why does dc cost so much, simple, it has to be to actually make a profit. dc doesnt actually make anything they buy pieces and put them together. so when you buy a woofer know you pay for all the parts, the shipping on the parts, the labor to put them together, the employees, everything it takes to keep the place where their built and then finally mark up for them to actually make a profit. for dc to lower their prices to even soundstream prices they would go out of business really soon. companies that make junk like all the brands under pyle,(excluding the lanzar opti line) are giants to dc,sa,dd and gross more than they all for a year combined. dc,sa,aq dont make their own amps why do you think they all look alike. it all starts off OEM, a company adds their logo, what they want on the pcb, buys it and flips it for a profit, but the catch is the more you buy the less you pay, so if dc orders 5000 amps its nothing compared to lanzar who can order 50,000 amps at a time or 100,000 amps. so optis are less than half of what you will pay for a dc amp simply because dc cant afford to sell it to you at that price and still come out on top. it has nothing to do with the quality of the amp.so yes its true you get what you pay for but you also pay for what you get, like helping a small company pay the rent