How people choose very expensive High-End speakers?

[SiriusCanopus]

Yep,

For example:

Ferrari 458 Italia recalled due to fire hazard

The Ferrari 458 Italia is so hot right now. It's so hot in fact that the company's had to issue a global recall due to the 200mph supercar's propensity to burst into flames.

www.cnet.com

That's quite true. My humble speculation is that at the upper level market there are more non trustworthy brands, that want deceive you, because it can be easy money. If you really wanted Formula 1 car in speakers world, you need to be quite good with the audio science, and for most people I doubt that it the case.

In short, I think I found my answer - if you can afford it, you can buy the red one, because it looks cool

 

[Overseas]

If you're filthy rich and condemned, conditioned to very high budget purchases, hope you're totally deaf so you enjoy whatever you buy. Generally speaking.

 

[Ze Frog]

Never had anything over £3000 myself, so probably not high end compared to what many consider to be high end. However theoretically, if I could afford something at 10x the price or more, they would have to be absolutely perfect measurements wise, perceived SQ and really impressive looking, like some really cool design that is almost like an art piece.

To be honest though some of the very best I've heard though are actually really not that expensive. Totally possible to spend far less with careful researching and have sound that can better far pricier alternatives. Price to quality is a trait that especially in Hi-fi died decades ago.

 

[gsp1971]

I spent a year at the American University of Paris via an exchange program. One fine and sunny Saturday in spring, I went for a walk with two classmates of mine. One of them was a guy called Mohamed, who was the son of the president of Nigeria. As we were walking down avenue George V, a street full of quite expensive clothing stores, the weather suddenly turned overcast and there was a sudden downpour along with strong wind. Mohamed just walked into the first store in front of us and simply bought a rain jacket. Just like that. It was Gucci store, by the way, but I doubt he even noticed.

True story.

Really wealthy people do not have the same sense of 'value' as common folk do.

 

[DMill]

it’s all relative. I don’t personally overthink a purchase on something that is easily replaced based on my income. If I don’t like it I just a new one. I suppose a pair of 50K+ speakers is nothing to someone extremely wealthy. It’s the person who can’t afford it spending that kind of dough that has me scratching my head. Kind of like parking your Ferrari in front of your trailer home. Different priorities I guess.

 

[Mart68]

I spent a year at the American University of Paris via an exchange program. One fine and sunny Saturday in spring, I went for a walk with two classmates of mine. One of them was a guy called Mohamed, who was the son of the president of Nigeria. As we were walking down avenue George V, a street full of quite expensive clothing stores, the weather suddenly turned overcast and there was a sudden downpour along with strong wind. Mohamed just walked into the first store in front of us and simply bought a rain jacket. Just like that. It was Gucci store, by the way, but I doubt he even noticed.

True story.

Really wealthy people do not have the same sense of 'value' as common folk do.

My second month in sales when I got my bonus (the first month's bonus had cleared all my debts) I went up town to the big record store (HMV) and went around and bought everything I wanted. It was like they said to me 'It's all free just help yourself'.

Previously I'd struggled to cobble together the cash to buy one CD a month there.

The bill was about £600 in today's money so not really millionaire stuff but I think I had a feeling of what it must be like to have so much money that everything is effectively free.

Never done it since. I think I got it out of my system with that one time.

 

[radix]

Well, I think one should spend at least as much on speakers & subs as they do for amps and sources. Kind of like the photography saying, "spend more on the glass." The speakers & subs, combined with the room, have the greatest affect on the sound, assuming all the other components are competent.

So, if you laid out $15k for a high-end amp, and another $10-15k on preamp, and another $12k on a streamer, then $50k+ speakers and subs don't seem out of place. of course, you want quality speakers, not just expensive speakers, IMO.

As others have pointed out, at some point, $100k for speakers is in the noise for the super-rich.

