Yes, maybe another example of the ongoing cost of listening crisis? The Audio Salon in Santa Monica, a reputable dealer by all accounts, has had a used NHB-18NS Mk II listed for $41k (ca 35% below list) since last September. In the latest re-listing on Audiogon they are explicitly soliciting offers. These things aren’t exactly flying off the shelves… Presumably a good number of the Anniversary sets will be headed for Asia where high-end demand seems to be largely immune to macroeconomic pressures?
As you say, in the context of current demand an edition of 108 sets may not actually be ‘limited’ at all and these could alternatively be regarded simply as new models. And I wonder how many prospective purchasers will actually ask for theirs to be supplied with matching handles??
But I just don’t get it. The text on the website “You are the reason we are here today. We are grateful” implies that there is some gesture here aimed at current customers, but I must be missing it. And I can’t help wondering how all this plays out for customers of Hervé’s flagship product, the NHB-468 monoblocks? Presumably there will be a route for them to access the pre-amp ‘refinements’ without having to buy a lower spec power amp and two sets of cables that they may not need? I’ll be keeping a close eye on developments in Mike Lavigne’s barn, especially as he is a major user of the phono stages where several of these ‘refinements’ apparently lie.