The Mola Mola Tambaqui DAC

[MarkusBarkus]

...alien autopsy. That's the Area51 "quantum upgrade package." 

[MarkusBarkus]

...and selling a relatively small number of units of anything translates to increased cost per unit.

 

And how do you roll in R&D costs, across time? Holy mackerel. And risk.

 

The cost of risk is a typically unspoken/hidden cost. 

Guys go for years living on a spouse paycheck, taking a second, etc.
 

High-end anything costs a lot, according to the characteristics of a given population to afford and desire the thing for sale. No body needs another freakin new dac.
 

In these conversations with friends, on ordinary goods and services (plumbing, coat, car), I find when people think something is outrageously expensive, it's because they "think" it should cost less. They may not be informed by why something costs what it does: it just seems too much.

 

Plain example: I used to play table tennis--it's OK to call it ping-pong if you like--at a fair level. I was an assistant coach at a university in Japan for players on scholarship--for ping-pong. Quit laughing.

Talking with non-playing friends, they could not believe my "racquet" was about 200-250 bucks. And I would routinely change rubber at 50 bucks a pop. They thought I was nuts.

 

But actually, they just didn't see the value or how it impacted the elements of the game.
 

Lastly, I think many folks express their comments based on what they think a thing should cost. And that's a greasy slope.

 

I'm not meaning to compare @plisskento my dopey friends; he can speak for himself. I'm just sharing my observations. I would like to pay about 200 bucks for a Mola Mola dac. That seems right. 😉