Demand for Hi Fi speakers costing over $100,000 is outstripping supply, with Queenslanders being the most interested in the top end of town gear claims Convoy, the distributor of the B&W range of speakers.
Also in demand is the $28,000 B&W Diamond speaker which is a two-way floor standing loudspeaker designed to celebrate the company’s fortieth anniversary. Only 500 numbered pairs of each finish have been manufactured.
“Price is not an issue for a certain segment of the market,” claims Geoff Mathews the Marketing Director at Convoy which is responsible for the distribution of such brands as JBL, Bowers & Wilkins, Classe and Harman Kardon.
“We have a lot of interest for our very high end speakers which show that there is a market in Australia for the really expensive Hi Fi gear. In fact we see two markets. We must have market which is more about design and styling and the real Hi Fi market that is all about high quality sound”
Mathews also claims that the top end of the Home Theatre market is growing with consumers who have in the past had to outlay thousands on a new flat screen now investing their savings into a better quality home Theatre Kit such as their new JBL range which is being bundled with a Harman receiver branded as JBL.
Over at Audioworks David Small is already taking calls for the new $200,000 KEF speakers.
Catering to the highest of the high-end in speakers The new KEF gear is grabbing the attention of both consumers and designers. KEF has contracted Ross Lovegrove, who designed such throw-aways as the Sony Walkman and the iMac to create this spendy new “Muon” series of speakers. These curvy monsters are carved out of a six-foot block of solid aluminum using computer-aided manufacturing and take a week to create.
The four-way, eight-speaker setups weigh 253 pounds each, and will retail for $200,000 If you’ve got the pocketbook, better have your butler write out a cheque right quick, as the edition is limited to 100 pairs.
