What are the three most expensive audio purchases you've made? How would you do you see them now post hoc?

[BobbyTimmons]

Eventually, packing and transporting them were a nightmare.
Keith

You would hope people are taking care when packing and transporting $130,000 speakers.

 

[MattHooper]

When I had to sell my Thiel 3.7s, as I spent the day carefully packing them and then lugging them in to a van, I decided “that’s it, no more big speakers.”

 

[Purité Audio]

You would hope people are taking care when packing and transporting $130,000 speakers.

Quite, it was exactly like that quote about yacht ownership,
’the two happiest days are the day you buy it and the day you sell it’.
Keith

 

[thegeton]

When I had to sell my Thiel 3.7s, as I spent the day carefully packing them and then lugging them in to a van, I decided “that’s it, no more big speakers.”

Did you hug them goodbye and then silently weep? It's what I would have done if I let go of some of my beloved speakers... just sayin'

 

[Chr1]

... Whilst nursing your back.

(And also laughing inside and secretly dreaming about the next pair)

 

[Chr1]

Cue: dubious girlfriend/wife/twin analogies...ahem.

 

[anmpr1]

From my experience, in the heyday of consumer hi-fi ('70s and '80s) there were always two tiers of gear, cost-wise. 1) Gear that you could expect a decent discount. Sometimes upwards of twenty percent, maybe a bit more. 2) Gear that you paid MSRP, and was hardly ever subject to discounting.

Examples of No. 1 were mass market Japanese brands (Pioneer, Sansui, Kenwood, Marantz, and MM cartridges from Shure/Stanton). No 2 was most famously McIntosh, and JBL. Then, 'esoteric' stuff from ARC, Mark Levinson et al. Imported 'exotic' MC cartridges were usually not discounted.

Today, you can call up your guitar store rep and ask for a discount, and usually get one. You can (or at least could) go to your car stealership and negotiate off invoice. Is it that way anymore with hi-fi gear?

With my last purchase, I didn't even think of asking for a discount on my AHB2 and DAC3 HGC. Would they have given me one? Shipping was included in the list price, so that was something. Was shipping actually 'free', or simply 'built in' to the price? At the same time I ordered two rather largish loudspeakers; both came with 'free' shipping plus what was advertised as 'white glove' handling-- two men and a truck delivered the boxes and helped with unpacking and placement. That had to be worth something.

Back in the day when you bought a 'system' from a dealer they would 'throw in' a cartridge and 'hook up wire'. Maybe a handful of blank cassettes. Probably wind up with 20% off your entire purchase. However I don't know if dealers nowadays offer 'on request' discounts. I know mainstream mail order outfits (Crutchfield) will sell you a 'scratch and dent' at a lower price. But it's nothing like guitars, where you almost expect a deal from the get-go.

Has anyone gotten a big discount on expensive gear?

 

[jcarys]

I must be pretty frugal - looking back at my purchases I don't see anything that I consider seriously crazy money. (At least these days - at the time it might have caused me a bit of pain.)

It's not really audio, but the most expensive part of my A/V system is always the TV. I paid about $2600 for a Sony Z9D 7 years ago and plan on running it until it stops.

After that it's speakers. I paid $1750 for PSB Goldi's in 2000 and again, they are still in use 23 years later. That was a pretty great discount off list at the beginning, and amortized they now cost about $75 a year, so a bargain. I got another used set of these within the last 10 years from a local seller for under a grand. It seems to be the only purchase I have no record of, a serious lapse in my product catalog spreadsheet.

Finally it's a tie between a Denon AVR-6300 and an Oppo 205 at $1500 each. Since Denon's current 6800 now lists at $3500, I like that comparison too. The Oppo was a buy it now or never as they closed out business, so no discount. It was still worth it in that it's my all region disc player and tends to be rock solid playing back "difficult" discs.

 

[Vacceo]

When I had to sell my Thiel 3.7s, as I spent the day carefully packing them and then lugging them in to a van, I decided “that’s it, no more big speakers.”

While you´re eying a pair of Everests...

I´m sure you´re actually not, but I couldn´t help the thought.

 

[MattHooper]

Did you hug them goodbye and then silently weep? It's what I would have done if I let go of some of my beloved speakers... just sayin'

Ha! It took me forever to find a replacement for the Thiel 3.7s. I listened to practically every loudspeaker I could find around and above their price point and every time I came
home the damned Thiels just sounded better. I just had no complaints - they had it all, super clarity, totally boxless sound, totally disappeared as sound sources, as coherent as I've ever heard, tight focused bass and evenly balanced, tonally gorgeous, massive soundstage, ultra solid imaging. Still probably the best speaker I've owned.

