3 Kings - NOT Authorized Sundown Dealer

[mclerico83 5,000+ posts]

Let me ask you a question... how many car audio companies have you founded and operated ? As I am sure the answer is zero... we can establish you are not informed about the reality of the industry.
We are a new company and came into an industry with a given "acceptable" price level already in place. Heavy outsourcing came into play a decade before we started our company. We didn't exist in the 90s when there was heavy margin in USA made products.

Coming out of the blue making all product in a meaningful fashion (**) in-house in the USA is literally impossible without MILLIONS of dollars in backing. Even then it's a heavy gamble as 90% of consumers don't care about country of origin and as a new company with a higher price getting a market position would be very difficult. Any car audio company I know of making product in the USA either came from a background of importing / assembling imported parts (Fi/AA when it was RE imported motors... when RE was sold Scott used the capital to move towards machining motors in the next venture) OR started out before the wave of outsourcing / already had the machinery acquired in that time period (thus already having a market position) and figured out how to ride it out (MMATs is a good example).

So now, with that being said, and actual facts being in place... we are becoming an established brand. We are moving into a facility that can handle a higher level of manufacturing (very large floor space)... and I am in the process of acquiring machinery to work towards more in-house production. Magnetizer is due shortly... and the next generation Nightshade (v.4) will be a fully US machined and assembled motor (a local machine shop will handle that until such a time as we can invest in our own machinery). As capacity / capital / demand grows the amount of manufacturing we can do can expand as well. This sort of thing doesn't happen overnight.

Until then we build the best possible products we can with the best manufacturers possible and offer a fair price that is compatible with our business model.

** - Just gluing the same imported parts together isn't really a meaningful value added way of "making in the USA" in my mind. There is nothing wrong with that approach and it affords more flexibility in production and more control over the entire process but it doesn't really signify MADE in the USA to me. There are many companies that do this and I still applaud their hard work and dedication -- so don't read into that as anything negative.

most of the so called subs that are made in the usa are using foreign parts and are assembled here in america. Very few companies have the ability to have an entire machine shop in house etc. I totally agree and all these people may not remember but one of the reasons I didnt have an amazing *** kicking system when I was in high school is because you had to pay a dollar a watt for basically everything. you wanted a 1k orion say goodbye to 900 bucks. I am ok with not paying those prices and enjoying my 300 dollar sundown, dc, ab, audioque or the myriad of other solid amps you can buy from respectable companies over seas. I dont see many people forking over full price for for example a tru or zuki amps or linear power