Any owner of a high-traffic website gets constant unsolicited sales inquiries; and not always on target. Tractors and combines aren't my thing. The latest properly targeted such solicit was from Tony Zhou of Naphon. Of course he wasn't aware that I don't buy or sell gear, merely write about it. "Dear Sir/Madam, hope this email finds you well. We supply high-quality EL34 tube amplifiers for hifi enthusiasts and audio distributors. Here are our three hot models. All support 110/220V power and 4/8Ω speaker output. Please let me know if you need full datasheets, more pictures or wholesale pricing:
If you now think about the actual wholesale price of the $270 model, I feel you. Hence today's header. Consumers. What do we ever know about the real cost of things—before all the middle sirs and madams take out their cut, FedEx & Co. interfere as do customs and the daily currency exchange? Of course FiiO's drops this year of first an affordable tubed DAC then proper valve amp demonstrated once again just how cost-effective glowing things in our sector can get when people really try. Doesn't it make you wonder though about a lot of other stuff? Just how many entities make money off any one item before we get our final bill of sales? I imply naught nefarious. It's the way of our 21st-century world. Being duly indoctrinated as we all are, I occasionally still stump though when certain items work as advertised, aren't flimsy or funky but at full retail sell so affordably that I can't wrap my head around the how…
