A friend had his turntable rewired for balanced and had a custom cable made up. He was grumpy at the quoted €100 for a 1m cable until I pointed out that 2 Neutriks, 2 metres of Mogami and one hours labour was about right for a one off.
Joe,
I 100% agree with that!
Billshurv,
The 2 Neutriks I have, the cable I'll let him choose and I'll charge him alright haha, it's not a freebie.
But I owe him a favour, he gave me his unwanted Sennheiser HD650 when he upgraded, as well as the boutique silver Dragon cable......, and it's probably only 15 minutes of labour to strip, solder and heat shrink a single XLR cable. So labour will be free. I'm not in business anyway!
3 months ago, we got rid of my partners round melamine dinner table - I didn't realise it was such good quality probably 60s?
I replaced it with a wartime dark ok double drop leaf table, for £20. Solid Oak. Twice my age. Needs a little TLC but is still utterly beautiful, and practical, in my small Victorian home
I 100% agree with that!
Billshurv,
The 2 Neutriks I have, the cable I'll let him choose and I'll charge him alright haha, it's not a freebie.
But I owe him a favour, he gave me his unwanted Sennheiser HD650 when he upgraded, as well as the boutique silver Dragon cable......, and it's probably only 15 minutes of labour to strip, solder and heat shrink a single XLR cable. So labour will be free. I'm not in business anyway!
3 months ago, we got rid of my partners round melamine dinner table - I didn't realise it was such good quality probably 60s?
I replaced it with a wartime dark ok double drop leaf table, for £20. Solid Oak. Twice my age. Needs a little TLC but is still utterly beautiful, and practical, in my small Victorian home
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What brands are we talking about ? Curious about what product they create for these prices.
I'm not in the business of determining "fair"markups on products like transformers that you mention.
I don't know why you're so curious about them, unless you plan on building something similar.
I've been a service technician since the 1970's, I ran shops and also sold parts/equipment, depending on the company I worked for.
I basically know from experience through the years what a given part costs "at that time" and any inflationary changes over time.
Additionally, I'm aware of sensible business practices and the ability to survive by profiting from sales.
I also see the wild inflationary patterns concerning availability of some parts...
Vacuum tubes for instance - the specific name and availability of them can skyrocket their price for some reason - again, audiophile world greed is of concern.
@ Billshurv - I'm not living in some distant world, trust me.
I've grown up though the decades acknowledging trends and fads, and patterned my own life in a sensible way.
Yet I don't believe that everyone should follow my paths, I'm all for personal individuality and the freedom to choose.
However, I soundly criticize rediculous some things like overpriced and bloated things like that EAR contraption.
And all the other way overpriced goony preamps made to lure the unsuspecting person with tainted advertising.
Because an RIAA preamp with exceptional accuracy is such a simple device to make with a handful of components.
It doesn't have to cost millions.
Mrs Brown and her fussy audiophile husband are content with their Walmart hifi.
Let's be clear hear, you have never designed or produced anything?
Please do a costing of a tubed RIAA that looks nice and costs less. som people want to buy a nice looking tube RIAA. They should be allowed to.
So far you are just shooting from the hip. More coffee needed?
I stated the brand and the model, perhaps it's not clear to you?
The "brand" Basis.
The "model" WOA (Work Of Art)
A photo.... showing the vacuum pump system and all it's overdone worthless junk for a mere $145K.
Attachments
I only just really looked at this.
2 Neutriks about £10
2m Mogami £7
Labour £15/hr
3 times mark up
68% margin, paying yourself the equivalent of a 30k salary?
I'm in the wrong game, that's all I can say.
I don't know why I'm not winding my own transformers then...well beside the math...
I mean I have several sets of EI lams and miles of enamelled wire, even made a winding machine with some wood, nails, tally counter and a motor.
In support of Service Technicians:
Service Technicians get to fix all kinds of "engineered" equipment that is nothing but a nightmare.
I have been an installer, service technician, design engineer, technical support person, technical marketing person, etc.
I have worked for Uncle Sam (3 jobs), a medical electronics company, a major test and measurement company, shipyard electronics overhauler, etc.
