Speaker Depreciation - Raidho D5s

MJB

Well-Known Member
Mar 10, 2013
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A friend has been trying to sell a pair of Raidho D5s on another audio site. These speakers are a few years old but but in very nice condition. The MSRP at the time was over $200K. After many weeks in the market, he has just lowered his asking price to $19,950 (yes, no joke)!

PS - This posting is for information only. It is not intended to attack any brands or to bring controversy. Furthermore, this underscores the reality that spending in audio equipment is really a lifestyle decision and NOT an investment.
 

Gregadd

WBF Founding Member
Apr 20, 2010
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Nothing sells like price. Eventually everything sells.
 
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bonzo75

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Feb 26, 2014
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The thing is people bought them only because they were listed at a high price and offered a discount on.
 

asiufy

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Jul 8, 2011
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I'll just share a Raidho anecdote: I've helped a client move away from the Raidho/Aavik/Ansus "ecosystem", after he realized what he got himself into.
So, there we were, trying to move his big Raidho C4.1 speakers. I had it listed on Audiogon for however much, don't remember the $$$ right now, but instead of getting $$$ offers from interested BUYERS, I received THREE offers from other OWNERS wanting me to BUY their speakers. Of course, that wasn't going to happen, as one C4.1 was bad enough...
Theirs is just a predatory business model, and is not sustainable in the long run. Not that they particularly care, I guess...
 

Al M.

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Sep 10, 2013
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Like in any human endeavor, there are plenty of unhealthy things going on the High End. But if people get bamboozled it's their own fault.
 
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steve59

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Jan 7, 2018
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Yes, I was intrigued just for the investment potential tho' when they sat at the previous prices and I had no personal use for them I let them get away. Why pick on Raidho? folk swapping money for happiness. I feel for other D5 owners that might have spent big coin on the speakers only to find the cash value fall thru the floor.
 

spiritofmusic

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Jun 13, 2013
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I'll just share a Raidho anecdote: I've helped a client move away from the Raidho/Aavik/Ansus "ecosystem", after he realized what he got himself into.
So, there we were, trying to move his big Raidho C4.1 speakers. I had it listed on Audiogon for however much, don't remember the $$$ right now, but instead of getting $$$ offers from interested BUYERS, I received THREE offers from other OWNERS wanting me to BUY their speakers. Of course, that wasn't going to happen, as one C4.1 was bad enough...
Theirs is just a predatory business model, and is not sustainable in the long run. Not that they particularly care, I guess...
Sorry Alex, but what about yr tale demonstrates a predatory model? And is there anything unique to them? Surely that model is rife in the high end - when I bought eighteen SR Black fuses two years ago, the dealer didn't notify me Blacks were coming out. Less than eighteen months later we now have Oranges. Is that predatory too?
 

microstrip

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May 30, 2010
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In order to fully understand the unusual plunge of used prices of Raidho speakers we must look at Raidho history - Lars Kristensen and Michael Børresen, the two historical man at Raidho left the company in 2017 and are now involved in other competing products. Lars and Børresen were the heart and brains of Raidho - I have seen some demos carried by Lars and have spent some time talking with him, he was a great audio professional, enthusiastic, knowledgeable and very friendly.

Raidho is now issuing a new line of products with a different sonic characteristic - this is augmenting the depreciation of the old models.
 

bazelio

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Sep 26, 2016
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With deprecation comes depreciation. But @asiufy the Raidho, Aavik, Ansus ecosystem is pretty darn great sounding. The markup scheme... Not so much.
 

Folsom

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Oct 25, 2015
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What is their new ventures? I never liked the electronics, but liked Lars.
 

Folsom

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Oct 25, 2015
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Ah, Borresson looks like Raidho 2.0 . Aavik didn't impress me. I can't find Ansus.
 

XV-1

Well-Known Member
May 24, 2010
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One does not lose any money if you are happy with your purchase and don't sell.

If one is not happy with 200k speakers, you have to wonder.

If one can afford to buy, sell, buy in this price range, sounds like they can afford the depreciation as that is part of the game.
 

microstrip

VIP/Donor
May 30, 2010
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One does not lose any money if you are happy with your purchase and don't sell.

If one is not happy with 200k speakers, you have to wonder.

If one can afford to buy, sell, buy in this price range, sounds like they can afford the depreciation as that is part of the game.

IMHO depreciation is part of the hobby. But reasonable depreciation, not the devastating loss of value (90%) people were referring.

But the subjective and bias are important aspects of the hobby - I can accept that some people having bought a speaker costing 200k and knowing it is selling at 20k little time later will not be able to enjoy it.

If I am not sure about the performance or my long time desire of equipemnt I try to get it used.
 

XV-1

Well-Known Member
May 24, 2010
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Sydney
IMHO depreciation is part of the hobby. But reasonable depreciation, not the devastating loss of value (90%) people were referring.

But the subjective and bias are important aspects of the hobby - I can accept that some people having bought a speaker costing 200k and knowing it is selling at 20k little time later will not be able to enjoy it.

If I am not sure about the performance or my long time desire of equipemnt I try to get it used.

There is another D5 being sold for 75k on audiogon.

I guess it depends if you want to wait for that buyer or try to sell them on price alone.
 

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