River251, here are some other things I did not see above.
A $1000 amp is likely mass-produced where is $50,000 likely is not. So any vendor offers price breaks on parts- the more you buy the cheaper they are. If you have an assembly line, which is practical for less expensive amplifiers made by larger companies, you can further drive the price down.
There are other factors- parts being one. However there is also the labor. Some $50,000 amps may be entirely handwired (our MA-2 is exactly that but is only $42,000/pr :) ). Handwiring is often more labor intensive than circuit boards. But it gives the designer the ability to control stray capacitance better than a circuit board, due to the dielectrics involved (fiberglass, which is a poor dielectric, as opposed to polyethylene, which is pretty good, for example).
In addition there is the overhead of the facility, the overhead of legal fees (patents, lawsuits, legal advice). There is also the formula for markup, which I think is where many audiophiles might feel that they are being taken for a ride. Some companies mark up by a factor of 5 and others even 10x. FWIW we have a markup of 2 times. This allows us to replace the sold unit and build another after that. IMO that is enough to make an honest profit, OTOH those that know me well know that I got in this business because I enjoy it rather than to make a fast buck. I should also point out that high end audio is a very finicky market that is also very competitive. Thus the saying about 'if you want to make a small fortune in this business, start out with a large one' applies.
Lately, Chinese parts and assembly has become an issue even in high end audio. Many companies that don't want to admit it have their gear made in China for a lot less. This puts a squeeze on those who are still holding out by using better, non-Chinese parts that should be more reliable (and also more expensive), not to mention the labor issue.
A $1000 amp is likely mass-produced where is $50,000 likely is not. So any vendor offers price breaks on parts- the more you buy the cheaper they are. If you have an assembly line, which is practical for less expensive amplifiers made by larger companies, you can further drive the price down.
There are other factors- parts being one. However there is also the labor. Some $50,000 amps may be entirely handwired (our MA-2 is exactly that but is only $42,000/pr :) ). Handwiring is often more labor intensive than circuit boards. But it gives the designer the ability to control stray capacitance better than a circuit board, due to the dielectrics involved (fiberglass, which is a poor dielectric, as opposed to polyethylene, which is pretty good, for example).
In addition there is the overhead of the facility, the overhead of legal fees (patents, lawsuits, legal advice). There is also the formula for markup, which I think is where many audiophiles might feel that they are being taken for a ride. Some companies mark up by a factor of 5 and others even 10x. FWIW we have a markup of 2 times. This allows us to replace the sold unit and build another after that. IMO that is enough to make an honest profit, OTOH those that know me well know that I got in this business because I enjoy it rather than to make a fast buck. I should also point out that high end audio is a very finicky market that is also very competitive. Thus the saying about 'if you want to make a small fortune in this business, start out with a large one' applies.
Lately, Chinese parts and assembly has become an issue even in high end audio. Many companies that don't want to admit it have their gear made in China for a lot less. This puts a squeeze on those who are still holding out by using better, non-Chinese parts that should be more reliable (and also more expensive), not to mention the labor issue.