Bargains on ebay?

[Marco]

Really Well just for the record, I love you intensely Marco !, It's my birthday in November and all I want is a Mike New Composite Platter and a funk arm

Noted. I'll pass the details to my business partner S. Claus, in plenty of time for Christmas!

Marco.

[Joe]

Indeed, Martin. Hearing such amps doesn't really come into it.

The fact is that NO amplifier (or anything in audio) deserves having a price tag of £65,000 (or more), as at that level we're simply not dealing with SPPV.

At what price point would you say SPPV ceases to apply; ie the law of diminishing returns means spending more ceases to bring about worthwhile improvements?

[RobbieGong]

Noted. I'll pass the details to my business partner S. Claus, in plenty of time for Christmas!

Marco.

you witty so and so

[Marco]

At what price point would you say SPPV ceases to apply; ie the law of diminishing returns means spending more ceases to bring about worthwhile improvements?

It's a difficult one, Joe. I tend to buy equipment from small, specialist manufacturers, with very low overheads, so the SPPV of their products is disproportionately high, compared with equipment from larger more commercial manufacturers, with far greater overheads.

Taking my Tube Distinctions Copper amp, as an example, which cost me £5k, this is hand-built from scratch, fully hard-wired, and fitted with highest quality bespoke parts and hand-wound transformers, so how much would this cost if it were made by a company like Audio Note? Perhaps £30k?

Sonically, I'd certainly put it up against other high-end amps around that sort of price, ditto my (highly modded) Croft preamp, although it has cost me a little less.

To answer your question, I guess that for bespoke equipment from small manufacturers, I'd say somewhere between £5-10K, depending on the type of equipment concerned, and commercial stuff somewhere between £15-£25k, perhaps a bit more for certain turntables and speakers, but at the top end of that price bracket the equipment concerned would have to be very special indeed!!

Marco.

[thebeathunters]

Man, I'd love to have been present when Audio Note arrived at pricing the Wankagu - how they must have laughed.....

Marco.

yeah me too! as there's a sucker born every minute...
can you tell more about these ugly, huge and certainly sweet Tannoys?

[sq225917]

Thing is though, that Kondo amp is solid silver all the way through, all capacitors and the output transformers, there's several KG of the stuff in there and that's where a lot of the price comes. There's several k of silver in there, add the 10x retail multiplier and away you go.

[Joe]

It's a difficult one, Joe. I tend to buy equipment from small, specialist manufacturers, with very low overheads, so the SPPV of their products is disproportionately high, compared with equipment from larger more commercial manufacturers, with far greater overheads.

Taking my Tube Distinctions Copper amp, as an example, which cost me £5k, this is hand-built from scratch, fully hard-wired, and fitted with highest quality bespoke parts and hand-wound transformers, so how much would this cost if it were made by a company like Audio Note? Perhaps £30k?

Sonically, I'd certainly put it up against other high-end amps around that sort of price, ditto my Croft preamp, although it cost me a little less.

To answer your question, I guess that for bespoke equipment from small manufacturers, I'd say somewhere between £5-10K, depending on the type of equipment concerned, and commercial stuff somewhere between £15-£25k, perhaps a bit more for certain turntables and speakers, but at the top end of that price bracket the equipment concerned would have to be very special indeed!!

Marco.

Thanks Marco.

In most cases, I think it has a lot more to do with a product being 'reassuringly expensive' than with materials/production costs. Plus, if company A puts out a £50k speaker, company B will tend to put out a £55k speaker so as to avoid looking 'cheap' in the derogatory sense.

I do struggle with some of the 'aspirational' pricing that's around, but I guess to some folk even £5k on an amplifier is way OTT!

[Marco]

Hi Joe,

In most cases, I think it has a lot more to do with a product being 'reassuringly expensive' than with materials/production costs. Plus, if company A puts out a £50k speaker, company B will tend to put out a £55k speaker so as to avoid looking 'cheap' in the derogatory sense.

I think you're absolutely right, and no doubt that goes on, too!

I do struggle with some of the 'aspirational' pricing that's around, but I guess to some folk even £5k on an amplifier is way OTT!

The "aspirational pricing" thing irritates me because I find it all rather vulgar.

Marco.

[Ali Tait]

Thing is though, that Kondo amp is solid silver all the way through, all capacitors and the output transformers, there's several KG of the stuff in there and that's where a lot of the price comes. There's several k of silver in there, add the 10x retail multiplier and away you go.

My thoughts too, though I've never heard one.

[Mr Kipling]

Thing is though, that Kondo amp is solid silver all the way through, all capacitors and the output transformers, there's several KG of the stuff in there and that's where a lot of the price comes. There's several k of silver in there, add the 10x retail multiplier and away you go.

And it's Italian! (output transformers)

So it not only sounds good - it looks good too!