Mr 10Percent wrote:

Im not 100% certain but I believe the BL90s are made to order only?

I think you are right for 90s, and most certainly they are not available as an online buy. I was more thinking about products in the range up to a couple of K EUR.

Now back to the original topic: as much as we are all unhappy and disappointed with this price hike, it is fair to say that global supply shortage of electronic components is a certain catalyst - not that B&O wasn't regularly rising their prices even before it, but still. I would just wish that my income is following that trend. 😕

Curly wrote:

BS2 in the US is now $3000. This makes me laugh. Value is relative but... that thing is not a $3k speaker, IMHO.

Not when I bought my two BS2's for £900 (Green, non-GA) and £1250 (Natural, with GA) in early 2020. There were deals galore then, if you got in quickly. Both were brand new. The same BS2 with GA in Natural is...£2299 today. wow.

I guess this is inventory due to the chip shortages and demand. ie. if B&O can only produce small numbers, but they are selling out, then simply put the price up so you many more money from your limited stock.

pentalex wrote:

The Beosound Stage was a promising soundbar for new customers.

1500€ was a good price for newcomers. In the middle off 2021 the price went up to 1599€.

Now the price is starting at 1799€. 

Yes, but demand outstrips supply and, as I said above, B&O is probably making a calculated guess that the demand will allow them to sell (a limited) supply with a price increase.

Also, on top, I bet it costs B&O far more money to ship these from China, too. Lots of things we overlook.

Are there any other shortages than chip shortage? In addition, last year I heard that wood was becoming quite expensive too. Not sure about aluminium.

I can imagine there are additional factors impacting this price increase. Regular price increase adjusted according to irregular circumstances.

If that’s the case, why is it for other brands doable to keep the price increase limited? They also need chips and a lot if their products or parts are produced in China too.

Prices for the LG oled tv’s didn’t went up with 300€….

This forum is very knowledgeable. I was purely asking you guys with more insight than what I have :). I have no overview of «other brands». I love Leica camera too and their prices also keep climbing every time they make something new that is predictably better. But we are also talking about luxury brands, so who knows where the borderline goes between necessary price increase and the increase caused by what they think they can set knowing/assuming people will buy their products anyway. «Increasing because we must» vs. «… because we can».

Csaba wrote:

This forum is very knowledgeable. I was purely asking you guys with more insight than what I have :). I have no overview of «other brands». I love Leica camera too and their prices also keep climbing every time they make something new that is predictably better. But we are also talking about luxury brands, so who knows where the borderline goes between necessary price increase and the increase caused by what they think they can set knowing/assuming people will buy their products anyway. «Increasing because we must» vs. «… because we can».

Back to economics 101, I watch several what we would call luxury brands. As you say, Leica, Rolex, Omega, B&O...and a few others. 

Commenting on a watch forum yesterday, a forum member was complaining over the increases on an Omega Seamaster. something along the lines of....."2003, Omega was £1000, now its £4000" and if it followed the CPI and Swiss Franc etc....it should only be something around £1600.

That is correct of course but the CPI is there to make us little people feel as if we, the people are the cause of inflation. The CPI is a "select" basket of goods (all the ones getting cheaper and nothing important like power and housing).

The reality is if one was to look at M1 or M2 money supply (BoE, ECB or the Fed), between 2003 and 2021, M2 money has increase 350%. This explains a good deal of that Omega watch price rise.

In another context, I heard anecdotally, that 40% of all the US Dollars ever made were printed in 2021.

Wanna know why the price increases? Your GBP/EUR/USD etc....has been seriously deflated with excess and unbacked money printing. It not that the value of these (B&O) depreciating assets are increasing/inflating....its because your national currency is now worth chicken sh... and you need so much more of them to buy the same hard assets (whether a depreciating asset or the hard value material that was used to make them i.e. Aluminium, copper, oil, power, silicon etc...).

It is only a matter of time before more mainstream and larger brands start similar price hikes. Welkom Weimar2! 

That’s a good point! Price increase ‘because we must’ is a worldwide problem due to shortcomings.

But B&O’s quality isn’t that good anymore and give your brand a huge price increase ‘because we can’ is in my opinion not the right way.

Since 1987 i only bought B&O hifi and video products. At the beginning i was very happy with the quality and price.

Looking now at other high end brands, i see their quality / price is much better than B&O.

McIntosh products are now in some cases cheaper than B&O! Why? Because they produce in the USA and not China?

I really love the B&O brand for years, but i don’t suffer brand blindness and really think my next hifi system will not be B&O, but something like Linn, McIntosh or Accuphase.

Stereophile article on this very subject

moxxey wrote:

pentalex wrote:

The Beosound Stage was a promising soundbar for new customers.

1500€ was a good price for newcomers. In the middle off 2021 the price went up to 1599€.

Now the price is starting at 1799€. 

Yes, but demand outstrips supply and, as I said above, B&O is probably making a calculated guess that the demand will allow them to sell (a limited) supply with a price increase.

Also, on top, I bet it costs B&O far more money to ship these from China, too. Lots of things we overlook.

Are the Beosound speakers no longer produced in Czech Republic by Tymphany?