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This doesn't surprise me. Having been in the market for a AV Receiver recently, I was amazed at how little fluctuation in price there was between all the onlin
by JazCE 8y ago
This doesn't surprise me. Having been in the market for a AV Receiver recently, I was amazed at how little fluctuation in price there was between all the online stores for the likes of Denon and Marantz equipment.
- NeedMoreTea 8y agoThe hifi and AV markets have seemed suspicious in pricing for years. Only way to get a discount is if you bump into an old model somewhere.
- muro 8y agoMarantz is regularly 50% off in Switzerland in major online stores.
- vinay427 8y agoSort of a tangent, but more for personal curiosity what are the major online stores for electronics in Switzerland?
- lukeqsee 8y agobrack.ch fust.ch mediamarkt.ch …and more. Switzerland has a vibrant market from what I've seen living here the past few months with pretty competitive in-country shipping (I once got a package via normal post the next day after ordering at 16:00 local time).
- vinay427 8y agoThanks! I'm planning on moving to Zürich in a few months so I figured this would come in handy. It wasn't very obvious which online merchants were popular and reputable after some quick searching.
- 5Zio 8y agoThanks! I'm planning on moving to Zürich in a few months so I figured this would come in handy. It wasn't very obvious which online merchants were popular and reputable after some quick searching.
- distances 8y agoOn the upside, AV ages pretty well so second-hand models are quite attractive unless you need 4K video or something.
- icelancer 8y ago>> 4K video or something Which is the great scam of 2018 and beyond so far, convincing people that they need 4K video when they absolutely don't.
- SlowRobotAhead 8y agoHey man, way better than the 3D scam!
- reaperducer 8y agoMy TV has 3D, and every once in a while I put the glasses on just for giggles. Watching the news in 3D is... well... something else.
- PascLeRasc 8y agoSame with convincing people they need surround sound when you know 95% of people can't or won't set it up properly.
- komali2 8y agoWould you include 4k gaming in this statement? Because in that case I strongly disagree. Sure maybe I don't need it, but I can afford it and it brings me delight...
- coryfklein 8y agoI would... to some degree. The issue with 4k is that the display folks are waaaay ahead of the content producers here. Film and media should be reluctant to adopt 4K for several reasons: * Many folks have not yet migrated from DVDs to Blu-Rays * Maintaining production lines for DVD, Blu-Ray, and 4K probably would not be offset by customers willing to spend even more above the Blu-Ray pricing for a 4K disc. * The mainstay product sold by media is a combo package - DVD + Blu-Ray + Digital. Adding a 4th offering to these combos is very difficult. * Monopolistic ISPs have little incentive to upgrade bandwidth to support 4K streaming, despite Netflix's apparent willingness to provide that content. Most of the above fortunately does not apply to video games. There is no need to package or sell the "4K" version of a game. (Or is there? OH GOD THE HORROR. Please don't tell EA about that idea.) However, the late 2010's saw the conjunction of budget 4K displays and the cryptocurrency boom. Although graphics card prices are just starting to normalize, the crypto boom seems to have forced graphics card pricing to be 1-2 years behind the display market.
- agumonkey 8y agoAm sad to see glorious brands like these in this kind of news. I guess the AV era is mostly gone and they tried the obvious first trick in the hat to keep going.
- stinos 8y agoI guess the AV era is mostly gone I'm not sure. I mean, I hope it never will be. At least I think there are actually a lot of people like me: once I heard (as a kid already) the huge difference between what even a moderately proper hi-fi system makes music sound like in comparision with e.g. some portable radio or (god forbid) laptop speakers or even highly rated headphones, I cannot imagine not wanting that. Though I admit for video I care way less. But that's just because I watch things mainly for the plot and not for the visual effects.
- dpark 8y agoThe thing is you don't need an "AV system" for it to be better than shitty laptop speakers. AV receiver systems are generally a pain for most people, with the need to run audio cables, buy separate speakers, etc. Soundbars are popular because they are easy and still check the "way better than the built-in speaker" box. I do have a dedicated receiver, but I wouldn't recommend it for most people because it's not worth the hassle.
- coryfklein 8y agoThere is a large enough quality divide between TV speakers and an AV system with wired speakers to allow for a soundbar to be both an order of magnitude better than TV speakers and also an order of magnitude worse than the AV system.
- dpark 8y agoGiven that audio is so subjective, I'm not sure it's meaningful to discuss orders of magnitude. There are people who think even the best sound bars are terrible compared to a set of bookshelf speakers. But there are also people who think they can tell the difference between 44.1k and 48k, and it's just not a fight I care to involve myself with.
- tobyhinloopen 8y agoThe same for speakers; Looking at bowers & wilkins here
- deleted 8y ago[deleted]
- ckocagil 8y agoDrivers themselves are pretty cheap and crossover designs are well understood. I wonder why we're not seeing small companies pumping out hifi speakers at reasonable prices. Maybe it has to do with cabinet production at low volume.
- basch 8y agothat was kind of the Polk mo guess who owns them now..
- fein 8y agoWhat are reasonable prices? $500 each for SVS Prime towers seems reasonable when the flagships are $1000 each. I dropped about $2000 into my setup between speakers, amp, dac, and sub; doubt I'll ever need to buy anything in the future.
- PretzelFisch 8y agoThere are many internet only speaker manufacturers that do a great job(Salk Sound) as well as diy. With many large manufactures you're paying for a pretty finish and name brand. https://www.audioholics.com/how-to-shop/internet-direct-comparison https://www.audioholics.com/how-to-shop/internet-direct-comp...
- vinay427 8y agoI ended up getting a Denon that had a shockingly low price which turned out to be a mistake price at Fry's, but I definitely noticed this while shopping as well.
- SlowRobotAhead 8y agoOh you want 5.1.4 Atmos? That starts at $859... select your brand later.
- rhizome 8y agoI wonder what the patent license fees are in there.
- rb808 8y ago> I was amazed at how little fluctuation in price there was between all the online stores for the likes of Denon and Marantz equipment. Good thing too. Audio brands like these rely on smaller shops to get in front of customers. People showrooming then buying online will close out the small stores, which will likely kill off those brands.
- sumedh 8y ago> which will likely kill off those brands. Why cant the brands setup their own showrooms?