Of course, they can be made for 70e, the Topping Pa5 itself does not cost more than 150e, everything with the box, packaging, power supply, transport,up to the price of 230e is their profit
A discussion at this point makes no sense.
Apparently there is a lack of understanding of how a company is financed, what costs there are, what the sale costs and everything else that arises.
€230 VK and €80 profit? Seriously? As Topping reads along, they'll have a great time or a lot of tears, maybe both at the same time. A device like this in this price range is only possible with larger quantities.
First of all, VAT goes down in the EU, shipping costs to the customer, then Amazon, Aliexpress, Ebay etc. also want 8-15%, then the retailer has to have a profit margin to cover its costs and pay employees. Then there are some handling, shipping costs, customs, etc. Of the approximately €110-125 that Topping receives, if it is even that much, all of the company's costs, including employees, buildings, electricity, storage costs, etc., have to be paid for. Then there are all the manufacturing, material and packaging costs for the device, and the rest is the lavish profit. I completely forgot about the development costs. If they aren't paid for, there's guaranteed to be no follow-up device.
That's the reality in this world when you make and sell something like that. Also my business in industry and photography. But in industry I wouldn't take on projects with such low calculations.
This also applies to the boards from 3E Audio and Sylph Audio. The two companies only see a 2-digit amount for their boards, and that's not as high as you probably think.
Small series like those from 3E Audio and Sylph Audio are much more expensive than a device produced in large quantities, such as a PA5/II.
Simply produce something like that yourself in small quantities and sell it for your suggested prices, then failure and loss are inevitable, but there is a lot of experience for that, even if it is very expensive. Of course, development isn't paid for yet, but who wants to be paid for their work...
