$50,000 amp

[Moby]

Is there any way this amp has an intrinsic value of $50k?

http://cgi.ebay.com/NEW-Phase-Tech-MA-1-Power-Amplifiers-/180684721205?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_0&hash=item2a11a60c35

[phatt]

Paint is expensive
Phil.

[J M Fahey]

Did any of you *actually* read the posting?

Price:   US $49,999.00   
Buy It NowBuy It NowBuy It Now
   or   
Best Offer:      
Make OfferMake Offer

He isn't that *strict* about those US $50K.
Maybe he could consider $199.99 

[joecool85]

It even comes straight from Japan.  Nice that it doesn't even have any specs.  Although unless it puts out 40,000+ watts I don't think it's worth it.

[teemuk]

The item has "audiophile" written all over it. Bet someone buys it to pair it to his $10,000 power cable, $5000 tonewood cable lifters at floor, $100K turntable and $100K speaker system. With that much money it's bound to lift off the veil from soundstage and deliver graceful air at the upper highs.... or whatever. Why care.

[joecool85]

The item has "audiophile" written all over it. Bet someone buys it to pair it to his $10,000 power cable, $5000 tonewood cable lifters at floor, $100K turntable and $100K speaker system. With that much money it's bound to lift off the veil from soundstage and deliver graceful air at the upper highs.... or whatever. Why care.

I agree.  Sure, it makes sense to have something better than 10% THD for your stereo equipment, and sure, I like having good clear highs and crisp lows...but audiophile guys are nuts sometimes!

[Enzo]

I recently heard from a guy in another industry who sells on ebay.  He was looking at a "competitor" who always had listed a particular item priced at $1500, when comparables were selling all day at $400.  My friend contacted the guy and asked him - "you have to be aware what these are selling for all over ebay.  How can you expect to sell any at this price?"  The guy told him that he didn;t care if he sold any at all.  TO him it was just cheap advertising.  Listing this overpriced item cost very little, and it made people buying things in that industry aware that he was there selling all manner of related stuff.

I don't have the energy to look, but I wonder how many people saw this, then wondered what else this character might be selling.  And perhaps they discover that some other items are not so excessively priced.

[joecool85]

I don't have the energy to look, but I wonder how many people saw this, then wondered what else this character might be selling.  And perhaps they discover that some other items are not so excessively priced.

Nah, it's all expensive including a $130 frosted glass and $240 electric space heater!

[J M Fahey]

I think Teemu was actually very close.
I Googled a little and got a couple little suerprises.
1) Not explicit in the ad (or we are just "out of tune"), but this amp is *mono*
Yes, you'll need TWO of them for stereo. Do the math
2) It's actually *cheap* and a great way to save money in these hard days.
Don't believe me?
Just read what "The Vacuum Tube Store" has to say about it:
Vacuum Tube Store
Tube Amps, Tubes, Vintage Tubes, Tube Guitar Amps and much more!
Tube Amplifier
Due to the current world financial situation, people are actually looking to make their cash go further.
"Blah blah blah RUN for this fantastic offer. "
Yeah, sure.
In "similar products" I found the competing Rogue Amp, which at least is dual mono, has 12 (count'em) KT88, delivers 225W RMS per channel (and I believe that), for a paltry U$7999.
Sounds like a better deal to me 

[joecool85]

I hope no one is dumb enough to buy that thing.  But somehow, I wouldn't be surprised if someone did.

[phatt]

I found the schematic but I'm not sure it will work,,
http://xkcd.com/730/
Phil.

[gbono]

Mmmm what would a $50K solid state version of the above offer?

1kW/channel (let's say into 8 ohms)

DSP for anything and everything - heck what about a gigantic FPGA with mulit core RISC processing (this thing will have several HDMI ports at the very least) - for any effect imaginable plus output EQ/non-linear processing for your loudspeaker "system" and more.

Water or peltier cooled - no noisey fans

OLED front panel display - make it big enough so you can have it look like it has tubes in it  

Titanium chassis/hardware

??