Sadly!
I suppose one could also make the case that there has always been such purchasing extravagance at the top of the food chain but now even more people are at the apex than there were in the recent past. A 1950’s Rolls Royce Phantom IV was the height of motoring exclusivity in the 50’s, only head of state and royalty could buy one. General Franco paid $42,000 in 1952 US money for his (and his was one the less expensive ones made.) A simple conversion for adjusted currency inflation makes that just over $1,000,000 US in today’s money. Top of the line über cars cost around 1-2 million today and there are many more supercars sold now than was the case 50-70 years ago.
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Probably no more than PS Audio puts into some of their products. Heck, some models take years of development (Some feel like decades)
I think that plaque says “SUCKER!” In French.
I agree with you that it is really questionable if anybody needs this.
But you can question nearly every product like that, also PS Audio products. Nobody needs a stereo at all, in this luck down I do not even need a car. We need to a healthy climate, drink, eat and sleep.
Perhaps Goldmund developed this for one single SACD fanatic and charges the entire development costs to that customer. Following that any other fanatic paying £175,000 means a lot of profit.
Basically the more expensive the product, the less sold units the development costs can be shared by. So the “higher end” you seek with your Audio Quality the more crazy this gets.
Comparing this to PS Audio is as ridiculous as paying £175,000 for an SACD player.
PS Audio does perform research, otherwise they would not be able to produce it, but they did not develop:
- Their own drive mechanism.
- A dedicated anti vibration construction and the enclosure. It’s all custom made, milled from solid slabs. PS Audio cut a hole in the bottom of a sheet steel bottom plate a of the BHK pre-amp enclosure, through which the Marantz drive protrudes, because PS Audio apparently did not even bother adjusting the size of the enclosure. PS Audio’s enclosure comprises of single size extruded profiles for the front and side and single size moulded screw on corner parts compared to perfect fit custom milled aluminum parts.
Goldmund (not Goldman) has quality control over every single component, as at least they produce every mechanical part or every mechanical part is custom made to their specifications. PS Audio relies on the quality control of purchased parts that are not necessarily custom designed by or for PS Audio.
Esoteric, T+A and dCS come to my mind to compare this with and then still there is this Swiss mountain hight of price difference.
Anyway, for most mortal beings on this planet this is all academic.
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Also true of buying any audiophile product such as we all own, as well as owning a car, a computer, etc.
We all enjoy incredible wealth relative to the vast majority of people in today’s world.
As members of the wonderfully wealthy, it is pretty silly for us to wag fingers at the super wealthy.
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I would generally agree with you. However, it is well established that the differential between those at the top of the economic food chain have seen their incomes grow in vastly greater proportion compared to the “average” worker since the 1950’s. IMO capitalism has reached the stage where interest in short term gain takes precedence over constructive long term investment in corporate infrastructure and work force. Speakers at the yearly DAVOS economic summit regularly warn the financial elites in attendance about the structural dangers of income inequality. Let me be clear, I’m not advocating an anti capitalist agenda. However, any economic system ruled principally by short term greed rather than long term value for all participants in the economy eventually fosters resentment and demand for reform in some manner.
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I understand the argument.
But any group, like us, which buys the equipment we do, drives the cars we own, etc. needs a reality check if any claims they are not among the highly privileged.
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Completely agree. To argue otherwise one would have to be completely oblivious to reality.
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Try telling your non audiophile friends what you paid for your BHK 300’s, or better yet, the power cables you’re using. Guaranteed their reaction will be similar to yours when you first saw the price of the Goldmund, or whatever is equally out of your financial reality.
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I like their functional speaker design and a few more Bauhaus like designs they made as well as their quality approach. But I’m disappointed be this player. First, that they at all put a main effort in all this mechanical design of a disc spinner, that’s retro…and then the design itself with gold parts…no, that’s not the Goldmund I like.
And that has to be said too, I completely agree. We have no right to go on like that.
Profit is good, not at any cost.
I forgot to mention an important primary need: love and care for each other.
You say that like it’s a bad thing!
(Just kidding)
I have been called an Audiophool more than once and for a relatively inexpensive DAC. (The DSD Jr. as a matter of fact)
I have tried a less-than-$10-DAC from Amazon.
Sound is ok for movies, but for music…awful, really awful.
And my saying ok for movies is really stretching it too.
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Is it mono? I guess you will need two copies of each disc as well.
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I’m tired of being outraged by the cost of things intended for the rich (or super rich or ultra rich - whatever one wants to call them). I just wish that a whoever buys those things indeed appreciates the music instead of just making it a statement piece dusted and polished daily but never listened.