Meridian's Ferrari-branded F80 home entertainment system priced at $2,995

We fully expected that Ferrari logo and lacquered paint job to add a stuff premium to Meridian's F80, but this is undeniably insane. The "transportable home entertainment system," which has been hovering about since last March, is at long last ready to be purchased. Finding prospective buyers, however, will likely be challenging. The unit is now available in silver, yellow, white, black and the obligatory red, and each one will set you back a dumbfounding $2,995. We're thinking the unit itself would go for around three bills sans branding, but apparently Italian ponies aren't cheap.

[(Unverified) Posted May 17th 2008 5:10AM]

i'm sorry, but sports car co-branding is flat-out tacky. it cheapens the image of both companies. meridian makes startlingly good loudspeakers and we all know what ferrari is famous for. so they team up on an overpriced lifestyle electronic? go figure.

[DrXym Posted May 17th 2008 8:45AM]

Why would I want a sports car branded Hi-fi than I would a Hi-fi branded sports car? Seems a bit pointless to me. And the price is ridiculous for what is just a DAB FM radio and DVD player combo. It would be expensive at 1/10th the price.

[(Unverified) Posted May 17th 2008 9:07PM]

don't foolishly comment on a product that you have never heard before, and likely will never hear. the product is amazing, and produces an unbelievable image for a tabletop product. ferrari has never put their name or icon on any other product in the world, and there certainly is justified reason why they allowed Meridian to use them, as well as their trademarked ferrari colors.

worth the money when you consider their speakers run well into the tens of thousands of dollars, not to mention their dvd and cd players.

[DrXym Posted May 18th 2008 7:59AM]

"ferrari has never put their name or icon on any other product in the world".

Yes they have. There is an Acer laptop with a Ferrari logo, and there is an line of clothing with a Ferrari logo. And Ferrari branded watches and sunglasses. And a Ferrari branded Segway. etc. etc. etc. The logo might mean extra attention to design or quality, but it does not magically bestow upon the product qualities that justify a 5-10x markup on the sort of price it should be selling for.

I'm sure it's a great system BTW but it damned well should be the price. A DAB/fm/CD combo system selling for $300 would also sound great. I admit you might have trouble finding one which is also a DVD player too but I might find some solace in being $2700 better off. $2700 would just about get you an entire home cinema system.