New 800's coming, end if year

[meltemi]

IMHO, what can reasonably be expected for 2016 is some 50th anniversary model(s).

Whether there will be a complete overhaul of existing speaker series remains to be seen. For the moment it's all just rumours. So, please, be patient, wait and see.

Martin

[Masterlu]

tractng... Welcome to AA!

[Rod#S]

Originally Posted by jlbrach

My Iphone doesnt go up in cost,my ipad,my big screen TV doesnt go up in cost etc...why should a speaker go up 30% in 5 or 6 years?....

Depends on what the materials are really. As an example, if they went diamond for the mid range that alone would result in a big price jump.

Even simpler would be if they started offering exotic wood veneers, perhaps not a 30% jump but I would expect anywhere from a 5% to 20% depending on the type of wood. It's hard to get a exact idea of the price on the incredible birds eye maple on the 805 Maserati edition because part of that extra cost is two fold, one, paying for the Masetari name plus the cost of the newly designed stands (I don't know if you can buy them without the stands). Those are quite a bit more than the standard 805.

Cutting edge technology doesn't tend to change much price wise, take TV's for example. The Pioneer Kuro's were the better part of 10 grand when they 1st came out for the 60" models as was the amazing Fujitsu plasma's before they disappeared and now we have OLED TV's in the same ball park price wise. So price is determined by timing in a lot of respects in that sure if you wait for the tech to go full mainstream years after introduction then yeah you'll always be able to get it without paying more.

[Kal Rubinson]

I still have my Kuro and Fujitsu plasmas and the cost has been well amortized.

[jlbrach]

My 802 diamonds retailed for 15K,i would not pay 20K for a new model....they should be able to follow the same model that most tech does today which is to improve products at pretty much the same price point.....a new mercedes of the same model doesnt go up 30% in 5 years etc.....why should audio be the only exception

[Rod#S]

Because we tolerate perhaps more than other areas???

This isn't something only going to be found on B&W speakers. For example look at Wilson, the price of the Sasha 2 is more than the Sasha 1 due to design changes as I believe was the case for the Focal Scala v2 vs the original. Also, and correct me if I'm wrong, the current Wilson Sophia for example just took a price hike and that's not even because of a new model. I think this is actually the case for the Sasha 2, it seen a price jump from when it was 1st introduced.

These are just examples of direct price increases. There are then the dollar strength based increases which often come into play. For example items built in the US and purchased by Canadians, the Canadian dollar has fallen 25% in 2 years compared to the US dollar thus the US products cost more up here where in the US itself have not changed. I'm sure a Mercedes in Canada costs more today then it did this time in 2013 for the same reasons.

[Bavarian05]

Originally Posted by ariess

I don't understand this view. 30% in 6 years is 4.5% per year which is not much when exotic materials like Diamonds are in use and luxury goods. It's also about the same increase as the last update. It would still leave the 802's below pretty much the whole Wilson line up! Sent from my iPhone using A.Aficionado

Not an apple to apples comparison however. Wilson is a small boutique manufacturer and B&W is a rather massive company with its hands in many items and aspects of low to high end audio. B&W has the benefit of large scale manufacturing and thus cannot justify in my opinion being at or near Wilson pricing. I may be the only one who feels this way, but I take all of these things into account when deciding on "value" in this hobby. I don't have a dog in this fight, but personally believe B&W should smartly maintain their value angle in this arena. FWIW I'm a big fan of B&W and have owned a couple of 800 series speakers over the years. :-)

[Venere]

As somewhen already commented, many factors involved...and one of those is the global economy. Six years ago most of the luxury goods market was still recovering from the global recession, which actually seemed to affect even the rich. But now, the wealthy are riding high and spending money like in the good old days. Most luxury brands are doing better than ever due to emerging markets line China and Russia, etc. Lets face it, what most people on this forum consider entry level high end is ridiculously expensive even to a middle class consumer, let alone the vast majority of the worlds population. So the luxury brands are simply following the first rule of supply and demand (and survival) ...get what you can while the getting is good. There are plenty of folks on the planet now who will happily pay $30k+ for a pair of speakers, so you cant blame B&W for wanting in on that action.

[drabbish]

Very true, as posted earlier did anyone stop buying the 802's when it went from 12k to 15k? Nope. All companies research the market and price points to make the profit margins they expect from R&D. The market of $15k speakers today is amazing but if everyone wants a new diamond midrange speaker it's gonna cost you an extra $3k that's still less than magico and Wilson etc.

[Number95]

Originally Posted by jlbrach

My 802 diamonds retailed for 15K,i would not pay 20K for a new model....they should be able to follow the same model that most tech does today which is to improve products at pretty much the same price point.....a new mercedes of the same model doesnt go up 30% in 5 years etc.....why should audio be the only exception

What if the new model performs significantly better than current 800s say at least 30-40pct subjectively? Will an 800 owner still keep his 800s or bite the bullet and upgrade if he has budget? And assuming the newer series will not be replaced for the next 5-6 years, that looks reasonable to me under the assumption that new series perform better with a clear margin.