Speaker Depreciation - Raidho D5s

steve59

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Jan 7, 2018
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The $75k speakers are dealer demos and come with the warranty, I believe they're the D5.1 also while the .1 upgrade lists at $32K and includes the 2 big names flying out and replacing necessary parts and drivers! That the seller let them go for $20k instead of negotiating an upgrade is curious.
 

Hear Here

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Feb 14, 2020
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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)!

By way of total contrast, I bought a pair of Avantgarde Uno speakers new in about 2004. I paid £4200 after a reasonably generous dealer discount. Last year I found a pair of used Duos, so advertised the 15 year old Unos for £4200 - and sold them easily for the asking price. Depreciation - NIL. Not a penny lost after all those years. I anticipate my 2006 vintage Duos will retain their value just as well.

Again by contrast, before I found the Duos, I had decided to replace the Unos and thought Martin Logan electrostatics would suit me - after having experimented a couple of years earlier with Quad 2905s. I listened to their new Expression 13A system at a showroom and read very encouraging reviews. However, possibly though no fault of the ESLs, they didn't sound as good as the old Unos in my room - by a significant margin. So, after 3 months, I offered them for sale at 40% less than the £18000 UK retail price. Now a year down the road, still no real interest. Pity as they'd be a great buy for someone with a more conventional room than mine.
 

andromedaaudio

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I ve heard several raidhos.
A typical example of being hyped by a certain magazine ,.....for whatever reason .
But with not the soundquality to back it up , hence the price drop.
Certainly very limited bottom end for the asking price afaik.
 
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HughP3

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I heard the $150k model (forgot which one) at axpona last year. Many systems, to me, were better at 1/3 the price.
 

cjfrbw

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Darn, and I was just about to put all of my retirement money into high end audio futures. That was close.......
 

thedudeabides

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Jan 16, 2011
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Brands with customer loyalty, product value, defensible pricing and manufacturer integrity (Pass, CJ, etc.) minimize their depreciation and others do not. Educated, informed consumers know or should know which ones do and don't. It's that simple.
 
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steve59

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Common sense. I listened to a $300 pair of bookshelves from paradigm today that had no business sounding so good. PT barnum was right.
 

LenWhite

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Feb 11, 2011
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Certainly frustration with the uber high retail costs of most audio equipment exists. And Raidho arguably employed questionable sales strategy. But considering audio is a risky niche industry, there are many tactics used to increase sales. Model obsolescence using new "features" is another example.

How many of those that have criticized Raidho actually have experience listening to the brand? Michael Borresen, educated in physics, arguably designed a unique tweeter, creating a speaker with superior imaging and articulation.

Adding a crossover/subwoofer to augment the low end which almost all speakers benefit from, extends the palpability of this really good speaker.
 

andromedaaudio

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I think in the high end its like this; if its priced to low people think , gee its probably no good.
So they rather price to high and give a discount on the actual sale rather then the other way around .

Ps i ve heard them many times
 
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steve59

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Ive owned a couple different brands where I had a pair of their statement speakers and then a similar spec’d but affordable model a couple levels below and in these cases the difference was really recording dependent on how much better the statement product was. On crummy recordings the less resolving speaker was a relief even if the really good recordings weren’t rewarded with layers of buried detail. Listening to the cheap stuff is a good way for me to keep my head when I’m about to spend more than the car my wife drives costs.
 

HughP3

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Care to mention which systems sounded better to you?

To my ears and for about the same price the Gryphon Trident ii are simply on another level (which I eventually purchased). For about a third of the price I liked the Avant-garde due mezzo xd, rockport Cygnus, and a Sonus Faber model better.

I recall the raidho were $145k, good but not for $145k.
 

marty

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The Raidho D5 is a sad story in high end audiophile land. It achieved its zenith status a few years ago based on a review by Jon Valin during a phase when he was bestowing his highest praise to one speaker of the month after another. What became of it and why did it fall back to earth quicker than a lead balloon? To begin, the speaker had a tweeter that was voiced so you could fry eggs on it. Kind of reminded me of the earliest Magico offerings (which Valin also praised highly- no surprise). Almost everyone who kept them ended up padding the tweeters with a Vishay resistor in series with the tweeter. This of course was necessary due to their "purist" design in which user adjustable controls are considered unacceptable and worse, unnecessary. You either liked the way Borreson voiced the speaker, or you didn't. Typical designer arrogance. They obviously knew what's best and it didn't matter if you had a room with 4 walls of glass or heavy curtains. Due to lack of any adjustability, and a bright sonic palette, it was a genuine "Forrest Gump" speaker (stupid is as stupid does) in my opinion. Then the speaker got upgraded to the 5.1, which could of course only be done when Borreson made a limited number of house calls to owners throughout the country. Actually, if you took the tweeter down a few dB, the 5.1 was a pretty good sounding speaker, but by then the speaker had outlived its glory since Borreson soon left the company and left a legacy in which used Raidho products can be found selling for 30 cents on the dollar or less. It was and is a flash in the pan and nothing more, except to serve as a warning to heed those hallowed words "let the buyer beware".
 
