas just getting my feet wet with duty free Navy gear. Those #'s made me laugh then and they still do.

 

[LL21]

But was the WAMM reviewed ?

Yes, I even have somewhere an Audio magazine review of it. They were looking at SOTA speakers. As I recall they reviewed 3 speakers. The WAMM, the big Infinity IRS V at the time and one I can't remember.

here you go! Enjoy...from 1983! for the sum of $35K...

http://www.stereophile.com/content/wilson-audio-modular-monitor-wamm-loudpeaker-system

 

[j.phelan]

Good find. Problem is hardly *anyone* thought it was a real product, that could fit in a house.

Remember -homes grew in size since the early 80s. And now, with 'great rooms', etc., it's a more conceivable fit.

Then, it didn't usher in an era of extreme prices. Look at the April 1994 'recommended' list (Stereophile, 11 years after WAMM) and you'll see the most expensive systems were around 20K.

 

[LL21]

It is interesting...even today, people struggle to fit the IRS Vs. I have a good friend who owns them, and having had the pleasure of visiting his room, all i can say is they are HUGE. Magnificent! But, alas, huge and too huge for many of us (incl me).

I almost feel (in comparison) the WAMMs might be slightly more room friendly in terms of their actual footprint. The IRS Vs are 4 feet long and over 7 feet tall...that's just the panels. Then there are the woofer towers, and the ancillary electronics.