What makes an expensive speaker expensive

I've had a pair of Legacy Signature III's that I've had for years. The perform WAY beyond their price point. I paid $2100 for the pair used. They originally sold for $5000 in the oak finish like I have.  They are amazing ... but the trick is, they have to be driven by a quality tube amp to sound their best. 

Here's some reviews of the Sig III's, including mine:

http://www.audioreview.com/cat/speakers/floorstanding-speakers/legacy-audio/signature-iii/prd_119993...

Here's some pictures of the Sig III's front and rear:

http://search.aol.com/aol/image?q=legacy+signature+iii+floor+standing+speakers&v_t=webmail-searc...

One of my favorite speaker line is Venture. I've met the design engineer and builder many times ... and a true gentleman he is. His factory is located in Belgium, but he was born and grew up on China's mainland.  The design and parts used are the very best on the planet. The finish on all of the Venture speakers is superb. Nothing is left to chance or built with anything but quality in the parts and in the construction of the Venture speakers.  To my mind, the Venture speakers are worth every penny of what they retail for. They are an amazing speaker in every respect.  Here's a link to the Venture speakers:

http://search.aol.com/aol/image?q=venture+speakers&v_t=webmail-searchbox

It seems like speakers are expensive to pay for research and development.  Back in the 1970's, good speakers were developed, and then sold for years.  The big Klipsch speakers can still be bought.  I would like to see the speaker manufacturers pick a design, then focus on bringing costs down, rather than pass improvements down the line.  Speakers are overpriced.  The top of the line speaker in the 1970's sold for $2000.  That would be no more than $15,000 today.  I'm listening to a set of 40 yr old stacked original advents.  They compete well with the speakers in the stores, basically because they get the important things right.  I would have to spend $30,000+ dollars to get any real improvement, basically because of the Advents great tonal qualities and resolution.  Yes, most speakers can do something better than the Advents, but the Advents do everything well.  Someone needs to build a great all around speaker and run with it.

  audiophiles and especially reviewers

Put attention to the price – and if that speaker has a price tag of 100,000 they will be consider excellent and amazing sound

 “Money makers”= manufactures, know that high price consider” best performance”

People believing in that and willing to pay

So, why not?

You see the reality of those overprice speakers when they reach aoudiogon

Tidal that cost 80,000$ cannot be sold with a price tag of $15,000

And the same is with speakers that only 2-3 years ago were claimed to be the best in the world like YG ANAT that were priced for more than $100000 and on the second hand market cannot be sold with $20000

 

The high price has nothing with material and knowledge and design

All these Buzz words are an excuse to higher pricing

Enter your text ...

Simply put, I think the most expensive speakers are too much overpriced.
I understand all the money that goes into RD and all the expensive materials and expensive manpower, but I also strongly believe that there is a limit for the production of any speaker that is much much lower than its price when it hits the market.
What's the rational explanation for a speaker to cost more than $300,000? 
I recently had the opportunity to listen to one of the most expensive speakers in the world, the Marten Coltrane Supreme 2. I surely was impressed by the sound, but in the same day I listened to far cheaper speakers that impressed me as much or even more - like Canton, Tannoy, Aurum Cantus and some others. Comparing the price tags, listening to the Martens should have been an orgasmic experience! And it wasn't.
These Marten are costing the same as a Lamborghini or a Ferrari! Why? 
Too much overpriced I say...

I have been an audiophile for 50 years and have purchased a lot of very good equipment in those years.  Motivated by awareness of Floyd Toole's work at JBL/Harman, I just purchased a JBL M2 Master Reference Monitor/Crown I-Tech 5000 system consisting  1250 watts of power to each tweeter and 1250 watts to each woofer by means of active DSP crossover incorporated into the amps.  I found the system on discount at the local JBL pro dealer for $11,500 so I bought it on a lark.  
I have recently auditioned top of the line speakers from  Vandersteen, PSB, Revel, and B&W diamond 3, driven by Mark Levinson, Audio Research, Classe, and the new Vandersteen amp.  All are excellent products but my new system sounds just as good for a fraction of the cost.  I am particularly smug in knowing that it probably sounds just as good at the ridiculously overpriced top of the line speakers from Wilson. ( which, to be fair, I have not heard)  I would single out  Wilson as being particularly pretentious.  A local high end dealer who considered carrying Wilson and was wined and dined by them in Utah verifies this impression.