My point is not that a new flagship has been released. But generally about this practice of offering several flagships one after the other at sharply rising prices while the old flagships immediately become obsolete. Hey we are talking about 8500 USD for the new flagship when Mentor as the previous co-flagship costs 4500 USD even though it was released a little over a year ago. Compared to the old Mason FS is an increase of +30%.
I had the obviously mistaken belief that Amber Peal with the proud price tag was an exception. But apparently this is now a common practice for UM. I will certainly never - not even if I become a milionaire - spend that much money on an IEM that is already technologically obsolete after a few months. It's a matter of principle for me. And I hate the idea that Mentor will be my last flagship from UM. I really love UM and Mentor and I don't want to think that after Mentor I will definitely not buy another UM flagship, keeping the desire and interest open. Also, a new Mason FS was never mentioned here, you obviously have special acquaintances if you not only knew about this release but could even hear it already.
Still, the fact remains that Amber Pearl has now become techonologically obsolete. Mason FS offers advanced technologies that were withheld in Amber Pearl. It is quite obvious that very soon the new Mentor will be released as Amber Pearl upgrade + new Mason FS's technologies. The way I see it, this is awful.
I nearly agree with everything you said. Given the rapid depreciation of IEMs, new flagship products should not become that expensive, but at minimum remain similarly priced as previous flagship models (unless logistical and labor costs increase).
In fact, many on this thread have spoken up against this recent practice, as they voiced the same concern most recently regarding the PMG Audio Apx, and before that, the Subtonic Storm and others. The upcoming Elysian flagship is likely going to be subject to the same scrutiny if it is over $5,000.
That being said, on the other side, regarding your third paragraph, I feel like Unique Melody shouldn't be faulted for withholding technology in this case (though still guilty of overpricing). I think it's an expected practice not to incorporate upcoming technologies developed for another flagship product line (especially in collaborations) since the R&D investment was for the Mason line, initiated on its own timeline. In this context, they integrated and innovated their latest technology from their most recently released Mentor flagship for the Amber Pearl, which seems to make sens to reserve their unreleased technology/R&D investments allocated for the intended product line. I believe Unique Melody used/modded the Mentor technology for the Amber Pearl which seems to be good faith (but the overpricing of the Amber Pearl deserves scrutiny).
I don't want to defend Unique Melody (or any company) that is overpricing their products. I do feel Unique Melody was guilty of overpricing, but innocent for some of the other things.
But I don't want to unfairly accuse Unique Melody overprices everything, so I'll acknowledge that the pricing of the Multiverse Mentor appears reasonable as a "genuine" flagship. While I don't know how much their markup was after the quality of components, quality of sound, labor costs, and R&D expenses, I feel like the Mentor at $3,599 might even have a lower retail markup than some other flagships from the pricey brands. (Note: I was influenced by a comment on YouTube stating that the most expensive BA drivers may cost around $150 per unit, but I cannot verify its accuracy.) But regardless, unlike most other flagships, the MM comes with a properly-matched high-quality PWA cable imo (whereas other flagships seem to just find a generic cable from a reputable brand like Eletech (or worse), costing buyers a lot more to self-match cables). As for quality of sound and R&D investment, I think the Mentor employs authentic refined tuning without gimmickry, convincing me of their genuine R&D investment in it. In my opinion, I think the Mentor was actually one of the better examples of flagship pricing.
Of course, for the pricing of the Amber Pearl and the Mason series, I concur with you, and they definitely deserve to be scrutinized.
I never had urge to have 10 unneeded cameras or lenses as I have for iems/headphones (but maybe that is personal?).
Also I haven’t socialized nearly as much with audio hobbyist as compared to photo and auto fans. I know too many photogs with $100k+ of gear and car people… those collections have no limits. 
