$35K for Speaker Cables!

[audio amateur]

The whole point is that some folks demand the highest levels of performance.

And what I'm saying is that you regularly get to hear the real deal for that price.

Ferrari used to charge $10k for the carbon fiber brake option!

Are you saying 35k for a pair of cables is any less obscene ? I can see where the money is going in my carbon ceramic brakes, the technology of which is used in Formula 1. Can't say as much about them cables.

[E-Stat]

And what I'm saying is that you regularly get to hear the real deal for that price.

Such is a value statement. The equally obscenely priced Nordost Odins that I've heard are simply spectacular in their ability to retrieve detail. You're not going to find this design as any OEM product to be relabeled.

Are you saying 35k for a pair of cables is any less obscene ? I can see where the money is going in my carbon ceramic brakes, the technology of which is used in Formula 1. Can't say as much about them cables.

You're looking at the wrong end. It is all about development cost, not just materials cost. Are you aware of how many hundreds of millions are spent so that an F1 racer can shave tenths of a second off its lap time? Do you see those changes? Many opamps can be manufactured for a buck or two. How many man hours of development, however, did the design and testing take? A lot more than a minute's worth of labor time might suggest.

rw

[nightflier]

It is all about development cost, not just materials cost. Are you aware of how many hundreds of millions are spent so that an F1 racer can shave tenths of a second off its lap time?

Sounds to me like Ferrari was trying to recoup some of those losses by getting suckers to pony up $10K for brake shoes. Kind of like Porsche making SUVs, as they admitted themselves. Whether that is the case or not, what is MIT trying to recoup? How much can realistically be spent on $35K cables research (excluding knowledge from previous cables). Likewise, those Odin cables are equally over-priced. So many people make the mistaken assumption that everything with a fancy name, good marketing, or a new model number must automatically be that much more expensive. While labor costs are indeed higher in some places (like the US and Europe), there is a point where this becomes ridiculously abusive.

[Ajani]

Sounds to me like Ferrari was trying to recoup some of those losses by getting suckers to pony up $10K for brake shoes. Kind of like Porsche making SUVs, as they admitted themselves. Whether that is the case or not, what is MIT trying to recoup? How much can realistically be spent on $35K cables research (excluding knowledge from previous cables). Likewise, those Odin cables are equally over-priced. So many people make the mistaken assumption that everything with a fancy name, good marketing, or a new model number must automatically be that much more expensive. While labor costs are indeed higher in some places (like the US and Europe), there is a point where this becomes ridiculously abusive.

Abusive of who or what? The guy with $35K to spend on a hobby? If the MIT cables do indeed sound better than all other cables, so what? If they sound no better than a standard pair of Blue Jeans Cables, so what? Who or what is being abused by the $35K price tag? Neither you nor I are footing the bill...

Let the buyer decide, whether the increase in performance (real or imagined) is worth it to him/her...

[nightflier]

Abusive of who or what? The guy with $35K to spend on a hobby? If the MIT cables do indeed sound better than all other cables, so what? If they sound no better than a standard pair of Blue Jeans Cables, so what? Who or what is being abused by the $35K price tag? Neither you nor I are footing the bill...

Let the buyer decide, whether the increase in performance (real or imagined) is worth it to him/her...

There is another point to be made here: one has to wonder whether a $30K cable from another manufacturer, like Nordost for example, actually sounds worse at all. Maybe it even sounds better? My guess is that they probably sound exactly the same, measure just the slightest tinge different, and the only real difference is brand-name bragging rights. But the price difference is significant (it certainly would buy a lot of music or concert tix).

Yes, these MIT cables probably sound fantastic, but so does a $30K cable. Where is the difference?

[Ajani]

There is another point to be made here: one has to wonder whether a $30K cable from another manufacturer, like Nordost for example, actually sounds worse at all. Maybe it even sounds better? My guess is that they probably sound exactly the same, measure just the slightest tinge different, and the only real difference is brand-name bragging rights. But the price difference is significant (it certainly would buy a lot of music or concert tix).

Yes, these MIT cables probably sound fantastic, but so does a $30K cable. Where is the difference?

While I see your point (as I don't drink the audiophile Kool-Aid), I still believe that it is up to the person who is deciding whether to spend $35K on a pair of cables, to determine if it is better than a $30K pair or even a $30 pair....

Price has little to do with anything in audio... Some products are expensive because they use expensive parts, others because of years or R&D costs (and limited production runs), some pay heavy import duties and taxes, others excessive profit margins... However, does anyone of those categories guarantee that a product will sound good? Nope, neither quality parts nor extensive R&D guarantees squat.. You might well prefer a product at the same price (with an excessive profit margin)....

But my point is that it is not for us to sit on the sidelines and judge MIT's cables... Since we have no idea what they sound like or are made of... Let the guy who wants to buy one make up his own mind...

[GMichael]

But my point is that it is not for us to sit on the sidelines and judge MIT's cables... Since we have no idea what they sound like or are made of... Let the guy who wants to buy one make up his own mind...

OK, but it's still fun to poke at them with a stick.

[E-Stat]

Sounds to me like Ferrari was trying to recoup some of those losses by getting suckers to pony up $10K for brake shoes.

Truly I don't understand why people who have never experienced the performance of something get all whipped up about the cost and whine about all the "suckers". Why spend $70M on a Gulfstream G5 when you can buy a faster Citation X for a third that?

rw