Want to throw in my final 2 cents worth here. It's a long one : but I think it's worth it. At least I would have wanted to know this years back.
CES 2017 : attended it, but it will probably be my last. I'd been going to it honestly because it had been dwindling to the point where I could actually get high quality time at the high end exhibitors left - meaning there were so few people I could actually demo - sometimes solo - the gear and get a good idea of what stuff sounds like. Heck sometimes the exhibitors would actually offer me some water - and if I was really lucky - a drink! This allowed me not only to know about new products coming in lines we carried - and ideas for system symmetry - but also a good idea of competitors products and their advantages / disadvantages to be informed both for my sake and that of customers.
With the high end audio exhibitor list now dropped beyond critical mass & likely to fall further in 2018 - i.e. this time approx. 100, down from close to 150, and down to two floors and change - the expense and hassle doesn't make it worth it enough. Any full CES visit as attendee is going to cost $2K MINIMUM - and I mean really watching expenses. And the time away from work / sales. You can imagine what it costs to attend AND exhibit. Multiply that by a factor of 100! What's the point if people are not going to come?
Cost / Prices in Hi-Fi : "High End" audio has and probably always will be something for the "enthusiast", and the highest / most expensive gear in particular, for those with the financial means and disposition to spend. Probably no different in the last past decades where it was doctors, lawyers, tenured professors and other educated and usually well off professionals who were buying pricey Mcintosh gear and exotic Quad speakers, while the rest of hoped to buy their hand me downs used or make do with japanese gear or DIY made stuff.
I find it interesting how some here have related the cost of hifi before and put it into context of wages and the cost of others things - and what that would be in inflation adjusted terms today. And the conclusion seems to be : hifi - even high end - costs as much as now as it used to in inflation adjusted terms! These have always been low production boutiquey expensive things! Yes - we now have some "outliers" in the high 5 and even 6 figures made for new emerging economy millionaires and billionaires, which get way to much undue attention. Those "bejeweled" electronics have probably always existed. But the "bread & butter" both at the higher and middle end remain about the same cost in inflation adjusted terms.
These things are made not only in low #'s and therefore not benefiting from economies of scale, the talent, labor, and ultimately cost of these things are commensurate - and dare I saw - WORTH it if you can appreciate and have the means to pay for it. I'm surprised how people will not think twice about paying ten times the raw material for a cup of coffee at Starbucks, but then try to guestimate the parts cost of a piece of audio gear and add some marginal mark up and feel that's all it should be worth! Usually quite a bit less than ten times, I might add, even though the quality of labor / expertise / materials and economies of scale are so much more expensive. Just a few examples :
- Many of these famous boutique high end audio companies are lucky to have perhaps a dozen people TOTAL working there. They are not massive places and their production in general is a fraction of what people think. I was recently privy to US sales #'s of a well know tube gear manufacturer. It was a tenth of what even I expected.
- The key designers are very hands on with everything that comes out the door. Charlie Hansen of Ayre in an interview said he had spent several months, 6 hours a day, just listening to filters! Jim White of Aesthetix personally listens to every tube set sold before it goes out in a piece of gear or even replacement tube set.
- They'll go through dozens if not hundreds of component pieces - whether tubes, resistors or more to select the very cream of the crop and best matched. So that $15 tube actually ends up costing 5 times that much.
- They're are untold #'s of hours to design, test and produce gear. Kevin Hayes of VAC was recently interviewed saying they make components up to $80,000 : but those take 400 HOURS just of LABOR - not to speak of the parts and other costs. So if the ONLY cost was for labor alone, that's just $200 an hour for highly qualified artisan labor. Of course with all the other costs involved, it's actually WAY less. You pay your doctor, lawyer, etc way more - and they are much more common than what may be literally a one in tens of millions audio artisan.
And at the end of the day the people involved in this industry make WAY less than you would ever expect for all this work because they LOVE what they do and LOVE their customers!
Dealers - and why you might not get the service you think you deserve
I for one having spent most of my life on the other end of the counter had many of the same prejudices and misconceptions of high end audio dealerships many here seem to express. Here's a few I'd like to share with you :
- They make all this money and do little to nothing to deserve it
The economics of such a small specialty boutique are not nearly as favorable as what you think. Many if not most products have at best a 40% margin. Seems like so much right? Well, rarely these days do you sell something for full margin. Usually there's some discount involved - probably always has been - whether directly or overvaluing a trade-in (the latter increasingly a popular tactic of many stores to get around minimum price agreements).
So let's say after that your real margin is 30%. 20% of that will go to overhead just to keep the lease paid, the lights on, and salaries paid. Yup - even for a modest or dumpy place. And salaries are not that high : better perhaps than a Best Buy / Target / etc, but much lower than you'd expect, in particular for what's supposed to be more experienced and knowledgeable sales labor. The last 10%? That's the profit the store owner(s) and commissions the sales staff gets. Yup : perhaps 5% profit for each - above what low wages they might be able to draw. Laughing all the way to the bank, right?
