There is an art to building crossovers and designing cabinets I agree but there are a few expert, brilliant people who did it online for free as a hobby. I know of a guy who even advises other speaker companies who makes his own. Paying an upcharge of 95% parts and labor doesn't merit the work that goes in the process.
Many super high end speakers don't even use drivers as good as high end scan Speak, Seas or Accuton they use cheaper ones or raal is good too if you're in to ribbons not naming all of them.
Basically if you can buy the drivers and crossover components yourself for a couple grand in a speaker like then you can call yourself a cabinet enthusiast and are paying top dollar for them to build you cabinets. You're spending $98,000 on cabinets.
The von schweikert VR-9SE Mk2 $120,000 is basically just using madisound drivers and I'm assuming crossover components...you're paying what, $116,000 to build cabinets?
They are ripping you off.
Also designing a cabinet and crossover isn't terribly hard they say they're doing all this fancy stuff but they kid you with technical language. They have computer programs. Building the drivers are hard which is why most companies use 3rd party drivers. YG anat reference II greatest speakers of all time $125,000 just scan Speak Illuminator and fancy crossovers in cabinets.
I'd never design my own speakers but there are definitely people out there on the forums capable of designing some high end stuff that should.
Until that day arrives everyone in the high end game is cabinet enthusiasts since that's all you're paying them for.
It sometimes costs a lot and has a lot of engineering to build tvs, cars and computer components and and you don't see them with 9500% profit margins...
What makes something that people do in their basement deserve these huge mark ups?
I guess there are a lot of easy marks out there.
