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The purchase of a Rolex or Ferrari - or an incredibly overpriced sound system - is an attempt to buy a signal to others that you have taste. In fact you’re sign

The purchase of a Rolex or Ferrari - or an incredibly overpriced sound system - is an attempt to buy a signal to others that you have taste. In fact you’re signaling how much your lack of taste is costing you. Sound gear is an excellent case in point. The studio monitors many albums are mixed on are intentionally mediocre (eg the Yamaha NS-10) to ensure it sounds great across a wide range of equipment. Even great quality studio gear is modestly priced compared to “hi fi” gear. Don’t try to buy taste. Learn about the subject and then do the work to buy or build something that is reasonably priced and outshines everything else on fundamentals, not on brand.

pentae 3y ago
For truly wealthy people their time is incredibly valuable so spending time learning about a field they are not expert in is going to be more costlier than just going out and buying a well established brand. In some cases with Rolex or Ferrari or Porsche these items can even appreciate in value.
- mmaunder 3y ago
  I think you think that price is directly proportional to quality. It's not. Luxury goods are made luxury through a process of branding, pricing, and scarcity. Rolex is an excellent case study. They've been sponsoring athletes since the early 20th century when they sponsored Mercedes Gleitze to wear an Oyster around her neck when she swam the channel. You'll continue to notice the brand at F1, premier golfing events, and so on. And when it comes to purchasing, you literally can't walk into a Rolex dealer and buy a Submariner, for example, because they are made artificially scarce. If you were able to buy a sub, you'd buy it at around $13K and then immediately be able to sell it for around $18K or more. Rolex own the luxury category when it comes to conferring value on the brand and its products. So if you can't even buy a Submariner, what the hell is the strategy? They have a much larger range of second and third-tier watches that they'll sell you then and there and once you have a "relationship" with them, they might hook you up with something worth far more on the used market the moment you buy it. It's just a big fat hustle that relies on some specific psychological triggers. It relies on what Cialdini would call "social proof", meaning that others think it's cool so you think it's cool. It also relies on scarcity conferring value on something that would otherwise be valueless. It relies on our innate desire to hero-worship, as a species, which is where sponsorship comes in. So back to the comment I'm replying to: No, thinking that a luxury brand is simply quality at a high price is far too simplistic a world-view. You can buy great quality at a very reasonable price, and if you don't have time you can employ a professional shopper. But it's not about that. It's about laziness and signaling.
  - EA-3167 3y ago
    There are knock-off handbags and things like that which require microscopy and an expert eye to detect any differences from the "genuine article" and... that says it all. None of this is about the product itself.
FirmwareBurner 3y ago
>The purchase of a Rolex or Ferrari - or an incredibly overpriced sound system - is an attempt to buy a signal to others that you have taste. In fact you’re signaling how much your lack of taste is costing you. Pretty much. Which is why some of the biggest growing markets for these dusty luxury brands have been Middle East, Russia and China where a lot of newly minted millionaires (through means of questionable legality) come from, and is why so many brands, like BMW, have made their designs so opulent, ghastly and hideous, because that's what sells in China and the Chinese are buying more BMWs than Germans so their market gets to decide what a luxury car should look like.
- Shawnj2 3y ago
  China has an actual growing middle class at this point so that’s not that unexpected from there, OTOH the Middle East is basically modern day feudalism
  - FirmwareBurner 3y ago
    >OTOH the Middle East is basically modern day feudalism All feudal societies were famous for opulence and wasteful spending of resources, for the pleasures and entertainment of the upper classes, meaning they're perfect markets for luxury goods.
dangus 3y ago
The part you’re neglecting about home A/V products is that performance is only a part of their function. They are decor objects in the home. You have to look at them because they exist in your house.
pton_xd 3y ago
> The purchase of a Rolex or Ferrari - or an incredibly overpriced sound system - is an attempt to buy a signal to others that you have taste. In fact you’re signaling how much your lack of taste is costing you. This is just a fundamental part of what it means to be human. Most of us are guilty of the same behavior on some scale; for example, you might purchase a MacBook when any laptop will compile and run TypeScript just fine.
Zpalmtree 3y ago
Ferrari's are pretty cool tho
- JTyQZSnP3cQGa8B 3y ago
  No. They can’t legally go faster than my small car. It’s ridiculous.
  - pandaman 3y ago
    You mean top speed, probably. It's very unlikely that your small car can accelerate and decelerate at a similar rate to a high end sport car.
  - deleted 3y ago
    [deleted]
fsckboy 3y ago
We've all learned about the pyschological desire—and it is an actually human need—to appear to have status. Beyond that, you are way overstating your case. What do you claim is a substitute product that shows "taste" better than a Ferrari? A McLaren? Or are you in the Subaru crowd? And do you think your living room looking like a studio shows taste? life pro tip: a plastic sleeve pocket protector will keep your clothes looking sharp!
- BillyTheMage 3y ago
  Personally I think something like a mid-to-late-90s Ford Ranger or Chevrolet S10 is the best possible taste in vehicle. Nothing but pure utility.
polotics 3y ago
The NS10 is not in any way mediocre! it's extremely tight, unflattering to music because that's tbe whole point of a monitor: tell it like it is!
- justaj 3y ago
  Except if you care about the bottom-end of the spectrum.

