Extreme expensive DS

What is happening with the PS Audio prices in Europe. The price for a DS increased to 7599€ without a bridge. The price for an upgrade kit became 3800€. Is the dollar that strong? 1$ is 0,88€ which makes a directstream 8600$ in Europe.

Yep, check the hard disk prices on tweakers (e.g. http://tweakers.net/pricewatch/385624/wd-red-sata-6-gb-s-wd60efrx-6tb.html ). The euro was as low as 1.04$, as far as I remember, so the distributors increased the prices accordingly. +25-30% tax (VAT + customs + declaration), plus shipping…I wonder about BHK prices. My guess is something around 9500 euros for the stereo version. Not a good time to buy anything from the US…

Well it’s probably due to the high dollar and the low euro. I hope the prices of PS audio products will be soon back in a certain price range in Europe. If else it will be unreachable for more people. frown

Dollar-vs-Euro.JPG

Hi Wijnand,

the graph shows you what happened. In short: the exchange rate got worse by 30%. That´s why the €-prices increased by 30%.

From January until today the distributors in the €-countries payed for it; as from now the customer has to pay.

The bad thing for PSA and other producers in the USD-world is, that they lose competitiveness in the €-zone.

Similar thing happened in Aust, which has declined by a solid 30% since its peak (which was unusually high, in historical terms).

I think a lot depends whether a company is setting prices on a Cost Plus or a Revenue Maximising basis. Seems like the BHK’s, at least, are cost plus. So, prices will be set in USD, and the global market will play out.

Perhaps companies like Devialet are “value pricing”. I cannot really see that the difference in price between the 400 Mono’s (AUD rrp : circa 19.5k) vs 800 Mono’s (AUD rrp : circa 34k) comes from a Cost Plus basis. NB : 400 / 800 @6 Ohms, not 8 Ohms…

I think the Revenue Maximisers have a lot more flexibility, geographically, to introduce up to say 10% difference (lower) to make things more affordable for “locals” in any particular geography, without ruining any particular domestic / other markets (because of shipping / import / other distance & risk ‘frictions’).

I hate to think how cheap it is to produce those Devialet pizza boxes with fully automated, robotic processes. They are able to build in France, so it must be highly automated ? The Phantom is put together in a couple of minutes with (literally) a tonne of pressure to bring its multi-piece metal together.

But, I would doubt the Cost Plus producers have much room to move.

Alekz said Yep, check the hard disk prices on tweakers
aliaswolf said

the graph shows you what happened. In short: the exchange rate got worse by 30%. That´s why the €-prices increased by 30%.

Perfect correlation with the disk prizes (WD60EFRX here)

On the flipside. I paid for my Pink Faun audio streamer in Euros, which converted from dollars at the rock bottom exchange rate of almost parity…

Excellent chart, Aliaswolf.

Many from the States are traveling to Europe because of the exchange rate. I have been ordering specialized high-performance motorcycle parts and other goodies from Italy and Germany as they are cheaper to have shipped to me than to buy them locally. It dpends on what side of the equation you are on.

As our economy has increased others have dropped. We have been paying for along time more for European products . As I feel sorry for them I feel great for us. And still no one says anything good about Obama as our leader. Sorry for off topic it just seemed a good place to say it.

Al

,this is not a good place to say it, no politics here.

If you are interested, we have the Anything Goes Non Audio Topics sub-forum if you would like to talk politics.

Hahahahaha. Sorry. That was a fast response ,

No problem, Al. Politics is a lightning rod topic. But please feel free to post in the non-audio topics forum if you would like.

Thanks elk.