Why are so many companies like harbeth making old speakers designs and charging thousends?


Hi everyone I am a little confused about the speaker market. I had been two dealers that sell totally different products. The one I had been to which I bought my forests from sells Totem And Monitor Audio and B&W. though I went to the other that sells Harbeth And audio note speakers which they recommended me buying. And the problem I have trouble understanding Is when I spend thousands on a speaker. Especially my next big purchase. That has no real new technology and is the size of my dads old conerwalls and never use to cost Thousands to build. With no technological advancements. to a product such as the totem that is small compact and modern for the wife approval , and to be more exact. The new Element line and technologically advanced like the torrent driver. Which I can get the same speaker as the same cost or less of the audio note and Harbeth and dose not need to take up the whole room or look like the 70's. Whats your opinion? Would you buy a product that is a 30 year old design that costs 5 times as more with the only diffinceses as upgraded silver wire and upgraded crossover components. To a thousand dollar woofer that is machined not stamped and has so much magnetic flux that it ca lift a car and no crossover?
128x128jakecanada
Have the prices of the speakers (and everything else) gone up ... or has the value of the money gone down?  
Hi Marty,
     "Active digital crossovers (and room correction) are a more recent innovation, so there's been some recent technology developments out there, but Tim's point is mostly taken" 
Back in 1980 we were experimenting with the stk086 chip used individually on drivers to actively cross, bi/tri/quad amp etc. (we actually made a few fabulous sounding amps with this simple chip)  We could not do the hard core analytics for room correction then that a laptop program can provide now,  but even then it was quite simple to graph and eq a room, I suspect that room correction as we think of it today has been around longer than we realize.
Have the prices of the speakers (and everything else) gone up ... or has the value of the money gone down?  

Little bit of column A, little bit of column B.
Have the prices of the speakers (and everything else) gone up ... or has the value of the money gone down? 

IMO samething, Inflation!  
Because they're mostly made in England, so its gonna cost more. If you're not into sound and quality, then you can always buy some Chinese made for a fraction of those British, such as Wharfedale; QUAD; Monitor Audio. 

Btw, if prices of B&W's and Harbeth's shock you, try prices of the Wilson Benesch lol