[Spyro]

No problem. Understood.

 

[BigTony]

These are low-volume high-markup items, so i'd guess the manufacture costs would be about 1/5 of the retail price.
Of course the 5's will cost about the same, so UE are happy campers when you buy into the top value item!

 

[craiglester]

I'm pretty sure you'd need more than just a list of components to make an IEM.. If it were that simple... ever tried putting all those bits together? not as easy as it looks... and the tools to do it cost a pretty penny that's for sure

 

[p0wderh0und23]

Quote:

Originally Posted by nsx_23 /img/forum/go_quote.gif I wonder how much the components for IEMs actually cost, since there're a lot of customs out there that mix and match drivers (e.g. UM4 I'm told has ER4P and 2 UM2 drivers). Where do these companies acutally purchase the drivers from? I reall can't imagine Etymotic or Westone just selling drivers to other companies.

UM4..huh??? Did I miss something here?

 

[ClieOS]

Quote:

Originally Posted by p0wderh0und23 /img/forum/go_quote.gif UM4..huh??? Did I miss something here?

nsx_23 is probably referring to a Chinese made custom named (Unique Melody) UM4. Check it out here.

 

[ameyer17]

Quote:

Originally Posted by ClieOS /img/forum/go_quote.gif I did a quick search and find out that the average price of a balanced armature transducer ranges from US$15 to over $50 if you went out and bought a large quantity from a wholesaler / distributor. If we assume you can knock about 10~15% off by ordering directly from the manufacturer, we are still talking over US$10 a piece when you placed your order, without factoring shipping or the quality of the transducer. Assuming if you are making a three receivers IEM with specially ordered transducers and crossover, I think it is not far off to say you are looking at $100~200 as your minimum manufacturing cost even in bulk.

My understanding is that the most expensive balanced armature driver out there costs about $8 per driver.
YMMV

 

[p0wderh0und23]

Yeah I did some Goggle and found it. Interesting.... copycat on UE's logo and using our naming convention. Original!

 

[ClieOS]

Quote:

Originally Posted by ameyer17 /img/forum/go_quote.gif My understanding is that the most expensive balanced armature driver out there costs about $8 per driver. YMMV

I saw some specialty BA for >$50 (each) on digikey and newark in bulk buy, but of course I have no idea how much they will cost if you order them directly from manufacturer.
Quote:

Originally Posted by p0wderh0und23 /img/forum/go_quote.gif Yeah I did some Goggle and found it. Interesting.... copycat on UE's logo and using our naming convention. Original!

Not just UE logo and Westone naming, but they also claim to use one Ety ER4 and two Shure SE530 transducers.

UE, Westone, Etymotic, and Shure - they have them all