Value and luxury

[Frank Dernie]

They were mostly the vintage ones though.

Funnily the old ones are both the worst and most valuable since. Enzo was just ripping off the rich but has such an image now and they are rare because not many got made and a lot got thrown away when broken or crashed before anybody had any inkling they could ever be worth much.

 

[Astoneroad]

Owning a sports car is like having a nice stereo that you can only turn up when your neighbors are not home.

Unlike a sports car, when you exceed an acceptable decibel/speed level... you're not putting others lives at risk... usually.

 

[copperblue]

Knock on wood, my Elise has given me little serious problems.

Colin Chapman's (founder and lead Engineer) mantra: add lightness.

 

[Waxx]

I've driven a lot of those expensive cars as driver for a rental company that rent out those (to an exclusive public only) in Europe, and i agree, the 911 is the best car i've driven. Especially the latest series (from the 993 to now), they are technically way better than any Ferrari or Lambo or Bugatti. And yes, i've also been behind the steer of those on occasions. Ferrari, when they work, are great altough, especially in giving you the impression of being the fastest. Lambo's and Bugatti's are just loud and shouty (and go very fast), but are not that good for the rest.

But that is indeed not the point of those super expensive cars, their point is exclusivity, not top performance. That's why wealthy people pay ridiculous prices to buy or rent them. And that is why the company i work for as (freelance) driver does not even have a website. It's just a phonenumber that you have if you're high class enough to get access to those. And if you don't have that number, you're not high class enough to rent them ...

 

[Mart68]

Top Gear Lotus test track leader board, 2 Ferraris at the top, suggests their handling is good.

 

[egellings]

Because this is a audio related site ?
Some of us do roll our eyes at expensive purses and luxury cars, but in many cases such as a Ferrari, there is actual engineering which is measurable in the handling and top speed.

When expensive audio products actually produce superior measurements, we may roll our eye at the prices, but we respect the performance.

...even if the performance is way better than needed, such that an improvement would be inaudible.

 

[Vacceo]

Over Christmas I had the pleasure to have a stroll through Paris. And by accident I had the pleasure to listen to the Magico M7 at Présence Audio. Enormous in size, sleek presentation exceeding 500k€ the pair. They have already 3 pairs on pre-order.

Many of you now mentally roll their eyes. "Useless", "same can be had for 1k€ with Genelecs", "rip-off".

But why is that? I walked on, Prada sells their new leather bags for 2k€, a glass of (not-fresh) orange juice cost me €9 in a department store café, a bracelet of 2nd class diamonds in the window of Tiffany was 40k€ and several Maybach/Bentley cars drove by on Champs Elysee well beyond the 300k€ mark. Apple sells a phone for €1500.

Luxury prices increased more than regular items in the last 2 years and sales went up (known as the inverse law of price-sales).

There is a tiny group of people who simply like to surround themselves with exclusivity. And there are many who would like to have at least one luxury item in their possession. Not a rational choice arguiably.

So why do we ridicule audio luxury only?
Why not giggle at the stupidity of ladies wearing Prada? Why not at the Ferrari (which needs frequent repairs anyway)?

The more inequality rises, the more the price of luxury items will go up.

 

[phoenixdogfan]

this comment would be flat out wrong - objectively.

There are no 1k Genelecs that can reproduce the bass or even max SPL of the Magico M7.

Does the Magico make any of their speakers with the capability of tailoring them to their individual listening environment? Seems that Genelec gives every one of their speakers that capability while the Wilson and Magico offer nothing in that regard.

So when we're talking about "luxury" brands and comparing them to stuff from famous fashion houses and other noted luxury brands, Magico, despite their utterly exorbitant tariff, seems more like 'Pret-a-Porter" than "Haute Couture".

 

[Music1969]

Does the Magico make any of their speakers with the capability of tailoring them to their individual listening environment?

its a question irrelevant to the post i was responding to and quoted about $1k Genelecs vs Magico M7

 

[Sokel]

Does the Magico make any of their speakers with the capability of tailoring them to their individual listening environment? Seems that Genelec gives every one of their speakers that capability while the Wilson and Magico offer nothing in that regard.

So when we're talking about "luxury" brands and comparing them to stuff from famous fashion houses and other noted luxury brands, Magico, despite their utterly exorbitant tariff, seems more like 'Pret-a-Porter" than "Haute Couture".

I would expect a Magico owner to have the budget for a RC (or whatever) good system if not a room treated and tailored for good sound.
If falls short to this budget,Magicos was really not a good idea in the first place.