Amp "making" costs

[miker 5,000+ posts]

Well I was wondering how much more it actually costs to make a 1000w amp over say, a 2000w one...

Is the price markup all marketing ****? Like, they do it b/c they can? Or does it actually cost a considerable amount more?

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[Bloodstalker999 10+ year member]

Thats a tough question to ask because all of the companies have different contracts with different vendors for each part, so it would depend on the company and on the amp. but to answer your question no it doesn't cost a whole lot to make the amp but they factor more than just the material cost into the price. There is also the cost of labor, cost of space, operating costs, cost of defects, cost of transportation, and various other costs that businesses occur that are also factored into product price.

 

[miker 5,000+ posts]

Thats a tough question to ask because all of the companies have different contracts with different vendors for each part, so it would depend on the company and on the amp. but to answer your question no it doesn't cost a whole lot to make the amp but they factor more than just the material cost into the price. There is also the cost of labor, cost of space, operating costs, cost of defects, cost of transportation, and various other costs that businesses occur that are also factored into product price.

Yes.. I know that there are allot of "common" costs to make them...

But what you are saying is that it doesn't cost 300$ more to make a ZX2500, than a ZX1500?

 

[Bloodstalker999 10+ year member]

Yes.. I know that there are allot of "common" costs to make them...
But what you are saying is that it doesn't cost 300$ more to make a ZX2500, than a ZX1500?

All I could do is guess since I really have no idea how still water designs operates their business but my guess would be that no a zx2500 wouldn't cost $300 more in materials to make than a ZX1500.

 

[htownplaya456 10+ year member]

No as far as the actual cost of parts and to make it, it probably costs less than $75. They figure in all the stuff that a previous poster said but another thing that they have to charge for is Research and Development, that is a BIG part of costs on amps

 

[bimma85 5,000+ posts]

Well I was wondering how much more it actually costs to make a 1000w amp over say, a 2000w one...
Is the price markup all marketing ****? Like, they do it b/c they can? Or does it actually cost a considerable amount more?

For mainstream products, marketing can play a large role in costs. All the parts costs money though //content.invisioncic.com/y282845/emoticons/wink.gif.608e3ea05f1a9f98611af0861652f8fb.gif. So does the design, especially if you are starting from scratch. Cost to have the products shipped around. etc. etc.

You can't just say a 1kw amp cost this much and a 2kw amp costs this much. It depends on way too many factors.

As for your question. if the 2kw amp was the same cost as teh 1kw....why even produce the 1kw?

 

[Bloodstalker999 10+ year member]

For mainstream products, marketing can play a large role in costs. All the parts costs money though //content.invisioncic.com/y282845/emoticons/wink.gif.608e3ea05f1a9f98611af0861652f8fb.gif. So does the design, especially if you are starting from scratch. Cost to have the products shipped around. etc. etc.
You can't just say a 1kw amp cost this much and a 2kw amp costs this much. It depends on way too many factors.

As for your question. if the 2kw amp was the same cost as teh 1kw....why even produce the 1kw?

To fill a demographic, not everyone is in the market for a 2kw so you have to have your product line vary to meet the customers needs.

 

[miker 5,000+ posts]

To fill a demographic, not everyone is in the market for a 2kw so you have to have your product line vary to meet the customers needs.

And then you have the ability to charge more for the 2kw amp..

 

[bimma85 5,000+ posts]

To fill a demographic, not everyone is in the market for a 2kw so you have to have your product line vary to meet the customers needs.

If you can sell the 2kw for the same price, why would you sell a 1kw? If you could buy a 2kw amp with the same features and price as a 1kw, why would you buy the 1kw amp?

 

[miker 5,000+ posts]

If you can sell the 2kw for the same price, why would you sell a 1kw? If you could buy a 2kw amp with the same features and price as a 1kw, why would you buy the 1kw amp?

Thats the whole point of this thread... I was wondering how much of the mark-up on higher wattage amps was build cost, and how much was just a b/c they can, b/c people want it.

 

[bimma85 5,000+ posts]

Thats the whole point of this thread... I was wondering how much of the mark-up on higher wattage amps was build cost, and how much was just a b/c they can, b/c people want it.

You asked if they costs the same to produce and just get marked up more "because they can". I said why even make and sell the 1kw if you can produce the 2kw for the same price. Meaning, I would be willing to bet their markup is not pure profit on the 2kw amps.

The markups are going to vary. Anyone who knows the exact answer to your question, probably wouldnt answer it //content.invisioncic.com/y282845/emoticons/wink.gif.608e3ea05f1a9f98611af0861652f8fb.gif.

 

[miker 5,000+ posts]

You asked if they costs the same to produce and just get marked up more "because they can". I said why even make and sell the 1kw if you can produce the 2kw for the same price. Meaning, I would be willing to bet their markup is not pure profit on the 2kw amps.
The markups are going to vary. Anyone who knows the exact answer to your question, probably wouldnt answer it //content.invisioncic.com/y282845/emoticons/wink.gif.608e3ea05f1a9f98611af0861652f8fb.gif.

Hmm, I KNIDA get what you are saying now.. Though it doesn't make complete sense..

So yeah.. It is "marked-up" a bit, but some of the cost goes into parts/ research and design?

 

[htownplaya456 10+ year member]

Well and you have to look at it like this. The manufacturer is going to sell it to the dealers for less money than what you would go buy it for from a shop. So if that amp retails for $799 they are probably only seeing $450 or so. Depending on what company it is let's say Rockford Fosgate the actual parts that the amp is made out of and to pay for the machines to build them and the people to run/assemble the amp it's going to cost them probably around $75-100 if not less. Then they have to make money on each amp to pay for the research and development that they put into the amp, promotions (sponsors, show displays, etc), marketing, then they have to pay their employees with a certain amount that comes in from each amp and also pay their bills. In the end they probably see $50-100 actual profit from each amp (could very possibly be less). Then the shop will get the amp and sell it for $800 and they probably see the same amount of actual profit that the manufacturer sees per amp after they pay their bills and everything.

 

[helotaxi 5,000+ posts]

The difference in the number and capacity of output devices, the power supply FETs, the power supply transformer and the larger heatsink are going to add to the price of the larger amp. Figure a constant margin across a line of amps and if the larger amp cost 50% more to make, expect it to cost 50% more. So if the small amp cost $100 to make and it sells for $300 and the larger one costs $150 to make, expect it to cost $450. Consistent percent margin.

And if I was looking at an amp that made the power that I wanted and one that made 2x the powr I needed and they were about the same price, I'd probably buy the smaller amp. Physically smaller if nothing else and why have a ton of power that I'll never use? Price and power aren't everything.