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tobiasrankin

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To my ears and for about the same price the Gryphon Trident ii are simply on another level (which I eventually purchased). For about a third of the price I liked the Avant-garde due mezzo xd, rockport Cygnus, and a Sonus Faber model better.

I recall the raidho were $145k, good but not for $145k.

Wow congrats, the Trident 2 looks incredible. Love the design of everything gyrphon makes.

The Raidho D5 is a sad story in high end audiophile land. It achieved its zenith status a few years ago based on a review by Jon Valin during a phase when he was bestowing his highest praise to one speaker of the month after another. What became of it and why did it fall back to earth quicker than a lead balloon? To begin, the speaker had a tweeter that was voiced so you could fry eggs on it. Kind of reminded me of the earliest Magico offerings (which Valin also praised highly- no surprise). Almost everyone who kept them ended up padding the tweeters with a Vishay resistor in series with the tweeter. This of course was necessary due to their "purist" design in which user adjustable controls are considered unacceptable and worse, unnecessary. You either liked the way Borreson voiced the speaker, or you didn't. Typical designer arrogance. They obviously knew what's best and it didn't matter if you had a room with 4 walls of glass or heavy curtains. Due to lack of any adjustability, and a bright sonic palette, it was a genuine "Forrest Gump" speaker (stupid is as stupid does) in my opinion. Then the speaker got upgraded to the 5.1, which could of course only be done when Borreson made a limited number of house calls to owners throughout the country. Actually, if you took the tweeter down a few dB, the 5.1 was a pretty good sounding speaker, but by then the speaker had outlived its glory since Borreson soon left the company and left a legacy in which used Raidho products can be found selling for 30 cents on the dollar or less. It was and is a flash in the pan and nothing more, except to serve as a warning to heed those hallowed words "let the buyer beware".

Im so glad Im reading all this. I was tempted by the D5.1 on audiogon for $68k. But I think I will stay away. Although I do wonder if a smoother SS amp like pass labs would make it sound amazing.
 

marty

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Im so glad Im reading all this. I was tempted by the D5.1 on audiogon for $68k. But I think I will stay away. Although I do wonder if a smoother SS amp like pass labs would make it sound amazing.

Glad it was useful. Aside from the sound, one obvious big issue is re-sale. Good brand value is determined by market demand which is facilitated by a robust dealer network. Raidho has neither. In that price range, there are many brands that have both (i.e. Wilson, Magico, Focal, Rockport etc) and it may be more rewarding to look at those in addition to some of the newer players (Bayz, Diesis, Alsyvox) even though they are less established at present.
 

DaveC

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Nov 16, 2014
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Im so glad Im reading all this. I was tempted by the D5.1 on audiogon for $68k. But I think I will stay away. Although I do wonder if a smoother SS amp like pass labs would make it sound amazing.

Nah, it would take some real woofers to make it sound better. :)
 

microstrip

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Considering the other side of the subject (the second hand buyer perspective, not the original owner :() if you buy an used Raidho at one fifth the RRP as suggested in posts in this thread, you can built an excellent system spending little, particularly if you manage to forget the WBF audio dogmas and also get a pair of JL Audio subs with a CR1 ...

IMHO surely Raidho's were overpriced, but no way flawed designs - some friends own them, they need a lot of care positioning and pairing, but can sound very decent.
 

HughP3

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Considering the other side of the subject (the second hand buyer perspective, not the original owner :() if you buy an used Raidho at one fifth the RRP as suggested in posts in this thread, you can built an excellent system spending little, particularly if you manage to forget the WBF audio dogmas and also get a pair of JL Audio subs with a CR1 ...

IMHO surely Raidho's were overpriced, but no way flawed designs - some friends own them, they need a lot of care positioning and pairing, but can sound very decent.

True but be very sure before pulling the trigger. A plane flight for an audition is a must. If you can pu for even less and they blow you away would make for a compelling case however I think the drivers are in house. If the brand is dissolved how would you get parts. Tough conundrum.
 

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