Axiom Home Page Forums General Discussion Stereo Your Maximum Price Point Poll

Considering that many people have budget constraints, they often cannot buy 'hifi' speakers.
However, some people who can afford such high priced items will even limit themselves to a budget value knowing there is a point of absurdity (the point of dimished return where the price does not equal the sound 'improvement' of the equipment).

So assuming you had the cash, what maximum price would you honestly pay for a set of main speakers before you feel that there is a diminishing return on the quality of sound to price paid?
(I'm also curious to see how much people would pay for entire systems, surround and components but that would throw too many variables into an easy poll.)

What is the honest maximum price you would pay for a pair of main speakers? single choice
	$1000 or less
	$1001-$2000
	$$2001-$5000
	$5001-$8000
	$8001-$11,000
	$11,001-$20,000
	$20,001-$50,000
	Greater than $50,000
Votes accepted starting: 05/24/06 10:11 PM
View Results

Chess

this is perhaps the most interesting post I have seen on this message board in several months.

Thank you

You mean you didn't like the crazy off-branch into philosophers in this morning's rantings?
Geez Ravi, there are only so many good ideas out there.

Well here's the small history behind the poll.
My curiousity has peaked over these Tannoy speakers, the bookshelves i bought recently. My wife so likes their sound that i was perusing the Tannoy website for their other models. I'm not a fan of their newer designs but the older stylings and specs could be what i'm looking for in a second system in the future. Specifically the Definition D700s.
However, a pair of these goes for about $6k to 8k Cdn. I just asked myself the question, would i ever really pay that much cash for just one (two) item for a system?
Possibly... if i do not go with any surround speakers and use it only as a stereo setup, but what is my limit then?
Would i look for a used pair perhaps for 6k or try to get new for 8k?
Where was my honest limit?

So i was just curious to see what other people, when money is not limiting, would honestly choose as a max budget in this regard.
I have to keep in mind the lost variables unaccounted for in this less than scientific poll.
Most importantly, it is being posted at a forum for a company speaker renowned for its low price, great performance speakers.
I am expecting the curve to be closer to the lower end.
My guess is that if i had posted this poll at some other snootier forums that the curve would be on the higher end, but again, i'm looking for an honest opinion and knowing that this forum over many promotes fact over myth, my confidence is high that the results will be more reasonable and realistic.

I can't think of any better way to complement all the Axiom forum posters.

So Chess were you willing to think to spend $6K+ or really would spend $6K+ on any two from mains?
Money not limiting I would only go up to $3.5k.
Maybe get the Proac or Dynaudio.models I wanted
But I wouln'd balk much spending $5k for a mtn bike
or $3k for a full snowboard gear setup
Some people would not balk on a $6k Hawaii trip but would give concerns if they spent $1.5k on speakers

Very interesting to know that even many serious enthusiasts out there would not even go over $1.5k on speakers.

Then i guess you see my point quite clearly Saturn.
People on these forums come from all walks of life, from students to professors, engineers, artists...
Everyone has a passion which may drive them to spend more on any one thing over another, but one thing about posters on the Axiom forums, they are all mostly looking for the best price for performance that they can find in audio. This is something Axiom is renowned for, great price for the quality.
Hence, from these same people, many of which have the cash to buy way more expensive stuff or from the dreamers who wish they will some day have the cash, i just had to know if there was still a personal limit to speaker spending even when money is not limiting.

As for me, well, i'm sure i could find some other speakers in a lesser price range that will suit the bill, BUT, if i cannot, then yes, i would consider paying up to 6k for those Tannoys. Hence my relative limit, no more than $6000-6500 or so for a pair of mains.
I would expect that these main speakers would not be a standard size and fare though. I'm thinking well over the 100lb weight category, wide frequency range, VERY well controlled and superbly smooth delivery, quality materials and with a cabinet finish that is nothing short of solid wood set to style any room for years to come (nothing too modern or too old, but classical in look).

As for components, i would limit myself to the 4k or less (Cdn) range for powering only 2 speakers which would include amp, preamp pro, CD.
Speaker wire, fifty bucks.

I suppose that depends on my financial state. Currently, I'd fall in the 1-2k range myself. However, as my finances improve that will undoubtedly change. Had I unlimitted funds, you better believe I'd be that crack pot with the quarter mill theater in his house.

I don't think I understand the poll. If money is not the limiting factor, then what is? Space? Aesthetics? If I had unlimited wealth I'd buy the best-sounding best-looking speakers that fit in my mansion, which I would imagine would put me in the $50K and up range.

Jason,

If you were a rich person, would you still honestly go and buy $50,000 speakers just because you could? Or would you honestly say to yourself, $10,000 speakers will be just as good as those $50,000 and hence why spend the extra $40,000?

You have to have a sense of humility to answer the poll honestly.
Just because you are rich does not equate to spending money in ridiculous ways. Even rich people watch what they spend their money on otherwise they would never be rich and the rest of the world's people would be receiving money like crazy.

So what i want to know is if money was not really an issue (lets say you had a $300,000 budget for a stereo), would you HONESTLY buy really expensive speakers or is there a value range in which you believe the more expensive and supposedly "better' sound is not worth the money paid?

For example, if you sat down today and listened to 20k and 10k speakers and could not hear a difference, then (even if you were rich) would you still bother buying the 20k speaker?
I'm not looking for people saying "yes, i would" just because you could, hence my continuing use of the word 'honestly'. I want to get an idea of what people think is really the maximum level at which there is no advantangeous return on the sound quality dollar for dollar.

As you say, you would "buy the best-sounding best-looking speakers that fit in my mansion, which I would imagine would put me in the $50K and up range."
Do you really think that the best sound and best looking automatically fall above 50k?
Or do you possibly believe that anything after the 5k mark is all sound about the same and have equally good finishes? or perhaps anything after the 10k mark? or maybe even just the $1000 level.
To bring it to an extreme, would a $50 million dollar speaker sound better than a $10 million dollar speaker or a $100,000 speaker?
So even if you were rich, is that $50 million speaker really worth its price or would even a rich person say, screw that, the $15,000 speaker is excellent for my tastes?
What is the maximum price point that you would pay....

THAT is what the poll is getting at.

For me, my limit would be between 6k and 8k or so. Beyond that and i think its wasted money (too much of a diminishing return for the price paid).

Exactly chess; I suppose that I could have spent 100 times as much as I did on my M22s if I wanted to, but I said screw it, these aren't just great speakers for the money, they're great speakers, period. I punched $1-$2K. In audio the correlation between cost and sound quality is quite low and beyond that, for speakers, I'd say it approaches zero.

If I had unlimited money, I honestly think I would spend it like a lab monkey pushing the button for another hit of cocaine.

How much could I realistically ever see myself spending, taking my income into account? Certainly no more than $3000 US, and probably a whole lot less than that. My FO M60s still make me giggle like a little girl.