Why do subwoofers cost so much?

[P4killer_]

I just have been thinking about this for a little while.. and maybe ill answer my own question here, but lemme just think out loud. .

In my mind 70 percent of woofers are of the same family. I mean yes they all work the same and use roughly the same principles etc, but they come down to the same parts which arent really that different across the board.

I say 70 percent, because of woofers like idk the smd or sundown 6.5 or anything neo where the design or tooling or special components simply DO cost a lot more.

But really the other 70 percent come down to the same components.

Surround, cone, dust cap.

From paper to cf. From foam to rubber. And plastics etc. I guess that the range from cheap to top of the line is idk 5 to 60 dollars per unit say.

Frames

Plastic, to metal w.e

10 to 30 per unit.

Coils and spiders

Frames and most cones etc. Are all roughly the same ya know sort of ranges and styles. Coils and spiders are imo the start of major differences between woofers.

But at the end of the day, copper is copper. Al is Al, spiders are spiders. What makes a dd 3 inch coil worth 10x a American bass coil or w.e . There cannot be that much of a actual cost difference. Of course xomparing Identical coil specs wind, layer etc

But still, 5-60 bucks dual to dd is my guess.

And finally motors.

This is where most of the cost comes from I would assume. Admittedly these do vary greatly. But for arguements sake lets say the same material ferrite w.e

Again there is no way a dd 35 motor cost idk 5x what an xfl motor costs. It just doesnt.

Lemme guess idk 20 - 150 bucks

So by my very uneducated guess work, I think 70 percent of woofers out there should cost manufacturer XXX 40 - 300.

I think thats a realistic range for a decent midrange woofer say id an xfl or maybe smaller to like a high end woofer say a nsv3 or w.e idk

But what im getting at is after shipping and idk import tax w.e its not like these companies are making 5 bux a woofer.

If they sell for 400 for a 1200w woofer I bet they pay like 120 for em. Lets just keep it simple and say 100 per unit.

Why do they charge 4x? I dont blame em. I mean people pay it all day, why not take the money. . But motor aside these parts from over seas or even in the us cost a fraction of what they charge.

Why is it ok or rather the standard to charge 500 plus for a 2k decent woofer. Or hell like 1k for a woofer I guarantee doesnt cost the manu more than 350..

I just see prices for "midrange" 1200w woofers and wonder good god who pays that???

I could be grossly off base here but sometimes things just make me wonder wtf is going on here (as in the ca industry)

/stupid long mobile post

[mrd6]

Its like anything, you are paying for the people behind it, the design and development costs as well. It's not just parts and materials to take into consideration.

A good example is software. Some software cost tens of thousands of dollars for a liscense and all they have to do is burn to a cd? That cd is cheap! but the thousands of hours designing it is not. Obviously that's an extreme but I can bet subs are similar with higher end lines being more difficult and consuming to design and produce.

[iwannabeloud]

http://www.ebay.com/itm/like/390743559679?lpid=82

VM Audio ECW120 Encore 12" Competition Car Audio Power Subwoofer 1500rms for $99

or

this for $170 but you have to buy at least 300 of them.

http://www.alibaba.com/product-gs/1428214592/15_inch_huge_motor_design_powered.html

[Krakin]

Research and development, shipping, and being able to pay for the companies workers.

Why does it cost a lot for someone to install something? If they do buy something it can't cost too much, and then they will be able to use it in later builds.

[ChevyBoy95]

you have to thing in a business way...

say a sub costs 120 to manufacture....

well owner pays to buy 100 of them, so 120 x 100, along with shipping on 100 woofers... ($12,000 + shipping)

Now owner sells them for 300 a piece.... ($30,000) [if he did dealer pricing this would be even less]

Now take rent on the warehouse w/ a few offices so like 1000-5000 depending on what you get, energy cost, renter blah blah (say $2,500)....

Now you have 4 40hr a week employees making say 10 dollars an hour (made up, would probably be more) selling these woofers($1,600)

So after owner spend $12,000 plus shipping to US, he made $30,000, minus $2,500, minus 1,600.

