Yes, they are of course right to charge as they are fit, and the products are clearly excellent. Let me reiterate; I am in no way complaining, I literally just find it curious.
Wouldn’t even cross my mind if ratio were different, I.e. a $160 basic sound one was $130 for silent stunt and $30 more for sound, just genuinely baffles me the sound costs more than the actual Saber (for many, not all).
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Actually, the cost differential isn't as you described.
The only $55 hilt is the MOST basic, the V2 Initiate. And it cannot be upgraded to sound due to the smaller internal diameter of the hilt./
The V3 Initiate, the next lowest in cost, is base price $60. That's for a Stunt.
What I think of as the "basic" saber, the Aeon, in the V4 config, Stunt with basic color, no upgrades, and WITH the windows would be $75.
Now, in comparison, the extremely popular Guardian hilt, Stunt, with basic color, no upgrades, is $169.00.
What you'll find is that there's a sharp "break" between "simple" sabers - hilts that are essentially made on a lathe without a lot of other details - and the more complex sabers like the Guardian or Emperor's Hand which require multiple pieces or detailed machining or just a lot of extra operations to make. The "simple" hilts that are sound capable range from $60 to $120 dollars. The complex are $140 all the way to $244.
These are all stunts.
As for sound....
The cost of sound is wrapped up in the card itself, the extra wiring and electronics, and the battery system. But you're looking at Diamond (which is both sound and LED color driver) and despairing. I get that, Diamond is the absolute top-of-the-line. So lets look at the basic sound - the Obsidian Lite.
Using the Dominix LE V4 as my base (because I love that hilt) the difference between the stunt version and the Obsidian Lite version is indeed exactly $100.
Premium Sound jumps the price an additional $40 for V3 or $50 for V4.
(I'm not going to get into Emerald or Diamond! LOL)
So, what's the difference? Glad you asked. :-)
First, there's a LOT of extra wiring required, so some of this is just labor. But the extra bits: a momentary switch instead of a latching switch. The sound card itself. And a battery pack with speaker to give the sound voice.
In the "build your own" section, the battery / speaker chassis is $18.50. The switches cost the same, so they're not a factor in the cost. That means they're charging you $81.50 for the Obsidian Lite board itself AND the extra labor to build and install it. So, assuming a skilled worker can do one of these in an hour of extra work over a stunt, they're really charging you about $65 for the board itself. Or about half the cost of the Obsidian USB board (V3/V4)
And most equivalent boards are going to run you about the same price, buying them online somewhere. More, really, most I see are between $85 and $100.
So US is passing on some of the economy of scale they get by making so many of these for us. :-)
Now: You're doing "Father and Son" sabers on a budget. You want sound and goodies. Let me make a recommendation:
Saber 1: Dominix V4 LE with Obsidian Lite sound and windows in Sun Rider's Destiny (Jedi color) or Tri-Cree Blazing Red (Sith color).
Saber 2: Aeon V4 LE with Obsidian Lite sound and windows in Arctic Blue (Jedi color) or Fire Orange (Sith color).
Or, if you really don't know what color you'd like: Get them in Tri-Cree Adegan Silver wtih the color disks, and then order a Lee Filter's swatch book to make custom color filters. I do this with my Dark Catalysts. Its not quite as flexible as a Diamond or Emerald controller, but its a LOT cheaper, which is important when you're on a tight budget.
Anyway, I do hope this helps, especially understanding the true costs of upgrading. I've tried it once myself. While it was fun, I ended up paying more for the components than it would have cost to get them from the beginning, and I still had to do the work!
Whatever you decide, you'll love these sabers. Enjoy them and happy sabering!
