Inexpensive/Expensive.

[zumbo]

For me, under 1k for a piece of gear is inexpensive.

Over 1k is expensive.

There is no way for a stranger to know how you distinguish between the two.

A target price-range/budget will help with recommendations.

 

[Kvn_Walker]

For me it depends on the component. I'm willing to spend thousands on speakers. Amplifier/receiver is under $1000 budget. In both cases I'm not afraid to buy used, cared-for equipment.

I'm not a believer in magic cables, so speaker wire that is true 14 gauge or thicker is fine, and I'm not going to spend too terribly much on RCA or USB.

 

[AcuDefTechGuy]

I definitely believe in spending the least amount of money to achieve my goal.

But we all have different goals.

If it does NOT achieve your goal, then saving some money doesn't mean much. You'll just end up upgrading or spending more money to reach your goal.

 

[pewternhrata]

For me it depends on the component. I'm willing to spend thousands on speakers. Amplifier/receiver is under $1000 budget. In both cases I'm not afraid to buy used, cared-for equipment.

I'm not a believer in magic cables, so speaker wire that is true 14 gauge or thicker is fine, and I'm not going to spend too terribly much on RCA or USB.

I almost always buy used so I base my purchases on overall value and whats a 'good value' more than anything. I dont necessarily like expensive stuff but I do like nice things and going used is an easy way to obtain an expensive piece for relatively cheap. These days, 1k for an avr is basically a baseline for a decent unit, id tick back a few years and pick up a 2k rotel for $800 before I'd ever consider a new denon or marantz. Heck I got my integra dtr 7.8 for less than $100 shipped. Ok so maybe not the best features but I'm looking for amp stage more than anything on an avr.

 

[2channel lover]

For me, under 1k for a piece of gear is inexpensive.

Over 1k is expensive.

There is no way for a stranger to know how you distinguish between the two.

A target price-range/budget will help with recommendations.

I think expensive or inexpensive is relative to ones bank account for the most part, but also what the gear is.

>$1k for a pair speakers imo is not expensive.
>$1k for speaker cables is insanely expensive.
>$1k for a pair of headphones is expensive imo

As far as strangers...not many strangers would see my system, but I had an AT&T install tech at the house a few months ago and he had to come up to the loft where my system is to do some work...he immediately thought it was an expensive system....and it wasn't even turned on.

 

[BoredSysAdmin]

I think expensive or inexpensive is relative to ones bank account for the most part, but also what the gear is.

>$1k for a pair speakers imo is not expensive.
>$1k for speaker cables is insanely expensive.
>$1k for a pair of headphones is expensive imo

As far as strangers...not many strangers would see my system, but I had an AT&T install tech at the house a few months ago and he had to come up to the loft where my system is to do some work...he immediately thought it was an expensive system....and it wasn't even turned on.

Agreed. 1k price point by itself is meaningless.
1k for a Ferrari complete car (in any shape) is insanely cheap while 1k for any home cable is insanely expensive.

 

[killdozzer]

I wouldn’t go with a figure as my starting point. I do believe that some things need to be expensive. Putting a lot of hours and brains into designing a speaker and then making a limited series translates into expensive.

Brands are expensive. A brand speaker achieving similar results as no name will be considerably more expensive.

My notion of expensive is getting average quality for a pile of money. Small producers often suffer from this.

Specialized equipment is expensive. If you have a 3k DAC, that does nothing but turn digital into analogue, that’s expensive. Especially since by today’s standards it does nothing more than a 300$ one.

There’s a guy I keep seeing in small ads who is trying to sell a 1.5k stand for a TT. Waaaay too expensive.

But I believe speakers could go up to 15k and rightly so. I wouldn’t have the money to buy them, but I wouldn’t necessarily see them as expensive.

My speakers are 1.5k, but many, many reviewers saw them as cheap and some even said that for a considerable improvement in sound you would have to go beyond 2k. Seeing it that way, they are not expensive.

This is why I see it this way; if it was easy to do and if it didn’t ask for research, investment, know-how and craftsmanship, then all your Radio Shack stuff would sound as good as the big names, but it doesn’t.

 

[2channel lover]

I wouldn’t go with a figure as my starting point. I do believe that some things need to be expensive. Putting a lot of hours and brains into designing a speaker and then making a limited series translates into expensive.