 

[Sokel]

When it comes to sound (or not),if I had to narrow it down to a couple of properties as far as I have seen (and I have seen some) it's down to these:

-Looks,specially premium feeling with lots of attention to details.
-Phantom image,it must be rock solid right on the first placement (even if wrong,even if room acoustics are not favorable,yes,it's a little insane) .
-High output,room filling full sound.
-Ease (and I'm talking ease,except from the turntable,that has to be a little complicated) of operation.

-Most important,dealer on speed dial,ready to fix/bring/exchange/advice/pamper at any time .

 

[GXAlan]

Well, I think one should spend at least as much on speakers & subs as they do for amps and sources. Kind of like the photography saying, "spend more on the glass."

+1

As others have pointed out, at some point, $100k for speakers is in the noise for the super-rich.

+1

In many major metropolitan areas, it’s common to see Porsche’s, Tesla Model X or S Plaid’s or Range Rovers. Ferrari’s and Lamborghini’s are rarer but not that rare (in major cities).

Even if it’s not “noise” we don’t think twice about buyers of luxury cars that are driven on pothole filled cities or highways with 65/75 mph top speeds. Clearly someone “made in” and decided to splurge.

In that context, the $50K speaker doesn’t require lottery winnings but instead someone who may value a speaker over a nice car…

Just as you can buy hand-built poorly performing vintage cars without modern safety features, speaker performance also includes the aesthetics. We can get great values in safe cars with great fuel/electric efficiency but the luxury car is still a luxury.

 

[Mart68]

I think there's more fun and satisfaction in putting together something really good for as little as possible.

Even if I was super-rich I'd still have that mindset.

I can't really think of any six figure plus system I've listened to where I've not thought I could do as good or better for a fifth of the money - or less.

 

[phoenixdogfan]

I think the biggest worry a lot of these people have is how they're going to mount 8 of their Wilson Chronosonics in the ceiling for their 15.1.8 Atmos layout.

 

[radix]

I think there's more fun and satisfaction in putting together something really good for as little as possible.

It is a lot easier to become wealthy by not spending as much as you can!

I try to find the "right tool for the job" so the speakers are sized for the room and loudness and look appropriate for the aesthetics (there can be a big variation here by room and by person!).

 

[Shiva]

In the olden internet days when Audiogon was new and shipping was cheap, high end speakers were continuously bought and sold on the site. One tried them out at one’s home and either kept them cause they dug them or put ‘em back on the site and resold them to try something else.. I tried quite a few pieces of kit back then, from speakers to power amps, Class A amps, tube amps… and speakers… it was a lot of fun…

 

[sweetsounds]

I don't mean this to sound cynical......I think two things on this...

1) At that end of the market are the Veblen buyers, where the price is the best part.

2) With that kind of spending power comes the ability to buy capriciously. I would wager there are more impulse buys at this end of the market than at the low end.

Let me share my experience. In all groups one can find exceptional systems and mediocre ones.

A) the man's cave people
not spending at the highest end of the scale, but shell out 5 digits for a speaker, lots of engineers/tech savvy with a sense for things well built. We buy second hand mostly and in most of the cases after long thinking for several years, listening at other people's home, shows and sometimes dealers. A new purchase is a painful expense.
Others spend money on boats, watches or cars, music listening is quite cheap compared to that.
There is also curiosity in trying out things and some are susceptible to esoteric items (even though they are scientists!)
People have strong opinions about brands, but exotics with good sound can boost your reputation.

B) the want-the-best type
Usually affluent business executives who are looking for the best, exclusive items. They buy because they can afford and see it as a perk of their success. Usually having a luxury home, they enjoy art and look for best quality. Their systems can be very impressive.
They mostly buy from dealers, who also provide them service for the set-up and the right cables.
They change models more frequently and have more than one system and/or multiple real estates.
Brand names are important to an extent, but more important is a convincing experience.

C) wannabes
Can't really afford it, but want to be part of the high end. Need to settle on compromises with a smaller model. Here susceptibility to certain brand names is high. Buys on sale.

