Are they fucking insane? How can they justify this? As if 30-50% wasn't bad enough and their prices weren't already high compared to alot of comparable brands. Monday is a sad day in the audio world.
I saw this and thought " RE Audio " when they went from internet sales to dealer sales.
For a company to increase their pricing by that much is only going to meant they don't sell as much and only the die hard audio folks willing to shell out that kind of money.
Granted, the price increase is most likely due manufacturing, shipping and operational costs, but a 100% increase, that's just being " greedy ".
yeah, i was at one point actually considering getting a TC3k, but even at that price point i wasn't even sure if it was the best sub out there... now for it to double in price, wooow
I can see increasing prices to cover whatever costs increases TC incurs, but, increasing the pricing of their products to that extent is just plain asinine.
And what gets me is that most subwoofer companies have their products built and shipped in from countries where supposedly the material, labor and productions costs are substantially lower.
Sure, they can say their products were built in the USA, but all their parts come in from outside the US, ergo, they get over on the customer by charging more without actually paying more to deliver it.
i know a lot of home audio people are dissapointed too because many of them used their drivers for DIY subwoofer systems in their home. I think some may still think after the price increase they will still be worth it because home audio subs are so expensive already that DIY will probably come out to the same price now (instead of a lot cheaper), but better quality. i know they are all complaining and feeling the exact same way as us car audio ppl.
It's still hard for me to justify paying $1000+ for a driver be it car or home audio use. It's just metal, magnet, cone and some copper. The main reason I chose a car sub for my HT was simply cost. There are so many affordable options in this field compared to high end home audio markets. A good HT sub can run $2000+. To the enthusiast they may feel they got a fantastic deal. If they could hear how my $300 Q sounds compared to what they paid dearly for more of them would do what I did.
For TC to isolate their product even further from the masses to me is saying they feel their product is for the elite only, everyone else need not apply. For that I can pat myself on the back for doing what more and more HT buffs will be doing. Fug em.
Most Americans don't take pride in their work anyhow.I dont' care if it's built,made or whatever in the USA.For example with cars(Aside from build quality with things being built in America)I love how people say invest in your future "Buy American" but it's a joke because those American cars are full of Japanese parts and parts from everywhere else
Not to mention alot of assembly plants and build houses use an immigrant workforce. Saying built in America may be patriotic, just not what it used to. Why ship it overseas to get it built cheaply when the laborers are coming to you lol.
Well I got in touch with a friend that knows some guys down there (TC is right near me) and this is what is happening. TC will soon announce that they are going to set up a brick and mortar network and sell their products via stores. They figure that in order to allow dealers to make enough profit on sales that they need to boost up the list prices so that the margin will be greater. Nobody is sure if they will still sell direct but at this point it doesn't look like it. I am guessing that they figure that if they just send stock out to dealers, they won't have as many problems keeping up with demand. I am also guessing that they might stop sending parts to other companies (SoundSplinter, Eclipse, Lightning/RF etc.) and concentrate on getting more into the mainstream with their own branded products. Less sales + decreased backlog + increased prices = profit.
I really think this is going to cripple TC Sounds reputation whether they make a profit or not, just like it has nearly destroyed RE's sales in the last year. I remember when the MT and XXX were the talk of the town but now they are so expensive that nobody even thinks about making that an option for a new system. All three times I have talked to the people that run TC they have been jerks and I have read on other forums that I am not alone. This whole move reeks of attitude and lack of caring about the customers. I say good riddance.
