Does anybody buy GIGANTIC expensive flagship speakers?

I saw this picture the other day of KEF Muon speakers, nearly 7 feet tall, weighing 275 pounds each, upwards of $200k for a pair. I couldn't help but wonder: Does anybody actually buy such things? Do any dealers even have demo units where someone could go to hear them? Or are they really just for a manufacturer show-and-tell?

 

I love the Dominator MX-10!

 

Gotta love a woofer the size of a truck tire.

 

It's a bit of both. Speakers like this do serve a function at trade shows to get traffic in, and once people fall in love with a statement piece, they'll start asking about the closest they can get to it with their price point.

But people tend to forget how much money is actually out there in the world. People buying on this level are also generally not the people who frequent forums. But they are out there. And honestly, those people don't need a ton of dealers to carry these. Only on demo in New York and London? Just add a day to the next business trip or add a stop on vacation. Really an international plane ticket and 2 nights in a decent hotel isn't as expensive when you consider it's only adding 3-5% to the purchase price. The big thing you need to remember is when people are buying things like this, they aren't going into normal homes. The speakers may very well be a drop in the bucket compared to the art on the walls, or the theater in another room. And this would likely be nothing compared to the cars in the garages. Honestly, this type of buyer might be selling a car he drove twice to fund speakers like this. You just have to remember that people with 1 million dollars and people with 999 million dollars are both rich millionaires, but they are very very different types of rich.

 

Yes, people do buy them. I have a pair of very large high-end speakers. They retail at $85,000 rather than $200,000 and they’re not seven feet tall, but they weigh more than the Kef Muons (301 pounds each). That’s a drop in the ocean compared to my TV, which weighs over 1,300.

 

230 pounds each.

 

True.

 

B*tchin'!

 

Sweet! Did a dealer have a pair that you were able to demo, or did it require buying them sight unseen?

 

So what if it's as big as a Subaru and costs as much? When you die, they can bury you in it!

 

I was able to demo them, though I had to take a day trip to the United Kingdom to do so.

 

There is something sinister about this barefooted dude.
Perhaps in ads they should replace him with curvy lady, to match speaker form.

 

Exactly. Gear at this level is indeed made for that rare consumer, and because of limited production numbers unique manufacturing processes the prices are accordingly high. I'd love to have the opportunity to hear such a system.

 

I at least know somebody who is considering a Tannoy Kingdom Royal (18inch Woofer)
But you somehow can’t move house then any more ...

 

Definitely looks like some sort of cult leader. Yes, you will become one with my speakers......you will become my speakers....

 

The dude in the Muon pic is the guy who designed them, Ross Lovegrove.

 

I don’t know about stores stocking the $200k speakers, but I have dealers nearby with car-priced speakers. Enough people buy them to justify having them around to demo.

 

AS

Still, they remind me of those pods in Spinal Tap...

 

I think Klipschorns are in that category. I have seen those at a dealer (and a friend of mine owns a pair).

I used to own a pair of Magnepans that were about 6 feet tall. But they were thin enough that they didn't totally dominate the room they were in, and they were fairly light. I took the pair home in my car and carried them up the stairs myself. And they only cost a couple thousand dollars.

 

My current speakers 6 feet 8 inches tall with 4 15 inch woofers each - but weight only measly 160 pounds each, thanks to open bufflehead design. And cost way, way less then aforementioned giants ))

 

They need to add a gross tonnage category to the equipment profile

 

I would never want to purchase speakers over say 150lbs.Since to get the best sound requires near ideal placement (which requires moving them around for awhile to find that “ideal” placement)

 

Crikey, makes my hernia wince just thinking about positioning them.

BTW, nice racking system you got there for the AV gear. Very cool

 

Lol. Id like to say Id hope not. Id really hope not.

 

This is what I spent my afternoon auditioning - the Clearaudio Statement Turntable back left - the Rockport Arrakis Speakers ($235,000USD) I believe weigh in at a colossal 900lbs each. I live in Hong Kong where people have serious money. I ran into a british guy while listening to ATC and Parasound gear (stuff most normal people can afford) and he noted his friend bought two Ferrari because they are often need of servicing so he needed the second one as a back-up. I attended a party of an Architect from Italy - he had bought a Lamborghini as a birthday present to himself.

I recently bought a near $11k turntable (including arm and cartridge) where I thought o myself - am I nuts - then a fellow reviewer (Fred Crowder) who buys 6 figure components reviewed a $12,000 CARTRIDGE! My table is entry level Fisher price to those in the uber wealthy world.



People always look at the west - Canada has a population smaller than California and it would take something like 5 US populations to equal China. The money is in Asia. Yes there is more poverty too but there are so SOOOOOOOOOO many millionaires and billionaires that are going under the radar. Like many things in China where we don't really know what is going on we also don't know about the money.

Macau for example takes in over SEVEN times the money that Las Vegas takes in and that was before it expanded. In Vegas hotels will have the high roller section. On the main floor at one of the hotels in Macau I watched a table where the max bets were in the $300,000USD. And that was NOT the high roller table!

But it's not even those people - it is the tier down. I watched a guy hand over $90,000 HKD in Cash ($11,500US) for two cables. If he follows the ole 10% rule on cables as part of the system you can imagine the rest of the system. He told me he buys all the top of the line cables to compare!

There are more women than men in Hong Kong - so I have to find me a sugar momma.