I've seen a trend, especially lately, where more ID sub companies are going to larger, more powerful, more expensive subs. Obviously there has to be more profit in it to sell a $1,000 sub as opposed to a $500 sub, but will this price the average Joe out of the market? Is more competition forcing these companies to "one-up" the others? Just curious what others think.
So there are a couple of markets that most IDs serve and they can be in more than one market as well.
Everyone will define these markets differently but I'm just using this as an example.
Budget ID ($300-$600) This is proably the toughest class with new players like NXG, BIC, Lava and others low end of the market is really flooded. Once you get closer to the 600 dollar mark you see more ID companies cover this amount. All of the production is likely in China
Mid market ID ($600-$1000) Still a very competitive niche and a lot of ID companies have something in this range and you might get more USA built parts and maybe even an entire sub. For most people this where they have to draw the budget line. They may have started in the budget market and not got enough for their money. And get pushed to up their budget many average Joes can't go higher than this.
High end ID ($1000-$2000) Competion is still very high here and many IDs will have their flagship in this market and will probably have a good amount of sales from bass crazy users.
Flagship ID ($2000 +) A lot of competion from very few companies. This is pretty much flagship models and diminishing return in one sub vs going with duals or more of a lower cost sub. Only handful of companies keep products in this market for long. There is also lower sales and possible longer lead times.
What I think we're seeing is, the budget market is very competitive right now. ID companies may not feel like the budget market is as profitable as necessary. Being in the budget market means various cost cutting measures. Such as lesser build quality, Built in China, very thin margins, a need for a lot of volume to turn a profit, less performance and so on.
So its not surprising that some companies are simply opting out of the budget market. And in doing so they could more quickly update products, offer better build quality and make more money. No one wants to end up like AV123, ED, or Epik...