Which is why I ended up buying the next size model down as a replacement, the Thiel 2.7. Now those I could hug. Love their looks, finish and they sound very much like the bigger model.

 

[Anton D]

1) Apogee Studio Grand speakers, subsequently updated by True Sound Works somewhere along the way. Love them, lots of things to connect, etc. But, they remain beloved and in rotation. I use the Pass Labs crossover.

2) Krell KRC HR preamp, quiet as a tomb. It's got a phase reversal switch that can actually make for a sighted subjective non-science based fun listening experience.

3) SOTA Millenia turntable with Tri Planar VII arm and various cartridges. Fun toy and I enjoy it.

4) Esoteric DV 50S all in one player. I've had it for ages, not going anywhere. I ike playing SACDs, as well, so this is just statying put.

 

[Ron Texas]

Adjusted for inflation it's stuff I bought decades ago. It's all long gone, nowhere near as good as what's available today, but I enjoyed it very much at the time. What was high end back then I could not afford.

 

[hvbias]

Cessaro ‘Liszt’ four way horns by far the most expensive item I have ever bought, I can only sat it seemed a good idea at the time.


The middle ones in case you were wondering.
Keith

I always thought it was super tacky when these companies commercialized the names of composers that likely would have wanted nothing to do with them.

 

[Dan]

Where to start? Beolab 5 speakers to begin with. Unbelievable speakers that I adored but somehow got in my head that I needed an "all analog system" for vinyl that I was rapidly collecting. I sold the beolabs and got Sonus Faber Amati futuras which were even more expensive. That was nice but the hassle of keeping an all analog system while still trying to accommodate for awful room acoustics required a rack-full of components which, to be honest, I hated. I then became aware of ASR. Huge light bulb moment for me in the audiophile hobby.

I sold all of my vinyl and analog purity BS after comparing digital converted vinyl to "pure analog" and not noticing any difference. I now have the Avantgarde zero 1s which are simply awesome and greatly simplified my system and thrilled the wife. Honestly, I wish I simply kept the beolab 5s to begin with, but that is life, isn't it? Make mistakes and learn and grow from them.

 

[mhardy6647]

I always thought it was super tacky when these companies commercialized the names of composers that likely would have wanted nothing to do with them.

You mean like the John Cage Acoustics Model 4.33?

(ahem... sorry!)

 

[Purité Audio]

I always thought it was super tacky when these companies commercialized the names of composers that likely would have wanted nothing to do with them.

Liszt was a huge horn fan
Keith

 

[BobbyTimmons]

Quite, it was exactly like that quote about yacht ownership,
’the two happiest days are the day you buy it and the day you sell it’.
Keith

Did you ship them internationally or was it a domestic sale?

 

[JeffS7444]

Has anyone gotten a big discount on expensive gear?

Sure - IIRC, I got "industry accommodation pricing" on Linn, Conrad Johnson, SOTA, and maybe other stuff I can't recall. Those special prices were considerably lower than normal dealer cost. And sometimes dealers would have an odd item, perhaps sent by manufacturer to the dealer for evaluation, and the dealer decided not to pick up the line. Pricing on those items could be very flexible.

Benchmark periodically offers refurbished units at discounted prices to the general public. But any time a manufacturer has products which cannot be legally resold as new (review samples, customer returns, demo units, etc), there's the possibility of discounts.

 

[MattHooper]

Has anyone gotten a big discount on expensive gear?

Presuming you are speaking of buying retail, not second hand. (I've certainly had great bargains second hand, which is usually how I buy).

When I've bought from dealers I've been my wimpy self - I never barter or try to get a lower price. If I go to a dealer about a specific item then I consider myself ready to pay the retail price.

That said, I did get a nice deal on my speakers from my local dealer. I'd been wanting to afford a new pair of the the original model, but then the manufacturer introduced an updated model, so the dealer was willing to let go of his fairly new floor model of the old ones at about 2/3 the regular price. So I went for it. (And upgraded the speakers later). Still, it was the most I've paid for any audio product.

 

[Shadrach]

Exposure 25RC and 21 Pre. I bought the together. I cant remember which year I bought them. It was a long time ago. Treid other kit but nothing brought a smile to my face like these two. I've still got the 25RC which I keep meaning to sell but don't quite get around to it.

Quad ELS 63. I bought them second hand but they were still expensive back then. Couldn't get them back out the door quick enough.

A pair of Volt 15 inch radial bass units. I've had Volt drive units in various projects over the years. My main speakers in my last system had volt base units and ABRs. Wonderfull drivers. Still got a pair of the B2500 somewhere plus ABRs.

More recently I started reading ASR and later moved. Not sure which one to blame. I now have an active system made by Genelec, two mans and two subs.