[clarke68]

I don't want to waste too much breath defending Goldmund in this case, but I bet if you actually parted it out:

- Pioneer parts in relatively small quantities (compared to the mass-market)
- That toroid & other PS parts
- The enclosure, plus tooling fees for putting holes in the face & rear
- Whatever else

...then add a typical 5x manufacturing multiplier, pay the dealers, shipping, warehousing, etc...you'd probably arrive at a price not too far off the $6000 they charge.

They certainly aren't offering much value, but I (honestly!) don't think they're ripping people off. Of course, the real question for me is, "does the Goldmund offer $5800 worth of sonic joy over the Pioneer?" and I can answer that one even without a double-blind listening test.