I wonder how many purchasers of the Red Rose Affirmation have returned it or sold it quickly because they felt it was not really worth $7000? I suspect very few. Ultimately there is a sufficient number of people believing the Red Rose gear is worth the extortionate prices to keep Red Rose in business. So where's the problem? We have some people with too much cash, willing to spend that cash on audio gear, who walk away from these deals as satisfied customers. Sounds like a wonderful outcome for all concerned.
Similarly, if Enzo Ferrari rebadged a Hyundai as a Ferrari, and people bought it for $250k and claimed to be satisfied that the car was worth $250k, I can't see a problem.
But isn't that "satisfied customer" getting screwed, buying the excellent amp for $7000 when he could get it for $1000? Not necessarily. And this isn't just an issue of caveat emptor either. It seems reasonable to think that Red Rose provides a valuable service in rebadging the Dussun.
For better or worse, the Dussun name isn't a famous one. And for most consumers, I imagine it would be largely indistinguishable from a veritable ocean of other Chinese designed, Chinese manufactured amps. Certainly, some of these will be great. Others will be lousy. What's more, they aren't easily available for audition in US stores. If something goes wrong, the Dussun will probably require shipping back to China, and that will only happen if the Dussun company doesn't disappear in the next few months - the average audiophile probably has no idea about the likelihood of Dussun remaining solvent. All in all, the purchase of a Dussun (for most consumers) is a huge crap-shoot.
But buying a Red Rose product is a safe bet. Mark Levinson puts his reputation on the line when he puts the Red Rose label on the amp: he vouches for its quality. He's done the hard work auditioning hundreds of Chinese amps to find one that is of sufficiently high quality to warrant the Red Rose label. He also makes them available for audition in stores (I presume), and provides local service support. And consumers are relatively happy to imagine that Red Rose will be around next year to honor a warranty. All of this is valuable, and nobody should be surprised if people show that they are prepared to pay for it. Is it worth $6000? Given that people actually buy the Red Rose, the answer is obviously "yes."
Shouldn't Red Rose be up front about things, and tell everyone that their product is simply a rebadged Dussun? Strangely, the answer seems to be "no". To see why, suppose they advertised the fact that their amp was a rebadged Dussun. Then a huge portion of the risk concerning the Dussun disappears. Essentially, everybody could sit around and watch to see whose amplifier Red Rose chooses to rebadge, and then run out and buy the original Chinese version. But if that were to happen, then Red Rose would not be able to do business. And if Red Rose were not operating, then we would lose that valuable service they provide in identifying the high quality amplifier.
At the end of the day, I have no idea whether these services provided by Red Rose are worth $6000 on this amp. But clearly, there are enough people around who feel that the additional $6000 is money well spent. Maybe this is because they feel "safer" buying an amp that Mark Levinson says is great. Maybe it's because they feel safer with an amp they can have serviced locally. Maybe they feel safer being able to audition the amp prior to purchase. Maybe they feel more confident that Red Rose will still be around a few years from now to honor the warranty. And maybe they just feel happier buying something with an American brand on it rather than a Chinese brand. Who knows. But Red Rose can only put a price tag on these things. They can't make anybody buy them. And it seems that enough people buy them to keep Red Rose in business.
Chad
