I think this thread perfectly points out the disconnect between costs of small quantity versus large quantity. I have an old Jag, a 2001 XKR. I paid 20K for it, but it was over 100K new. How it was worth 100K I never understood until visiting ATC one year. One of the guys in engineering worked at Jaguar in Coventry. He explained the ridiculous cost of Jag parts had nothing to do with value of the part, it had to do with all custom parts produced in very small quantities. He said Jag buys 50 sets of brake parts and Ford buys 50,000 or more for a similar brake package (mustangs). Jag sold only 200 cars like mine in 2001- I wonder how many Mustangs Ford built?
A brake manufacturer doesn’t want to bother with a 50pc order when they could get a 5,000 pc order and make way more money. So Jag has to pay BIG to get the attention of that brake maker if they want them to make only 50 of these critical parts for them. That’s why it was 100K+ new.
This is exactly the principle in high end loudspeakers. A manufacturer may have ultra elaborate machined parts that are ordered in groups of 10. JBL may have a similar part they buy for $200 becasue they buy 50,000pcs. it might cost this ultra highend company $2,500 for that part in quantities of 10.
You as the possible purchaser study the JBL and the exotica speaker and try to figure why one costs so much more than the other when from a parts count perspective, you cannot justify it. However, it you really want one and have the money, plus you know there is only 10 in the world, you pay the price.
That’s why these $100,000-$200,000 speakers exist- to create them costs a LOT due to the exotic nature of the parts and extremely small quantity ordered.
Brad