I understand the issues that experienced service technicians have to deal with.
Service Technicians get to fix all kinds of "engineered" equipment that is nothing but a nightmare.
I have been an installer, service technician, design engineer, technical support person, technical marketing person, etc.
I have worked for Uncle Sam (3 jobs), a medical electronics company, a major test and measurement company, shipyard electronics overhauler, etc.
I understand the issues that experienced service technicians have to deal with.
Indeed, I've designed and constructed many things.
Even RIAA preamps, filters, etc.
All with wonderful results that surprised me, and confirmed on my scopes, etc., and yet..... it didn't cost me a mortgage on my house.
The "tube" fad is nothing more than that.
A "new draw" for people that haven't lived long enough to remember tube equipment.
Just like bellbottom jeans "came back" in the 1990's, and "skinny jeans" are current fads from the 1970's.
And "records".......something fresh for the millenial crowd to gawk at.
Marketers know how to resurrect an old fad to make it glorious again.
But that doesn't make it better - there was and are limits.
I wouldnt say all things from the past such as tubes, are a fad.
Theres some real cheap tube stuff from china, sure some may be carp, others may be good (no experience),
But there are nerd everywhere (it's just that a lot of then are fascinated with computers/programming, and less with Physics and science.
I have the awesome (and sometimes terrible) privilege to 'look after' some heavy electromechanical equipment, that is older than anyone on this forum!
Unless we have some members over 96 years.
I have had to replace selenium rectifiers, still occasionally use a decade box that is probably 100 years old, as well as having to learn as much as a I can mechanically, not benefitting from a apprenticeship, but college and later a degree.
So good techs deserve respect, and I'm not even sure I'm that good a tech sometimes, but I get there, and I have dealt with things I never knew existed.
That mindset is somewhat different to the designer, and is more in kin with Test techs, calibration techs; often in my experience, one of these techs has found a problem with something a designer is very chuffed about, before the designer realises theres a problem at all
Theres some real cheap tube stuff from china, sure some may be carp, others may be good (no experience),
But there are nerd everywhere (it's just that a lot of then are fascinated with computers/programming, and less with Physics and science.
I have the awesome (and sometimes terrible) privilege to 'look after' some heavy electromechanical equipment, that is older than anyone on this forum!
Unless we have some members over 96 years.
I have had to replace selenium rectifiers, still occasionally use a decade box that is probably 100 years old, as well as having to learn as much as a I can mechanically, not benefitting from a apprenticeship, but college and later a degree.
So good techs deserve respect, and I'm not even sure I'm that good a tech sometimes, but I get there, and I have dealt with things I never knew existed.
That mindset is somewhat different to the designer, and is more in kin with Test techs, calibration techs; often in my experience, one of these techs has found a problem with something a designer is very chuffed about, before the designer realises theres a problem at all
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Regarding medical equipment.......
I once had some device brought into the shop, used by doctors/hospitals.
Had pumps, voltage probes, I forget.
I had no idea what its for, I'm an audio/video tech.
It needed a new AC cord and repair to its connecting plugs.
Of course I realize it needs to be dependable - lives are at stake.
But all said, it wasn't something I couldn't fix.
And it, for being "medical grade" didn't appear to be something that should be wildly priced - yet I'm sure it was.
Agreeing or disagreeing is a fully acceptable thing related to Freedom Of Speech.
Not everything I say is going to be agreed with, nor is everyone going to like me.
That's life.
I was asking about the transformers because I've seen two of them inside the EAR phonopreamp model that you were writing about.
Overall the calculation of parts cost might be too low if you haven't considered the transformers.
And I was triggered because you've used the word "greed"; isn't it kind of the definition of "greed" if one asks for more than what is fair?
I hope it explains why I am curious about ?
omg I didn't think this was a brand but a way of mocking them.
Ouch this is not even something I would like in my kitchen !!!
That touches the key point, who is it that get's to determine what constitutes a fair price? Do you believe it is the buyer, or do you believe it should be someone else?
An entirely different purchasing context from that of luxury goods. Definitely off topic.
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