My dad used to work as purchasing agent for Giffin Sheet metals who supplied GM with their parts - these rolls were stamped out in no time and that was in the 1970's. Bolts nuts and all that stuff are stamped out and sold for next to nothing to GM. You can add up whatever you wish - but when a Car is $15000.00 Retail - and the dealer is making at least $3000.00 on that car - and probably more like $6,000.00 and being an American car it will likely see $3000.00 in Warranty work in 5 years - this is factored into the vehicle. The low end of the market has the highest sales.

The car I probably overestimate costing $6000.00 to build it is probably Closer to $3,000.00. If you honestly think GM is building a car for $8,000.00 and selling it to a delaer for $9,000 then mate you're on drugs. GM and Ford would close down tomorrow and build something they can make more profit on - like clothes.

The plants have been around for 50 years - I think we can dismiss initial overhead by now and R&D - on a car - you must be kidding - the same V8 the same V6 the same 4 cylinder Pontiac Grand-Am they made in 1989(which is a derivitive of the same engine and tranny they made in 1979 with a new body and internal seating - cheaper then oit was then - all $1.00 plastic inside and outside. Hybrid? A couple of 17 year old high school students have developed a Hybrd engine for their go-carts - real difficult to stick a battery and a computer chip in a car and then charge 50% more money for it when it doesn't go as fast and the fuel mileage as stated by honda of 38 MPG is barely better than the all gas engine - I had one which got close to 40mpg subtract the difference of the Canadian version of litres to gallon. But still - what the hell are you buying a $30,000.00 version of a Honda Civic. The Accord is basically the same car a bit bigger.

Ever wonder why upgrading from a 4 banger to a 6 they charge somehting like $4,000.00+ for. WHY? Both engines have been around 25+ years - both engines are stamped out of the plant in the same amount of time - the difference in materials is maybe $5.00 between the two. And this is not even giving you a credit on the 4 cylinder this is JUST the difference. 4WD yes another $8,000.00 retail - does that cost make any sense. No but the market will bare it for some reason. You do get a 4WD sticker on your door - and you can tell people it is better off road when you do your 1 off road trip in 10 years.

R&D on a speaker - Yes B&W's Nautilus has revolutionized the audio industry so you better trade your AR9 in for one right away - only $14,000.00. Or you can get the Batman artiste version for a mere $40,000.00(but you need 8 amplifiers to get the same bass the $4000.00 E produces with 3 watts - but hey it's up to you - I've heard em both. But B&W does claim it is the most accurate speaker ever designed and on the market today - and with their engineering team it must be true - unless you ask them outside of shop hours.

99% of the people who read these forums are likely never going to buy or even listen to Audio Note speakers. So if you're trying to do people a favour - why not blast some of the big guys like harman and B&W that with all their marketing and so called revolutionary R&D and hiring of highly touted engineers as spokespersons and advertising in every issue of every review magazines(conflicting interests) that when after all of that stuff their comparably priced speaker sounds like a clock radio compared to some nobody for less money - maybe that should cause you to rip those companies. Of course this requires you to actually listen to them.

It is simple apples to apples comparisons. The AN K is the same price as the B&W N805 and Energy Veritas of the world, etc. The AN J you can treat as a floorstander so compare it to the big guys' $3500.00US speakers - I'll even give AN a disadvantage - compare the AN J/Spe to the other guys' $7-$10k models. Not to say there isn't going to be those who prefer one of those others - they may(some love Magnepan or certain specialty designs) - can only go by what I hear mate. Most people are not engineers but listen to music - every company claims some sort of techie advantage. AN uses good to the best materials currently available all the way throughout. Many costing what AN costs do not use as high of quality materials.

Please you can tell me the break down of cost to price ratio of the $11,000.00US N801 over the $3500.00 AN-J/Spe - I would be interested in where the extra $7,500.00 went. Sound of course aside as to me the J is a better sounding - but if it's ALL about cost of materials and sound has nothing to do with a loudspeaker then give me the part numbers of drivers of the N801. $7500.00 extra - wow Kevlar is more expnsive than I thought. And why is the Paradigm S8 worth $8,000.00US compared to the Studio 100 at $2,000? Same basic design and same basic size. Okay you get real wood and better drivers - $6,000.00 more. It costs Paradigm that much to use real wood and a nicer finish that you could buy 4 pairs of Studio 100's for the same price as one pair of S8's? Any my dealer brought themn in for a few weeks because they carry and are the biggest Paradigm dealer on Vancouver Island - told me they had them in but basically they sound so similar to the 100 that it doesn't make it worth selling - especially when the competition for half that blew them away - which makes sense if they don't sound much better than the 100.

And at least you can ask PQ about his gear directly on internet forums or e-mail. Ask Harman for a breakdown on all their parts - and ask them for the complete schematic so you can build them yourself for 1/10 the price - they will give you some drivel about people stealing their wonderous revolutionary design.

I simply try to give a voice to a company people may miss when out and about because they are inundated with commercials for the big brand names - is there any harm in listening to an Audio Note product at your dealer? You don't have to buy - they don't hold a gun to your head.