Joe Roberts
Agent Provocateur
Mr Pig,
My point is that the industry largely works on generalizations. I think they call it market research.
And like soundmotor says they usually look within the prevailing ecosystem for the answers, which leads to a self-perpetuating spiral into mindless "aspirational" design. There has always been an uneasy relationship between decor and sound and this is how it is addressed by the manufacturers, erring on the side of insipid stylized modern design to my eye.
The actual population of audio lovers is far more diverse and the US is only a small part of it and not the major market for fancy hifi by any means, not any more. The culture is different in Europe and very different again in Asia.
I think it is safe to say that somebody who will buy $100k speakers is rich. Maybe not super rich but rich enough for the purposes of this discussion..
Selling a $100k speaker in the US is rare but in Korea it happens all of the time. Maybe even more common in Shanghai. Some of these buyers are dedicated audio nuts but many just want a fancy sound system, and as soundmotor notes, their "home designers" often do the buying for them.
Indeed the most expensive gear is easier to sell, because the people who buy it, rich guys, always have money to blow. When the economy gets bad in Japan or Korea, the middle of the market drops out and only cheap gear and really expensive gear sells.
Distributors usually don't even want to mess with $5000 items because there isn't enough in it, after paying shipping, duty, and moving it to a retailer. i know a few major Korean distributors. They call a $20000 unit, a cheap model. They look at their take, not the retail price.
I suppose one thing that is missed in the US audio discussion is that the mainstream high end market is not focused on the average middle income audiophile. They are fishing for the whales wherever on the globe they are to be found. it is a luxury trade not unlike Swiss watches. Expensive gear sells, in part, because it is expensive. A person that wants a $75000 preamp will not buy a $20000 or $2000 preamp regardless of how good it sounds.
It's weird, but that's the way it is on the world high end audio scene, for the big name international players especially. "Average" audiophiles are not preeminent in the game they are playing.
I'd be totally into trashpicking myself, if I could find what I want. Around here, a rather rich neighborhood generally, all there is at curbside is Ikea furniture from the transient student population. I guess they are recycling all the old Audio Note amps and Altec theater gear they don't want anymore.
My point is that the industry largely works on generalizations. I think they call it market research.
And like soundmotor says they usually look within the prevailing ecosystem for the answers, which leads to a self-perpetuating spiral into mindless "aspirational" design. There has always been an uneasy relationship between decor and sound and this is how it is addressed by the manufacturers, erring on the side of insipid stylized modern design to my eye.
The actual population of audio lovers is far more diverse and the US is only a small part of it and not the major market for fancy hifi by any means, not any more. The culture is different in Europe and very different again in Asia.
I think it is safe to say that somebody who will buy $100k speakers is rich. Maybe not super rich but rich enough for the purposes of this discussion..
Selling a $100k speaker in the US is rare but in Korea it happens all of the time. Maybe even more common in Shanghai. Some of these buyers are dedicated audio nuts but many just want a fancy sound system, and as soundmotor notes, their "home designers" often do the buying for them.
Indeed the most expensive gear is easier to sell, because the people who buy it, rich guys, always have money to blow. When the economy gets bad in Japan or Korea, the middle of the market drops out and only cheap gear and really expensive gear sells.
Distributors usually don't even want to mess with $5000 items because there isn't enough in it, after paying shipping, duty, and moving it to a retailer. i know a few major Korean distributors. They call a $20000 unit, a cheap model. They look at their take, not the retail price.
I suppose one thing that is missed in the US audio discussion is that the mainstream high end market is not focused on the average middle income audiophile. They are fishing for the whales wherever on the globe they are to be found. it is a luxury trade not unlike Swiss watches. Expensive gear sells, in part, because it is expensive. A person that wants a $75000 preamp will not buy a $20000 or $2000 preamp regardless of how good it sounds.
It's weird, but that's the way it is on the world high end audio scene, for the big name international players especially. "Average" audiophiles are not preeminent in the game they are playing.
I'd be totally into trashpicking myself, if I could find what I want. Around here, a rather rich neighborhood generally, all there is at curbside is Ikea furniture from the transient student population. I guess they are recycling all the old Audio Note amps and Altec theater gear they don't want anymore.