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Am I missing something here? Wouldn't this consultant be essentially a type of reseller? This so called bribe money should really be called dealer markup.
An interesting take on the spiral of increasing prices from a Swiss audio website titled "When Flagships Sink." Use your language translator as it's in German. https://www.avguide.ch/blog/high-end-audio-je-teurer-desto-besser-wenn-flaggschiffe-sinken
In the last few years of my audio nirvana quest I greatly downsized my system, got it down to a laptop running Tidal and active, wireless monitors that had a rated F3 of 25 Hz but my room was nearly ideal (dedicated to audio in the front and office in the back, 8ft x 13ft x 21ft - Fibonacci ratios, fully insulated, with isolated electrical circuits).
Photon46, the only point I really agree with in that article is that flagships mainly exist to push up the price of everything else. The story is always the same: “Look at all the tech we developed for our flagship we can now trickle it down to the rest of the range and give you major improvements at a fraction of the cost.”But in reality, many established companies that once made excellent gear at fair prices have now raised prices across their entire lineup. What they call “entry level” today often costs more than products that used to sit in their mid-to-upper tiers.We’ve been conditioned to accept high prices, to the point where reasonably priced products are often dismissed as “not good enough,” while the expensive ones seem more desirable simply because of their price tag.Just look at mobile phones. Not long ago, none of us imagined we’d be paying the price of a good high end laptop computer for a handset. The real problem is that we don’t push back we’ve normalised it.Personally, I think companies should focus on making products that sound great at prices younger audiences can actually afford. That way, they get drawn in and see what’s possible at that level. Once they’re hooked and enjoying the sound, they’ll naturally want to explore higher-end options.But when the spotlight is on products with astronomical price tags, it has the opposite effect. People look at those and think, “If that’s what it takes to get good sound, I’ll just stick with my overpriced phone and a Bluetooth speaker.
Well, the article's author made a similar point in his conclusion. He's of the opinion that the hi-end as we know it will disappear in the future and buyers from younger demographics will support companies offering good sound at sane "high end" prices of around 10,000 Euros.
This is a genuine, not "loaded" question:So, when you buy from a manufacturer who sells direct to the public, are you getting greater product value for your money than you would if you bought from a retailer(assuming that the retailer's expertise adds nothing to your decision)? Or is the manufacturer just doubling up on their own profit margin?
Seems to me there's so many different things going into the concept of "value" that there's never going to be a definitive answer to your question. Small company with direct sales but low efficiency vs large manufacturer with dealer network but high efficiency could be a wash in the end. Too often small start ups with direct sales models competing on price/value have failed and then there's no product support. Then you have a boat anchor if that product had proprietary circuit boards, modules, display screens, etc. After being stuck with a few unsupported products after the brand failed, I've realized there's long term value in a more expensive brand that's going to hang around (hopefully) and support their offerings. Finding those kind of products is becoming increasingly more difficult as the market size shrinks and remaining brands keep getting sucked up by investors looking for quick profits and planning to sell the company again soon.
There are trade-offs based on what you value. I find that the best "value" comes from the guys who build stuff in their garage (literally!). Typically, you receive exceptional customer service, high-quality construction, and customization options. However, the value diminishes significantly when you choose to sell it. But back to Zuman's question -- yeah, generally, direct sales provide more value, in my opinion. I don't purchase new, brand-name audio components because I perceive them as having lower value. All of my gear is purchased either used or direct sale.
I think this is a case where this particular "AV guy" is trying to pull the classic double dip. In the process he certainly doesn't give his client (the billionaire) what he paid for. He gets a system the AV guy can get a cut on....which almost certainly is not the best system truly available. I'm sure there are many honest AV guys out there, but this particular guy isn't one of them.
