The more I read around about hi-fi the more baffled and bewildered I become on the price tags of equipment... I see $3,000 speakers, $1,000 amplifiers and $500 headphones being hailed as "low price" "great value" "a steal" "budget" "affordable" etc... to me none of those are anywhere even close to being any of those things! Even $200 is already an awful lot for headphones by my reckoning. Just yesterday I saw a review in a magazine magazine calling itself "affordable audio" for a $680 amplifier, which dared to call it "affordable", and gave it their "best of the year" award... no, sir, that is not "affordable", that is half a month's rent! I'd feel like I got punked if I subscribed to that magazine and then got that nonsense in the mail for it!
Just crazy to me not only how high the price tags can reach (way higher than anything I've mentioned so far), but how expensive it goes before audiophiles stop calling it "cheap". There's a massive disconnect for me whenever I see someone (on a forum, in a review, in a video, in a magazine, whatever) talking about something that for me is unthinkably expensive as if it's some kind of great deal, usually touting something along the lines of "you get what you pay for" just to rub it in. I don't get it... and, I'll admit, it's frustrating. I don't see the value in any of it. Am I alone?
Hi
I'll answer your question by telling you that accurate reproduction in your home or while moving has never been more affordable.
If you have a smartphone, you can have SOTA (State Of The Art) reproduction for under $100. Or close to SOTA at around $50.oo. That is "affordable" for people in the US, that are not at the poverty level (Poverty level defined as: people who live in a
family of 4 whose income is above $28,000 a year. See this:
What income is considered poverty USA?). The debate could rage on about the threshold of income priorities but I won't digress
Now if you want this in your home, well again prices have been lowered dramatically. It depends on where you want to listen to music. The size of the room has an impact on the final price. Too many things to say for now.
Now let us go to a different take. "Things" in this world have, something attached to them called "cost". A notion that is often lost on many. It cost something to make something.. Often a lot to the people making stuff for you to enjoy. Let's take the exmaple of an amplifier and let's supose a one person trying to make these...
They/he/she have to learn how to make the amplifier (Cost them time, resources and often money)
They/he/she have find the parts that makes the amplifier ... (Cost them time, resources and money)
They/he/she have to test those parts and make sure they work as advertised (Cost them time, resources and money)
They/he/she have to find ways to make the amp known by the market aka Marketing ... (Cost them time, resources and money)
They/he/she have to make the amp available to you (Cost them time, resources and money)
They/he/she may have to find ways to correct mistakes that were made getting the products to you (Cost them time, resources and money)
Meanwhile They/he/she must realize very few people actually care about good sound... thus a very risky enterprise to sell you an amp and after all the above, you may decide not to not like like their amp, based on the false narrative that a $50 amp can't be good ...
Let's not go thinking about speakers where you have to make a something at least the size of a shoebox
... Physics will limit how small it can be .. you can't be smaller than that and light up a 12 x 15 ft room...
And you can beginning to see why $20 IEM and decent headphones under $200.oo are indeed "affordable" for those who are in the hobby ...
On this there are also very good, "affordable" speakers. I will cite two from the top of my head:
JBL LSR-305 at about $300/pair
reviewed Here
JBL LSR-308 at about $600/pair.
reviewed Here.
I use both in my HT and am pleased beyong expectation. I supplement these with two subwoofers, again two very big, "affordable "
boxes at $250 each...
There are others.
You can have better objective performances than any of my 2 examples, (or the ASR reviewed equivalents in price and performances). For that you will spend at least 3 times as much , which for the enthusiasts, remain in the province of "affordability".
OTOH. The narrative that has driven the hobby is":
Moh EXPENSIVE = Moh Better.. An expression that I coined myself (Spelling and grammar be damned!!
). They will tell you that you have to spend a lot to get better. How much is "a lot" is variable linked to the subjective. The Hi-Fi industry wants you to spend more , they came up with these BS prices items and find people to write, to proclaim that the more expensive items is
always better. And people believed and continue to do so.
There are performance
metrics. This is where ASR has come and has annoyed, even embarrassed, the HiFi industry in particular the High End segment of this Industry. ASR has regularly proven that price is not an indication of performance. Repeatedly.. my favorite being the $ 9.95 dongle, DAC and amplifier, that performed as well as a 15,000.oo (NO TYPO) DAC. Yep!...
As in many things if you want to push the enveloppe of objective, measurable performance, it will
cost you but.. you got to choose what you are looking for in a reasonable fashion.
If you want a car capable of accelerating from 0 to 60 MPH in 3 secs, you can either get some fancy Ferrari or equivalent, at least $200,000 or you can get a Tesla 3 Performance at $55,000...
If you want a cheap, at $10,000 car
and sub 3 seconds 0 to 60.. they don't exist or are not available , yet (2024) in the US or anywhere ..
Peace.