Are HiFi products luxury items?

[bigboss]

Luxury is a very relative term. I suppose owning what's rare in your society is luxury in today's world. There was a time when TV was luxury, then washing machine, then dishwasher etc. but now almost everyone in my society owns them. So they are necessities.

I don't care what's luxury & what's not. If I like it, I buy it (as long as I can afford it)! 8)

 

[CnoEvil]

Taking my slightly random figure of £1k-£1.6 as being modest and not luxury, I suspect most contributors to this thread, would indeed have luxury systems.

Sure, but that range for "modest" would only be so for audiophiles. I'm sure the average person's idea of a stereo is more inline with a £200 Panasonic or Sony minisystem. They would likely think you'd gone mad suggesting that £1.6K is in anyway modest.

I suppose our perception of a luxury comes down to what our personal interests are, and Opportunity Cost......£8k for a car is often seen as reasonable, yet £1k for a Hifi is considered insane.

The same people who might raise an eyebrow at a £1.6k system, probably wouldn't bat an eyelid about a stag weekend abroad, paying an annual fee for a Golf Club / Fitness Club, or the purchase of an Apple Mac.....though all these should probably be considered luxuries.

This is not making a case that I'm right about my random figure, only that people have their own "personal skew" about what should be labelled as mad.

What is the least you can spend (new and not heavily discounted), in order that the system (all in) would be considered as Hi Fidelity?....should Hifi be labelled as anything that produces a sound in stereo?

 

[SDB]

(pl. luxuries) the state of great comfort and extravagant living: he lived a life of luxury.• an inessential, desirable item that is expensive or difficult to obtain: luxuries like raspberry vinegar and state-of-the-art CD players| he considers bananas a luxury.

My hi-fi is a tool, I use it at work. But I still think yes it is a luxury.

 

[chebby]

How do you attract non-audiophiles, if you spend all your time catering to audiophiles?

For just one example ... do a Ruark.

They got out of the rut of being just another decent little UK speaker manufacturer and started giving people superb radios, slick one-box mini-systems and (now) frickin' amazing radiograms! (I saw one the other day and wanted one on first sight

They got their marketing right (Daily and Sunday newspapers, gadget mags, lifestyle and design mags etc.) and they got into online sales and John Lewis branches, Selfridges, Heals, Conran shops, hi-fi shops, Amazon, Luxury Hotels and ... well ... loads of other outlets a 'hair shirt' purist 'audiophile' wouldn't be seen dead in for his purchases.

And, sadly it will be mostly 'his' in the 'audiophile' world, which is a whole other problem (and a whole other debate) but a huge incentive to get out and find the 51 percent of the population (and their credit cards) who've never heard of you.

Ruark are a very near neighbour to Rega (same industrial park) and used to be a fraction of Rega's size. I'll bet I know who the 'daddy' is now

 

[Native_bon]

Taking my slightly random figure of £1k-£1.6 as being modest and not luxury, I suspect most contributors to this thread, would indeed have luxury systems.

Sure, but that range for "modest" would only be so for audiophiles. I'm sure the average person's idea of a stereo is more inline with a £200 Panasonic or Sony minisystem. They would likely think you'd gone mad suggesting that £1.6K is in anyway modest.

What is the least you can spend (new and not heavily discounted), in order that the system (all in) would be considered as Hi Fidelity?....should Hifi be labelled as anything that produces a sound in stereo?

NO

 

[CnoEvil]

NO

I agree....but where should the line be drawn?

 

[Native_bon]

NO

I agree....but where should the line be drawn?

All depends on the individuals perpective. My rule is no rules.. if it sounds good to me then it is good.

 

[drummerman]

I work with Autism and Maslow's hierarchy of needs is applied.

If you agree with it then 'hifi' is a luxury.

regards

 

[the record spot]

Good post DM. Very true.