Of course it is subjective. All depends on how much you make right? Not necessarily. Value is almost always a comparison of features and performance compared to other products features and performance at the same price point. Sometimes, there is a comparison to an absolute bar but these comparisons are usually meaningless. Ok… maybe I should elaborate…

Let’s say Joe knows nothing about a topic but he wants to make a purchase. For sake of argument let’s use home theater as that topic. Joe goes into a store looking for a big TV, a surround sound system, and a high def player (he’s seen the commercials after all). Joe has about $1000 to spend (poor Joe, he’s in for a big surprise!). It doesn’t take Joe long to figure out that $1000 isn’t going to get him all the much – especially if he wants that 1080p thingie that he’s been hearing so much about. Joe decides that he can stretch his budget a bit and doubles it to $2000. Now, let’s see what Joe buys and why:

• $1000 – 42″ (or larger) 1080p HDTV – Open box special, too good a deal to pass up.
• $400 – Blu-ray player – wants to take full advantage of that 1080p set plus he’s heard that it is the best. Not to mention that Sony is a great brand and it is twice the price of the HD DVD players so it must be better, right?
• $300 – HTiB speakers – Joe wanted to get the “best” cube system but it would have taken up his whole budget! Instead he opts for something that looks very similar but costs less than a sixth the price.
• $100 – One (possibly two if he’s lucky) HDMI cable(s)

Now let’s analyze his purchases. The 1080p set (almost regardless of brand or performance) is an excellent value. Would he have been better off with a better performing 720p set? Probably – and he could have ended up with a larger one. But it’s still a good value as 1080p sets don’t often come down that low. The Blu-ray purchase was OK though it was based on advertising (which is almost never a good idea). Sony’s name recognition still carries a lot of weight with the uninitiated and more of us than are willing to admit think that if something costs more it must be better. The HTiB purchase is a complete waste but he’ll be so ecstatic that there is sound coming from behind him that he won’t notice. Joe’s most bitter pill to swallow was the HDMI cable. He can’t understand how they can cost so much but apparently they do.

Joe was trying to make value purchases, and in one case (the display) he did. But the others were based on faulty value metrics. The Blu-ray purchase was based mostly on an expectation of quality from advertising and name recognition. The HTiB purchase was based more on pure budget. Most people can’t understand why speakers and a receiver can cost as much if not more than their display. It would be like going to the store and finding out that onions cost more per pound than filet mignon. It just wouldn’t register. You couldn’t believe it. The upside is that he’s probably getting nearly the same performance out of the HTiB speakers as he would the overpriced and over-hyped ones he was planning on buying (in defense of of that company, they have a pleasant sound to the uninitiated ear – they just aren’t very accurate.) Joe’s metric for value with the speakers is based on how much he thinks speakers should cost. Speakers should be less than a display – considerably less. This is what I mean when I say that comparisons to an absolute bar are usually meaningless. Joe’s expecting to get a lot for a little and doesn’t realize what to expect at a particular price point.

The cables, on the other hand, are a completely different metric. Ever wonder why a particular company sells so many different types of HDMI (and other) cables when they really all do the same thing? Especially when they put completely bogus “speed” ratings and such on there? Because they are defining the comparisons for you. You can’t believe that the cables cost so much so you immediately look or comparisons. If they just sold the one cable, you’d look to the other brand (or brands if you’re lucky) to see the difference. Say there are three brands, each selling one cable. On average (my opinion) people will go for the middle priced one. They don’t want to buy the cheapest because they’re afraid of the lack of performance, but the priciest one is just ridiculous so they go for the middle. By offering a number of different “lines” of cables, they make sure they stack the deck in their favor. People look for that middle ground and by having 5 cables by one manufacturer with only one or two competing cables, people are more likely to but that brand. Evil, yes, but effective.

Is this an education issue? Sure. But like so many hobbies, there are products that are expensive just for the sake of being expensive. Now, if your speakers are hand-made by blind Buddhist monks out of pure rip-off-ium, then maybe you can justify charging $1,000,000 for them. But they aren’t and don’t pretend they are. Fortunately, there are places like Audioholics and AVRant that will point people in the right direction but how do we compete against the marketing juggernauts that seem to dominate the public consciousness. How many times have people said to me after I tell them what I do, “So, you must have all the best Bose speakers, right?” Um… thats an oxymoron. In more ways than one.

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