Brands are expensive. A brand speaker achieving similar results as no name will be considerably more expensive.

My speakers are 1.5k, but many, many reviewers saw them as cheap and some even said that for a considerable improvement in sound you would have to go beyond 2k. Seeing it that way, they are not expensive.

This is why I see it this way; if it was easy to do and if it didn’t ask for research, investment, know-how and craftsmanship, then all your Radio Shack stuff would sound as good as the big names, but it doesn’t.

Brands...they certainly can be. A sustained marketing effort certainly adds $ to the cost of anything...in the world of hifi...that can be tenfold.

High end brands such as Krell, B&W, and the like obviously have earned their solid reputations, with their longevity in the trade, but have they truly earned those price points in terms of quality and performance over other brands that don't have the same kind of marketing budgets.

Speakers...just speaking about floorstanders here...I've heard a lot of speakers over the years at price points even a few DIY ones...$1500 is not expensive by any means, but hardly cheap. In my experience, speakers really start to appeal to me at around $3,000 and up...I've heard so many great things about the BMRs that I'm expecting those to change my thinking.

 

[KenM10759]

I don't have hard numbers for expensive or cheap in anything. Whether it's a motorcycle, car, furniture, clothing, or audio equipment, it's worthless if I don't want it. It's priceless if I can't live without it. It's worth in money is exactly equal to what I'm willing to pay for it and not a dime more.

 

[pewternhrata]

It's almost similar in a sense to the thread about what's the cheapest system you would be happy with.
In the audio industry with soo many options available, ignoring budgets as well as both extreme bang for your buck and the exotic high end gear, where does the general market sit in terms of expected cost? Such as, 2k to me is expensive but, is that where I need to put myself in the general market for speakers that are solid, or do we really need to goto 5k? I know that's vague, but also why i would like to dismiss 'budget best bangs' such as a relative price point less than say $500. Or another way to look at it, if I'm going to get into the hobby of building a high end rc car, realistically those things cost $ at a minimum. They get as expensive as one can afford, but there is still a baseline minimum that has to be forked out.

 

[snakeeyes]

I think I understand. It’s hard to spend over $1999.99 at a time. $2000 feels like I went overboard. LOL

 

[-Jim-]

Expensive or not => that's really about how much disposable income you have. My friends who have lots, spend it on more exotic everything. Those who don't are frugal and sometimes buy used. The latter have to make better decisions on where their extra money goes after sustaining themselves and their families.

 

[snakeeyes]

Expensive or not => that's really about how much disposable income you have. My friends who have lots, spend it on more exotic everything. Those who don't are frugal and sometimes buy used. The latter have to make better decisions on where their extra money goes after sustaining themselves and their families.

I think this is more than being frugal. Some of us have a strong attraction to great sound and value it more than the nicest car or exotic vacation. But ya I don’t suggest spending diaper money on beers. LOL

 

[killdozzer]

that's really about how much disposable income you have.

Not for me. Overpriced in my book always relates to what I'm getting. My income varied, but the example I gave with the TT stand for 15k is still "stupidity-tax". It provides nothing, absolutely nothing other than some decoupling. The design is not particularly pretty.

High end brands such as Krell, B&W, and the like obviously have earned their solid reputations, with their longevity in the trade,

I wouldn't list B&W here. As soon as they give something good in the lower price ranges, one could debate whether they're expensive. I was thinking Anthony Gallo, Usher, Raidho, Kharma, Ascendo, PMC, Magico...

 

[2channel lover]

I wouldn't list B&W here. As soon as they give something good in the lower price ranges, one could debate whether they're expensive. I was thinking Anthony Gallo, Usher, Raidho, Kharma, Ascendo, PMC, Magico...

In terms of brands and how it affects the price you pay...I would, but I get your point. Those are ultra expensive, but not many would recognize the brand.

As a B&W owner...most of the lower priced B&W offerings are okay to good, like their new 700 series, but for comparable price you typically can find an equal or maybe even better SQ.

 

[zumbo]

You people will ague about anything.

Aquafina, or Dasani?

GO!

 

[KenM10759]

Do you recognize the difference between an argument and a discussion?

 

[killdozzer]

We're no angels, but I agree with KenM as far as this thread goes. I didn't see any argument.