[M3 EuroLTW]

Two Schmucks in a garage with soldering irons started Apple Inc.

Which reminds me...

10 years ago, we HAD Steve Jobs, Johnny Cash, and Bob Hope.  Many of us now have no Jobs, no Cash, and no Hope.  I'm praying that G-d looks after Kevin Bacon.

It is an interesting article, but I don't find it to be the best of his writing... its more musing, and I'm not sure I agree with all the content.  But that is what good writing does, it stirs up discussion.

[witchdoctor]

"Ask yourselves this: in what galaxy do we need 200+ speaker companies, 300+ power amps, and 200+ turntables? In what other industry are Two Schmucks in a Garage with a Soldering Iron considered a “high end manufacturer”?"

Right on.
I say prune the herd.

Prune? You might as well close down AC and we can all just go to walmart for our gear. The problem is NOT the vendors or the equipment. Go to an audio show and you can see the problem, it is the aging customers are dying off and new ones are getting by with iphones, earbuds and receivers. With one exception of course:
https://thevinylfactory.com/news/uk-vinyl-sales-2019-growth-record-high/

[CanadianMaestro]

Every now and then, it's great to stir up the cauldron and generate some fumes....or fuming.

[CanadianMaestro]

Two Schmucks in a garage with soldering irons started Apple Inc.

Yeah, .....how often does that happen? In audio?

[rollo]

Yeah, .....how often does that happen? In audio?

   Lets see . Nelson Pass. Conrad & Johnson, Carey, Wytech, Loesch & Weisner and Audio Research. 


charles

[CanadianMaestro]

   Lets see . Nelson Pass. Conrad & Johnson, Carey, Wytech, Loesch & Weisner and Audio Research. 


charles

and yet hi-end is still in deep schiit.
Audio ain't like desktops/mobile toys for the masses.
[I wouldn't put any of these folks in the same league as Jobs. SJ was a master at anticipating what the masses desired. These guys keep churning out the same over-priced electronics, many lateral moves, not substantive revolutionary products. Not anymore, anyways. Just my humble opinions.].

 

[toocool4]

I wouldn't put any of these folks in the same league as Jobs. SJ was a master at anticipating what the masses desired. These guys keep churning out the same over-priced electronics

And i guess Jobs never churned out any over priced electronics?

[CanadianMaestro]

And i guess Jobs never churned out any over priced electronics?

compared to h-end audio gear!? You livin' on a diff planet?

For $1K I can get a laptop that does everything except cook meals. For work. Play. And whatever else. Mobile too.
What does a 5K power amp get me?
We're talkin' toyz for the well-off. Not WalMart.

[toocool4]

compared to h-end audio gear!? You livin' on a diff planet?

For $1K I can get a laptop that does everything except cook meals. For work. Play. And whatever else. Mobile too.

What is a £1500 mobile phone if it’s not an over priced toy for the rich?  But maybe for you it’s value for money, for most people it’s high-end over priced toy. Huawei are doing better for a fraction of that price.

What planet are you on?

[charmerci]

Yeah, I watch movies and internet on my $160 laptops and check the internet/videos and take photos on my $45 smartphone.
I do give a shout out to people who did/do spend mega-bucks on these technologies when they first come out.

[OzarkTom]

I saw a meme on Facebook recently showing all the gear that today's cell phone replaces. For many of the youth, that is all they need.  Those large video cameras, receiver, camera, speakers, CD player, cassette deck, turntable, and all the cables we hook up.

And they also play a lot of video games and can be used with headphones and can be placed in your shirt pocket. That is what my grandkids use.

I read that one system that was at RMAF last year costing over a million dollars.

[2bigears]

  the simple Simon answer is :  if good sound is your target, and you have a good room. Go at it if you have the $$$$ .   You can buy some pretty good low budget gear now a days.  And used is and always was the smartest route to go.  The room is at least 1/2 your sound is it not ?       this current 🌎ly situation 80% of peeps can't do a 750$ bump in the road.  The new normal is coming. The numbers are dirty 30's

[Freo-1]

Not to worry.  There will always be some form of audio/audio-video that caters to the well to do.  It's the nature of the marketplace.


Happily, many of us not so well heeled can take advantage of yesterday's cutting edge products at pedestrian pricing today.


Carry on. 

[dB Cooper]

Not to worry.  There will always be some form of audio/audio-video that caters to the well to do.  It's the nature of the marketplace.

Yes. My problem is, when you go to an audio show, that is all you will see. As one exhibitor I won't name said, "Everybody here is trying to catch the same seven millionaires."

Happily, many of us not so well heeled can take advantage of yesterday's cutting edge products at pedestrian pricing today.

Taking advantage  of someone else's 'upgrade fever' has always been the most effective way to get bang for the buck. Often, what they're upgrading to isn't really that much better than what they've already got. The real winner in that situation can be you.

