Amp design logic

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.

Any factory in any country is capable of building things well with high part quality. The key is establishing quality control and avoiding slave labor issues by paying fair wages...Jolida apparently does that and others might also but you don't hear much about it.

Wolf_garcia, 'capable', true enough. But if they do is another matter. We build a guitar amp for a company here in town. They got in some parts from China for testing.

One of the parts was a filter capacitor for the power supply, rated 47uf at 450V. It looked a little peculiar- most tubular electrolytic capacitors have a metal end of the part and an insulated end, with a crimp around the body of the insulated end. This one was crimped at both ends and was insulated at both ends. It was branded Nichicon, a respected Japanese brand.

We took it apart as it seemed odd. Turned out it was a shell, a ruse: inside we found a different part, marked 22uf and rated 400 volts (with a name on it I could not pronounce)! Imagine if we had used that in a 450V application...

So yes, the capability is certainly there, but the intention is another matter. And even if there is the intention, such a manufacturer has to be on the lookout for parts like this.

Ralph the semiconductor industry is seeing a lot of rebranding of parts and miss markings as well;my customers are seeing more since they are now buying COTS (commercial off the shelf) components and are not doing incoming inspection with the exception of my military customers.It was a pretty good idea that you kind of did a DPA (destuctive parts analysis) of your own and saw it for your self;probally would have been used in a power supply application and resulted in early component failure and caused major/minor damage depending on where it was used.
Some have even reported blank die installed in chips and other components as well.

I remember when US made Fender guitars SUCKED...from the late 60's until the late 70's...you had to look at 10 Telecasters until you found one put together correctly. Now they're mostly fine, even when made in Mexico or wherever. I understand that some Chinese component weirdness can trickle in, but I have some Chinese built gear that is amazing...a Kavent preamp, Jolida amp, and an original Reverend Goblin guitar amp (now made in the US by somebody who bought the designs) are 3 examples of "imports done right", likely due to a "lookout" posted at the gate (send him a sandwich).