Because if you're going to do something you might as well do it to the best of your ability and companies like GT Audio set themselves high standards. I do believe those high standards set the bar for other manufacturers too so that not everything produced looks like it was made in someone's shed.
Absolutely right.
Graham does things right. The TRON, imho, represents fabulous vfm and I do wish people would stop and use their grey matter before posting critical remarks over packaging. I know what custom packaging costs, as I've had to commission it for some of my own products, and trust me, just having a small handful of bespoke cardboard boxes with foam inserts made up, then the outside printed costs
MORE than buying in cheap aluminium foam lined cases from China, then cutting the foam to suit your product. I was amazed at the costs of custom boxes. Unless you buy in bulk, it is not a cheap option.
The flight case is a nice touch, and actually reinforces the quality aspect with GT products and the VFM that, actually, they represent compared with
anything in a similar league. You can pick up a nice Aluminium flight case for under £20. I can't have custom foam lined boxes supplied for that. They also make a very handy transport device for attending bake-offs and are as easily stored in the loft if you don't want them around.
Inside the product, there is no "Foo", just sensibly engineered circuitry laid down on very high quality Custom PCBs, beautifully screen printed and laid out. Add to that, the CONVERGENCE MC phonostage uses a proper, very high quality shielded and choked power supply and you soon build a picture of a designer that cares about quality. There are no overtly "Foo" bits unless you specify them, other than the very high quality power supply and the hand selected and matched valves. The wiring and build quality are nothing short of exemplary.
The end product sounds as you might expect such a nicely engineered product to sound, very good indeed. I know, because after listening to a load of market-hyped mass produced mediochrity, I commissioned a TRON. Add to this that the costs reflect the fact that Graham does not use dealerships or distributors for that particular product, and the price is HALF of what it would cost you at any dealership.
Those are the facts, so perhaps those who initially speculated with a few critical remarks over vfm might like to revise their opinions with the above in mind