"In Defense of Sticker Shock," by Rogier van Bakel

[Ron Resnick]

This is a timely and very well-written piece explaining why high-end audio components seem so expensive, and why the pricing is understandable.

In Defense of Sticker Shock | Stereophile.com

There are faster ways to start an online fight, but not many. Say "$10,000 DAC" and watch audio-forum commenters descend like pigeons on a dropped hot dog, flapping and furious. They'll tell you the designers are crooks, the buyers are dupes, and anyone not DIY-ing with AliExpress kits is a poseur.

www.stereophile.com

 

[Al M.]

This is a timely and very well-written piece explaining why high-end audio components seem so expensive, and why the pricing is understandable.

In Defense of Sticker Shock | Stereophile.com

There are faster ways to start an online fight, but not many. Say "$10,000 DAC" and watch audio-forum commenters descend like pigeons on a dropped hot dog, flapping and furious. They'll tell you the designers are crooks, the buyers are dupes, and anyone not DIY-ing with AliExpress kits is a poseur.

www.stereophile.com

Good article.

True:

The right stereo can take you everywhere else—into memory, emotion, time.

It can take you to a performance. Forget for a moment that it doesn't sound as real as a live performance. It's still a musical performance unfolding in front of you.

When I hear a Haydn string quartet played by the legendary Amadeus Quartet on my system, it takes me to that performance, back in time.

I never get such a feeling on a car stereo. Yes, I hear the music and the performance, but I don't feel a performance happening in front of me.

 

[bonzo75]

Such a poor article. No depth either.

 

[Lee]

Excellent article.

 

[bonzo75]

The one thing in that article I can relate to, is audio is like mattresses. Nowadays there all sorts of mattresses available at various prices, and you really cannot audition them all, so they are just trying to create a FOMO that if don't pay up, you are not going to sleep well. And yes, as people get older they have more money and sleep lesser, so they think paying more will make them sleep like when they were babies again. Some of the memory foam stuff is just sham, there are reports you start sinking in over the long term.

Only part is subjective,.i.e. if you are side sleeper, back sleeper, or front sleeper your mattress choice could differ.

And finally, you would have to look at is a mattress plus the right mattress topper combination better than just investing in a mattress? This is no different to asking if the right combination of speaker plus he SET amp is better than just buying an expensive speaker.

Plus, the store salesmen will claim that the bed frame the mattress is on affects the audition, depends on if it is a slatted frame, etc, but I have found these tweaks don't change your mattress choice.

The real reason you are not sleeping well could be something totally unrelated like looking up the forum in the middle of the night and you could do with a reasonable priced mattress, not necessarily the most expensive

 

[Anton D]

Not too long ago, JA 1 wrote a column about the pricing of "high end" audio going past the 'price horizon' for most audiophiles.

This makes for a perfect companion piece to this newest editorial by Roger vB.

Conspicuous Consumption? | Stereophile.com

"At what price does a high-end product cease to exist for the 'normal' audiophile?" This question, which I asked in the February 2017 issue, was a follow-up to one I'd asked in our April 2011 issue: "If all someone is offered is a $150,000 pair of speakers . . . that person will walk away from...

www.stereophile.com

I dunno, Veblen vs. Value is impossible, we all walk our own tightrope!


Added: I've never understood the analogy to jewelry watches. We are more about performance while those products are not.

_

Added added: Stereophile seems to be heading in a new direction, which is fine. Calling a $20,000 piece of gear as "entry level," or separating audiophile aspirations to being "high end" or not, and this editorial seem to be signaling a bit of a shift in philosophy. Either approach is OK. It seems like some market research may have indicated they'd have better odds of survival by being more 'upmarket' and they are adjusting.

Who is the current industry leader in 'audio journalism? ' Stereophile? TAS? Other?