[2bigears]

  make more $$ on a Caddy than Malibu.   I remember when VAC went form 5 grand to 25 grand ,, then 50 grand products.   A 50,000.00 preamp or amp. Sayyyy what !  Who the hell can buy that shit.  The used 5 or 6 grand stuff sounded really good. 

[R. Daneel]

Whatever financial difficulties high-end companies are experiencing now, that's nothing compared to what awaits them in the next two years. All of the comments above deal with immediate problems, no one is talking about the declining economy. It is projected some 60 million jobs will be lost in Europe alone. Even if some "luxury" companies do survive, they're going to have serious problems convincing their customers to buy their products and consequently, prices will go down dramatically. That's a fact.

Cheers,
Antun

[toocool4]

Even if some "luxury" companies do survive, they're going to have serious problems convincing their customers to buy their products and consequently, prices will go down dramatically. That's a fact.

Cheers,
Antun

I am not sure i agree with you there, the people that have the money to buy this units are very rich people yes they may lose some of they net worth. They are only losing a percentage, hence they still have a lot of money so it makes no life changing difference to them.

Imagine you have £1M and lose say £300000, yes it’s loads of money to lose but not enough to change your life style but if you had £100 and you lose £30 that is a different matter.

Price of units will not go down as they don’t need to sell loads to make their money, i was at Munich High End Show last year where to showed the TachDas Air Force Zero at around £400000. Guess what all the 10 production units are now sold, so the money is out there.

[R. Daneel]

I am not sure i agree with you there, the people that have the money to buy this units are very rich people yes they may lose some of they net worth. They are only losing a percentage, hence they still have a lot of money so it makes no life changing difference to them.

Imagine you have £1M and lose say £300000, yes it’s loads of money to lose but not enough to change your life style but if you had £100 and you lose £30 that is a different matter.

Price of units will not go down as they don’t need to sell loads to make their money, i was at Munich High End Show last year where to showed the TachDas Air Force Zero at around £400000. Guess what all the 10 production units are now sold, so the money is out there.

Are you serious? Who would be in bigger trouble, you losing 300k or me losing a lunch? I'd be hungry for a day but you would not be able to pay your workers, their social and health benefits, your suppliers and marketing campaign. Before you could blink an eye, you'd be done and in debt. A hundred folks not being able to pay for a lunch at a restaurant is not a tragedy but a hundred employers losing their firms gives many reasons for concern.

Also, your 400k speaker example is based on false logic. In the economic sense, you cannot predict what one individual will buy or sell. Perhaps he'll buy a yacht or a speaker, or spend it on world peace. It is irrelevant in the grand scheme of things and is buried deep in the "error margin" of any calculations that I know of. Manufacturing and selling a 400k speaker is not an industry, it is a garage operation and one that's likely going to be the first to close it's doors.

I'm sorry but I have to ask, do you even know anything about economy?

[toocool4]

You are getting it wrong, people with money to buy £400000 turntables have a lot more money than we think. You are not going to buy a £400000 turntable or a £300000 car if you are only a millionaire, you will only spend this kind of money if you have billions. So losing hundreds of thousands is not going to make a dent in their life style. But if you have less, losing lunch like you put it means you are nearer to being on the streets. A billionaire losing hundreds of thousands make no dent in their lives. It would be like you and I have £100’s and losing £1 or £2, we would not care about it.

I tell you something I work for the biggest private arts gallery in the world, I see loads of money floating around all the time so I know the downturn makes no big difference to them. Yes you may say art is an investment and high-end audio only loses you money, yes that is true but what I am saying is the money is there and these people live in a different world to what the rest of us live in.   

[R. Daneel]

You are getting it wrong, people with money to buy £400000 turntables have a lot more money than we think. You are not going to buy a £400000 turntable or a £300000 car if you are only a millionaire, you will only spend this kind of money if you have billions. So losing hundreds of thousands is not going to make a dent in their life style. But if you have less, losing lunch like you put it means you are nearer to being on the streets. A billionaire losing hundreds of thousands make no dent in their lives. It would be like you and I have £100’s and losing £1 or £2, we would not care about it.

I tell you something I work for the biggest private arts gallery in the world, I see loads of money floating around all the time so I know the downturn makes no big difference to them. Yes you may say art is an investment and high-end audio only loses you money, yes that is true but what I am saying is the money is there and these people live in a different world to what the rest of us live in.   

You don't have to quote your CV to me. I have heard enough from you to know you don't know a first thing about how global economy works. Here, ask Mr. Tanner whether he is concerned about Bryston as a company and his people. Bryston is a 'real' company and a 'universal' example companies of similar size can relate to, not a garage operator you continually keep referring to.

I will agree that wealthy people live in a different world altogether but deriving this discussion from that is a matter for children to debate at a tea party. It serves no useful purpose as it does not reflect anything in the 'real' world.

Nothing good will come out of this discussion so we might as well drop it. I didn't even think my post would warrant a reply from anyone, thinking it was general knowledge and frankly, common sense, hence writing it in plain English, but now I see I was wrong.

Cheers!