Things you did not know about what is inside your speakers and the Huge markups

The concept of "overpriced mark-up" makes sense to me when one compares really well-engineered speakers like those of, say, Ascend Acoustics or Fritz vs. those of much pricier brands with "bling." 

There are ways to own great, great quality Speakers without having to pay a typical audio business their asking price and indirectly not paying an audio production Company their asked-for price.

I know one Purchase where a Globally Known, very well-exposed brand in the marketplace, that is a UK-based company. Where a friend went to the company premises and had a direct introduction to a TOTR Speaker design, resulting in a brand-new model being sold for 40% cheaper than the typically seen retail price.

The direct-to-manufacturer approach is an option available to anybody as a Cash purchaser, as the Manufacturer will not be offering a credit arrangement for a purchase. The direct purchase, if compared to the final payment of a credit arrangement used to make a payment, may have been nearer a 60% saving when direct purchasing was in place. 

On the other side, there are great speaker kits, really great speaker kits. The commission build route will add to the cost, i.e., Cabinet Maker service and an Electronics Engineer Service will be added to Driver +  Xover prices. Depending on the selected model, the end build will need a Speaker from a retail production background to be somewhere between 5x - 10x the basic cost of the Kit Speaker to be able to be competitive as a functioning design and performer. I have heard a £3K Kit Speaker compared to a £5K and a £12K-ish Speaker, and both were noticeably weak in what they offered as a comparison. 

My own new Speakers are purchased for the construction value + 15%. The individuals instrumental in the design and final voicing of these Speakers are claiming that the Speakers outperform £140K speakers in one assessment and extended on this value in another assessment. I have £135K remaining in my coffer. What's not to like about using any method that avoids the typical retail purchase method?

The used speaker market should also be probed for what can be achieved as a purchase. If a buyer really works the sale in their favour, it will also generate a super bargain buy. Buying into not-too-commonly-seen imported speakers can easily become a speaker with a negotiated price near 70% cheaper than retail. The beauty is that there still remains no binding commitment to make the purchase. The Buyer is stuck, and the seller can bide their time. The buyer, if successful with the depreciated value will accumulate 85%+ of the purchase price if sold within 18 months. I have seen this purchase method work, and a profit was made on a resale. t        

@8th-note    +1 very logical perspective. Unfortunately many Audiophiles react emotionally regarding cost of a component.

@hilde45      -1 very self-absorbed perspective. Value is in the eye of the beholder.

 -1 very self-absorbed perspective. Value is in the eye of the beholder.

Wow. Totally subjective relativism. Can't go with that.

People here are smarter than that. They know that experienced engineers plus good parts and a rigorous design process will come out with a product capable of offering excellent sound. That is the "value" of an audio component. For others to charge 10x the price for that level of sound quality is, arguably, a lesser value -- that is an objective argument that many here can agree or disagree with, but they’ll do so with actual reasons rather than simply declaring that "value is purely subjective." 

@8th-note +2

Mike