No, the Goldmund Eidos Reference Blu-ray player is not made of gold.
(Credit: Goldmund)It sure looks expensive, and at $135,000, the Goldmund Eidos Reference Blu-ray player is definitely in the upper crust of Blu-ray players in terms of cost.
Hand-built in Geneva, the Eidos Reference Blue is a truly rarefied design. Limited in production to 50 units, dawdlers will be left having to make do with a plain vanilla Denon or Sony Blu-ray player.
Will the Goldmund outperform the Oppo BDP-83 Blu-ray player we raved about a few days ago? I have no idea, but I do know that a $20 Casio watch keeps time just as well as a Patek Philippe Ref. 5102G that costs, gasp, $181,650!
My point: buying decisions for ultraexotic products aren't based solely on performance; they're more about a company's long heritage of building luxury designs and backing them up with extraordinary service.
The rich and famous still buy Ferraris that are no faster than a Corvette that sells for a fraction of the Ferrari's price. But Ferrari buyers want more than just speed--they want to be, well, special. They buy it for its looks and how it's made. It's the same deal with uber hi-fis.
(Source: Ultimate AV Web site)
(Credit:
Goldmund)
We have nothing but respect for Steve "Audiophiliac" Guttenberg and don't wish to perpetuate any stereotypes about like enthusiasts, but we can't resist mentioning the latest loudspeakers from Goldmund.
This, you may recall, is the same outfit that recently upgraded its $17,000 "Eidos 20" media player for Blu-ray. But the price of that DVD box is peanuts compared with its "Epilogue Speaker System," which goes for a cool $300,000, accoring to Newlaunches. That, by the way, was the estimated starting price for installations in Goldmund's palatial "Media Room" a few months ago.
We do appreciate the geometric design of the system, which would look perfectly natural on display at any modern art museum. As for the cost, perhaps it's just the price one must pay for high-end speakers that don't look like alien beings.
(Credit:
SlashGear)
If you've ever wondered how a media room can run up a $300,000 tab, try this on for starters: a Blu-ray Disc player that goes for $17,000.
Switzerland-based Goldmund has upgraded its "Eidos 20" media player with the victorious video format, claiming that it's the first Blu-ray player from a high-end audio-video equipment maker. As with all such products, one can't help but wonder how the exorbitant price can be justified, though Goldmund claims "the finest AS-Curator power supply circuit and magnetic damping for ultimate sound and video reproduction with least amount of mechanical and electrical distortions," according to SlashGear. Whatever.
Almost as if to add insult to injury, the box is about as nondescript as one can imagine: It looks like a piece of hospital equipment or something. For that kind of dough, you'd think they'd at least stick a couple of Swarovski crystals on it, just to humor us.
The way the other half live.
(Credit: Goldmund)Goldmund, a Swiss-based company, announced the availability of its media room "that exceeds the quality and performance of the nation's top commercial movie theaters and director's screening rooms." They call it "perfection in an imperfect world." Goldmund competes in the ultra-luxury stratosphere of the audiophile universe.
The Audiophiliac's apartment, just kidding!
(Credit: Goldmund)The Goldmund Media Room has up to 128 channels of audio, individual amplifiers for each speaker, and uses proprietary technology to overcome challenging room acoustics. Using their high tech room modeling software, Goldmund's team of professionals determine the number of speakers, and designs all the signal processing software that, loaded in the central processor, will produce optimal sound.
Goldmund Media Room installations begin at $300,000. Cost of décor and furnishings are extra.
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