kemmler3D
Master Contributor
Edit preamble - yes, I know, there is actually, genuinely cheap entry-level gear, and it is good, very very good even, as low as ~$200 and under per piece. Yes, that is a good price, that makes sense to me. The disconnect for me, explained further below, is when more expensive things get called cheap, because to me $500 for an amp for example or a single speaker or a pair of headphones is already getting excessive for what it is, in my opinion at least, whereas it seems like many in this hobby, especially reviewers, still call that "budget". For me, that doesn't parse, I'd even dare to say it seems deranged, in a "who is this even for? How much of a spendthrift do you have to be for this to be budget?" sense. I think this all comes off more aggressive or accusatory than I'd like but I mean no offense, I just don't know how else to put voice to my thoughts.
------------
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?
Replying to OP's original question, I think you are out of touch, but only in terms of what present-day Hi-Fi is and costs, not in a bad way. There is also a certain amount of learning and then re-learning what it takes to get good performance.
I came from the true consumer world where it was hard to get people to pay $300 for a nice portable speaker.
When I started reading more about hi-fi a couple years back, I was really taken aback by how much a good amp and speakers cost, but what shocked me the most was the cost of a DSP unit that could simply do PEQ. MiniDSP was 5-6x more than what I thought such things should cost, having seen modules for single-digit dollars in the manufacturing world. I still think so, but luckily we have gotten more alternatives over time.
I didn't expect people to still be paying $1K+ for amps in 2022.
I wasn't sure about speakers, but I was surprised to see people not blink at $1K for a speaker.
Over time I got more accustomed to what compromises you need to make at every price point.
But more importantly, I still buy all my gear used. Can you get TOTL sound for under $500? Not easily... but you don't have to spend a lot more than that if you get lucky on Craigslist, either.