Why pay so much?

"If people wouldn’t pay it, they’d drop to 500%."

Every time I tried not to pay for something they did not lower the price. They simply did not give me what I wanted.

Sub speakers that are $1,000 should cost like $250-300 and get 1,000%+ margins.
The same goes for other "cheaper" alternatives of processors and amplifiers.
If a Dayton Audio (Parts Express brand) had their affordable $30-50 drivers used in speakers from a 300% margin speaker company, it’d rock the socks off anything over $1,500 that exists at like $300-$350 for a 3 way speaker. Again, speaking in bulk 50% wholesale large mass driver and crossover components and building materials.
You can get 5 channel car audio amplifiers that puts out like 1,000 watts RMS for $200 on wholesale sights.
I don’t see why they can’t have $300-400 versions of these on the home theater market.

"...and I’m assuming the speaker industry threatened them in to not doing it..."

They got "backlash" from it, and wow...

Remember, it was just your assumption, not the known fact, but you built your case on it.

Apparently the D3004-6600 was, too "neutral" and not "lively" enough, but good enough for the Anat Reference II at $100,000 which won awards for the best speaker ever at the time.

I forgot what thread it was here on audiogon, but people were mentioning what you are asking for. A couple of hundred dollar amplifiers with lots of power and, allegedly, very good sound. It might have not been five channel, though.