Why so expensive??

Mrtennis, I suspect you are right, there are other factors in some our purchases beyond the search for better or sound or best sound, I sometimes seek equipment because I'm interested in seeing how single-ended tubes sound, or an EL84 amp sounds etc - that is, curiosity and love of the equipment and the hobby. I also agree that a "sell a few for more" strategy can be a good business model and perhaps answers the original question "why so expensive?".

I suspect (could be wrong) that many of us make the choice to buy the $10,000 amp versus the $3,000 amp thinking it is "better" in providing more convincing, moving, "realistic" sound (how ever we define it or hear it), and that to some extent the price differential is legitimate in that it fulfills that promise due to "better" parts and materials that we believe to be necessary for improved sound. I think that for a long time I naively believed this; to a great extent I no longer do. I've come to see that less can be more, simplicty in design usually sounds better, and the relationship between $$$$ and sound quality is not direct (though there is some connection). As I get older, the idea of lower powered, tube integrateds (2 or 4 power tubes) appeals to me more and more.

Every industry has it's zentih product.
Would you pay $1,000 for a glass of wine?
Would you pay $519 for MFSL Pink Floyd-The Wall (see Ebay)
Would you pay $54,000,000 for a Van Gogh painting?
Would you pay $20,000,000 for a ride on the Space Shuttle?
Would you pay $350,000,000 to Alex Rodriguez?

There can't be one answer. It's beyond supply and demand! It may be ego for the consumer, greed for the producer!
Maybe they don't even expect to sell these $350,000 amplifiers, but it is something for us to talk about isn't it? And sometimes, someone actually does purchase one!!

If I can point out a few things:

Anyone who objects to the price might want to do a serious price analysis on what the parts cost, the cost of labor, the cost of certification (such as in the EU), the cost of shipping, the cost of reviewers on the take, the cost of advertising, the cost of rent, utilities, the phone, IP service and the like, the cost of administration such as accounting, the cost of shows like CES and RMAF, the cost of warranty, the cost of out of spec parts that suppliers took you to the cleaners for, the cost of Federal, state and city fees and taxation...

Add to that the fact that some of out here who got into this really want to see how well our technologies can perform if we go all out. IOW, the game is not worth playing if you don't enjoy it and give it your ALL.

I concede that some manufacturers appear to be gouging. But I can point to a lot that are not. What we have found is that there is a segment of the audio market that is willing to pay for true state of the art (as opposed to fake state of the art) and they have the ears to know.

If you choose your system based on size, cost, heat, weight constraints, the resulting sound will be a crap shoot. If you choose the system entirely based on the sound being the best that you understand, the result will be entirely different- a transformation.

I also believe that the 'best' exists as a possibililty. I concede that most people have not heard it, and in that world as they have already found out, its all about taste. But the fact of the matter is that the best is real, IOW it it possible. If you've not heard it yet, that's OK, but I would not let that stop you from trying!! Isn't that a large part of what drives the high end of any endeavor?

All the Best,

-Ralph

Ralph, we were initially talking about a $350,000 amplifier and I don't care what it costs to do business -that is absurd, the price is so ridiculous that it almost doesn't deserve comment, but will get it anyway, and some will but it happily. And I'm more comfortable thinking in terms of several pieces that are truly excellent (rather than best), and when you hear them you know it, though they may differ from each other. I don't know if my CAT JL2 is the best, but I have no doubt it is really darn good, and the same can be said for your equipment, and a few others.

I don't think costs or labor has anything to do with price. Every manufacturer in a competitively vibrant market should do whatever they can to charge the highest amount possible. The market and competition will dictate what price is ultimately set. How does one determine a proper multiple of cost of goods anyway? What is fair? There is no fair in a free market, only what the consumer will bear and what the competition will allow. Lets not be naive. Except for a very few instances, every manufacturer wants to make the most money possible while every consumer wants to spend the least amount of money as possible. It is this relationship that helps to determine "proper" pricing. If someone thinks the price of something is too high, they have the choice to simply not buy it. If enough people choose not to buy a product, the manufacturer has a choice to either lower price or go out of business. And if someone does have the cash to spend $350K on a pair of amps, more power to them. I can't and I won't. Even if I did I won't buy why bash the manufacturer for selling this product? Obviously, someone is buying it. You may think its absurd to spend $350K on amps but realize that people in many parts of the world will think that is just as absurd for anyone to spend $3 on a cup of coffee or bottle of water.

Of course if a manufacturer has a monopoly then I can see where examples of price gouging can occur.