I think there is an interesting common denominator here, but maybe not one of the obvious ones (price, ”luxury”). Both of these are products that people with the means buy to reward themselves. They are the culmination of a journey that may have spanned decades or the fulfilment of a dream that may have been born in their youth.
Although it is easy to get speed blind a quarter of a million is an awful lot of money for most people (hey, even $10k is a lot of money for most people!) and that will buy you, among other things, a very nice DAC, a very nice car or a holiday home (at least I think there are some places where that is still true). Assuming one’s financial position means one needs to choose, which one chooses and why is an intensely personal decision which I would argue goes way deeper than ”perceived value” or ”taste”. IMO there is little logic here and certainly no objective pecking order.
For some, the ultimate ”reward” will be a Varèse (or a Lina or whatever) and for some it will be two Boxster GTS 4.0s.
And for some very lucky ones it will be all of the above.
If true that is substantially more than I had anticipated. Are you sure this is correct? Another thread on this forum had someone looking at your UK “company register” (?) where one could see the declared sales revenue of a company. I recall in that thread someone mentioning somewhere between 7-9 million dollars - which surprised me (how small it was). If true this revenue does not sync with an annual production of 3600 units per year.
I know on other forums the revenues of Linn and Naim were listed around 40 million dollars however those companies make a broader range of products (amplifiers, preamps, source components, speakers etc.) and not just a single streaming product like dCS
My “first” Porsche was purchased in 2000 and I still drive it. It was still a luxury product back then however, when factoring in the cost of purchase and the number of years on the road, the average monthly cost to me is about the same as a Fiat (or “econobox” as we refer to them here).
I guess the same can be said of a Rossini or Vivaldi. I like to analyze my stereo purchases through the concept of amortization. My Naim 552/500 system kept me playing music for 18 years. The monthly cost over that period was similar to what some people over here spend at Starbucks
I went from Bartók to Vivaldi. In one phrase I would describe it as “more of everything” but two elements that particularly stick out in my recollection are:
Bass. Not so much quantity as quality. Hearing the differences between the bass guitar and the bass notes of a synth more clearly, hearing the detailed textures of timpani strikes or the reed of a contrabassoon, and
Sound staging. More breadth and depth but also a sense of solidity or precision to the positioning of individual voices and instruments within that space (insert your own choice of tired audiophile epithets like “holographic” or “walk around in” here).
In short the sort of subtle aural cues that just make it seem more “real”.
That’s one way of looking at it and is a perfectly valid way of assessing RoI/value and making comparisons retrospectively. But my point is that it is hard to assign a value to the fulfilling of a dream.
Yes. I understand that comparsion although i came up with a slightly different conclusion. I bought my first porsche in 1982. Over the past 40 years i have renewed the flat six 5 times ( interspersed with other business like cars like rover and mb). I think porsche makes the best car on the road bar none (911) but if not for the upgrades they would have lost-me long ago. Increases in performance with each newer generation kept me interested and only a saturation by porsche in my own living market area has discouraged me to find something more special a few years back. Had i kept my special edition 1998 air cooled car it would sell around 250k which is a bit more than i paid. Conversely my current sled is a much nicer and faster car and better looking to me. Certainly more exclusive than porsche is today. Now comparatively my vivaldi stack has apex. I havent paid a nickel in maintenance and I suspect it holds-its value quite nicely for now. Enjoyment. I love driving my car but truth be told i probably drive less than 2 hrs per week if that. Its a fun 2 hrs but it is what it is. I listen 2-3 hrs per day on average. This is a different comparison but more meaningful from my perspective … hrs per week per dollar. Thats justification i can live with on dcs
I used to put my original in the garage each winter and only use it spring/summer.
I was 61 when I bought the GTS 4.0. This time around I said “screw it” - as Mick sang (modified)
“time is (no longer) on my side”.
Now I own a set of winter tires and use the car 365
I have a BMW M4 cab which has done 18k miles in 7 years. Maybe an hour a week driving and not much during the winter. It’s being sold now or in the spring to fund my 3 box Vivaldi purchase along with the Rossini and clock trade in. I listen to music 6 to 8 hrs a day while I work from home. Thats sufficient justification for the upgrade.
Just a little bit jealous of you guys. My car, which I am almost ashamed in this company to say is an X5, has to be an all-year-round car because I live in Sweden (snow tyres mandatory half the year) and because I am a trainer in my youngest son’s football team and I need 7 seats. I owned my last ”summer” (sports) car 18 years ago now, sigh. Live in the middle of the city so having a sports car rotting in a garage 300+ days of the year is not a super-attractive option. Great memories though!
Thats hilarious. A measly Veyron is way out of my thought process from a practicality standpoint (i see a lot of expensive cars on the road but have never seen the cheapest bugatti except at a show). Im a low key guy who even had low key color 911’s like platinumetallic and ice blue silver ( although i will admit to loving the gulf blue which isnt so understated but i dont think there is any color you can paint a bugatti and not draw massive attention. It would be a blast to drive
Yeah. I used to be one of those 3 rotting in the garage guys but the old mg and xk150 were rotting as i drove the 911. I would drive the old boats to a buddys house for a beer or a rally or take the moto guzzi loop frame for a spin but my best car was always my daily driver as it is now. My office is 8 minutes but a few weekly appointments in town 40 min away or at the opposite end of the metro area an hr away gets me jazzed. No. It doesnt see 200 mpg… or 125. But its fun at 85 and i can get away with that on the freeway as long as im not annoying and its worth every penny. My wife has a larger mini which is surprisingly decent for hauling most things.
Well it is sort of relevant to the topic. We might be fascinated by dCS news, but most people find it incomprehensible. If you own a ridiculously expensive car you’re esteemed by society. Even though any such admiration is clearly spurious.
However, if like me you own ridiculously expensive audio equipment, you’re seen as amusingly eccentric at best, or at worst a total nut job.