pentae 3y ago

For truly wealthy people their time is incredibly valuable so spending time learning about a field they are not expert in is going to be more costlier than just going out and buying a well established brand. In some cases with Rolex or Ferrari or Porsche these items can even appreciate in value.

mmaunder 3y ago
I think you think that price is directly proportional to quality. It's not. Luxury goods are made luxury through a process of branding, pricing, and scarcity. Rolex is an excellent case study. They've been sponsoring athletes since the early 20th century when they sponsored Mercedes Gleitze to wear an Oyster around her neck when she swam the channel. You'll continue to notice the brand at F1, premier golfing events, and so on. And when it comes to purchasing, you literally can't walk into a Rolex dealer and buy a Submariner, for example, because they are made artificially scarce. If you were able to buy a sub, you'd buy it at around $13K and then immediately be able to sell it for around $18K or more. Rolex own the luxury category when it comes to conferring value on the brand and its products. So if you can't even buy a Submariner, what the hell is the strategy? They have a much larger range of second and third-tier watches that they'll sell you then and there and once you have a "relationship" with them, they might hook you up with something worth far more on the used market the moment you buy it. It's just a big fat hustle that relies on some specific psychological triggers. It relies on what Cialdini would call "social proof", meaning that others think it's cool so you think it's cool. It also relies on scarcity conferring value on something that would otherwise be valueless. It relies on our innate desire to hero-worship, as a species, which is where sponsorship comes in. So back to the comment I'm replying to: No, thinking that a luxury brand is simply quality at a high price is far too simplistic a world-view. You can buy great quality at a very reasonable price, and if you don't have time you can employ a professional shopper. But it's not about that. It's about laziness and signaling.
- EA-3167 3y ago
  There are knock-off handbags and things like that which require microscopy and an expert eye to detect any differences from the "genuine article" and... that says it all. None of this is about the product itself.

FirmwareBurner 3y ago

>The purchase of a Rolex or Ferrari - or an incredibly overpriced sound system - is an attempt to buy a signal to others that you have taste. In fact you’re signaling how much your lack of taste is costing you. Pretty much. Which is why some of the biggest growing markets for these dusty luxury brands have been Middle East, Russia and China where a lot of newly minted millionaires (through means of questionable legality) come from, and is why so many brands, like BMW, have made their designs so opulent, ghastly and hideous, because that's what sells in China and the Chinese are buying more BMWs than Germans so their market gets to decide what a luxury car should look like.

Shawnj2 3y ago
China has an actual growing middle class at this point so that’s not that unexpected from there, OTOH the Middle East is basically modern day feudalism
- FirmwareBurner 3y ago
  >OTOH the Middle East is basically modern day feudalism All feudal societies were famous for opulence and wasteful spending of resources, for the pleasures and entertainment of the upper classes, meaning they're perfect markets for luxury goods.

dangus 3y ago

The part you’re neglecting about home A/V products is that performance is only a part of their function. They are decor objects in the home. You have to look at them because they exist in your house.

pton_xd 3y ago

> The purchase of a Rolex or Ferrari - or an incredibly overpriced sound system - is an attempt to buy a signal to others that you have taste. In fact you’re signaling how much your lack of taste is costing you. This is just a fundamental part of what it means to be human. Most of us are guilty of the same behavior on some scale; for example, you might purchase a MacBook when any laptop will compile and run TypeScript just fine.

Zpalmtree 3y ago

Ferrari's are pretty cool tho

JTyQZSnP3cQGa8B 3y ago
No. They can’t legally go faster than my small car. It’s ridiculous.
- pandaman 3y ago
  You mean top speed, probably. It's very unlikely that your small car can accelerate and decelerate at a similar rate to a high end sport car.
- deleted 3y ago
  [deleted]

fsckboy 3y ago

We've all learned about the pyschological desire—and it is an actually human need—to appear to have status. Beyond that, you are way overstating your case. What do you claim is a substitute product that shows "taste" better than a Ferrari? A McLaren? Or are you in the Subaru crowd? And do you think your living room looking like a studio shows taste? life pro tip: a plastic sleeve pocket protector will keep your clothes looking sharp!

BillyTheMage 3y ago
Personally I think something like a mid-to-late-90s Ford Ranger or Chevrolet S10 is the best possible taste in vehicle. Nothing but pure utility.

polotics 3y ago

The NS10 is not in any way mediocre! it's extremely tight, unflattering to music because that's tbe whole point of a monitor: tell it like it is!

justaj 3y ago
Except if you care about the bottom-end of the spectrum.