So his profit was 13,900 - shipping of the crate, dollars for a month.

And then marketing, free stuff, giveaways, promotion, etc.

This doesnt factor in a bunch of smaller things that said owner might need. And btw, most of these figures are made up or speculated. But you can see, these expensive subs arent profited extremely on, except for a few companies....

[P4killer_]

Yea I figured all that ya know rent over head etc. But at 14k profit per mo. In a years time you can double up etc. The cost goes down to 100 per unit because you order double you put a 10% more expenisve coil in it and charge 40% more for v2.

All im saying in short is: fair is fair, making money is making money.

But getting raped is still getting raped.

Why does the consumer have to get raped? It happens all the time people just dont see it and because johnny gets bent over a barrel and likes it then I will too? No.

Software is waaay dif. Rnd is very significant. 90% of woofer rnd is done. Period. You just select your options. If xompany x does actually innovate something new. Ok they have a right to charge more. But companies A B and C just xopy that stuff and charge more than company X.

Its a copy cat game. Anyone who doesnt see that isnt really looking.

[bbeljefe]

As was said, there's a lot of expense to consider before one ever even begins to price and source materials. First, a company has to be formed. And along with the costs of forming a company, there are ongoing costs to maintain that company, which are incurred whether or not you ever even make the first sub. Let alone sell it to someone. There's also marketing, because how else will someone half way across the world know you plan to have subs for sell if you don't tell them?

After you've ordered your subs and you're waiting for them to arrive, you have to already have a place to store them and ship them from, which costs money whether or not you ever sell the first sub. And then, once you've sold them, you have to warranty them and like it or don't, as a manufacturer you will end up eating a good bit of product that was damaged due to no fault of yours or your build house.

And what about the guy who refuses to be happy with any solution you offer him? Who pays when he takes you to court on a frivolous lawsuit? Who pays when company X sues you (again frivolously) for copying their surrounds or dust caps?

Manufacturers deal with all that and a few thousand other things I didn't mention every single day and all of those things cause them to incur some sort of cost, the totality of which must be paid for out of the gross profits they make on subs, amps, speaker terminals or whatever it is that they sell.

So in the end,, you might look at the hard costs of building a sub and then think there's a ton of profit to be had but, what you're counting is gross profit on the cost of materials and what the manufacturer actually gets to pocket is net profit after ALL expenses. That usually ends up being around 2-5% and the only way manufacturing on a large scale can be truly profitable is through volume.

[jessdabest77]

Of course,it all come's down to money.No one work's for free,and everyone want's to make money ,not loss money.Ya.I do agree some thing's are way over priced,but that's how the game goes.It's just buisness.

[P4killer_]

@ bbe

I fully understand all of that. And agree.

But those rules apply to american bass and dd and johns bass factory.

So if they all offer 3 inch coil woofers rated at similar levels. What do you think the costs per unit are? Does ab pay 40 per unit and dd pays 160 per unit?? I doubt it. But they sure price em like they do dont they? Dd prolly pays 20 percent more max. And charges 60 percent more.

Again jusy example company names. Nothing against or for either, just for arguements sake alone.

[bbeljefe]

But getting raped is still getting raped.Why does the consumer have to get raped?

Who's being raped by car audio manufacturers? Has Jacob Fuller ever passed a law that forces everyone to buy an SA-15? Did Coleman Thedinger send his jack booted thugs to your house to extract from you the money for an AT1400.1? Has a representative of Maxxsonics ever ordered you to comply with their subwoofer enclosure guidelines with the threat of fines and jail time?

If you're wondering whose dick actually is up your ass, go down to your local city hall, take a stroll over to the police station, stop by your state's fire safety administration offices or even sit right on your bleeding, gaping, sore ass in front of your television and watch a presidential address.

Those are the men with the guns and those are the men who're raping you. NOT the guys who make subwoofers with their own money and then ask kindly if you would please buy one of them.