Wall Street Journal: What Start Ups Can Learn From Audiophiles

[Andre Marc]

It is funny that how such an interesting article can have such sad, even discouraging interpretations and followups by audiophiles in an audiophile forum.

For me, the main idea of the article is about economics, and explaining that in every product the manufacturer should settle a price zone, and then add features to become competitive and show it clearly in the marketing message.

IMHO, the "negative" aspects being now presented in this thread are the statistical exceptions in the high-end game. Card boxes, crates, jewel like boxes? These are peanuts in our debates. But yes, sometimes I really appreciate peanuts!

I love peanuts! My tubes arrived safe and sound because of them!

 

[andromedaaudio]

Andre, andre rolls royce garbage ???? check out the interiour , i m sure it sits pretty nice while getting you from A to B

http://www.rolls-roycemotorcars.com/library/photography/ghost/

 

[Andre Marc]

Andre, andre rolls royce garbage check out the interiour , i m sure it sits pretty nice while getting you from A to B

http://www.rolls-roycemotorcars.com/library/photography/ghost/

I did not say it was not luxurious. Having known several Rolls owners, it is mechanically a piece of doo doo.

These people would take out their Rolls to make a "statement", but when they wanted to get somewhere with no hassles
they fired up their Benz.

 

[DaveyF]

Agree. How much should we charge? "As much as we can." If the market still pays, then that is the market price.

Caesar, I think LLoyd get's my point perfectly. Do you somehow disagree with this statement?

 

[microstrip]

Agree. How much should we charge? "As much as we can." If the market still pays, then that is the market price.

I will re-write. How much can we charge for Y? X. So we can afford to put features and quality in this Y product until it is still profitable if it is sold by X.

 

[LL21]

We have all seen it before...in every industry. Every once in a while, someone manages to sell something at a price so far in excess of any perceived cost, benefit, value...it seems to defy the industry, and all odds. but somehow it does. Unfortunately, in those cases, the market has spoken...the market has said that is the price of that product.

Now the market may have second thoughts...and re-sales of that same object may drop thru the floor..okay, that is the market speaking again. But in the first case above, if the market is paying the price...that is the market value [at that time].

That is why i focus on: what i like...after all...if i like it...that is truly all that matters...Same imho for anyone else in this great hobby of ours. Nevertheless, I admit to having been fortunate to come across products that at least for the last 10-20 years seemed to have demonstrated stabilized values the market has continued to support in value.

 

[Andre Marc]

We have all seen it before...in every industry. Every once in a while, someone manages to sell something at a price so far in excess of any perceived cost, benefit, value...it seems to defy the industry, and all odds. but somehow it does. Unfortunately, in those cases, the market has spoken...the market has said that is the price of that product.

Now the market may have second thoughts...and re-sales of that same object may drop thru the floor..okay, that is the market speaking again. But in the first case above, if the market is paying the price...that is the market value [at that time].

That is why i focus on: what i like...after all...if i like it...that is truly all that matters...Same imho for anyone else in this great hobby of ours. Nevertheless, I admit to having been fortunate to come across products that at least for the last 10-20 years seemed to have demonstrated stabilized values the market has continued to support in value.

As I said earlier in the thread, a good test for a product that is priced fairly and has universally acknowledged value/performance is if a product has withstood
the test of time.

My Thiel CS2.4 has been in continuous production for TEN years. My Bryston DAC has been in continuous production for FIVE years.

My Harbeth Compact 7ES3...continuous production for FIVE years. I could go on..

I find it very ironic that some of the most expensive components and speakers around are phased in and out very quickly.

How long did the Magico M5 hang around? Its almost like they want to get these products on the market
then move on to the next thing before any one has any time to figure out what is going on.

Of course there are exceptions.

 

[caesar]

We have all seen it before...in every industry. Every once in a while, someone manages to sell something at a price so far in excess of any perceived cost, benefit, value...it seems to defy the industry, and all odds. but somehow it does. Unfortunately, in those cases, the market has spoken...the market has said that is the price of that product.

Now the market may have second thoughts...and re-sales of that same object may drop thru the floor..okay, that is the market speaking again. But in the first case above, if the market is paying the price...that is the market value [at that time].

That is why i focus on: what i like...after all...if i like it...that is truly all that matters...Same imho for anyone else in this great hobby of ours. Nevertheless, I admit to having been fortunate to come across products that at least for the last 10-20 years seemed to have demonstrated stabilized values the market has continued to support in value.

Yes, good point. The market price is the summation of all the "what I likes" based on the information that is available to all at that particular time.

 

[caesar]

Caesar, I think LLoyd get's my point perfectly. Do you somehow disagree with this statement?

Yes, I agree with the point that people want to charge as much as they can. The statement is true in a theoretical sense. Whether you are growing medicinal marijuana in Northern California, coffee in Columbia, or manufacturing electronics in Asia, we all want to charge as much as we can. But some markets are much more dynamic in their ability to respond to demand than others, and adjust the price accordingly . If you ask $10K for a product but you hear a competitive product for $8K that is better on most criteria, and your dealer is in tune with the market, he can adjust the price accordingly.

But the reality is that in our hobby is that the manufacturer has deemed that a product is worth a certain price. Yes, you can get a discount from the dealer, but the product price is still usually not based on value, unless regular guys and the reviewers closely compare it and contrast it against the competitor crop and that information gets out in the audio universe.