Costs...


Pretty much every part that goes into my speakers has gone up in price two to four times in the past 5 years. From the seemingly plain Baltic Birch Plywood to Rare Earth AlNiCo Magnets, beryllium, copper foil inductors and what not, all ingredients come from places that draw an almost perfect map of the current international tensions and greed. Shipping costs, wet paint by an artisan, rent for a listening room... It all went from very complicated to comically difficult. 

Drivers are not really the issue, I have new TAD TD-4001 and TL-1601 inventory for another couple of pairs of speakers and TAD can provide me parts. But any cost conversation would pretty much have to be made on the day as it is a constantly (upward-)moving target.