Value for money

[admin_exported]

Has Hi-Fi become incredibly bad value for money?

The reason I ask is that I have recently been looking around at DACs to run my sonos through. To get something that is of about the same standard of my current set up I was looking at the Cyrus DAC xp and Cyrus list this on their website at £2,500.

Fun though the DAC is it may have to wait a while as I am also currently pricing up a new kitchen. I had a browse around on the web yesterday and I can get a new double oven, hob, cooker hood, dishwasher, fridge and freezer for just over £3,000. These are all Bosch products so I am not exactly going for the cheapest products here.

When you stack them up side by side the amount of metal you end up with for the DAC does seem a bit laughable and kind of hard to justify as a purchase option.

This got me thinking about hi fi prices in general so I had a look back at the old reviews of my integrated amp (a roksan Caspian). In 1997 this retailed for £695, today the comparable amp costs £1,450. That represents an increase of 109%. If you take a look at the RPI table for the same period the general inflation increase is 38%, why has this happened? The new amp is cosmetically almost identical to the original and has the same features and functions.

Is there a hi fi industry price index? This could be interesting as I have only picked out one product in my example.

I fear I may have become too domesticated over the last decade or so.

 

[bluebrazil]

the dac xp is also a pre amp, the normal dac x is cheaper but maybe its overkill on a sonus, im sure people here will recommend better dac's

 

[Anonymous]

Thank you for the reply, but advice on DACs was not really the point. The issue was whether or not hi fi has just become a bit too pricey.

 

[Andrew Everard]

Although you can buy a pair of decent standmount speakers from the likes of Wharfedale for around £130, which is exactly what such speakers have cost for at least the last 25 years...

 

[Anonymous]

That's a fair point, so is it just that I picked out an isolated example with the caspian or is it that speakers are now phenomenal value for money and amps are a bit expensive?

 

[Andrew Everard]

I think your example probably reflects the diminishing scale of the higher-end specialist audio market, which tends to push up the unit costs due to reduced economies of scale, not to mention the effect of exchange rates on companies such as this.

 

[bluebrazil]

im sure that the weak pound has made a difference lately with british built electronics, it seems everybody has bumped up the prices, i think a dac xp use to be £2000 ?, and its never changed

 

[Andrew Everard]

bluebrazil:im sure that the weak pound has made a difference lately with british built electronics

And even more of the problem for those companies building products overseas. And it seems no-one is immune from currency fluctuations - have a look at how the Korean won has been doing against the Euro recently

and even against the £

Such strengthening sort of explains why some Korean-brand TVs have seen price increases...

 

[Nadeac]

Ud have to be a real enthusiast to warrant spending £2500 on a DAC ,but like most things if u want the best ,u have to pay

Its horses for corses at the end of day but £2500 grand buys a lot, house upgrades luxery holiday etc

How anyone can say that £2500 for a dac is good value for money ill never no ,but there again somethings only cheap or expensive depending on how much money u have to begin with !

A Caimen Is £230{and u have a decent headphone amp builtin} can u tell me that the Cyrus is £2270 better ! 90 % of people would would never notice a difference in sound ,its only that 10% of enthusiasts that would

Mark

 

[Anonymous]

georgejack:demartin_1:
Has Hi-Fi become incredibly bad value for money?

Yes I think it has.

Entry has gone as mad as a hatter, eg, I purchased a new NAD C515bee for £140 and a new NAD C315bee for £130 to modify 14 months ago, I noticed the same high street retailer is now selling the C515bee for £220 and the C315bee for £200 at RRP.

That's a 55% rise, you're not telling me that percentage is due to the global economy state, more like greediness.

Was £140 ever a realistic price? If you removed inflation from this what would be the equivalent price be 10 years ago? Is it not a case of becoming used to unsustainable cheap far east manufacturered goods?

If things are moving away from the explotation of people to produce this years must have gadget then maybe that's a good thing. Is it a good that a pc is now a disposable item? That a £300 smartphone has a useful life of one year?

 

[Anonymous]

That budget hifi is still good value for money. There may well have been recent price rises but prices are still low when comared to prices ten years or so ago. That £140 amp would have been £114 is 1999 taking inflation into account. I don't remember NAD selling amps at that price.