Feanor

Yes it is hard to believe claims by makers when it comes to drivers - or most other parts for that matter but I think Audio Note is a lot more up front about it than most everyone else. They do not hide the fact that the drivers are SEAS - in fact they tell you. They don't hide the fact that the speakers were platformed off of Snell's original speakers or that turntables 1 and 2 were designed by Peter Dunlop of Systemdek or that the Arms are made by Rega.

When you start looking at cost of components only then you have problems - you would be mortified if you knew the costs of your Magnepan's from a parts perspective ( I know the guy repairing them as a magnepan authorized dealer) so I would not throw too many stones when you see the costs of what goes into a 20.1.

The least expensive aspect of a loudspeaker is the drivers. Typically Audio Note uses Russian Birch no void ply - plenty of loudspeakers of similar size shape and price use far less expensive (shockingly MDF) and easier to work with materials - it's not just the cost of the woods - it's the cost of the parts that are lost in making the loudspeaker. Paper woofers are the most difficult to pair match to tight tolerances and yet there is no one else pair matching to those tolerances even at far higher price points with easier to match materials.

And the bottom line is labour is higher - We're talking real British wages, medical taxes and shipping and a company not quite big enough to be doing things at huge scale. With 100% testing and calibrating the driver to the crossover to the box because each is slightly off when you get things sourced - this creates a big labour element. With many companies that are mass assembled on a line in China that no one actually listens to ensure it works before it gets put in a box then costs for them are much reduced.

You have numerous companies like Wilson, B&W who have a little more wood - one extra driver in each speaker and charge $15-$22k (Sophia and D800) and IMO neither are as nice to listen to as the AN E/LX HE at about $6k. Certainly there is nothing in the "cost of parts" that would run those other two speakers to warrant a 9K - 16K price hike.