Quality parts result in very high prices.
Charge less and you go out of business, charge more and you are not competitive. There are a lot of reasons why the retail price is so high. First, there are a lot of overhead costs associated with being a manufacturer. Industrial space, utilities, advertising, cost of doing high-end audio and consumer electronics shows, travel both domestic and overseas travel to promote products, health insurance and other employee benefits all add to the amount that you must charge the retailer for the product. Read what Kevin Hayes of VAC had to say on the subject of the high costs associated with being a high-end manufacturer here .