fractalz
Power User
I wouldn't use $18k as "best", that's just where I am now.I heard somewhere that in speaker land (and especially in hi-fi) that you have to apply the Pareto principle.
It states that if you take the price of the best as 100% then:
This gives this kind of curve:
- a speaker that's 90% as good will cost 1/10th of the price
- a speaker that's 80% as good will cost 1/20th of the price.
View attachment 77603
So the trick is to look where the curve bends up - around 90-95% if you're looking for the best value for your money.
I did this with my hi-fi speakers.
I chose the B&W 600 series.
They were around 2000€ for a pair vs 30,000€ for the most expensive ones.
According to this principle, it would be around 2000$-3000$ per pair.
inverting your math, there are speakers out there over $200k a pair I can still grow into. Thanks, I think?
using my speakers as an example, ATC SCM 100s, I don't know of a $900/pair with a 12" woofer that is 80% as good. Nor a $1,800/pair that is 90% as good. So, maybe I already hit the sweet spot?
another way to look at this is pricing within a single product line. Most manufacturers have a constant amount of "fluff" across a line. So, in theory, most of the increased cost up the line is for better components. What is different across brands is the brand value you pay. B&W has a premium price, for example.