Modern Linestages

A lot of very interesting comments above. Manufacturers charge what the market will bear; too much and they go belly-up; not enough and they don't have the resources to survive tough times and develop new products. I esp. liked Uru975's comment:

If simplicity also meant inexpensive it would be nice. All to often something that is very simply made, almost elegant, is a work of extreme craftsmanship.

Whoever actually wrote the line attributed to Twain- "I'm sorry this letter is so lengthy but I didn't have time to write a shorter one" knew what he or she were talking about it. It is certainly easier to put a bandaid on a problem (more parts, more complex circuit) than is is to design the problem out of the product. Simplicity is the "ne plus ultra" of any design or creation. It should be as simple as possible in order to achieve the designer's intent; no simpler and most certainly no more complex..

As a group audiophiles work hard to attain subtle improvements in performance. As such I'm a little disappointed by the lack of subtlety in some of the responses. I don't see how someone could reduce my comments here to a criticism of people buying expensive components. As I see it there has been a trend at the higher end of equipment, which by definition is expensive, towards increasingly complex and as a result even more expensive linestages. It's the increasing complexity of the products that seems to be driving the cost upwards. Implicit in my comments is a belief that linestages really shouldn't be that complex a device. I could be very wrong about that belief. So rather than go on about the tax code, explain to me why the increasing complexity of some recent linestages. Is it only a matter of time before someone releases an 8 chassis linestage weighing 300 lbs. and costings $150,000. And I'm sure some will say that's progress.

The idea that the manufacturers of these products are charging "what the market will bear" is somewhat insulting to the people who buy these products. If Mikelavigne is a valid example, then this group of people aren't fools. They seem to be a performance driven as any other group of audiophiles.

personally, and i think mike made the point indirectly, i feel that getting a very good linestage can have the greatest variability in cost. the placette vs the MLevinson as a great example of my point.

a very good speaker w/ roughly comparable performance is not apt to cost b/w $1500 and 15000. but you can get a linestage that in A/B testing can compete to a draw.

for those who demand the best, they pay the most. i dont doubt the dart is great, i've heard the passive ypsilon and it is great, but i dont think i'd drop another 25k above what i have in my herron for the improvement(see my system thread for thoughts)

frankly, insofar as electronics / speakers go, the easiest job belongs to the linestage...ergo, it should be the cheapest. my 2c anyway.

Onhwy61,
The general responses here seem to favor simplicity rather than championing complexity.Superior built, skilled labor part quality etc. were cited as reasons for higher cost items.Undeniably market forces do apply, demand for a product and how much does a consumer value certain items(for what ever reason). People will spend up to their own individual comfort level and no more.
If some linestages go in the direction of increased complex design, it may be at their own peril, buyers will make that decision.

The tax reference was in response to Trebejo`s last two paragraphs in his post.His example does`nt hold water IMO.

I don';t know anything about circuit design, so I can't comment on Rhyno's statement, but regardless of whether or not a line stage has an easy job, IME, the pre-amp is the heart of any system. One of the most important things to get right. I will also say that the three pre-amps I have enjoyed the most are a VAC Ren MK2, a Doshi Alaap, and a Lightspeed Attenuator (OK, OK, not exactly a line stage but functionally equivalent) which in terms of list price cover a range of about 20X.