Really very good Marc, there was an ease and flow to the music from this TT, genuinely a very engaging but relaxing experience which made this room a regular visit throughout the 4 days.
Munich show 2023 Hifideluxe and MOC .
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I stated yesterday after the show , i more or less had it with the industry
If i wanna spend a lot of money on high tech performance / machined parts and carbon i ll go for a McLaren 720 s anytime
I thought exactly the same - very odd decision, and makes me think significantly less of a brand I previously held in pretty high regard. What they did demo on Sunday was set up so badly there was no way you could infer anything from it.
The prices are a joke, and the way they are rising has nothing to do with inflation or quality. At Munich, it is like a peep show where people get their kinks wandering into high priced rooms, as it creates the curiosity to understand what the hell can this system do at such a price. The low priced ones get ignored. Just see how many 100k dacs, 100K+ TTs, 15k carts, etc have mushroomed, many with crazy retip prices. Unfortunately each audiophile wants to make a personal statement, and feel "included"
A fair no. of people on this forum seem to think price leads to quality, so it is easier to get sales hiking up prices. I really think audiophiles should discourage this because it is not coming at any investment into progress into sonics. Just fancy materials that do nothing for musical sonics. The only way to change this practice is if people discourage it, then in order to get sales the manufacturers will really need to do some work in understanding what makes good sonics, and spend time on that factor, instead of just putting up a sticker. And/Or the right manufacturers might get more credit than the wrong ones
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Don't forget that this is the most important high-end show in Europe where many of the manufacturers wants to show the very best that they have to offer.
On the ultra high end level we're looking at extreme efforts and very limited volumes which will ultimately come at a very high price. There's no way around that.
All this being said, there are certainly brands that don't quality who puts a too high of a price tag on their offerings for sure.
There are many more affordable brands and products on the show as well though of course. Audio Solutions, Apertura, PMC, Odeon and many more.
/ Marcus. www.perfect-sense.se
Magazines/ reviewers do most of the filtering as to what is considered good standard .
May be Absolute sound Stereophile etc should hire experienced musicians and let them decide whats " good " for consumers.
Somebody with at least a recognized qualification
May be Absolute sound Stereophile etc should hire experienced musicians and let them decide whats " good " for consumers.
Somebody with at least a recognized qualification
Definitely a ring of truth but I don't buy into this entirely. It seems to me a view from the point of view of the audiophile not necessarily the target audience for highend
All the manufacturers are businesses, most are looking to make a living from their business. The consistent theme I heard over the weekend from the trade was that there's some business at the entry level, very little demand in the mid-price and fairly solid demand at the highend.
If I'm a small manufacturer what would I do, go after the entry level mass market? No thanks, that's best left to those that can scale. Mid-price? Trying to sell to educated audiophiles who value price over service, you're biggest competitor is the secondhand market. Tough.
Then the really high-end. If you've a great idea it's much easier to implement (if you've the capital) in a cost no object exercise where a handful of sales might sustain the business for a year.
Munich Highend really does go to show that there are plenty of customers out there for product that pushes the boundary. The average price of a speaker may have gone up recently due to inflationary pressure but the transition from $25k as a top end speaker 10 years ago to more like $100k + is a reflection of demand as far as I can see.
I'd contend that from a material standpoint the new top end does by and large offer more than it did and is priced accordingly. Whether that translates into a desirable product for the audiophile is in the eye of the beholder.
Enjoyed the show, will share some thoughts and images shortly
The “small” Cessaro I think is just over 30K Euro, and you can add a subwoofer for just over 8K
Add the new integrated triodefet from Aries Cerat at ~22K:
And you do have a somewhat reasonably priced “true high-end” system, IMHO.
Yes but if they have to make a living they have to produce something worthwhile, not just charge a sticker. That was my point. If the job market is tough, and you charge a million for arranging appointments that one can at a receptionist's salary, no one is going to hire you. You have to justify your job and price ask. The fact that you have to earn a living is not an answer. The high prices at the moment in 99% of the cases are doing nothing, they are just stickers. What you are actually proposing is charity, we should feed the high prices because the industry is tough. If you are going to be so kind I will try to make up something soon that may not sound great, might break, but will have a high price.
Thank you for your kind words. Even though I have not put my brand logo not to intrude with Rockport and Absolare I still got a lot of attention internationally. I will be providing two more rooms with my products soon, and one is a fellow wbf'er. There was distributor/dealer interest which is also good.
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If i was a very busy rich guy with no time to actually listen i would want at least something ( loudspeaker / amp ) that looks good.
Great for show off parties
Great for show off parties
I can't agree with you more.
While I was a student, I convinced my girlfriend to buy an affordable NAD&Mission-based audio system.
She then gradually became a genuine music-lover.
if you are talking about D'Agostino, I am with you. It is exactly the opposite of what I want in my system.
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