MWJB I think it odd, considering the sums that people spend on coffee gear, just on someone’s suggestion/say so, that a diagnostic tool like this is deemed ‘expensive’?
Well, yeah. But I think I see it both ways. It rather depends on exactly what is meant. I mean, yeah, lots of coffee gear is rather a large sum of money especially if espresso machines or ‘good’ grinders are involved but …. what you get for your money does seem like a lot, even if for a lot of money.
But sometimes, things can also (legitimately) be expensive, for what seems like not much. One example of that is obviously where the materials are expensive, either because of rarity or because of loaded market conditions. Diamonds are rather a good example of both rarity and loaded market conditions (i.e. monopolistic strangleholds) etc. I remember, about 20 years ago looking at a rather nice little rock in a cutters in Amsterdam, a stone about the size of a pea, and a rather small pea at that. When I asked the price? £60,000. And no, I didn’t. :D
I guess what might be meant by ‘expensive’, sometimes at least, is more about a lot of money for what it is rather than a lot of money either in absolute terms, or in comparison to espresso machines, grinders, etc.
Another reason, for ‘expensive’, of course, might be that it’s very difficult to make, requires high levels of skill and/or very expensive equipment, and is likely only to sell in very limited quantities.
“Expensive” might, or might not, refer to the actual cost, or the perceived value for money. And that perception also heavily depends on the situation of the commenter. Someone that just about managed to scrape enough funds together for a very basic espresso machine and grinder has still spent more than most people would for a coffee machine, yet another £90/£180-ish is a VERY large proportion of that again, on top of that cost, and so they see it as expensive. For someone that spends, say, £3000 on an espresso machine and another £1000 or more or a grinder, may have really saved to do that, or just bought it on a whim because £4000+ is pocket change.
Money means very different things to different people, depending on how much they have, and so do subjective terms like “expensive”.
And finally, it’s all subjective anyway. I think those Kruve items are fairly expensive for what they are, and am unlikely to ever consider them. But I am about to order a pair of bookshelf speakers at £1k+, and a 3D printer (probably) at the same again. The point? Subjectively, to me, the speakers and the printer are by no means inexpensive (for what they are) but are worth it, but the Kruve? Probably not, despite being far less money.
Me calling them “expensive” says more about how much I want the respective items than it does about their absolute cost, or even, how much £90 means to me. It’s all relative.