D) the fanboy
Follows few brands out of conviction or because of their sonic signature.
Usually upgrades when a new model is available.

E) the tinker
Buys good models and starts modifying it, from exchanging capacitors up to replacing drivers and cross overs. Change the model rather seldomly as it is also not easy to sell.

 

[DesertRatt]

People of Wealth

1. Hang out with other POWs
2. They share tips on where to shop to avoid the hoi polloi. Exclusive, "by appointment" shops for example.
3. Exclusive shops selling 6-figure audio gear hire sales people who are comfortable around POWs. They dress right, talk right, etc.
4. These kind of speakers will be delivered and installed by "technicians" - making it all the more exclusive.
5. Home decor being VERY important, any speaker will have to be elegant and have OBVIOUS vibes of expensive and exclusive sculpture. Yeah, they sound good at cocktail parties.

 

[EdW]

Well, I think one should spend at least as much on speakers & subs as they do for amps and sources. Kind of like the photography saying, "spend more on the glass." The speakers & subs, combined with the room, have the greatest affect on the sound, assuming all the other components are competent.

So, if you laid out $15k for a high-end amp, and another $10-15k on preamp, and another $12k on a streamer, then $50k+ speakers and subs don't seem out of place. of course, you want quality speakers, not just expensive speakers, IMO.

As others have pointed out, at some point, $100k for speakers is in the noise for the super-rich.

I would suggest that today the loudspeaker should use well over half the budget on a high end system, State of the art amplification is probably using Purifi 1ET9040 modules and combined with the best DACs from Chinese companies to give spurious free dynamic ranges better than the total dynamic range of human hearing - so in effect perfect. Not sure why I’d use a preamp - except for legacy analog signal sources.

 

[MattHooper]

As others have pointed out, at some point, $100k for speakers is in the noise for the super-rich.

I'm not convinced of that. As I mentioned before, yes no doubt there is a super rich contingent, as there is for any product.

But I don't think $100K speakers only end up in the homes of the super rich audiophiles. If someone gets obsessed in a hobby like this, then you can end up spending more-in-relationship-to-what-you-earn than the average person. And for many audiophiles their gear is something of a financial stretch, they have to make a choice where to spend their disposable income. I have friends who are in to watches, and if I only judged them on their expensive watch I'd think "oh, you are very well off!" But, no, they earn no more than I do, that's just where their money goes. Likewise, I've even had someone in this forum infer that I was rich or well off due to some of my audio/home theater gear. But I'm very far from rich. I don't have any other expensive hobbies and what I have is a result built up over lots of time.

Similarly, you can see $100,000 speakers in the homes of audiophiles who aren't "super rich" but who are well off enough to afford them, but it doesn't mean it was easy or inconsequential financially or otherwise. They are just audiophiles playing in a somewhat higher price bracket than lots of us here.

 

[DMill]

Similarly, you can see $100,000 speakers in the homes of audiophiles who aren't "super rich" but who are well off enough to afford them, but it doesn't mean it was easy or inconsequential financially or otherwise. They are just audiophiles playing in a somewhat higher price bracket than lots of us here.

It’s a really interesting thought. I wonder if someone handed me $100k for a music system or a car which I’d buy. Definitely worth another post maybe? My guess is most members would solve the problem with a cheaper audio fix and still a nice car. But let’s say you had to choose.

 

[MattHooper]

It’s a really interesting thought. I wonder if someone handed me $100k for a music system or a car which I’d buy. Definitely worth another post maybe? My guess is most members would solve the problem with a cheaper audio fix and still a nice car. But let’s say you had to choose.

Personally, I don’t dream about cars. So if that was some fun money, I’d probably spend it on audio or my Home Theater.

 

[DMill]

Personally, I don’t dream about cars. So if that was some fun money, I’d probably spend it on audio or my Home Theater.

I’m with you on this. I have 2016 Honda Accord that can exceed 100mph and a girlfriend who mostly loves me.