So think about that when you ask and expect a discount over 10%. Keep insisting and that store will literally not stay in business any more. That's ok with you? Well, if you were not happy with your experience at that local store that has skin in the game and has to respond to you locally, try getting better from a big box or massive online retailer.
- Yeah, but I had a bad experience and / or that sales person doesn't know anything, so good riddance! Not my problem - internet / direct here I come!
This probably happened because you've been identified as a "no-buyer" or "low-buyer" or worse. But I'm going to spend $1000! Sales guy is going to get maybe $50 of that. So if your rude, annoying or deemed unlikely to buy, you get the cold shoulder or ignored. Talk about how awesome you are, or your system, or how much you think you know, are how much better your DIY gear is? Probably a "no-buyer". Asking for heavy discounts or how you buy everything online or used? Low to no buyer.
Do I personally think or act like that? No, but I can see how and why others do. And I'm still relatively "young" to this and not completely jaded or bitter. Remember, you're not making that much anyway - so why waste time, effort, and aggravation with that class of person.
Who get good attention and service? Well, surprise surprise, like most places, people who are pleasant and respectful - even if they're not going to spend much or perhaps anything OR people who are going to spend a LOT. You'd be amazed how that sales person you thought was a dolt all of a sudden knows and is willing / able to speak at length - or if they don't : how they actively seek the answers and follow-up.
Consider this a public service announcement if you want the best experience at one of those declining high end audio shops. Heck - probably a good piece of advice for ANY store!
What Happened to Hi-Fi / Future of High End Audio :
I think our little audiophile cosmos is getting itself too worked up. People will always love and want to listen to music. The only difference over these last 100 years or so is how, where, and when they listen. 100 years ago unless you were wealthy you may have heard your favorite song ONCE - and if it wasn't live, reproduced poorly on a wind up turntable. Now your spoiled beyond belief with always anything available literally at the press of a button and in higher quality than ever.
People may be steering away from the world of separate and multiple component stereo systems - even the well off - but they are still listening to music as much as ever, and will still want to. It's the EXPERIENCE they want - not the inconvenience, complication and expense. All of the latter which our "hobby" has often become associated with.
I was reminded of this most poignantly lately by my late millennial cousin. She's loves music and the experience of it, but has little to no interest in owning the hardware, much less rare and expensive things, which she can admire on their own merits, but has no interest in OWNING. And that trend to the "experiential" is increasing - and at ALL levels, high and low. Spending patterns among even the wealthy are steering towards "experiences" - i.e. recreating such as dinning, events, travel - and away from consumption of material goods.
Of course we feel that the music listening experience is maximized the better the gear - and that people's expectation of such should rise to a minimum level. But for people of late - perhaps arguably ALWAYS - that "minimum" is substantially below our expectation.
If there's a challenge these days - as ever, but perhaps a touch more - it's to make high quality audio reproduction, and by extension the gear that produces it - something RELEVANT and DESIRABLE to a greater segment. And that's going to take more effectively bringing the experience to more people, and cultivating a greater taste for it in those who express interest and cultivate enthusiasm.
How can that be achieved?
To some extent focusing more on the product classes people want - whether it's "personal listening" (more convenient / intimate / lower cost) - or more "tangible" such as record players / lps / etc for those who want to feel "more in touch" with their music. Products as a whole in most cases also need to become more convent and easier to use without giving up sound quality. This means more "all-in-ones" such as integrated amps - or even - GASP - all-in-ones that include the SPEAKER (blasphemy!). Yeah - don't personally like the latter much myself - but building a better one is a better stepping stone to something even better than ignoring the segment.
Where can that be achieved & demoed?
Believe it or not (perhaps not) : a "traditional" brick & mortar store! Trying to "build the interest / excitement" from a purely "internet direct" method I don't think is effective - despite so much shopping moving online. These are "luxury hobbies" - they need a more tangible, tactile and qualified "experience" than what can be delivered "virtually".
The other alternative : bringing the experience to the person via events, whether audio / music or other. And here is where the existing "high end" audio channels need to get our of their lairs and go to the world. The smarter shops are doing this, and I don't mean the usual vendor in-store exhibits or participating in hi-fi shows. I mean either by performing interesting events on site - e.g. "bring your own vinyl" listening parties, or even co-sharing events with artists, or even doing things offsite.
Hope this has been helpful - or at the least interesting.
Get out there - visit the last of your local shops, be pleasant, heck : even dare to spend a little money there. Volunteer to give them a hand for example by bringing non-audiohpiles, referring customers, giving them nice reviews, or offering to assist with events. And if you can't stand that thought : Get off your keyboard and get engaged! DO something in the REAL world to promote and support this hobby. Peace out!
